Set your story in a bar that doesn’t serve alcohol.

Posted in Fluff on Jan 12, 2024

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✍️ 61 stories

“Free Hugs” by Hannah P. Simmons

Submitted to Contest #233

Jade was younger than the usual customer. But Sam was past being too concerned. About ten years past. Maybe if she’d walked in even two years ago, he’d have cocked an eyebrow. But now? Now, he simply grabbed a shot glass, and placed it on a napkin in front of her as she took a seat on one of the barstools.“What’ll you have?” he asked.She seemed startled as she looked up at him, long black curls framing her captivatingly anguished face.“Uh… isn’t there a menu?”Sam all but cackled. “A MENU? Sorry, sweetheart. Most people know what they want be...

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“For The Experience” by Michał Przywara

Submitted to Contest #233

Tom Davies stepped into the Harp and Hound Recopub, and was immediately struck by the bluesy bass rambling from a jukebox, accented by the staccato pops of a cue sending pool balls scrambling. The lighting was mute and dusky, even though it was noon; a perfect complement to the wooden floor, and walls draped with team colours. And a waft of deep fried bliss followed a passing waitress. Well, he thought. I wanted a bar, and you can’t get more barsy than this. And anyway, any dive was good enough refuge from Nicole. He approached a barstool an...

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“Honeymoon for One” by Melissa Taylor

Submitted to Contest #233

This trip hasn't been at all what I expected. I was supposed to be coming here for a romantic honeymoon in the Tuscan countryside. Instead, I'm here alone, hanging on through sheer spite and honestly with the help of a few overly priced but delicious cocktails from the plane. There aren’t enough Bloody Marys or Mimosas in the world for finding out that the groom is still in love with his high school sweetheart. I mean really, what the fuck? Well, at least when he left, he was oh so kind and let me keep the all-expenses paid trip to Ital...

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“The Book Bar” by Joe Sweeney

Submitted to Contest #233

The place was more crowded than usual for a Friday night. Perhaps it was the holiday weekend that brought the crowd in tonight. Maybe people were getting an early start celebrating MLK Day. I liked to think that diversity and inclusion were becoming more socially acceptable – that would certainly draw people to this place. I noticed someone gathering their belongings at the bar. I worked my way over to snag the stool as soon as she left. I nodded to the bartender – he nodded back. A few minutes later, he made his way over to where I ...

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“Poetry and Prose” by Story Time

Submitted to Contest #233

If I give you another one, I get grief from Barry tomorrow. Don’t ask me how Barry knows when we go one glass over. I don’t know if he has cameras in here, but I choose to believe that when you’re that miserable and that greedy, you have a sixth sense for anything that could cost you money or get you cited. I don’t feel like walking in tomorrow and getting called into that rank back office just so he can tell me that he knows I poured an extra song for somebody who was already over their limit. The problem is, you started with Tom Waits....

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“Where Dreams are Bottled” by Mandy Lane Valentine

Submitted to Contest #233

The neon bled the last of the twilight as Anya pushed open the heavy door. Inside, the aroma of a hundred simmering teas washed over her, chasing away the chill of the alleyway. Mismatched mugs hung from the ceiling, each a whimsical canvas whispering forgotten stories. Behind the bar, Milo, a mountain of a man with a beard tangled like ancient roots, chuckled at a gnome-like woman in a rainbow shawl, who clutched a bottle of "Dragon's Breath" like a precious jewel.Anya's stomach fluttered. Places like this usually screamed raucous laughter ...

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“The Dry Underground” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #233

“Get me a virgin!” “Sir?” “I want a virgin in my hand immediately!” “Sorry, sir. Can you be a little more specific.” “How’s this for you? I want a sweet tasting virgin wetting my lips like cactus juice to a thirsty desert dweller - salting my tongue with the perspiration that only hard, solid rocks can create around the rim of tender delight.” “Ah, I understand you now, sir. One Mocktail Margarita with ice coming up.” Jordi Waxer sat himself down on a stool, as he sidled up to the long bar on a late weekday evening. Situated in the trendy So...

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“Rape Is Wrong, Right?” by Mister X

Submitted to Contest #233

Trigger Warning - Multiple mentions of rape.“Adam, somehow I knew you’d be here.”“Really? This is supposed to be my secret spot. How did you find me?”“You’re on Life 360, my friend. Your wife always knows where you are. She sent me.”“Ah, that makes sense. Can I order you a drink?”“Sure, I’ll have a Sam Adams.”“I’m sorry buddy, it’s not that kind of bar. How about a ginger ale or coke with light ice?.”“Who are you and what have you done with my friend Adam?”“This is my thinking bar. Alcohol just clouds the mind. I come here when I need to con...

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“INFERNO” by Kacie Foos

Submitted to Contest #233

I was driving my 1933 Indian Four up Topanga Canyon. It was about seven o’clock in the evening and the weather was sweet. The Santa Ana winds had been keeping the end of this hot summer a cool seventy-degrees and life was good. The sound of my engine made me feel alive. This year I had turned fifty and I was facing the last half of my life in a great place. I had an amazing wife, enjoying early retirement from selling my business, and two amazing sons that brought joy to my life. I was genuinely happy. As turned into a tight corner of t...

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“The End of the World” by Ian Patterson

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #233

It’s hard to find The End of the World. That’s intentional of course, wouldn’t do for the tourists to latch on. A small smoke filled room, where cigarette butts litter the cracked, wooden floor like so many tumbleweeds. The crooked that call this hole home sit around talking in small groups. You walk down a cobbled street as the darkening sky makes shapes of the buildings that loom on either side. The cobbles are uneven, so while it may seem that you’re a cold, brooding thing, your head bent against the ...

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“I.C.B.” by Shell Honekee

Submitted to Contest #233

Marissa scanned the street, her eyes landing on a flashing neon sign - I.C.B. The flat roof and scuffed red door had all the trappings of a dive bar. “Perfect,” she muttered against her scarf. She readjusted her stocking cap as the cold Minneapolis wind blew. She was glad she had kept her cold weather accessories when she moved to southern California. For trips back home like this. Unplanned, last minute, life-altering trips back home. She waited on the corner, willing the crosswalk signal to change so she could get out of th...

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“My Oasis” by Kwame MA McPherson

Submitted to Contest #233

My mouth had been dry, and I couldn’t tell when last I’d a tipple. In fact, a long time ago, all the bartenders in all the bars along the strip knew who I was. They knew me so much that even a drink was named after me: Top Me Up, a mixture of rum, coke, orange juice with a splash of gin and a lemon wedge on the glass’s rim. Talk about blowing one’s head off. My concoction was something I’d been introduced to while away. I’d made all the bars notorious because of that one drink and partygoers from far and wide would visit the strip and ask fo...

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“After Hours ” by Beth Hatton

Submitted to Contest #233

"Dr. Pepper." "Okay, what size?" I asked. "Large?" ".... We're coming up on 9PM, don't you think it's a bit late for that much caffeine? How about apple juice? Smoothie?" Will paused, and with a mildly put-out expression, "a mango smoothie." "Alright, here's your number. Try to keep them focused, hm?" Will nodded and took "14" off the counter, returning to the booth in the corner where his friends were goofing off. Will was one of the more "mature" ones. Even though he was rough around the edges like the rest of them, he'd learned the value ...

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“Cosmic Thirst” by Connla Mullan

Submitted to Contest #233

Sensitivity warning: Violence and Alcohol. As the only Irishman this far into the deep reaches of spa- no wait. As the only human this far into the deep reaches of space, I found myself rather parched. Not just “Oh I wouldn’t mind a glass of water, thanks.” I mean thirsty, and a thirst for the good stuff, too! No water could quench this thirst, no sir. I had been traveling for something like fifteen light-years or so after a deep space research mission had gone wrong. Just me on my own, well me and my ship, the Icarus 28-B and it’s AI. We ...

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“No Consequences” by HC Edwards

Submitted to Contest #233

Terrance stopped cold in the middle of the street, staring at his phone. A Subaru honked at him and he shuffled the last few steps on leaden feet to the sidewalk, still not looking up from his phone. He felt the familiar tightening in his chest and the accelerated heartbeat that meant the onset of another panic attack.There she was, just flaunting it all over insta for the whole world to see, smiling next to her new beau with the cliche waterfall backdrop, as if their four year marriage and subsequent divorce had never happened. He went to s...

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Set your story in a bar that doesn’t serve alcohol.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 61 stories

“Free Hugs” by Hannah P. Simmons

“For The Experience” by Michał Przywara

“Honeymoon for One” by Melissa Taylor

“The Book Bar” by Joe Sweeney

“Poetry and Prose” by Story Time

“Where Dreams are Bottled” by Mandy Lane Valentine

“The Dry Underground” by Chris Campbell

“Rape Is Wrong, Right?” by Mister X

“INFERNO” by Kacie Foos

“The End of the World” by Ian Patterson

“I.C.B.” by Shell Honekee

“My Oasis” by Kwame MA McPherson

“After Hours ” by Beth Hatton

“Cosmic Thirst” by Connla Mullan

“No Consequences” by HC Edwards

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about a character participating in Dry January.

Your character, having abstained from their worst vice (big or small), finds new clarity.

Write a story in the form of diary entries, written by someone who has set themselves a month-long challenge.

Set your story during a month of drought — whether literal, or metaphorical.

Contest #233

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

230

Contest entries

78

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: