A teacher friend of mine, the very talented Katlyn, wrote this wonderful flash fiction piece as a response to a picture prompt. As soon as I heard her read it I knew I had to post it here. So very appropriate for a romance writer’s blog. But let’s turn it into a challenge of sorts. Read her wonderful, spicy story and finish it. No longer than one thousand words and keep it clean(ish). You can post it in the comment section or link it to your own blog. Your choice.
The picture prompt was Norman Rockwell’s “At the Breakfast Table” . Thank you Katlyn for allowing me to share it. Enjoy (I know I did).
The restaurant was more crowded than he would have hoped. “Drat,” he mumbled as he waited, cursing his decision to meet here. He knew she would be looking for a man with a hat and a copy of yesterday’s edition of The Post, but he guessed she would not expect him to be fully hidden by it. Oh well, desperate times and all.
He attempted to read, but was too distracted by the bustle of the cafe and his anticipation of what was to come.
Soon he felt a presence, and was torn between remaining fully camouflaged by the paper and sneaking a glance around it. He opted for the safe alternative- a glance downward.
He noticed the billowing of a floral dress, a pair of black stiletto heels approaching him at a somewhat alarming rate. The chair across from him moved and then settled. Her leg tapped his underneath the table. He blushed.
He could feel her leaning in. She whispered through the still expanded paper, “Having second thoughts?”
He tried to stop his hands from trembling. Discretion was his first priority, and a shaking newspaper was far from silent. “Only about the location,” he whispered back. His necktie felt suddenly tighter. He loosened it. Then, with a sudden bout of bravado, he breathed, “Where can we go?”
Author Natalina Reis 