A new publication and Flash Fiction Magic
Little Free Lit Mag
The first issue of Little Free Lit Mag is now available! My microfiction, “Book Club Night” is in the online edition. There is also an audio version of me reading the story for those who prefer to listen.
Read and/or listen to “Book Club Night.”
My story is online-only, but if you have a Little Free Library in your neighborhood, consider printing the PDF edition and placing it in there for others to discover.
Flash Fiction Magic
If you follow me on Instagram (@katiefitzstories), you know that I participate in Flash Fiction Magic almost every Friday. Each week, Emily Barnett (@embarnettauthor) provides a prompt, and anyone can respond with a story of 1000 words or less in any genre. Since not everyone is on social media, I decided I would start sharing some of those stories here as well as on Instagram. This week’s prompt was “A Moon with No Light.” The romance I wrote is below.
The movie was over, but after the credits on the DVD played all the way to the end, Jackson was still reluctant to let Alice go home. Hoping to make their date last a bit longer, he walked her to his door, then followed her outside. As he went past, he flipped the switch for the porch light, but Alice shook her head. “Leave it off,” she said. “You can see the moon better with no light.”
Jackson smiled as he replaced the switch in the off position. That was just like Alice, looking for little ways to make a moment more special. As she gazed up at the nearly-full moon, Jackson found his own eyes drawn to her profile. It was still surreal, after six weeks, that the feelings he had for her were returned. For ages, he had simply admired her from afar, making excuses to sit beside her when their friends got together, making jokes he hoped would charm her, bristling every time someone else flirted with her. Now here they were, standing in the moonlight. Jackson reached for Alice's hand and together they descended the steps to the lawn.
“I had a great time,” Jackson said, laughing sheepishly. “Again.” He said this every time, but it was sincere. These evenings together were the best, the cure for a loneliness Jackson hadn't even recognized in himself until Alice came along to fill the empty space. He wished he had the words to tell her what this meant to him - what she meant- but he didn't want to scare either of them with a premature confession.
“Me too,” Alice said softly, and the moonlight illuminated her shiny upturned lips which moved in slowly until they met Jackson's in a sweet, warm kiss. He kissed her several times, gentle presses of his mouth on hers, a hand on her shoulder, then on her face, and then in her hair. For Jackson, there could never be enough Alice.
She broke the kiss first. “Jackson,” she breathed, and he knew she was going to say she had to go, so he kissed her once more before forcing himself to stop. He went to take a step backward, but Alice grabbed his hand and kept him close. “Jackson,” she said, her eyes fixed on his. “I love you.”
Stunned, Jackson felt as though his feet had left solid ground, and he was floating on a cloud. Alice had found the words, and she had said them. To him. Three words, and he was over the moon, lost to the world, never to be seen in the same form again. “Oh, Alice,” he murmured. “I love you too. So much.” He wasn't fully aware of what other endearments poured out of him as he embraced the beautiful woman of his dreams, but when Alice kissed him again, he knew they had been the right things to say despite his messy delivery.
When Alice eventually got in the car to drive home, Jackson watched her taillights until they were completely out of sight, and he was alone again in the moonlight. Then he simply stood, watching the sky, and thinking about the way that giant glowing moon would follow Alice all the way home and all the way back here tomorrow night to do it all again. ☾
Have you read Library Lovebirds yet? If not, it’s only 99 cents on Amazon, free with a subscription to Kindle Unlimited. If you have read it, I would love it if you left a review on Goodreads.