Middle-age divorcee Lan Bellas-Ducharme comes to realize she is not the Plain Jane she had been made to believe she was. Suddenly faced with an abundance of choices, she explores sexuality and comes to realize that her actuality is obscured by the many layers of superficial integrity imposed on her over the years.Eventually, Lan realizes it is not her charge to fit societal norms, and accepts her long-time friend Kate as a loving companion. But Lan needs one more thing to find abso...

For years, Dustin Aldrich has been wishing his wife, Laurel, would consider partner sharing. Their friends are into it, but Laurel wants nothing to do with their antics. They boast and brag about their doings. Even worse, they cheat on each other, sneaking off behind their spouse's back. It's not partner sharing, she contends, it's cheating. She wants to make new friends and leave that crowd behind. In fact, she's dead-set on the idea and has invited a couple she knows through work to stay...

Jolene Saint James outshines debutants and geniuses alike, but you won’t find her dancing at a chic nightclub or sipping champagne on a posh veranda. She’s a long-haul trucker and proficient diesel mechanic.When it comes to sex, Jolene doesn’t date or flirt—she hooks up and moves on. She’s used men competing for her favor and warns them ahead of time about the firewall and failsafe protecting her heart. But the unthinkable is about to happen.She meets Jarred McKiernan under...

Soon after my cheating wife gave me the boot, I offered to help my nephew move into his first apartment. I couldn’t keep my eyes off his roommate’s girlfriend, Riley—less than half my age and every middle-age man’s dream. Better sense should have told me to let things be, but I couldn’t help wonder if she might...just maybe...Much to my surprise, she did. Not only did Riley surpass my expectations, she changed my entire outlook on sexuality. I wondered if I could ever forgive my wi...

Max Raines hasn’t been successful in love or careers, but that’s about to change. Each morning, an enchanting goddess waits for the same bus he takes to work. She’s everything he’s ever dreamed of. Unfortunately, she wants nothing to do with him.A local singles club provides Max with easy hookups, but taking advantage of lonely women doesn’t sit well with him. He would stop going, but as luck would have it, the apple of his eye coordinates the club meetings.Max turns on a s...

Lanelle was sweet and serene, with a sing-song voice and rich ruby highlights in her full auburn hair. As soothing as I found her presence, something in her hazel gaze promised unbounded passion for the man fortunate enough to win her favor. But for reasons she chose not to share, no one did.Only after my wife of nine years turned my life upside down did I approach Lanelle with Romantic intent. She turned me down twice, but when I persisted, she threw my understanding of sexuality i...

Artist Gavin McKeen has replaced desire for his wife with aspirations of fame, with partial success. He maximizes his profits by spying on clients in his home-based art studio, learning their intentions before they make offers.Gavin's fifteen-year marriage to his wife Lydia was blemished in years previous by his affair with a friend from college. In a hasty attempt to put the iniquitous deed to rest, he proposed she reciprocate at a time and place of her choosing and never disclose ...

The height of passion found three times in the summer heat—all by mistake.Hounded by my irritating soon-to-be ex-wife and her latest beau, I went to the North Woods to clean out my dad’s old cabin. That’s when I met a gorgeous young blonde less than half my age who was convinced I was the object of her starstruck desire. To make matters worse—or better—her equally charming brunette friend insisted I was another conquest altogether.Dodging my own scruples and nag-sessions fr...

It’s Christmas Time, and widower Daniel Holquist is struggling to raise his fourteen-year-old daughter Kennedy by himself. He’s peered across the barren dreamscape of loneliness, and found another soul seeking the fulfillment inherent in commitment. Kara Mello has taken over production of the Christmas Pageant at Daniel’s church. She’s found her way to Daniel’s heart, but found a fourteen-year-old sentry jealously guarding it.Kennedy has enshrined her mother’s memory. To make matte...

Cohen Xavier is about to get lucky. He's spending a week at Soleil Magenta, a singles resort known for promiscuous hookups. It's only his second night, and he's been propositioned by a long, slender blonde named Krissi. Better sense would tell him she's out of his league. A check of her fingers would tell him she's married.Not to worry, claims Krissi's husband, Garret. They allow each other one fling a year—one night, one partner, no questions asked. In fact, Garret already has his ...

Three of Sari Shepard's best short stories.In The Organizer, lonely divorcee Ian Lorelle tries his hand at a weekly get together called Mingling Singles, hoping the lonely women who attend will be up to scratching his carnal itch. Some do, but when Ian runs into Tonya Forsythe, the Event Organizer, he gets way more than he bargained for.In All Piper's Friends, author Elliot Gleason receives a Dear John letter, but decides to take the cruise he booked with his estranged wife. ...

My marriage was in shambles the year I took on Vahl as summer help. He was a handsome college kid from Finland, in the USA on an education visa. He was supposed to schlep tanks and carry tools, but he wound up teaching me a few things.It started like typical fantasy—a lonely housewife inviting the delivery guys in for a romp. But everything changed after that fateful day. My wife Hailey saw it the moment I came in the door. Rather than use it against me, she purged her conscience an...