Never in my life have I felt more comfortable.

I'm dressed as shabbily as I have ever been. Old, tatty jeans and a loose, long-sleeved t-shirt. I'm wearing no make-up whatsoever, and my short blonde hair is messy and unstyled. I have a paint brush in one hand and a stencil in the other, and for the first time in a very long time, I can truly forget that I was ever a girl.

"Kayleigh-Ann!" Miss Fullerton- my ballet teacher- yells, snapping me out of my fantasy. "When you're done with that wall, can you come and see me in the storage room?"

As usual, the morning starts with freshness and light drizzle. The light is soft and gentle, filtered through the hazy rain. I breathe in the sweet air and relax with the moist scene outside before me. Just got up and have to get ready for work.
Looking at myself in the full-length mirror, I feel proud. I always do. Part of it is because I hold a senior position in the company and have a very comfortable income. I have other reasons to be proud – but that I will explain later.

To and Fro - Joy in a Dress

Sometimes I'm Charlie - and sometimes I'm Charlie - just depends what I'm wearing.

“Hello Darling” said the man to the slightly younger woman who had just entered the Brasserie at lunchtime.

They briefly kissed each other and sat down.

“All set for your interview then?” asked the man.

“Yes. I really want this job. It will mean a lot more money.”

Inwardly, he sighed.
“Well, you deserve it. We both know that old Higgins won’t promote you any further because you don’t play golf.”

Sam's sister, Jenna, has dreams of working as a hair stylist. But with Jenna's hair too short to do much with, Sam reluctantly lets his older sister put his own long hair into girlish style. But just this once... right?

Here are 5 teaser chapters for my 33 chapter novel cleaned up, re-edited, and available on my Kindle page. If you've already read, thank you! If you haven't yet, I hope you enjoy! :)

"Morning mom" Sarah announced her and Cassie's presence.

"Good morning... dears" She smiled a reassuring smile, hoping her slight hesitation wasn't noticed. She knew it would be a little awkward, a new experience for everyone, and will need getting used to.

"Morning auntie"

"You look lovely Cassie"

"Thank you" Cassie said, smiling nervously

Boy, was this new. For Anne and Cassie, and Sarah felt it too, but things became more relaxed and 'normal' after a little while chit-chatting over breakfast.

I wish to mention. I know there are matters that would arise in real life that I'm not dealing with. It's by design, I'm calling it artistic licence. It is fiction after all, and I want to keep it 'sweet and sentimental'.

Ages... undetermined, I don't know myself, early teens maybe. Calum/Cassie 12 to 14, Sarah 14 to 16. Perhaps. I've left that up to the reader to call, if you choose.

**********

Tuesday came around.

So you know about the night in my wife's nightgown.

The following night at bed time she asked if I were going to wear my nightgown to bed. I said what do you mean she said the pink one that you wore last night you can have it.

I got home from work that fateful friday evening and slumped into my one and only chair and kicked off my only decent pair of shoes in disgust.

My creep of a boss had come onto me big time when the whole team were in the pub celebrating the birth of a child to one of our colleagues. I’d told him in front of everyone else that ‘I’d never be friends with you even if you were the last man on earth’.

Greg was sitting on a bus staring out the window vacantly lost in the depths of his mind. He would see his Stacy today for the first time and butterflies swarmed in his stomach. His entire body shook with excitement and fear as he wondered what she was doing. There was an hour left til he got to where he needed to be. A beautiful seaside town there was a hotel right by the beach and he took a deep breath. It was a weak attempt to tame his butterflies but he was glad for them, they only made him think of her more.

It had been a long, long and very fraught day. A little after 8pm, I said to myself, ‘Enough. The rest can wait until tomorrow.’

I shut down my computer and left my office making sure I double locked the door behind me and headed downstairs.

The place was quiet. Well it was a Monday night in January so that was par for the course. I nodded to Georgina who was manning reception until her shift ended at 10.

I walked the few paces into the bar. I nodded at Harry who was doing what bartender do when they have nothing urgent to do namely, polishing a glass.

The Coven
by Anon Allsop

Here is another story I found of mine, so I knocked the dust off of it. She's old, but I think worthy enough to post.

The four girls sat high in the bleachers watching the two men leaning against the fence that separated the fans from the players. Of the girls, one was desperately hurt and enraged at one of the spectators below. The boys were watching the game yelling encouragement to their friends on the team oblivious to what was transpiring a mere twenty feet above their heads.

Author’s note:

I was halfway through writing this when something else got in the way. I know its too late for the contest but no worries there, even if I did win I would insist it go to someone else.

With that said I hope you enjoy my tardy little drabble.

Abby

The Crush: School Daze

Working on a small team in a large office with all women meant I got an insight into women’s lives that many men miss out on. Sometimes I feel like I’m missing the banter, but to be honest the without the constant competition when it’s all men, which let's face it can be tiring, so it was refreshing to work in a nurturing environment.

Although the talk about split ends does get annoying sometimes. I never ever got them in my hair and it was as long as some of the girls, I just didn’t put so much ‘product’ on it so it didn’t suffer as much.

I desperately wanted to tell Sarah what had happened but didn’t want to do it by text, so it would have to wait till I got home. As it was, Jenny was texting me about it, asking what I did, how he tasted and more importantly, how big his penis was.

Well, I didn’t measure it but I knew it was bigger than mine, but I’ve always known mine wasn’t that big, it sorted of fitted with my overall size. John’s was bigger. I did wonder how he really felt about it, but seeing that he asked me out on the way back to work, I guess he was OK with it.

It was just another Monday at the office, and I’d popped out for a cigarette. Sarah was there, she works on a different floor to me, but we’re smoking buddies, so I went over to chat. Sarah is drop dead gorgeous, and she told me about the new cosplay she was making. Like me she’s a geek, although I’ve only ever worn fancy dress for parties.

Her and Jane, her housemate, had been making Sucker Punch costumes for the London Comic Con. I couldn’t get tickets to go with them, although without a costume I may have looked out of place walking around with them.

The Crush: Rapid Developments

The dangers of white water aren't restricted to the rapids.

There I was, standing on her front porch, a half-hour drive from home, for my first piano lesson. Not my first piano lesson ever, but my first in a long time -- and my first with the woman whose music I had fallen in love with.

God, I just have to realize/accept that I’m not like other girls. All my friends at school are into the jocks, the BMOCs of the school. Not me. As a matter-of-fact, I’m not sure I’m in to guys at all. I mean, I can’t see myself doing all the things that lesbians do with each other, but when my friends talk about what they want to do with the guys they want to be with, I can’t see myself with one of their heartthrobs doing that kind of stuff either. It’s then, while they’re extoling the virtues the manly men they’re crushing on that I wonder if I’m a lesbian.