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Looking for a steady supply of romance short stories? Every week thousands of writers submit stories to our writing contest.

150+ Romance Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. From the thrill of a first date to a snapshot tour through an entire relationship, our collection of romantic short stories will give you everything your heart desires.

Romance Short Stories – Page 3 of 10

Chance Encounter

Submitted to Contest #309

Frank sat at the kitchen counter. He watched Shirley, his wife, serve his morning coffee. He felt such joy that she was in his life. His mainstay, she was perfect at taking care of the house and providing him with hot meals. Shirley kept Frank warm at night and kept his life on course. They were best friends. What else could a man want? What would he do without her?She smiled. “What?”“Nothing. I love you. You’re so good to me. So good for me.”“Back atcha, buddy…”They laughed at her mock salute. She asked, “Busy today?”“Bunch of bigwigs in fr...

15 likes 11 comments 11
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In a War With God

Submitted to Contest #309

He sits in his worn-out, green corduroy armchair, inhaling the steam curling up from his teacup. The peaceful melody of crickets and cicadas wafts in through the open windows. The vaguely sweet scent of damp wood marks the muggy August evening. Darkness has already started falling faster by this time of year, each passing night pleasantly cooler than the last. August was his favorite month, the most nostalgic. As he grew older and felt acutely the accelerating pace with which life was slipping away from him, the pleasant pain of yearning tha...

4 likes 2 comments 2
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Walk Together With Me

Submitted to Contest #309

David walked the bridge as a zombie in static. “The night bled— the streetlights smeared messy like oil paint. He breathed lazily, indifferent-- each inhale a job to clock out of. The weight in his chest hadn’t loosened in months, maybe years. He hadn’t spoken to a real person in so long that he looked elsewhere for “company.” He remembered it hazily. He vented an AI chat. One programmed to flirt, soothe, pretend. His favorite character had a soft name. He gave her…it…the version of himself he wanted to be before reality got to him, and he t...

4 likes 1 comment 1
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Walk Together With Me

Submitted to Contest #309

David walked the bridge as a zombie in static. “The night bled— the streetlights smeared messy like oil paint. He breathed lazily, indifferent-- each inhale a job to clock out of. The weight in his chest hadn’t loosened in months, maybe years. He hadn’t spoken to a real person in so long that he looked elsewhere for “company.” He remembered it hazily. He vented an AI chat. One programmed to flirt, soothe, pretend. His favorite character had a soft name. He gave her…it…the version of himself he wanted to be before reality got to him, and he t...

4 likes 1 comment 1
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Who are you, over my Pistachio Pesto Pasta?

Submitted to Contest #309

I hear my choices approaching me, noises from the elevator hint at their appearance. Almost on my doorbell, I remind myself that I have paid their price. I may as well enjoy my purchase. So please, sit down, but let me kiss you first! I want to cook this for you, to treat you right, no need to help. What, you came all the way here and you wish to assist, still? But you've just arrived! Ok, ok, I've yet to peel all the pistachios, my nails are worn out from the process. Help me with these, will you? I'll start bringing all the other ingredie...

5 likes 1 comment 1
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More than a Memory

Submitted to Contest #309

Hand in hand, they sat together on the rocky beach, watching the blood-red sunset. Seagulls bobbed lazily on the waves. They're so free, he thought. If only we could switch places, even just for one day. Just one day would be enough. Lately, all of his thoughts seemed to take the form of a plea. If only this line would move faster, I could spend more time with her. If only my hometown weren't the one that was hit, I might have less of a personal stake in all this. If only I hadn't met her. If only I hadn't fallen in love. If only, if only, i...

4 likes 2 comments 2
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Jasmine and matcha

Submitted to Contest #309

Pouring milk into the greenish powder resting at the bottom of the cup held delicately in her soft right hand, Lia finished making her matcha coffee. She had never tried it before, but something about it caught her attention the day prior in the tiny store next to her new apartment. She felt inexplicably drawn to it — like she had to try it. After stirring the mixture and securing the lid on the cup, she ran to grab her bag and slipped out the door, the warm drink still in hand. No sooner had she reached the street that she realized it was r...

4 likes 2 comments 2
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The Streetlamp That Was She

Submitted to Contest #309

There was something romantic in the way my mother dried bedsheets. She would hang them up along the stairway railing, where the sun hit the second floor just right, and it didn’t take long for the fresh, almost citrussy aroma of detergent to spread down the halls and into closed-off spaces that were our rooms. If one were to pass those sheets, one could not help but be reminded of something they couldn’t quite determine. The bedding spread along the wood, and a mirror for the golden rays held an odd, romantic feel of melancholy. Melancholy o...

6 likes 10 comments 10
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Memoir of a Pianist

Submitted to Contest #309

"You've made it!" the infamous phrase that everyone with a big dream or ambition longs to hear. Maybe it's some sort of sick way for us to feel like we matter in this world filled with billions of other people. We chase this dream with a ferocity unlike anything else in our lives. We make countless sacrifices in order to achieve this dream, so much so, that it becomes an obsession. It makes it feel like our life has meaning. It gives you value and without value you're nothing but another piece of matter taking up space, or at least that's wh...

4 likes 4 comments 4
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~ Wisty's Lament ~

Submitted to Contest #309

~ Wisty’s Lament ~Wisty was finally calming down and thinking straight. Heading north on I-95 with a full tank of gas, she passed a sign that read, “Philadelphia 255 miles.” It had been over an hour since she left Williamsburg and the debacle of a mission that occurred at The Hybrid’s Compound. Feeling a bit lightheaded from a drop in sugar, she rummaged the console and found David E.’s .38 derringer. She still couldn’t believe it. He left her. It almost brought her to tears once more and she dropped the miniature pistol in her purse. She ru...

12 likes 5 comments 5
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corduroy jacket

Submitted to Contest #309

The ceiling fan is blowing hard, and Suki zips up her jacket. “How are you, Suki? You haven’t picked up in months,” says Tamika over the phone. “Are you alive?” “Barely,” says Suki, sinking into her couch. “Med school is no joke.” “So you’re still in school?” Suki scoffs. “Of course I’m still in school. Why would I not be?” “Your mom told my mom you had to take a few weeks off in November. Is that true?” What a traitor, Suki thinks, scowling. “I got sick.” Tamika groans. “I swear your immune system was so strong in college. What did you get...

3 likes 1 comment 1
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Bittersweet Contact

Submitted to Contest #309

The starless night sky wept, spilling out its sorrow over the bustling Immortal Quarter. I stood, unflinching, as cars hissed by, spraying me with brown frothy water. Why avoid the street tea when I was already steeped in five years’ worth of misery and his blood? I laughed, imagining what people would think—a woman shivering in the rain, mascara bleeding down her cheeks, as if she’d just had her heart broken. I had. I’d burned bridges so thoroughly tonight, that the ashes had likely blown halfway across the damn city by now. I checked my wa...

41 likes 55 comments 55
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Barney in the Rubble

Winner of Contest #309 🏆

The first time they bumped into each other, she was holding a bouquet, and he was giving a bride away. She could feel him looking at her, and she blushed the same color as her peonies and tried not to smile more than the beatific Mona Lisa half-grin she’d had plastered on her face all morning. She'd smiled so much her face hurt. She couldn’t wait to get back to the hotel room and drink alcohol from tiny bottles and frown at her reflection in the mirror in order to flex the overworked muscles in the opposite direction. It’s never appropriate ...

71 likes 69 comments 69
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Amenah's Coffee

Submitted to Contest #309

Nathan walked alone along a quiet street. The air was calm. The stars twinkled overhead. He paused at the street corner. Here was a shop he had never seen before, and yet the sign was faded. He often walked this street when feeling lost and lonely. And lately, he had found himself wandering these streets more and more often. He was looking for something, or someone. He didn’t entirely know.The faded sign told him that the shop was called Amenah’s Coffee. Amenah. He’d had a dream about a girl named Amenah before. Before he knew what he was do...

5 likes 4 comments 4
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Luc and Amelie

Submitted to Contest #309

Luc and Amélie“Prologue It’s over. All that is left is a lapse of time beset by melancholy, weariness, and a yearning for freedom. Did the undoing, like threads that unravel, commence without our knowing, or can we pinpoint and recognize the exact moment when the end of love began? For the one left behind, ceaselessly wondering how, when, or why, facing this realization is the ultimate pain. At that moment, he or she must understand, without the possibility of appeal, that their love has become a meaningless and unwanted emotion. Out of res...

4 likes 4 comments 4
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RBE | RBE Romance | 2024-03

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