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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 5 of 10

The Window Across the Street

Submitted to Contest #321

Maya didn’t notice the window until her third month in the city.Her new apartment was nothing special—just a fifth-floor walk-up with cracked walls and plumbing that moaned in protest every morning. Still, it was hers, and that meant freedom. No roommates. No overbearing parents. Just the hum of traffic outside and the cheap comfort of boxed wine on weeknights.It was on one such night, while leaning against her own window frame with a glass in hand, that she finally looked across the street and saw it.A window, same height, same size, direct...

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Evolution

Submitted to Contest #321

The Professor stared into his closet trying to decide which black sweater he should wear. The V-Neck sweater. No, he thought. Too new. Makes my black pants look even more faded. Maybe the crew neck Alpaca. Warm enough for this time of year. But It sheds too much. No, not that. He moved those two aside and reached for the merino with the zippered neck and brown elbow patches. Yes, this will work. She’ll approve of this look, for sure. He could not get his mind off of Kaila, the new, weekend bartender. It’s how she moves, he thought. It’s as...

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Obsession

Submitted to Contest #321

*Hailey's POV* Warning: this story contains scenes of stalking and mental health issues... Aaron Matthews walked into the coffee shop at 8:00 am on the dot. He wore his plain, white shirt tucked into his jeans and his blue jeans - paired with a belt - accentuated his long lean legs. On his neck, a locket which isn't something I would peg him to wear, but it was fine if he was doing it. He had this regal, arrogant cloak on, but he still picked up an elderly lady's wallet she had dropped. I would have just taken the wallet, but he-he tapped he...

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A Door in the Foret

Submitted to Contest #320

A Door in the Forest by Burgundie Miceli I suppose I wouldn't have believed me either if I was in his position. I mean, why would you? Believe me that is. You wouldn't. Not unless you were a 7-year-old. Curiosity and wonder, though, are strong when you're open to them. And clearly, I'm happy to say, he was. Chris and I met in early November, so our first hike up Crazy Mountain was in snowshoes. When he had suggested the hike, I thought simply wearing my running spikes on hiking boots would suffice. And so that's how I showed up. Chris, an ...

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The Ballad of Janet, a retelling of the Ballad of Tam Lin

Submitted to Contest #320

(sensitive content warning: violence and sexual coercion) At least the trees had stopped gossiping about him. But the brooks were more than happy to take up the task. They cackled away, gushing over water-polished stones and whispering under fallen logs. Laughing at him. Mocking him.We know why you are here.Tam breathed out and leaned his head against the mossy boulder marking the edge of Carterhaugh Woods. Rosebushes surrounded it, the only things with any color as far as the eye could see. The only things that felt alive.Another lie, of...

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Black Magic Woman: Cherry Coma

Submitted to Contest #320

[NOTE: You made us pick one of five prompts. I said that was too easy. I picked all five prompts and built a world around them just for this piece. I call it Black Magic Woman. Thanks for the light exercise. I also recorded myself writing the first draft if you want content. The recording has my notes I wrote up for the piece. Later, gator.] “He burned it.” I said into my cellphone.“What?” I heard my mom nearly huff the word out.“Most of the acreage. It’s gone,” I said, my eyes moving about quickly, following the road. “He must have really w...

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A Shelter from the Fog

Submitted to Contest #320

The blank page glared at Clara, a pristine white desert mocking her completely empty mind. For the fifth time that hour, she squeezed the bridge of her nose, a familiar headache blooming behind her eyes. The digital pen felt alien in her hand, a useless stick. She was an illustrator, a creator of whimsical worlds filled with charming woodland creatures and sun-dappled glades. But the well of her imagination had run bone dry, replaced by the choking dust of deadlines and corporate-approved color palettes.So she had run. She’d rented a tiny, i...

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Out of the Woods

Submitted to Contest #320

The day already felt to Noah like he was stumbling around in a dark forest. The more he tried to find his way out, the more lost he became. He kept replaying every mistake, every harsh word from his past, until his chest ached from the weight of it. In the rearview mirror, he saw his own face and told himself, “You’re not enough. Not now, not ever.” By the time he pulled into the driveway, the weight had become so heavy that he didn’t think he could ever find his way out.Inside, Amelia leaned over the kitchen table with her phone in hand. A ...

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Apopemtic

Submitted to Contest #319

The line stretches out across a bleak breaking dawn. It should embody beginnings and life, but instead, to me, it has become a herald of preternatural death. When I lived, I imagined death to ride in on a dark horse or a black storm cloud. Yet, lavender and golden light signals a march to the shade beneath my canopy. The line on the horizon begins to form into distinct shapes of maybe 10 individuals. Their clothes and breath both hung raggedly from their bodies. Over the years I had seen almost all types of person...

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Slay

Submitted to Contest #319

“Jason, What are you doing?” I hear the distant words echo down the corridor and float into my chambers. I clamber to put my hair brush I was using as a microphone down on my vanity. I was waiting for my latest sculpture to dry and indulging in a little kitchen karaoke. But that quickly comes to a halt. This isn’t the first time some voyager has entered my cave and interrupted my jam session. I’m just over here vibing and minding my own business. I’m just a banished banshee that lives in solitude trying my damndest not to turn people to sto...

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The Hidden Path

Submitted to Contest #320

The Hidden Path The sun dipped low behind the ridge, painting the trees in honeyed light, and the group finally sprawled into their mismatched campsites like an unruly family reunion. There were six of them, all in their thirties, a mix of old college friends and their partners, each with their own quirks: Emily pouring sangria into a plastic jug and insisting it “tasted better outdoors,” Todd retelling—for the fourth time—the story of his half-marathon, and Claire fiddling endlessly with the Bluetooth speaker that sputtered against the stea...

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The Garden of the Blessed Destoryer

Submitted to Contest #319

The temple bells had been quiet for three days when they finally rang for her.Ishaan felt the vibrations through the marble floor before he heard anything, a thrumming that seemed to resonate in his bones. The priests had warned him she was more weapon than woman, came wrapped in fire, but nobody had mentioned how the air would crack when she appeared, or how his chest would tighten like someone had reached inside and squeezed.She stood in the prayer circle like someone had poured molten gold into human shape. Ten blades hung from her belt a...

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A Serendipitous Dip

Submitted to Contest #319

Water trickled down the curve of a razor-sharp fang, over a blue lip, and into a wiry, green beard, soaking a patch of gray fur beneath. A behemoth, clawed hand reached up to wipe away the next tear that rolled from a yellow eye with a slitted pupil. This was the beast’s nightly ritual—return to hovel (be it cave or abandoned woodland cottage), eat whatever creature he had slaughtered on the day’s journey, weep, then fall into a fitful sleep. Every fortnight or so, however, he broke his routine. On these nights, the beast would creep toward...

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The Symphony of Shadows

Submitted to Contest #319

The Symphony of Shadows The city quivered like prey, its towers rattling with anxious light, its alleys whispering the rot beneath the glow. I slid between its cracks, not the illness itself but the whisper of its fever, a presence too patient to be seen until too late. And in that suffocating hush, I fixed upon the only heartbeat I craved—Nova. Tonight, I would not let my Bambi escape me. Oakhaven, with its charming cobblestone streets and quaint coffee shops, was a stubborn adversary. Their unwavering belief in their mundane lives, their b...

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Nell Hardwick and the Ambush near Aldbourne Chase, 18th September 1643

Submitted to Contest #319

[Content warning: Violence, profanity and lots of mud]On 5th September the Royalist siege of Gloucester was lifted by the Earl of Essex and his army and the grateful citizens showered them, including Nell, her husband Bill and their comrades in the London Trayned Bandes with bread, cheese and ale, which more than made up for the short commons they’d been forced to endure on their march to the city. With the siege raised, it had been time to march back home to London. The Londoners had insisted, and the Earl of Essex had no choice but to cave...

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RBE | RBE Romance | 2024-03

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