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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#237: Sugar Rush

As a self-proclaimed hopeless romantic, Valentine’s Day is one of my favorite holidays of the year, and it has been ever since I was young. I can still remember how excited I would get whenever I gave and received candy hearts in class: those heart-shaped chunks of sugar said so much in just a few letters, from cute little confessions to grand decorations of love.

As romance is in the air this month, let’s write some stories inspired by the following candy heart messages: “1 4 3,” “MARRY ME,” “DATE NIGHT,” “LET’S KISS,” and “EMAIL ME.” Whether you write something heart-wrenching and contemplative, or sappy and sweet, is up to you!

This week's prompts

Write a love story without using the word “love.”

Valentine's Day – 102 stories

Write about a successful marriage proposal, or one that goes horribly wrong.

Valentine's Day – 44 stories

Write about a cynical character who somehow ends up on a blind date.

Valentine's Day – 39 stories

Write a story about a first or last kiss.

Valentine's Day – 108 stories

Write a story about two people falling in love via email.

Valentine's Day – 32 stories

Stories

“Valentine Day's at 83 and a half” by Dennis Haak

Submitted to Contest #237

After Eleanor had slowly made her way down the flight of stairs, taking breaks along the way to catch her breath, she had finally reached the apartment mailboxes on the ground floor."I really should not have picked an apartment on the third floor", she mumbled to herself as she wiped drops of sweat from her forehead with her wrinkly hand.Once again the elevator was not working. But Eleanor was a woman of routine and would not let this stand in her way. The mailbox had to be checked. Every day at 17.00 ‘o clock, no exceptions. She grabbed a k...

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“The Generation Gap” by Chrissy Cook

Submitted to Contest #237

It had been an absolute eternity since he had last been on a date. This was only partially by choice; he had a long history of sleeping through appointments, and frankly rarely left his home – at least recently. In fact, he hadn’t anticipated leaving for quite a while, but his dreams had recently been … disturbing. Surprisingly lonely. It had been a stroke of luck that those archaeologists had stopped by and left their device before being devoured, really – since his typical avenues of information-gathering were lost to him, he could resort ...

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“Once A Cynic, Always a Cynic ” by Mr. E

Submitted to Contest #237

Your argument is terrible. I didn’t see an ounce of logic in there. You’re the perfect example of the idiocy that’s polluting humanity. Fernando leaned back in his office chair as he hit the return button of the keyboard, smiling smugly. He was sitting in his tight cubicle in the darkest corner of the office room. There was only room for a small desk and an office chair, which made the cubicle pretty claustrophobic. Even though he had claustrophobia, Fernando was fine, even content, with his limited space. That day in early February he ...

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“I Move On, I Move Away, You Beg Me to Stay ” by Caitlin Morris

Submitted to Contest #237

I remember the feeling of his hand in mine. I feel it even as I drive away with a dry face. There are no tears left to cry. I’m happy. He is not. He wanted me to stay, but after tonight, he knows there is no possibility of that happening. There has never been a single thing keeping me from living this dream. I was sure I’d be accepted into the program when I applied last year. There was some tough competition, but I knew I had to be one of the top candidates. I had everything they wanted in a graduate student, and now I get to live ou...

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“When Love Lasts ” by Liv Ramsay

Submitted to Contest #237

The contented silence was broken only with the sound of the soft waves lapping against the aged dock. The world illuminated by the rapidly descending sun behind the distant horizon. “You alright there, lovely? Oh, your blanket has fallen again.” with unsteady hands my mother tugged at the wool blanket which stubbornly refused to budge under the weight of the wheelchair. Grunting as she bent down she pushed the wheel, thus freeing the offending object. “Here you are, your tea. Hold it with both hands now, can't have you burning yourself.”&...

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“When hearts break” by Eleftherios Konstantinidis

Submitted to Contest #237

Love hurts.I’m not talking about love as an action, but the word itself.Love is a commitment. A promise. It’s a contract between two entities. A contract that can’t be broken. For the consequences are too damaging for a heart to bear.Love seeks response, and if that response never comes, hearts break and tears flow in dark rooms, against pillows that still hold the perfumes of long-lost lovers.Flor never really believed in love. She belonged to this kind of people that find marriage and relationships an inevitable stage to the lives of men a...

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“First Kiss” by Valeta Rhodes

Submitted to Contest #237

FIRST KISS “Are you on your way to your mother’s, my love? The weather seems to be taking a turn.” He spoke clearly into the phone to relay his declaration of love and the hint of concern. I heard ownership and an unsolicited weather report. “Yes, I’m on my way.” I was running late, and it couldn’t be helped. My class had run long and my walk to the stop was hampered by my desire to be anywhere but with my mother, who would enthusiastically want to converse about him, the older man from across the po...

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“The Final Page” by S.d. Schwarz

Submitted to Contest #237

I inhale deeply, trying to match my breaths to his own. His are steady, calm, consistent, while I hold my breath enough for my chest to hurt. Let it go…let it go…but I can’t. If I do, I’ll lose everything. Every good, whole, beautiful thing inside me will float away with all the shards of my broken soul. I close my eyes, but a tear rolls down my cheek and onto his chest, soaking his black shirt. One tear leads to two, and they must weigh the equivalent of anchors because they wake him. When he reaches up and puts a warm hand on my arm, my l...

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“The Dare” by O.C. McGowan

Submitted to Contest #237

“That guy?” I ask nervously. “Yes, that guy!” Cece yells over the music. I sigh as my stomach churns nervously. We are out for Cece’s Bachelorette party and Sara, another bridesmaid, brought a deck of Truth or Dare cards designed for bachelorette parties. As luck would have it, I’ve been dared to “kiss a stranger of the bride’s choosing.” Great. She points to a tall guy with black hair standing near the bar. He’s holding a bottled beer and talking to a blonde guy with colorful tattoo sleeves down both arms. My assignment has big, d...

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“Dear Stupid: A Love Story” by Esther Andrews

Submitted to Contest #237

Saturday, 10:00 p.m.Them: “Your stupid.”Me: “Excuse me? You’re coming in a little hot there, buddy. We haven’t seen each other in how long? And that’s what you have to say to me? I’m stupid?”“And FYI – It’s ‘you’re’ (not ‘your’), as in you’re the one who’s stupid here. Obviously. First, for calling me stupid completely out of the blue. And second, for not being able to put together a simple, grammatically correct two-word sentence.”Them: “Wow. Feisty! I just remembered…you always had to be the smartest person in every room…constantly correct...

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“What We Talk About When We Talk About Talking” by Will Willoughby

Submitted to Contest #237

My girlfriend Maggie was talking. Maggie was a phlebotomist, so she was used to talking as a distraction, and she was just a talker anyway. That night, though, she was talking because something was eating at her. What it was, I couldn’t tell at first.This was in the summer a long time ago. We were at the kitchen table drinking vodka tonics and smoking cigarettes. She had scented candles burning, and the light from the moon angled in through the window over the sink. Her apartment. There’d been talk of me moving in, but that night, it was sti...

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“Maid in Babylon” by Natalia Cosnett

Submitted to Contest #237

"Her eyes!" The piercing shrill of foreign voices virtually pulled the remaining water from her body, as she lunged forwards from a horizontal position and coughed up mouthfuls of salty water that made her gag. She clutched her chest as memories of bottomless whirlpools of ocean came flooding back to her. The last thing she remembered was her Fathers face disappearing into the underwater shadows and the feeling of someone sitting on her chest as she inhaled endless water. She now shook with chills as the ice cold air hit her and everything c...

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“A Warm November” by Mike Henry

Submitted to Contest #237

Like him, the Thames moved slowly; an ancient waterway has no need to hurry. “Hurrying is for the young and impatient,” he thought to himself as he shuffled along, enjoying the brief spell of warm sunlight in what was usually a chilly and sullen time of year. He paused and leaned against the iron railing, squinting at the light reflected from the slow-moving water. Across the mighty river, London’s skyline was a pale watercolour painting in the early morning light. “Might as well enjoy my last day of freedom,” he thought wryly...

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“Et Cetera And So Forth” by William Glewicz

Submitted to Contest #237

It’s late afternoon and the sunlight through the massive windows of the library is fading fast. We give each other a look that says we’re both finished studying for the day and pack up our satchels. As we leave the library, he holds the door open for me and we start heading the three blocks back to our dorm. I revel in the red and orange leaves that swirl and crackle beneath our feet but the wind is sharp so I scrunch down a bit and raise the collar on my jacket.As we cross the quad, two guys on bicycles round a blind turn and almost run int...

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“My Dearest Partner in Greatness” by Jeremy Stevens

Submitted to Contest #237

Walking up her steps after work; her front door is open, and the screen door allows for the cross breeze through the high-ceilinged living room where she works from home. The slough of my shoes on her WELCOME! mat announce my arrival; she jumps up excitedly, as though her “working” from home in the living-room lounge chair were just a pretense. (For I know she has an upstairs office, though I hadn’t been upstairs yet.) She practically skips across the floor to greet me, a prance, wearing a smile that says you are the reason for this beautifu...

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$250

Prize money

324

Contest entries

132

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Feb 16, 2024 EST

Won by Eliza Levin 🏆

Title: Love.edu: Courtship and Coincidence in Modern Academia

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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