It would be a shame to let this one pass by...

My story for this week's challenge is up over at Clever Fiction. The prompt was/is Rain, A Sail Boat, & Shame. My submission: Secret Shame. Here's a sample: 

I watched the boats drifting across the bay, jealous of their freedom, knowing it should have been mine as I began my senior year. They hoisted their sails to take advantage of the gentle breeze.

Advantage. That’s what some would have said he’d taken of me. As for me, I wasn’t sure. The guilt tried to squeeze in again. I chased it away. Was he to blame? Was I? I didn’t know. Either way, I refused to feel shame. No. I hadn’t known. Hadn’t known anything other than the way he made me feel.

My flesh tingled with the memory of his touch. His trembling hands on my arms after he’d removed my wet shirt. The tickling sensations of his fingertips gliding up and across my back to move my hair away. The sweet softness of his lips against my neck, nibbling their way toward my ear where the sound of my name came to me on a breath, a whisper.

A gust of wind rushed around me, cooling skin that burned, yearned for him, even now when I knew it could never be.


Want to find out why it could never be? Jump on over to Clever Fiction. I'd love to have your feedback.
Secret Shame by Linda Boulanger at Clever Fiction~Short Stories for the Real World

Up For The Challenge

I've been away too long! It was a difficult summer but, at last, I've started writing again. I've accepted the challenge and submitted my first story over at the Clever Fiction weekly challenge.  The prompt was A Key, Noon, & Falling Leaves. My offering was called The Key To Happiness. Here are the first couple of paragraphs to whet your appetite. To read the rest, jump over to the all new Clever Fiction site and feel free to leave me a comment as well as take some time to enjoy the other submissions. Hope you enjoy reading the stories as much as it appears we enjoyed writing them. Here's my excerpt...


That did it! They’d done it again with their laughter and hugs. It had zipped the spring right out of my step … again. I was sick of it!

He smiled at me and looked away as I walked by. She said hi, her eyes filled with playfulness. She’d been teasing him about something. I nodded, thinking I’d be all happy camperfied too if I had a guy like that. I sighed and turned up the walkway to my place. I was glad our units weren’t side-by-side so I didn’t have to share a stoop with them or listen to their happiness through the walls.

Huh. I hadn’t noticed the railing was loose. I’d have to report that to the landlord … which meant a call to my dad.


Read the rest at Clever Fiction ~ Short Stories for the Real World

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