Wednesday Briefs! Your Hump day dose of Flash Fiction :)

Good morning everyone! I’m running a little late today but here I am with a new and exciting look and name for the Weekly Flash Fiction fun.

We are now called “Wednesday Briefs” and the cool badge below is courtesy of Victoria Blisse’s husband, Kevin Mitnik.

Why the change? Well, there was a bit of change with Silver Flash and unfortunately, we are no longer allowed to use the name and badge. But it’s a new year and new beginnings are always cool and exciting and since we’re starting anew my goal for these new doses of flash fiction is to write flash fiction. What I mean is, strictly stick to the 1000 words and not make chapters. As a goal, I have decided that a story can have a maximum of two “chapters”.


Let’s see how that works, hehehe. Anyhow, our last prompts were the following:

From the lovely Reese Dante: It's not like that.

Alternate prompts were:

rat, bedtime, Neanderthal

"In for a penny, in for a pound"

or use your favorite song title in your flash somewhere.

Here’s my little short of the week. Have a great day! And visit our other Briefer’s (links at the bottom).

Erica's Last Study Session

Erica stared at the prehistoric drawings of her textbook. She loved history but she hated the Neanderthals and their time period. She stifled a yawn. She was way past her usual bedtime but tomorrow was her big history exam, the one that would put an end to her second year at college experience. She wished she could say they had been two wild out of the box years, but the truth was that she was a book worm, or a library rat, a rata de biblioteca she’d learn to say in her Spanish class.
Sure, she’d learned all there was too learn and more but there had been no great romances, no crazed parties, She’d gone on a few dates but they hadn’t ended well. And now, here she was, studying her brains out on a Saturday night at the library. Thank goodness, it opened up all night although she was close to collapsing. Perhaps, if she closed her eyes for just a few minutes… With a sigh, Erica rested her head on her hands. Her eyes drifted close, her breathing became heavy….
She awoke with a start and with the uneasy feeling that someone was watching her. She looked around her; a little embarrassed that someone had spotted her sleeping. As her gaze roamed over the library, her eyes found Colin’s, her long time crush. He grinned at her. She quickly looked away, her stomach quivering with nerves. She felt the back of her hands become sweaty and her cheeks burn. Yep, he’d seen her sleeping all right. She stared blankly at her textbook, trying hard to focus, but the image of Colin’s bright blue eyes and cheeky smile was all she could envision.
She was so concentrated on her thoughts that she didn’t sense the presence that sidled onto the chair beside her, until a warm hand gripped her shoulder gently. She jumped in her chair.
“Hey, sorry,” Colin whispered. His voice was a balmy whisper that made her insides churn. “I didn’t mean to startle you, Erica.”
He knew her name? She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out.
“I was watching you and I noticed you haven’t turned that page for the past half hour,” he chuckled nervously. Erica openly gaped at him. He was watching her? God, he’d seen her sleeping. She was mortified. “You studying for the history exam?”
She nodded. Where was her ability to speak?
“Yeah, it’s dull as hell. Maybe you’d like to step outside with me for a break? W e could have a coffee or something,” he shrugged.
Erica nodded. She cleared her voice trying to force some coherent words out. “Sure, um, that’d be nice. I definitely need a break.”
Colin grinned and cocked his head toward the door, inviting her to follow him. She closed her book and picked up her purse, walking after him. A few meters away from the library a small lounge complete with coffee and snack machine had been set up for students to take a rest from their study sessions. At this late hour, it was empty.
“Let me buy you that coffee,” Colin offered when Erica was struggling to pull out her coin purse, her hands trembling from nerves.
“Thanks.”
Colin bought a coffee for both of them and took them to one of the worn out couches. Erica sat down and he settled next to her. Unsure of what to do with her hands, she took the coffee from the table, trying to will away the warmth that emanated from Colin’s body. He moved and his knee bumped against her leg. Hastily, she took a gulp of her drink. She yelped as the hot liquid burned the room of her mouth and the back of her throat. Colin’s blue eyes widened as she began to cough and splutter, tears gathering in her eyes. He swiftly took her coffee and set it back down on the table. His fingers brushed against hers and she coughed harder, trying to hide the sudden urge to giggle at the brisk touch.
“Erica, all you all right? Can I get you anything?” He gently patted her back and she swallowed, trying to calm herself.
“I’m all right, she said between gasps. “The coffee was too hot. I burnt my mouth,” she mumbled.
Colin leaned towards her. Erica remained still, she parted her lips, her breathe catching in her throat.
“Your lips seem to be ok,” Colin whispered while one of his fingers brushed against them. Erica jumped at the sudden touch. Colin looked up at her, concern and longing mingling in his blue orbs.
“I didn’t burn my lips, I burnt my mouth,” she muttered.
His response was to lean in and kiss her. Erica’s heart fluttered against her chest. Surely, she was still dreaming? Her thought vanished when Colin nibbled on her lower lip. She gasped at the sensation that coursed through her body and he took the opportunity to claim her mouth. His tongue swiped inside, slowly licking its way inside and mingling with her tongue. She moaned softly and Colin deepened the kiss, sucking on her tongue. Suddenly, he pulled back.
“Does it hurt?”
Erica shook her head.
“I’m trying to cure the sore spots,” he explained, smiling, while leaning in again to envelope her mouth in a hot kiss. He wrapped his arms around her, gathering her into his arms. She gladly melded into his embrace. His hand caressed her bare knee, the slight touch creating a craving need inside her. She had barely entwined her fingers in his dark locks when he pulled back.
“Erica?” He cupped her chin, and gazed into her eyes.
“Yes?” she whispered.
“I see you again? Maybe several other study sessions accompanied by dinners, lunches, movies, drinks…?”
Erica smiled. “I’d love that.” It seemed her College years had just perked up.

Briefer's of the week:

Lily Sawyer (m/m)

Victoria Blisse (m/f)

Julie Lynn Hayes (m/m)