“The truth is… little girls grow up. It’s what they’re supposed to do.” Mika had practiced that line in the mirror before she’d come over. She’d said it over and over until she meant it, until it seemed right. Rational. Inevitable. In three weeks, she would (belatedly) achieve her degree. From there it would be straight back to her hometown and a job opportunity that her father had arranged back when she began her studies...

Marga looked out of the bus at the loveliest sunrise she could remember seeing. The star was rising, a deep, bloody red and around it the sky was every shade of orange, blue and white. ‘Like a burst hymen,’ she thought to herself, then thought, ‘Eewww! Gross!” with a giggle. Marga was back on the market, having decided that her recent lesbian affair with Isobela, while enjoyable, was not something she could commit to long...

Andreu and Christina clinked their wine glasses and toasted each other’s health. It was their third date, and they were meeting after work. “You look nice,” he told her, and she flicked her fingers through her dark brown hair, which she was wearing in a bun. “Thank you! You too!” And he did. Andreu was a handsome guy. He had clear blue eyes and a thick head of wavy hair. He was clean shaven. He had a rugged quality about...

With Sue moving out after an almost two-year relationship, Jerry was not looking forward to the holiday season as he wove his way through the crowd at the airport. He was on his way to visit his parents in Florida for Thanksgiving. A familiar-looking blonde head caught his attention. As he approached her from behind, the hiking boots, backpack, pocketed shorts, and plaid shirt—with long sleeves rolled up and buttoned—supp...

The familiar, powerful winds lifted my summer skirt right up as I stepped out of the O'Hare airport in Chicago. I fixed my skirt using both my arms, flustered but enjoying the cool wind touching my skin, a welcome change compared to the Texas heat. The windy city was playfully welcoming me back. A year ago, I was fighting back tears and boarding a flight to Austin, having ended my six-year-long relationship with Jim. Deep...

It was a uni kid’s life, getting fucked up at three o’clock in the afternoon on the roof of the girl she liked. Melanie had led Raven up there when she got there, barely done complaining about the stairs before she was pushed up the ladder next to the bed that led to a balcony that looked exactly like to exactly what you’d expect from a Mediterranean fantasy. The roof was sloped and when she saw two hot girls laying out i...

It had been a rough week for Kayla. She was working on a presentation for work that could make or break her trajectory in her company.  She kept hitting roadblocks trying to get everything to come together and she was tired and frustrated.  She had put in such long hours lately that she hadn't seen much of Matt, her live-in boyfriend of two years.  She knew that they had struggled with their connection lately because of t...

As I entered my office, my eyes fell on the image of the woman who had left me a little more than a week earlier. The picture of Julia on my desk had been taken at a company party the previous winter. My then-fiancée looked gorgeous in a tight little black dress with her hair and makeup done to perfection. Just the way she should have looked at the wedding that never happened. I was returning to work after a vacation that...

Miranda clutched at her chest for hundredth time that day. It was becoming an all too familiar habit since her boyfriend had walked out on her. Lewis had left without any real reason. One day he was there and they were in love: the next he was gone. She begged him to stay, begged him to just talk it out, but it fell on deaf ears. Lewis refused to talk. So for weeks now Miranda would feel the pangs of missing him and clutc...

I wake up alone in bed and it takes me a minute to figureout where I am. Then I remember, and I’m in a bit of a panic as to why I’m alone. I sit up and look around. Where is Kyle? The bathroom door opens, and I see him, fully dressed and heartbreakingly gorgeous. He comes over to the bed and sits down beside me, but I push his hands away and head for the bathroom. When I close the door, I lean against it and close my eyes...