Flash Fiction Friday 2024 – Week 39

Flash Fiction Friday continues in 2024. New pieces appear every Friday on my Patreon throughout the year. The minimum pledge to read them before anyone else is $3 per month. and the number of pieces available is tied to the monthly pledge total so the more you support my efforts, the more you’ll get to read. Find out what they’re all about and check out some excerpts from this week’s update in this post.

Drinks and a Trance

Katherine said a lot of things every day in front of the mirror. She said she was irresistible to men and women alike; she said she was going to win an Oscar someday; she also said she could eat anything she wanted at all times without ever growing fat. Only one of those things was true.
The cute barista with sunlit freckles on her cheeks and a smile that was to die for had no problems securing a date or a bit of casual fun. She leaned into the mirror, adjusting her red pout and flipping her long brown hair. “Charming, confident, and captivating,” she whispered to her reflection. The validation she received from men and women every day only fueled her already bloated ego.
The phone buzzed behind her as she continued her ritual of self-praise. She glanced at the screen to find a text from the handsome bouncer she’d been seeing for a month now. It said, “Want to grab drinks right now?” and, in her mind, no further convincing was needed. She replied with a confident, “Of course. See you soon.”

(…)

Pup

Caleb woke up with a start, his head throbbing and his body aching. He tried to sit up, but found his hands and feet bound. Panic set in as he looked around, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings. The room was dark, with only a small sliver of light creeping in through a crack in the curtains. He heard the faint sound of a radio playing in the distance.
As his eyes adjusted to the dim light, Caleb realized he was in a bedroom. The walls were adorned with pink floral wallpaper, and the bed he was lying on was covered in frilly, white sheets. He tried to call out for help, but a hand clamped over his mouth, muffling his cries.
“Shh, shh, don’t make a sound,” a woman’s voice whispered in his ear. “You wouldn’t want to wake the neighbors now, would you?”
Caleb’s heart raced as he struggled against his restraints, but the woman’s grip was too strong. She sat him up and removed her hand from his mouth, but before he could scream, she pressed a cloth over his nose and mouth. He immediately became dizzy and disoriented, his vision blurring as he struggled to stay conscious.
“Sleep now, my little pup,” the woman cooed, her voice growing distant as Caleb succumbed to the darkness.

(…)

I Win

Paige sat on a stone bench in the park outside her house, her green eyes fixed on the dice in front of her. She held her breath, her heart racing, as she waited for Frank to make his move.
They had been playing for about an hour now, a risky game of chance and manipulation. The rules were simple enough: whoever lost would have to do the other one’s bidding for an entire month. It was a dangerous proposition, but one that Paige couldn’t resist. Living dangerously was her motto.
Frank rolled the dice, his fingers trembling. Paige rubbed her hands as the ivory cubes tumbled and clattered on the ground before coming to a stop. She let out a sigh of relief as she saw that her number had come up.
“Yes!” she exclaimed, jumping up from the bench. “I win again!”
Frank’s face fell, a mixture of frustration and resignation crossing his features. He knew that he was at her mercy for the next month.

(…)

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