a collection of short stories from my other stories.

Casual sex is harder than it seems. In order to keep it safe, both emotionally and physically, Jake comes up with a set of rules.

{For those who HATE student/teacher stories, TRY THIS ONE ANYWAYS. I dare you to read it and say it was a waste of time} Alice 'Ace' Spade had fled her horrible foster family by the time she was sixteen and found a way to survive by dancing in a sleazy strip club. One night a man named Malcolm is brought in by his friends and Ace and Mal hit it off. Until the cops crash the club and discover that Ace is only seventeen and a runaway. They force her back to school and back to the foster family that abused her. Her only solace is that Malcolm is now her teacher and sometimes protector. But what happens when they still have powerful chemistry and a growing affection towards each other?

Danika Wisher has a knack at getting herself into very strange situations. With hippie polygamist parents, an unfinished college degree, weird part-time jobs and promiscuous habits, her upbringing didn't exactly scream normal. So, when she meets Landon Armstrong-in a hospital wearing a puffy powder blue dress-she doesn't think too much of it. But when she keeps meeting him, time and time again, she can't help but think that maybe there's some greater forces working there. With her Wallstreet workaholic emotionally distant not-really-boyfriend-boyfriend, and Landon's own cold hearted contortionist ex-girlfriend, they're both emotionally unavailable in their own messed up way and in no place to be in any kind of relationship. But their unlikely friendship might bring them both something that they never had expected to find-their own stars.

Peryn Foster loves cheerleading, America's Next Top Model and camping. So, when her best friend suggests a camping trip, she eagerly accepts the offer because it's a chance to get away from her younger sisters and her mother's plans for the upcoming wedding. Ignoring the fact that her ex-boyfriend and his goofy best friend are coming along, Peryn is looking forward to the trip. What could possibly go wrong?

"Anna dislikes being stuck three-quarters of the way down a chimney. She really does. Not to mention, she's still going round North America, and there's, like, three continents still to get through in about as many hours."

Sometimes all you really need is a place to call home. *** Claire is lost and scared and utterly alone. Her family is in shambles after the death of her older sister Ina, and she's left to pick up the broken pieces of herself as her life heads into a downwards spiral of loneliness. Her heart leads her to 5:48, a little cafe by 33rd street, where she finds her new home. With a broken heart and a speech disability, Jasper has his heart and mouth sewn shut by the winding threads of hurt and fear. Painting and serving coffee in cafe 5:48 are one of his last few saving graces, but the smile he's been painting on himself will soon fade away as everything he's ever held dear slips away from his grasp. Ezra is out-of-sync and oddly cold by the way life has treated his young self. Abandoned by his single mother at an early age, he has grown up thinking that he is a mistake. His constant shaking hands are a reflection of what he often thinks of himself, but the delightful pastries he bakes for 5:48's customers are a reflection of what others see of him. Drew is a quirky rarity. He is a dash of loud, a pinch of exuberant, and a cup of eccentric - just like the meals he serves in the cafe as the only chef there. Behind his playful grins and outlandish clothes, however, are his jutting ribs, hollowed cheeks, and too-thin arms. Sometimes he cannot stomach being in his own skin as much as he cannot stomach food. This family has gone a long way from finding each other, and they'll be going a long way together too as reality comes catching up to them, threatening the newfound happiness they've found with each other. Secrets are revealed, pasts become presents, and lives are changed. Slowly but surely, they find their way back home. *** NOTE AS OF 08/2026: This is the old version of the story from 2012, posted in FULL. Another story that will be considered a reprise of this old version is in the works, and will be posted under the name "Hiraya House."