Start your story with a couple sharing a cigarette in a parking lot.

Posted in Adults on Oct 31, 2022

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✍️ 66 stories

“March Hare” by Sharon Williams

Submitted to Contest #158

Fifteen-year-old Ali slowly sat up and cautiously rubbed the back of her head. Gazing around she tried to make sense of her surroundings. Gradually, like a pack of shuffled cards, her memories began to fall back into place. She could remember meeting Josh in the college car park after lectures. He’d said: ‘Want to go somewhere for a smoke?’ Then she could recall holding hands and walking together to a nearby park. Here, lying with her head in Josh’s lap, lazily sharing a spliff under the shade of one of the few trees on the recreation...

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“Apartment of terror” by Wayne Steele

Submitted to Contest #158

The screams pierced the inky night air. Ella and I sat on the roof of her red car, sharing a cigarette, staring at the stars as they gleamed in the sky. The smoke seemed to be reaching for them. “Are you ready to head in?” She asked. The blue under glow on her car made it easier to see her curly red hair brushing against my shoulder. Her blue eyes gleamed in the light of the zippo lighter. The gray apartment building loomed in the background. “I don’t know,” I turned to face her. “What I do know is that I’ll miss you.” A small ...

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“Dangerous game ” by Kayla Bearden

Submitted to Contest #158

I cough slightly as the warm smoke fills my lungs. Aaron glances in my direction, a gleam of sadness in his eyes. Things weren’t supposed to be this way for us. We sit in silence and absorb the sounds of the forest. This used to be a happy place, our happy place. I feel his icy fingers pry the cigarette from my grasp. I can’t help but watch as he slowly takes a pull, the end glowing amber. “What happened to us?” I hear a voice say barely over a whisper, only to realize it was my own. His eyes never leave mine as he exhale...

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“TOUCH OF MAGIC” by R. J. Garron

Submitted to Contest #158

A parking lot lay ahead rimmed with thatches of trees. The area was vacant, not seeing a car in years considering the outgrowth jutting from the cracks in the pavement. Not a leaf rustled, except the evening wind trailing off solid ground in a quietude beneath a sunset sky. A poplar overhung the far corner where two men, one tall and lanky and the other of medium build, settled themselves. They were tired and bedraggled, keeping watch of their surroundings. The tall man drew into his back pocket and...

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“The Half-Lit Flame” by Lori Davis

Submitted to Contest #158

She hurried to the front entrance of the hospital, and issued a sigh of relief when she spotted the security guard there. Her anxiety was in overdrive regarding what awaited her once she reached the interior. Through the corner of her eye, she spotted a man walking across the parking lot who would soon join her and the guard outside the electronic sliding doors. She constructed her story as she spoke; informing the guard that her boyfriend had been in an accident, had surgery, and desperately needed his phone charger.&nb...

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“wasted lucky” by Karina Tanaka-Cadoret

Submitted to Contest #158

“Wrong side!” My mouth is dry. The skin of my cheeks sticks to my gums and those were the first words I’d spoken in hours. Wrong side. When you’re in the dark, lost in thought, and your fingers place a stog between your lips with the dried tobacco side open in your mouth, you don’t notice at first. You don’t notice, still, when your thumb’s holding the gas down on a lighter a little too long… the metal heating up against your skin. You might let it burn until that terrible taste of the melting filter violates you from t...

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“Complicated Sisterhood Love” by Marcia H.

Submitted to Contest #158

“You know that smoking is a bad habit.” James smiled at Samatha showing his tobacco stained teeth. He walked over to her in the parking lot of the apartment building and stood next to her. “I know. I know. But, it is a hard habit to break. I’ve been smoking on and off since I was 15. Want a puff?” Samatha asked, winking at James. James took the lit cigarette from Samatha and took a long drag. He passed it back to her and she did the same. “So, what are you doing out here on a cold winter’s night besides smoking?...

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“I Was Hoping You Would Come Outside” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #158

The year was 2018. Greg, an informally dressed man with longish hair in disarray, and shirt untucked is seen bursting out of a building, shaking his head and holding a pack of cigarettes. Pam, the one who is observing him, thinks that her grandmother would have called him a ragamuffin. As soon as he is a few steps away from the door, he is approached by Pam, a casually dressed woman with wild blond hair, and bright red lips. He thinks that his grandmother wou...

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“Road Games” by Connie Elstun

Submitted to Contest #158

Cigarette smoke filled the air, soon followed by the aroma of reefer as the teens gathered at the small parking area by the river. The celebration was both for a birthday and a beer ritual known as a ‘kegger’.The party was cool, but all Tom Fink ‘really’ wanted for his 18th Birthday was to get laid. That’s when a pretty 17-year-old blonde named Mary Alright walked over. Tom knew as he watched her golden curls bounce off her unrestrained breasts-the summer of 1977 was about to get hot fast. “Hey, Tom baby, can I bum a smoke?” Mary asked ...

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“Ash Became Them” by Nivedita Shori

Submitted to Contest #158

They stood against the wall, puffs of smoke from each of their slightly-darkened lips curling in rhythm and joining into a cloud in unison. Jayesh laughed at how misleading the image was. There was nothing united about the two of them. Not any more. Neera narrowed her eyes to thin slits as her cigarette threatened to turn into ashes way too soon. Even Cinderella got until midnight. Eleven minutes was not fair. Especially for a slow smoker like her. She was losing against thin air, which was sucking at her nicotine roll faster than he...

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“The Good Man” by Aleksandra Ouwerkerk

Submitted to Contest #158

It’s been one of those evenings, you know? My hands were shaking and I couldn’t get my head around what just occurred, over past few days. With my partner - Jake, we’ve been standing on the parking lot under one of these blinking lanterns and with shaking hands covered in mud, clothes ripped and shoes partially falling off our feet. He was passing me one of his sweat soaked, half-broken cigarettes and was trying to start off his favorite lighter. After sixth attempt that rusty, metal trinket finally took off and a flame lighted up my smoke. ...

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“Cloudy with a Chance of Cancer” by Eshawnial Lowry

Submitted to Contest #158

"How are you doing Darryl?" Maria asked. She took a cigarette from my brother's mouth and took a puff. She handed it back to him and exhaled. He finished it and tossed the butt to the pavement. "Thanks for letting Mary visit with us for the weekend." "I'm fine Maria, considering everything going on with dad and all. Mary loves hanging out with Sarah when she can so thank you too.""Steve, I'm heading off to work. You two look after each other okay." She gave him a kiss then got in her car and drove off. Mary wandered over to t...

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“Cigarettes, The Universe, and Other Bullshit” by Bon Jourdy

Submitted to Contest #158

"I'm just saying there's nothing to worry about." The woman passes the cigarette to her boyfriend. "The doc said my chart came back negative. We are 100% STD-free." The man places the offered cigarette between his lips and inhales deeply. He's silent, letting the smoke burn the back of his throat before blowing it out through his nose. The woman shifts into a more comfortable position sitting on the car hood. She speaks again. "The doc will call you in, give you the good news, and then we celebrate over burgers at Molly's. There's ...

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“A perfect partner” by Sonia Michelsberg

Submitted to Contest #158

S: Wow, where did you find these? Is it even legal these days? N: Maybe it isn’t, I don’t care. When I saw them at my friend’s place I just knew I wanted to have a pack and bring it here. He collects all the old crap from our school time and kept this golden Marlboro. Every cigarette in here is now worth a million. I’m just glad we’re friends with him so I didn’t have to sell my kidney. They chuckled. They were about to have a smoke in a parking lot, which they haven’t done in 20 years. It was 20 years since they last saw each other. 20 ...

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“Into the Night” by Bobbie Ross

Submitted to Contest #158

Emmie ended the call and set her phone next to where she sat on the hood of the car, then lit the cigarette she had been holding almost too tightly in her left hand. She took a long drag and exhaled slowly, watching the smoke float up toward one of the few illuminated/working lights in the parking lot. She squinted through the darkness toward the mall entrance and felt the silence of the deserted parking lot buzzing in her ears. The humidity emphasized the scent of shampoo and hair products that always clung to her hands and clothes and mixe...

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Start your story with a couple sharing a cigarette in a parking lot.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 66 stories

“March Hare” by Sharon Williams

“Apartment of terror” by Wayne Steele

“Dangerous game ” by Kayla Bearden

“TOUCH OF MAGIC” by R. J. Garron

“The Half-Lit Flame” by Lori Davis

“wasted lucky” by Karina Tanaka-Cadoret

“Complicated Sisterhood Love” by Marcia H.

“I Was Hoping You Would Come Outside” by John Steckley

“Road Games” by Connie Elstun

“Ash Became Them” by Nivedita Shori

“The Good Man” by Aleksandra Ouwerkerk

“Cloudy with a Chance of Cancer” by Eshawnial Lowry

“Cigarettes, The Universe, and Other Bullshit” by Bon Jourdy

“A perfect partner” by Sonia Michelsberg

“Into the Night” by Bobbie Ross

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a character with questionable morals.

Write a story where the law plays an important role.

Write a story about a character who is trying to become a better person.

Write a story that includes someone saying, “It’s not fair.”

Contest #158

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

245

Contest entries

103

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: