Sunday, March 18, 2007

Spin Me A Yarn

This week's topic is more of a challenge, so I'm going to go ahead and post now to give you time to think.

The idea is that the person ahead of you will pick a genre/style of writing, a prop, and a line (dialogue or non), and you must use these to write a short story. Since I was the one picking the topic, I called up Caitlin to pick for me, and this is what I got:

Genre: Romance/Bodice-ripper
Prop: Marshmallow Peeps
Line: All of her loneliness and confusion welded together in one upsurge of devouring yearning

I'm still in the middle of writing it, and I'll post it as soon as I can - probably tomorrow morning, but I figured the earlier I posted this, the better. Keep in mind who is writing after you, and pick accordingly. Since Glenn has taken creative writing classes, I would have no qualms about giving him the most outlandish crap I can think of. However, I'm not giving myself much time to think of anything, so here you go Glenn:

Genre: Horror/Thriller
Prop: A used condom
Line: If only I had my toothbrush.

Update: The Smoky Mountain Rogue

Amelia would never trust another man again. At least that’s what she told herself as she cleared the plates from her tables. She had been hurt many times in the past, but now was her chance to start over with a clean slate. She had quit her job in Chicago, tired of the hustle and bustle, the stress, and more importantly the lies that it seemed every man she had been with had told her. She moved to Copperhill, Tennessee, and desperate for something to distract her, took a job waiting tables in a local restaurant called the Iron Horse.

The town was small, one of those where everyone was related to or at least known by everyone else. It was quaint, and the people felt honest. However, in such a town it was glaringly obvious that she was a stranger. Still, the people were friendly and welcomed her as one of their own. One person in particular seemed to take a keen interest in Amelia.

His name was Grant, and he was the owner of a local rafting company. He was arrogant, stubborn, and used to getting his way, Amelia thought, but certainly easy on the eyes. He was a little over six feet tall, with sun-kissed blond hair, eyes that made the sky look pale, skin a golden bronze from working outdoors, and a smile that could break the heart of anyone in close proximity, male or female. And though she had never seen it herself, she was confident from the way his shirt hugged his muscular shoulders, and the way his butt looked in a good pair of jeans, that country living had sculpted his body into a shape Adonis would envy. But her life had changed now, Amelia reminded herself, she didn’t need a man to come and ruin her life now that things finally seemed to be getting back on track.

Grant came into the Iron Horse daily, and always sat so he could watch Amelia work, fascinated by the show she put on for other people. He had seen women like her before, utterly vulnerable, yet putting up a hard exterior for the public to see. She intrigued him, yet every attempt to talk to her was shot down before he got beyond a greeting. Still he persisted, and every once in awhile he would get to see her let down her guard before she realized what was happening and snapped it back up again.

This went on for months - Grant charming Amelia into opening up, and Amelia admonishing herself later for letting him get to her. She was repulsed by his conceit, and yet, as time went on she began to see something past that, as if his bravado was a show of his own. She wanted more, but just didn’t think she could risk getting hurt again, as if her heart would literally break if it happened one more time.

One night, Amelia was sitting in her living room, getting ready to settle down with a book and some marshmallow Peeps she had bought at the Piggly Wiggly earlier that day, when there was a knock at the door. She wasn’t very social, so she hesitated, unsure of who could possibly be calling on her. She opened the door a crack, and there was Grant, his body silhouetted by the setting sun. Instantly, panic swept over Amelia. This was so unexpected that she didn’t know how to react, not to mention she was wearing some old track pants and a faded t-shirt.

In her moments of indecision, she ended up just gawking at him until Grant had to ask if he could come in. Dumbfounded she stepped aside and opened the door, letting him in. He sat down on the couch, and, surfacing out of her daze, Amelia offered him some tea. He refused, and she sat down opposite him, unsure of what to do next as his eyes burned into her. Finally, he spoke. “I don’t know how much longer I can play this game.”

Amelia was frozen - was she that transparent? She wanted to give in, but instead stood up and turned away from him. “ I think you need to leave.”

She waited to hear the door shut, but was surprised instead by a gentle touch on her arm. “I don’t think I can stand to be away from you any longer. If I walk away now, I don’t think I could ever come back. You’ve become my reason to get up every morning and I don’t know that I could stand living here anymore if I didn’t have you.”

With that, she melted. Amelia turned, and as his lips found hers she wondered if this was a mistake. Just then, his warm arms encircled her with his gentle strength, all doubts vanished. The kiss deepened, and she allowed her hands to wander, caressing his broad shoulders and rippling abs. In those moments, all of her loneliness and confusion welded together in one upsurge of devouring yearning, and she quickly started to undress him.

In her haste, her clumsy fingers fumbled every button on his shirt. After agonizing minutes, she removed it, and worshiped the body that was underneath. It was as if he had been chiseled out of the mountains themselves. Grant, enjoying every minute of her cute flustering, made no move to help, but rather, once she was done, whisked her t-shirt off in a second, and carried her to the bedroom. He laid her on the bed, and teasing her just a bit, slowly removed her track pants, relishing the tension it created from her frustration. Unable to wait any longer Amelia practically ripped off his jeans and pulled him on top of her. It was nice to feel the weight of a man on her again, she thought.

Grant, his lips gently brushing her neck, softly traced the curves of her body this his fingertips, her breasts, her thighs. Amelia arched against him in longing. She could feel the stiffness of his member, and she couldn’t contain herself anymore. “Now”, she said, and Grant, relieved to able to stop restraining himself, slid into her. With each thrust any misgivings Amelia might have harbored were washed away, and she gave herself over to the mounting pleasure. She was glad she lived in the country, for now she screamed with such pleasure, anyone close by would have heard it. They both climaxed, and as she lay there basking in the ecstasy, Amelia thought that the move to Tennessee had definitely been a good idea.

12 comments:

Jen said...

great topic, Stephanie!
I'll admit I felt just a little dirty reading this at work!

Anonymous said...

Yeah, Stephanie. I think we all know what it is you read in your pasttime. Maybe we should have saved this genre for, say, Glenn!

Stephanie said...

Sadly I have to admit I've read a romance or two. It was actually when I working at the camp up in TN. One of the chaperones for a group gave a Nora Roberts book to me, and for a lack of anything better to do I read it.

It was really easy to write, but I felt absolutely ridiculous doing so.

And you're right Caitlin, making Glenn write a romance would've been fun - maybe next time.

Nick said...

Maybe it's my new meds, but nothing registered with my brain until "stiffness of his member."

annie said...

Heh heh - I think we're finally giving all those people searching for "uses of vagnia" something worth reading :-)

Awesome!

Stephanie said...

It could be worse - I think "stiffness of his member" was pretty tame. I could've said something about his throbbing manhood or something like that.

Nick said...

Steph, are you wanting for something?

Guilty truth: When I was a shelver at the library when I was 19, I used to love to look at the romance novels. They were hilarious. They always came back so worn out, and always smelled of a certain kind of perfume (and not uncommonly of cigarettes). Also, the joke with myself was that you could pretty much just open one up to a random page and find words like "throbbing" and "moist."

You'll excuse me if I take another pass as posting this week. Getting used to my new meds as well as transitioning back into normal is taking my priorities right now. Just so you know it's not an insult to your topic.

Stephanie said...

Wanting for something?

I think I'll have to plead the fifth on that one...

I kinda figured you'd pass - not just because of the meds and stuff - I know you weren't too thrilled with the last creative writing topic, so it's not an insult if that's a reason as well.

Nick said...

I would actually not mind a creative writing one- but I just can't sit in front of a computer too long to write something just yet. I'm still getting used to a lot of stuff.

And you don't get to plead the fifth. Actually, doesn't a refusal to answer pretty much mean it's an affirmative?

Anonymous said...

The letter of the law is, "silence is consent." So, we can imagine that Stephanie's refusal to answer is, actually, an affirmative.

Sean said...

Well, obviously. Why else was it "really easy" for her to write?

Jen said...

Just in case Nick and Glenn are interested, I found this: http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN2234170720070324?feedType=RSS