From sharing a bed to sharing a bed…MaxAfter years of confronting and eventually accepting my asexuality, the last thing I thought would happen would be kissing my best friend.No, the LAST thing I thought would happen is that kissing them would send me into a spiral of romantic yearning that I’d never experienced before.Lou shares my food, my apartment, and even my bed when they need assurance and affection, but thi...

KaylinnMy nephew’s dad left my nephew and my sister, and now I’m determined to make this holiday season the best they’ve ever had. I know I can’t replace his dad, but I can be the best aunt and sister they could want or need.That means taking them to things like this gingerbread competition for families.At least, until they decided to limit the families spaces to pairs, and now I can’t even fit at their table to watch them decorate their gingerbread...

All it takes is one nightmare to break a friendship.CadeLiving with your best friend slash roommate slash love of your life can get complicated.Haines and I shared an apartment, a class schedule, and all of our groceries. But he didn’t know I was in love with him and have been for years.Today, one of my usual nightmares drove me out of bed and onto our fire escape, gasping deep breaths of cold air ...

To save my nana’s house, I had to accept the auction.KnoxFreshly back home from pursuing my culinary dreams, my friend auctions me off as an in-home chef for his son for an entire month.What I didn’t expect was Lucy.He’s an artist, every bit as rich and proper as his father, but what I saw behind his eyes made me want to break past his barriers.Lucy paints his soul on the canvas—his pain, his heart, and the ...

A tiny act of petty vengeance can land a pretty boy into your lap.ZainabWhat started as a day full of indirect vengeance and sweet vindication ended up landing me a cutie in my little pop-up shop.I dumped my cheating ex and crocheted some good yarn rope for Yarn Bombing day, only for his newest ex to buy some off me and start a scene at his house.That, apparently, was enough to blow Hayden into my shop, the dependab...

In a campus apartment complex far, far away…HeckIt’s bad enough that younger students were partying all night and making all kinds of noise, but when someone pulls the fire alarm and I’m thrust into the parking lot in the middle of the night in my decade-old Star Wars pajamas, I’m not a happy camper.I’m a second away from crawling into my friend’s jacket for warmth when a honeyed voice matching a stunning woman firefighter ...

If I were an ice queen, Casey has come to thaw my frozen heart.RobinAria Falls is a small city known for celebrating even the smallest of holidays on a grand scale. So why did I choose today to participate?Now I’m shivering at the shore of the freezing ocean, waiting my turn to jump in.Luckily, Casey takes my hand and plunges us both into the new year with a fresh start.Maybe it can be a fresh start for a ne...

When fate is a matchmaker…McKennaAfter seeing my friend fall for a mall Grinch, the last thing I expected was to fall for one of the Grinch’s best friends.Mariana is passionate, kind, and fucking gorgeous.When I’m paired with her for a friend-group shop hop for holiday gifts, I know that it’s the beginning of the end.But will it be our beginning? Or our end?Storefronts and Stolen Kisses is a sapphic LGBTQ+ short ...

A shelter dog is a man’s best friend…MattieYears after I’ve lost my family dog, Carmichael, I’m ready to try again.Ellie is an adorable and graying black lab at my local animal shelter, and I want nothing more than to take her home and be the family she needs.Bennett, the attractive shelter employee with a sweet Great Dane, isn’t convinced I know what I’m doing.Can I convince him to let me adopt Ellie? That I’m the perfect d...

How did the grouch cross the road? Well, with the help of an insistent aunt to a shy scout; that’s how!CerenaAs promised, I was spending my morning running around with my nephew to fill in all the requirements for him to earn his community badges for his scouts troop.But patience is running thin, and stomachs are grumbling, so I have to step in and show him just how easy it would be to speak to a stranger and help them acro...

ByronI’d finally left my father’s house and joined two other guys in their 6th floor apartment. Now I had freedom to be myself away from the punishments of home.One morning, when I came out of my bedroom, I found my roommates with a new woman. She was blonde, bright, and beaming. It was overwhelming to my sleep-addled brain, so I tried to keep my distance.But Hannah was having none of it.She waltzed into the kitchen, invaded my personal spac...

I’d never been brought to my knees by freckles and a sundress, but…GrayI was grateful for Change Your Wipers Day and the timing of my own wiper blades flinging themselves from my truck, even more so when I arrived to find the shining woman in a sundress who was handing out the wiper blades.She helped me attach it, and I couldn’t tear my eyes away.I didn’t want to.And when I gave her my new name, she took it ...