*WINNER of the XOXO Connects flash-fiction contest for a publishing contract with Pocket Books.* What's your deepest, darkest desire? Shelby Weeks is a six out of ten on a good day, but her brains and ambition make up for her woeful lack of allure. Nick Farmer, on the other hand, is a handsome, charismatic man who happens to be her boss. They're also both happily married . . . to other people. Shelby can't help to daydream about her undeniable attraction, but she'll never make a public confession about her feelings. There's really no need. She knows that to keep her idyllic life, all she can do is look, but don't touch. This flash-fiction piece is under 2,000 words and was written for the XOXO Connects contest for the theme "confessions". A huge thank you to everyone who voted between October 19 and 21, 2015 to get this story into the top 5. After the editors read the finalists, this story ended up winning the contest! (c) 2015 All Rights Reserved - R.S. Kovach

Roxy Cruz and Nate Mahoney have been best friends since the age of 7 and were inseparable until Roxy's parents were transferred to Australia. It's been four years and Roxy's family finally return and move back to their old house which is next door to Nate's family. Roxy has grown up into a beautiful, confident and feisty woman and she hopes that everything will be the same as before with her best friend. Only she wasn't expecting her best friend to look like a God and definitely didn't expect to grow feelings for him. Is it worth over stepping the 'best friend' boundaries to see where their relationship will go? I guess the question is: Best friends? To be, or not to be?