-
A Walk in the (Snowy) Park
We met on a social media comment section of a popular page. Arguing about each other’s point of view, we took the angry exchange to direct messaging. Well, he DM-ed me first. He said he was sorry if he came off as too aggressive, but he wanted to end the convo in good terms because I “seemed like a cool girl.” Oh here we go… I thought. I sent him a thumbs-up emoji and wrote, “no hard feelings.” I meant it. After a couple of days, when things calmed down on that page and I thought this crazy guy had gone away, I woke up to a ton of “likes” by…
-
Letters to Ex Lovers – Excerpt 1
I couldn’t understand your urgency that night, wasn’t it past your bedtime? “Is it true, you’re seeing someone else now?” you asked. I was so confused. But, “yes,” I replied. “Do you love him?” “Of course not.” I laughed. “I just met this guy.” You never called me before that night. You never showed interest in anything other than back-alley encounters at midnight. Why did you care if someone wanted more of me, more than you ever did? Why did it matter to you now? I was confused because I felt nothing for you then and I’d thought it was a mutual thing, but little did I know you felt…
-
Affirmation of the Obvious – Excerpt
He makes questions, he seems curious, intrigued by me, as am I by him. He listens to every word I say as if he’s hearing it for the first time. He stares straight into my eyes with those deep hazel eyes and it’s almost threatening. He pays attention to me in a way that nobody ever has… His company is comforting. It’s as though we’ve known each other for a long time. They say vibes don’t lie, and I agree with the energy here being all positive. As I’m thinking how I don’t want to be released from this moment, I hear Maggie tell Pablo, “I need to leave you…
-
Love at Ten Eighty – Excerpt
“New guy alert, new guy alert!” announced Jenny. She had just come back from the academic advisor’s office. “Technically, aren’t we all new?” sassed Nana. She was always a smart-mouth. But she was right. We were all just starting the semester, but the fact that Kirk was the last student to join the class, a transfer student from Cuba, perfectly earned him that title. “Is he cute?” I asked. For some reason, being surrounded by attractive people made school all that more interesting. Nana said she thought he was cute and then threw a “but” in there. Jenny, on the other hand, didn’t think so. “Like, at all,” she said.…
-
Falling for Strangers – an Excerpt
How inexplicable is it to be in love with what never gave you a reason to fall? To want and need his attention more than every once in a while and to be jealous of whoever steals that attention from you. I write about it to try to understand this phenomenon — this grueling, unnecessarily painful phenomenon called love. I’m sorry, but I don’t have a lot of positive things to say about it. It has made me cynical. At least that’s what people say (and I’m in no way quoting Taylor Swift.) You see, I find it hilarious that whenever I talk negatively about love, which would actually be…
-
Road Rage Saved the Day
It was a four-way intersection. He honked at her as she sped up to turn right. In an unexpected move, he turned left and was then driving behind her. That’s when she rolled down her window, stuck out her hand and gave him the finger. She watched his face in her rear view mirror hoping to get some sort of reaction out of him, but his face was as serious as The Queen’s Guard’s. “Idiot,” she murmured. After a couple of turns, his car was no longer in sight. But five minutes later, they both pulled up into the same parking lot of a convenience store. “Oh for crying out…
-
When In REM – Excerpt
Today marks the thirteenth day of me waking up to Mr. Rodrigo’s attacks—a milestone I won’t be celebrating. Some days, I stay in bed and stare at the white ceiling above me, asking whoever can hear my thoughts what I’ve done to deserve this. Then, I try to fall asleep again, ignoring the proven fact that I will be woken up repeatedly within five minutes of falling asleep. I remind myself that the man is a d–k who can’t even bother to give his neighbors the heads-up. I should just seize the day. Staring up, I pray to the ceiling that I can fall asleep again for a little longer.…
-
Blue Suede Stilettos
“Are those blue suede shoes?” you asked. “Are you color blind?” I replied, “And, that’s blue suede STILETTOS for ya.” “Smart mouth, I see.” “And you’re quite the observer.” “It just made me think of that Elvis’ song, and since I’m a fan…” “Well, you can drink my liquor, but don’t you step on my blue suede shoes.” “Ha! You know the song? I’m impressed.” “C’mon, it’s Elvis Presley—his biography might as well be a prerequisite for USA History 101.” I remember how you laughed at that silly comment when it wasn’t even funny. But, “You’re hilarious,” you said, unable to control your giggles. Is that a thing you do…
You May Also Like
When He Wants Out – Excerpt
Telltales – a Short Story
Love at Ten Eighty – Excerpt
-
Life Has a Funny Way – Excerpt
How could I have ignored the time Rey commented on my neighbors’ little sister’s physical appearance? “Man, she’s going to be a heartbreaker,” he said in a way that no grown eighteen-year-old male should be using to refer to a ten-year-old. I found the comment inappropriate, but said nothing. And, how about the time a girl, who happened to go to my school, came up to me and told me that she was my boyfriend’s girlfriend? Or the time he implied that he’d lost count of how many girls he’d f-cked? Or the time when someone told me they saw him making out with some other girl at the beach?…
-
Memories of Back-to-School
I only hated school twice in my life: the last year of high school and my last year(s) of college — both being absolute chronic cases of senioritis (self-diagnosed). Other than that, I was the nerd who couldn’t wait to put her new pencil to use. That might explain why I wasn’t appointed the cool girl in town. Past tense, okay? But in the end, it worked out just fine for me. The race to be the coolest kid is still a thing, I believe, so I have some back-to-school words of advice for those who feel the pressure: School isn’t a kewwl contest but a learning center! Smart is…
