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

Posted in Valentine's Day on Feb 9, 2024

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✍️ 39 stories

Alyce's Restaurant

Submitted to Contest #237

Alyce's RestaurantHigh Plains Drifter drifted through the high plains looking for a comfortable corner. The zipper zipped beside him on the left. The fog line to his right. The easy double nickles he was maintaining was lulling him to the point of shutter trouble. His hours were nearly expired. It was time to back it down and pull off ramp. According to his Qualcom a small place should be within five miles. It would have to do even if he wasn't familiar with it. Next place would be too far and run him out of hours.Rules, rules. Every which w...

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Okay? Okay.

Shortlisted for Contest #237 ⭐️

I open the door to the restaurant. The hostess smiles with a set of pearly white teeth asking if I have a reservation and I remember Dan is dead. He had the nicest teeth of anyone I had ever met. “Four years of braces,” he would tease with a rap of his pointer finger against his two front incisors. “It’s for seven-o-clock, under Clara,” I say to the hostess with a nod. She looks down at her stand and I am thinking of the last time I saw Dan’s teeth. A morbid book my therapist recommended explained that morticians sew the mouths of the d...

42 likes 14 comments 14
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Not Valentine’s Day

Submitted to Contest #237

Dave’s ears were still ringing from the night before. He’d had less than four hours sleep after playing in his band and felt like death warmed up, but he knew once he’d showered, downed a strong coffee and eaten two slices of thickly buttered toast, he’d be alright.“Not too bad for forty-one!” Dave often conversed like this while studying his reflection in the hallway mirror. He tucked in his uniform. Other than a touch of bagginess under the eyes, his skin had remained smooth, and his thick brown hair was only just starting to recede. Any p...

31 likes 29 comments 29
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Unromantic Overtures

Submitted to Contest #237

It is said that to be truly happy, one needs someone to love, something worthwhile to do, and something to hope for.Someone to love. Check. My sonSomething worthwhile to do. Check. Nothing more rewarding than bringing up my son.Something to hope for. Check. Hope springs eternal. My son has ADHD, diagnosed at age 5. He survived early childhood. He could still end up dead by accident, or at my exasperated hands, or turn out to be a delinquent who ends up in prison, like his father.My friend, Analiese, came over when we first moved to her city ...

20 likes 20 comments 20
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Meeting for the First Time Twice

Submitted to Contest #237

She would buy herself a potbellied pig; it would be hypoallergenic, not prone to disease, intelligent, affectionate, and easily housebroken. Faye Rain had done her homework and found this information easily online. She had been feeling a bit lonely after moving into the little cottage her parents left her, not that she would admit this to anyone. Living away from the hubbub was ideal yet something was missing, and she was pretty sure that something was a little baby potbelly pig. Faye’s next step was to find a reputable breeder that was n...

18 likes 13 comments 13
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There's No Such Thing As Love

Submitted to Contest #237

“Dude, tomorrow is Valentine’s Day and you don’t have a date again. Why don’t you text Sabrina or Abbey and just get a coffee or something? Just one cup. It could be fun!” “Hell nah, dude. Last time I went out with Abbey, she vented about work for two hours. I don’t want to be trauma-dumped on, again. Sabrina just wants to fuck and then kick me out. She already texted me earlier. I’m not about to be used again.” “Or… She could just want to get some food and talk because she’s into your personality, too…” “No way, man. It’s definitely not lik...

15 likes 7 comments 7
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Beauty and a Beast

Submitted to Contest #237

Once upon a time there were two kingdoms – or rather, a kingdom and a queendom – separated by a long river, called the Ibailuzea. Collectively, they despised each other with a vengeance and had been at war for centuries.For his part, King Zinikoa was quite happy that the war should continue indefinitely as it kept the peasant population down. There was nothing worse, in his mind, than to have to worry about the welfare of his subjects, so the fewer the better, as far as he was concerned … as long as enough remained to be called up to the arm...

14 likes 16 comments 16
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Where the Mundane Would Seem More Useful

Submitted to Contest #237

“I’m a guildfellow, here,” Ferrik tried to cut through the excited din of the tavern to his date, “I work as a smith.”“Oh! An artificer, how lovely!” Orivyre was dressed too well for this dive, where the tables were all beersticky and the bartender knew next to every face. “I always thought that the process of enchanting was such a noble pursuit, the binding of magic to material.”“Oh, no,” Ferrik leaned away on his stool. “I mean, sure, I know some very talented artificers, and they’re great, but I’m not one of them. I’m a smith, I do metalw...

13 likes 8 comments 8
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The Date

Submitted to Contest #237

“I’m not swiping left or right or up or down on that thing,” Bettie told her friend, shoving the phone back at her. “Dating like that is ridiculous. No one wants to get to know each other or find something lasting. It’s all hookups and hangups.” Her friend Shay kept swiping through the app. “Guys are so self-serving,” she reiterated. “Look at that one, he’s sooooo perfect looking. I bet he really just wants someone to do his laundry and tell him he’s amazing.” She peeked at the screen as Shay swiped. Brenton. “What kind of a name is Brent...

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The Blind Date

Submitted to Contest #237

The Blind Date Becky pushed her way through the swing doors of the bustling open office she had worked in for the last eight years. Becky, a slim, good-looking woman, about 30 years old, is a proofreader for the renowned ‘Whiz - The Young Persons’ Lifestyle Magazine.’ “Whiz” had just received the Magazine of the Year Award (1982), and Becky, like all those who worked for the magazine, was justifiably proud of the achievement. In the 1980s, the magazine’s large office was mainly staffed by young, excitable women whose main goals in ...

13 likes 9 comments 9
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Once A Cynic, Always a Cynic

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 ...

11 likes 2 comments 2
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The Generation Gap

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 ...

11 likes 4 comments 4
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A Blind Squirrel Finds a Nut

Submitted to Contest #237

       Holly and Linda sat on Holly's bed, entertained with their roommate Pam's attempts to pack her Hello Kitty suitcase at the last minute. They were hurling suggestions fast and furious about the clothing she couldn't live without for the weekend.           Holly shouted out,” The red cashmere sweater will be great for Valentine's Day and will match the color of your eyes after you've had too many Sangrias.”       ...

10 likes 1 comment 1
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A Date With Danger

Submitted to Contest #237

Faith blew a breath from her mouth. She knew this was going to be a long night. She hadn’t had time to change after work, but she figured if the blouse and pencil skirt combo was lucky enough to help her solve the Jefferson case, It could be lucky enough to assuage her sister's worries about her love life. She quickly touched up her red lipstick and wiped the mascara that had traveled from her lashes to her undereyes. The harsh LED lighting in the women's bathroom did her no favors. She smiled at the mirror. Her reflection smiled back at her...

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Do you like coffee?

Submitted to Contest #237

“Do you like coffee?” He asked, handing me a mug.“Coffee? Coffee, coffee…” I repeated in confusion.“It’s okay if you don’t remember… I didn’t remember for a couple of weeks either. You come from the early 2,000s and data says that they liked coffee.” He said while averting his gaze. The white mug was filled with a brown-hot liquid. I peered down and the hot steam smelled bitter, discomforting yet vaguely familiar. “I don’t think I like-” I felt an odd sensation, like a memory pushing up “-I don’t think I liked coffee. Are you ...

10 likes 6 comments 6
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