Menu

Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog
Directory
Contests
Magazine
FAQ

Center your story around a first or last kiss.

Posted in Short Story on Feb 14, 2025

Submissions are closed

Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy account.

Sign in with Google
Sign in with Facebook

Or use an email address:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 104 stories

All of the Cherry Red Marks

Submitted to Contest #290

My Beautiful Nicole, One thing you should know is this: every single time your soft lips have left those delightful cherry red marks all over my skin, you’ve also marked my heart indelibly. Why yes, ma chouchoute, your kisses have carved their way into the inner recesses of my mind. From the first moment you broke into that moonglow smile as your ‘hello’ wrapped me into its velvet arms, I knew that I will always crave for those bright stains on my face and my clothing. It’s gotten to a point that even when you aren’t around, all th...

77 likes 85 comments 85
Read story

Farewell Kiss

Submitted to Contest #290

Farewell Kiss Pretty Adeline McCormick, daughter of the ranch owner Frederick O'Reilly worked for, was nice enough to offer him a ride to the train station some thirty miles from home in Hand County, South Dakota. The thoroughly modern sporty car was small but Frederick's mom, Leona, and little sister, Maggie, granted a rare holiday from their never ending duties keeping house for Patrick O'Reilly's red-headed mob of boys, squeezed in to see Fred off to military training so far away they couldn't comprehend where he would be. Then after boot...

41 likes 35 comments 35
Read story

The Artist's Wife

Submitted to Contest #290

A woman, slightly past her prime, drapes herself in a cardinal red wingback. Her Slavic features, or at least those details which constitute a recognisable face, are inscrutable. Only the eyes, dancing with malice, betray her hauteur. She wears a long string of pearls, which form a seeded rope between her sagging breasts. They are the only notable detail of the pose, for the woman, dark-haired and dark-eyed, is otherwise naked. At her left shoulder the sun forms a square of light on her already pale flesh. It lends an angularity to her ...

35 likes 23 comments 23
Read story

Three

Submitted to Contest #290

[You can decide how to read this story: Read the paragraphs up--> down, or scroll down and read your way up. Enjoy]--------------- Three o'clock. The bells chimed with uncontained joy, the frogs in the garden's pond croaked, and the priest said out loud, "You can kiss the bride." The guests clapped and cheered for them. The noise was unbearable, and the echoes in the building sounded like the roar of a hundred lions. Elias cupped his spouse's face with his hands and approached his lips to hers, but when they touched, she did not move. She...

31 likes 17 comments 17
Read story

What Earth Called Erebus

Submitted to Contest #290

Margaret had a secret, and there was no better time to tell it. Once Erebus was as big as the moon, they only had about thirty minutes until impact—that’s what the experts said, anyway—and thirty minutes was just enough time for her confessions. And some tea, of course.She stared out the kitchen window of their quaint, coastal cottage where the moon was full and glassy. Erebus was putting on a show, saying, I’m almost bigger than you, Moon!, and debris was burning up in the atmosphere, streaking the sky with vibrant rapture colours. One will...

27 likes 14 comments 14
Read story

The Crystal Ship

Submitted to Contest #290

The Crystal Ship     The words echo in my head from a song I can’t escape. Jim Morrison’s voice is belting out the words. Sweetly singing in his demonically angelic voice.     “Before you slip into unconsciousness, I’d like to have another kiss, another flashing chance at bliss, another kiss…..”     Over and over the song has been playing, but now I think I understand the desire being suggested in the repeating words. I’m hugging her and we’re both soaking wet from the col...

24 likes 23 comments 23
Read story

Spatial Relations.

Submitted to Contest #290

"Give love, give happiness....' he was murmuring as his lips kissed hers, for that magical first kiss, igniting some long cherished fantasies. Then Marla awoke, startled. She had only been dreaming again. The hot tongue kissing was from her dog, wanting breakfast and a walk. "Maybe it is better like this!" she told herself, trying not to look at the date.It was that time of the year. Soon Marla was walking her very naughty puppy, a nine month old Rottweiler named Lady. She and her fur baby were supposed to be strolling through a mild midday ...

23 likes 7 comments 7
Read story

A Purple Goodbye

Submitted to Contest #290

I rememberOur last kiss.It was purple.It happened The day after I got a black eye.The black eyeCame from you.Followed by the kiss.It was a Saturday afternoon,An ordinary day,A day that startedLike any other.We were at home,I was doing laundry,The washer started leaking.Water ran all over theDirty tile floor.(I really needed to wash that floor,Even before the leak,But somehow never could find the time.)I wiped the water up With an old, threadbare towel,And wondered aloudDid I need to call a plumber?You didn’t answer my question...

23 likes 11 comments 11
Read story

Hope is a Dead Companion

Submitted to Contest #290

Hope is a Dead CompanionThe heat of the Barbados sun poured generously upon the heat of sun pulled her body into a sharper arch while she expertly floated on the ocean’s surface. All the sensations of the sea- the smell of fishy seaweed, the screams of happy seagulls and salty blue waters soaking each pore, led her to a state of dizziness and created a surreal sense of levitation. She was aware that in the distance was a lone fisherman on a small boat, who was organizing his fishing wares. He was oblivious to the beauty around him, but ...

18 likes 6 comments 6
Read story

A Perfect Sunday Evening, Except for the Screaming and Blood

Submitted to Contest #290

A few years ago, I crossed Fairmont Street to avoid the sun. Had I been a hardier soul and stayed on the east side of the street, I might not have met the woman of my dreams.But I did cross the street and I met Vivian. In the fullness of time, we fell in love. We have been together five years, and each day seems better than the last.Even today seemed perfect, except for the screaming and the blood.                        &n...

18 likes 15 comments 15
Read story

Love that was once lost

Submitted to Contest #290

It’s 1941, and Paris holds its breath.The stranglehold and suffocation of occupation have muted the once-lively streets. A quiet despair lingers among those who have learned to live in fear. We all carry secrets, placed beneath coats, behind shuttered windows, in the passing glances we dare to exchange. Every step is a risk. Every word is a potential betrayal.I drag myself through the cold. The wet pavement muffles my footsteps. The scent of stale smoke and bread, long since lost its warmth, greets me as I approach the café. Once, this place...

17 likes 6 comments 6
Read story

I Want to Meet Him

Submitted to Contest #290

I follow the girl. I don’t know who she is or where she leads me. I don’t think to ask, nor do I worry. I succumb to the comfort as we begin another lap around the halls in the layers. There is no before, there is no after. There is no effort to my movement, as it is happening to me rather than by me.Wait. I want to meet him. I want so desperately to meet him. I love him.Can I convey this message to the girl when I have no voice, no means to speak? I must find a way.She is suddenly gone as I go through the laps ...

16 likes 10 comments 10
Read story

Stormy hearts

Submitted to Contest #290

It was the beginning of a rainy season. The first rain in the new year. As usual, the weather forecast had wrongly predicted a sunny day. It started with a drizzle, startling the passersby. Within minutes, they were shuffling for the nearest stall, the closest shelter, as the rain poured heavily down.They pushed, shoved and scrambled on their way past. As they did so, Tara tumbled over and fell face first into the dirty puddle, almost choking on it.“Oh, my…” She bit back the curse at the person who’d presumably pushed her when she saw t...

16 likes 10 comments 10
Read story

Toys

Submitted to Contest #290

(This story contains adult situations and language)Cindy sat cross-legged on the bed, staring at the tray he’d put in front of her. With a horrid intrigue, she picked up one of the stylishly manufactured items. It was heavy and cold. It made her inners contract involuntary.She looked up, trying to read the expression on his handsome face. His eyes looked like they were darker than normal, maybe it was her own misconception. She cleared her throat while slowly laying it down again.Nervously, she traced her finger along the long black metal ba...

15 likes 8 comments 8
Read story

Scenes from a teenage romance

Submitted to Contest #290

Scenes from a Teenage Romance by Simon Storey1987He. Saw her blues eyes first. Then dirty blonde hair. A white dress, and a smile that flew across the room like promise of a warm summer’s day. She. Saw his blue eyes second. His dark brown mussed up hair. Glasses, and a smile that would glow in the dark and light her way home. They. Slowly drew each other into the same orbit. Circling each other like the earth and moon. Laughing. Watching. Yearning. His mother. Watched from the sidelines. Smiling outside. Crying inside. Her father. Watched fr...

14 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

Set your story in a world where love is prohibited.

Short Story – 84 stories

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

Short Story – 132 stories

Write about two characters who meet and/or fall in love in a bookshop, café, or at a wedding.

Short Story – 65 stories

Your character comes across a stray (dog, cat, human — any kind of animal!). What happens next?

Short Story – 58 stories

How to Write a Novel

Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class and finish your first draft in 3 months. Learn more →

How to Write a Novel