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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#81: Candy Hearts

Ah, love. From the first spark of attraction to the soul-deep contentment of a long-established relationship, romantic love is a force that continues to mystify, enthrall, and surprise us.

And while there’s plenty to criticize about Valentine’s Day, it’s still a nice excuse for people in romantic relationships to stop and appreciate their partners for a day. Especially during lockdown, when quarters are tight and nerves are often frayed, it’s important to remember why we chose the person (or people) we coupled up with.

What better time for a writer to dive headfirst into romances? No matter how many times we tell a love story, each relationship is going to have its own unique joys and frustrations, and we want to feel them all. So feel free to let your sappy side out — this week we’re celebrating love!

This week's prompts

Write about two people reconnecting after a rough patch in their relationship.

Romance – 247 stories

Write a love story about an older couple who’ve been together since they were teenagers.

Romance – 168 stories

Write about a first date that surprises both people, but in different ways.

Romance – 161 stories

Start your story with one character setting up a romantic dinner, and end it with them looking at a framed wedding photo.

Romance – 181 stories

Write about someone asking out an old crush, only to realize their crush doesn’t remember they’ve ever met before.

Romance – 158 stories

Stories

“We Can Work it Out” by Whitney Moore

Submitted to Contest #81

Oscar was nervous. The butterflies in his stomach were just like the ones he had when he saw her message on his phone just a few nights before. He traded the bouquet of flowers he held from one hand to the other to wipe the sweat from his palm. They were yellow because that was her favorite. He remembered that from all those years ago. It had been 3 years since they were last together in the same room. That was when they broke up. Not a very happy memory for him.For the last three years he had listed all the ways he could have made things be...

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“Murky Waters” by Lizzie Logemann

Submitted to Contest #81

If 3 A.M. isn’t the right time to be half-submerged in a muddy puddle, June thinks there probably isn’t one. It feels right though. It’s something about the way water wicks up the threads of her tattered sweater, pooling in the center of her upturned palms, settling in the hollow between her collar bones. It beads across her rain boots, but had long since started soaking into her socks. Perhaps the rain boots are a bit unnecessary. It all comes down to user error. The intended function of rain boots isn’t exactly keeping your feet dry when l...

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“Coffehouse” by J. Shire

Submitted to Contest #81

It was getting dark outside. We just sat there, opposite each other with a small round table in between us -- black coffee on my side, caramel frappe on hers. A bleak air of awkwardness was enveloping around us. We could barely look at each other eye to eye. I didn’t want to sit by the window where passersby outside could witness our humiliating and yet delicate disputes, like we were on display as the main attraction of the coffeehouse, but she was already seated there when I arrived. “I hear you got a new job,” she said with her eyes look...

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“Happy Foot” by Devora Jackson

Submitted to Contest #81

Happy Foot By Devora Jackson I am sobbing and sobbing as the car winds its way slowly through the traffic to the hospital. My foot is throbbing and swollen, it’s probably broken; but I’m well aware that the tears are not just about the break to my foot that happened a few minutes ago but are equally for my heart which was shattered a few days ago. Three weeks earlier. Cam’s impulsivity could be a bit hard to deal with sometimes. He’d chosen to surprise me for my birthday by sending me train tickets to meet him halfway between the cities wh...

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“Staying Afloat ” by Taylor Hallmark

Submitted to Contest #81

The pain never goes away, Ashley knew that if she cleaned the entire house it would take five hours. Five hours of being distracted and not being stuck in her head. She knew that if she decided to take a walk around the block she will run into Sherry, her neighbor who was always outside and loved pointless conversation. That will score Ashley at least an hour of not thinking of the pain that lives inside her everyday. She thought of everything she could do so that she wouldn’t think of her pain, so that she wouldn’t feel anything for another...

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“Alaria” by Sara Blanch

Submitted to Contest #81

I couldn't blame Alaria for the tension in our relationship as of late...she hadn't been born into the scandulous, overly dramatic world that was the Elvish Royal Courts. Whether it was land, political intrigue, petty arguements or meddling in the love lives of their unfortunate offspring...the ruling families certainly weren't the most easy to get along with. I had met her, the love of my life when we both had just barely reached adulthood. As was customary for the royal heirs, as soon as I reached maturity I was whisked away from the heavi...

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“Trevor and Pamela” by David Dicaire

Submitted to Contest #81

Trevor and Pam It was Monday morning and the big news on Campus was that Trevor and Pam had broken up. Burton College was what they called a ‘community college’ and didn’t have a large student population. In fact, you probably had a nodding acquaintance with just about everyone through this friend or that one. Everyone knew Trevor and Pam because they were popular. I had known him for a long, long time. I wasn’t sure how it worked, but we were buddies. He was tall, athletic, handsome and I was short and stu...

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“Another Rhapsody” by Abundio Noel Libot

Submitted to Contest #81

After his birthday celebration, Arthur was all alone with his two children: Jake and Hannah. His son, Jake stayed outside with his guitar, playing again the famous rhapsody. While he was doing the music, Hannah came near and sitted beside him. The gentleman stopped playing the guitar and looked his sister.It was just a moment of silence. No speech, not even a single word was uttered. Then the lady broke the as she said, "Brother!" Then the man stood up and opened his arm and said, "Sister." Hannah stood up and hugged his brother. It was the ...

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“Yours Only” by Saki Umemoto

Submitted to Contest #81

"Hey! Wait for me, Lief!"Lief stopped flying to take a look at his 1-month girlfriend. How a fae like her fell in love with someone like him, he doesn't know."What? Can't keep up with me princess?" Lief snarked.Akko fluttered over and hit him in the head, pouting. "If I say wait, wait idiot!"The dryad just grinned back. He could never take his sunshine's pouting face seriously. He looked around at the forest he knew his entire life. Thick, dark oak trees pillaring up to the sky, mushrooms that glowed the brightest colors in the dark, the way...

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“Grace And Walter - Teenage Lovers For Over 50 Years” by Jaime Faulkner

Submitted to Contest #81

Grace and Walter had met in their late teens at a church event. Although they had grown up in the same town, they had never run into each other as young children because they had attended separate Catholic schools. At the fete, Grace had been selling home-made cakes on one of the stands, and Walter had felt a bit peckish and bought a small one to eat as he wandered around. He would forever remember that first bite of the chocolate fairy cake, and the young girl who had sold it to him. She'd had the most engaging smile he'd ever seen, and...

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“My Queen” by RIC .

Submitted to Contest #81

The waves crashed along the shore of the deserted beach. Slamming into the rotting wood of a ship stranded in the sand. It was long since deserted, seaweed hanging off the bow, the green lichen and the khaki sand sticking to the vessel. The sun was high, and the clouds were scarce to none. The only sounds came from the sea and the sky. The crashing of waves and the call of birds. And farther up the beach, the sounds of a jungle. Iguanas scur...

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“Goldfish Jerky” by Ana M

Submitted to Contest #81

I met Carter online when I was 12 years old. I was the girl who always knew the answer to your question on Reddit, which, looking back on, is probably something I shouldn’t have been allowed on at that age. He was the boy who seemed to be so full of questions, ones without easy answers that delighted me and my insatiable brain. Soon, we fell into this habit where he would post a question that seemed tailored to my expertise and I would answer it like it had been meant for me and me only. Which, in a way, it usually was, since he never ...

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“Never Let Them See You Bleed” by Joe Marlowe

Submitted to Contest #81

Zoetox was going to be the last in her year to graduate from the Earth Breeding Academy, where she had learned all the dating customs and intimate habits of the Earthbound human. Eventually. As the ultimate test of her abilities, she needed to head down to that alien world, find a partner, and get to work making another little hybrid that would one day take part in that planet’s hilarious and ineffectual government.She was nervous. But, hey, breeding wasn’t exactly rocket science.In fact, both species found it to be quite fun, although if he...

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“Restaurants and Robberies ” by Alexa Morris

Submitted to Contest #81

“Excuse me, are you Darcy?” The man asked. She smiled. “Yes, that’s me. Are you Ean?” He nodded, and sat in the seat across from her. The two had matched on an online dating app and were finally meeting each other for the first time. “Nice place.” Ean commented as he looked around the elegant restaurant. “Well, when you can afford to eat at places like this, you should never waste the opportunity.” Darla winked. He laughed heartily. “I suppose that’s true. Tell me, what do you do for a living? I mean, you must be making a lot of cash if you’...

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“Salted-Caramel Death” by Aimee Cardenas

Submitted to Contest #81

#TheBunnyGoesBumpA tarnished glow immortalized David’s slack-jaw as he stared at the screen. Was this for real? he asked himself as he came back from his three second mental vacation.“No… Way…”“What, dude?” Randy snooped at the screen. “Whoa, who’s the hot babe?”“That’s Bunny Sandborn. She’s Ted Winslow’s executive assistant at Treasure Trader’s, the app where people meet up and trade art.”“Cool. Why is she friend requesting you?” Randy said with a wicked smile on his face and disdain in his voice.David whirled around in his chair and attemp...

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$50

Prize money

915

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Feb 19, 2021 EST

Won by Molly Quinnell 🏆

Title: Golden Cheekbones and the Rising Sun

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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