"Just for Tonight"

Hello again everyone!

My latest, Just For Tonight, has just been published online.  After my most recent title (Dating a Dickgirl) overran its planned length, I had intended to keep this story to 10,000 words; I seem to have a problem when pulling in loquacious characters to act out a story; they just don't know when to be quiet and so the dialogue - and the story - run far longer than planned.  I carefully interviewed all the characters in this title before writing it, just to make sure they weren't going to talk on and on past the "The End" announcement on the final page.

The result?  I stopped almost 2,000 words short of my goal, at 8,100 words.  They'd already said everything they wanted, and there wasn't really anything else to write past that point.  But there might be a sequel, if my readers warm to these characters...

Here's the sales pitch:

Mike and Andrea each have rooms in a house; they are suddenly required to vacate their home during a police investigation.  Their landlady allocates them rooms in another house but, through a communications failure, they have to stay the night together in a garden shed.  During the night, they witness strangers performing lewd and fetish acts together on the lawn outside, which awakens their own passion for sex. But in the early hours of the morning, the police arrive and they find themselves thrown into separate prison cells. What have they done to deserve this? Will these two still be attracted to each other when everything has been resolved?

And here's an extract to whet your appetite - taken from midway through the story:

   “I don’t think I’ve ever got myself that drunk,” Andrea said.
   “Really?  And you’re a student?  Then you don’t mix in some of the student circles I’ve seen in town on a Saturday night.”
   “My parents gave me a strict upbringing.”
   “But you’re off the leash now.  There’s nobody here to report back to them.”
   “There is.  Becky, the other girl who lives in the house, is a close friend of my family and we take care of each other.  If she stepped out of line, I’d be expected to let her father know about it.”
   “But Becky’s not here tonight.  You can unwind.  I won’t say anything.”
   “Meaning?”
   “Meaning you can do as you please.  And I don’t have any alcohol or drugs hidden here, so there’s no stimulant or anything else that can lead you astray.  If there’s anything you’ve never done that you’ve wanted to do, you’ve got until Becky returns.  Just let yourself go.”
   We heard two loud voices, and looked out of the window.  We saw a man and a woman, probably in their thirties, and they were pretty obviously drunk... or they’d been taking drugs.  They were laughing - almost hysterically - and pulling at their jeans.  It soon became evident that they were going to take them off.  They seemed unconcerned; it was getting dark now anyway and, when they were half naked, we couldn’t discern exactly what they were doing.
   I noticed Andrea’s face was glued to the window.
   “Curious?” I asked.  “The torch is flickering - the batteries are failing.  There’s nothing else to do, so I’m taking an early night.”  I sat in the chair and covered myself in an old coat I’d found.  I closed my eyes.
   “It’s not a bad idea.  It’s nearly ten anyway.”  I heard her take off her clothes and climb into the sleeping bag.  She zipped it up, shutting me out from any perceived temptation.
   After five minutes of silence in the shed, I began to feel warm so I removed most of my clothes.  By the time I’d finished, I was down to my underpants, but I made sure that Andrea hadn’t noticed. 
   I returned to the chair seat, trying to get to sleep, trying to ignore the noise of the party-goers outside.
   Andrea was silent; I assumed she’d managed to doze.  After tossing and turning a couple of times, I must have got to sleep too because I remember waking up abruptly.  A light had been switched on, bathing the interior of the shed in a golden glow.  I opened my eyes; a mass of light was pouring through the window.  I got up to look, but found Andrea looking out already.
   “Look, Mike!" she called.  "They’ve turned on the lights round the lawn.  I won’t get back to sleep now.  And I’ve got a tutorial in the morning.  I have to be alert for that.”
   Ground lights had been placed round the border of the lawn, introducing a theatrical appearance to the activities of the guests who were now frolicking together - all naked - in some kind of drunken stupour. 
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I do hope you enjoy this story.  Another offering is scheduled early next month.

Best wishes
Chris