**2016 WATTYS WINNER FOR VISUAL STORYTELLING** Letting her appearance fall to the wayside and desperate to find a reason for her life, Marilyn sits half naked in an Urgent Care examination room with a mysterious skin itch. If she can survive the humiliation of being treated by a sexy male nurse while unraveling the hidden drama woven throughout the hospital staff, Marilyn might leave the hospital cured far below the surface of her skin. NURSE McSEXY is a hilariously enhanced true story (with a healthy dose of fiction) about my mortifying experience involving an allergic reaction, Urgent Care and a sexy male nurse. It was an evening in which one of my greatest fears was encountered--only to reveal my better self on the other side of humiliation. This humorous tale is definitely worth calling in sick for! TO CLARIFY: Despite the title, this is not a tale about a hot and sweaty romance. I mean--I wish it was since it's based on a true story. Unfortunately (depending on how you look at it), my life is a lot more on the belly laughing side of the spectrum than the steaming up mirrors side. Just saying.

Startled eyes turn to face me, and my mind confirms what my heart already knows. I would recognize those gentle green eyes, dark eyebrows, the strong chin covered in sexy scruff and shaggy mane anywhere. Isaac's back in town. He is just as beautiful to me now as he was all those years ago. If anything, time has improved him. Last I heard, he started a nonprofit to build schools in Africa. Why has he finally come back after all this time? We are locked in a stare that seems to transport us to another place and time, until at last, his gaze breaks away. ______________ Beth Malcolm is pinning all her hopes on winning the Next Big Thing competition that will not only launch her business, but help her save her beloved family home. Things quickly become complicated when the business mentor assigned to her turns out to be her exfiance. Loosely based Jane Austen's story, "Restless Hope" is a modern Persuasion meets Shark Tank. I update every Friday. Enjoy! ©2016 Sarah Benson

My feet hit a particularly slippery patch. Without warning they rocketed out from under me. Mr. Break and Enter came with me, courtesy of me re-establishing my grip in his shirt in a failed attempt at anchoring myself. Pain started in my backside and travelled up my spine, but I was paying it minimal attention. I was too busy being consumed by the heavy weight on top of me and marvelling over the deep smooth voice muttering in my ear. “- never doing the old man another favour, so long as I live.” Before I could collect my scattered thoughts the person on top of me reared back to rest his weight on his elbows, an action that caused his hips to press down into mine. My breath caught in my throat as my startled gaze met his. A pair of vibrant green eyes stared back with more than a hint of annoyance bleeding out of them. Full lips were pressed together like he was biting back an insult directed at me, and locks of black hair framed a near symmetrical face, one with high cheekbones and a strong jaw line. “If you’re going to kill me, I’d prefer it if you didn’t do it with an axe,” I blurted. I immediately cursed my runaway mouth. Come on, brain, where are you? Time to join the conversation. Dark brows drew together and he leaned even closer, almost like he was trying to assess my sanity levels. “What?” Embarrassment was pushed back in favour of deep suspicion. “Well, if you’re not here to kill us then I guess you want to rob us. Go ahead. Annabel has some expensive luggage that will sell for a nice buck. And take her Hello Kitty collection while you’re at it. None of us will be sorry to see those creepy cats go.” The boy on top of me shifted his weight and used one of his hands to brush the curls back from my face. With a gentleness that surprised me, he cupped one of my cheeks. “Are you okay?” he asked, clearly concerned. “Did you hit your head when you fell?”

Henley agrees to pretend to date millionaire Bennett Calloway for a fee, falling in love as she wonders - how is he involved in her brother's false conviction? ****** Henley Linden's brother is in jail for a crime he didn't commit, and she'll take any job to raise the money needed to free him. Soon, she's agreed to pretend to date millionaire Bennett Calloway for ten thousand dollars, so his mother will ease up the pressure on him to find a wife. But once Henley is enmeshed in Bennett's world, he falls for her, and she starts to have feelings for him as well. Despite her romance with Bennett, as she grows closer to the Calloways, Henley realizes they are somehow involved in her brother's conviction. Journeying deeper into a world of wealth and conspiracies, Henley is forced to rely on Bennett, though doing so could cost her everything. [[word count: 200,000-250,000 words]]

Seventeen, pregnant, and in love with the most popular boy in school. Better still, he's in love with her. Things change for Emmeline after she goes into labor during class, a couple of weeks before she's due. The heartless teachers let her know exactly how they feel about her condition. In the emergency room, she's met by fighting parents who turn the hospital into their own version of a reality TV show set. This is no longer the dream delivery and labor Emmeline was hoping for. But still, Nicolas is there holding her hand, trying to make every last moment perfect for her and their new baby. Nicolas needs to make a lasting impression that Emmeline can hold onto. His time is running out. Can moments of perfection last? Can there be a happily ever after for her and the boy who should ever have been together?

FREE STORY WITH EXCLUSIVE CONTENT. This is *not* a Paid Story. Eighteen-year-old hockey prodigy Elliot Wexler has three goals for senior year. One: somehow graduate with a 3.5 GPA. Two: hide his bipolar disorder from his peers. And three: make it into the NHL with no scandals. Piece of cake. What he doesn't expect is to find Lucy, a homeless girl, hiding from the winter frost in his dad's shed. Elliot's busy, complicated life doesn't permit room for error, and falling in love with a girl from a totally different world sounds like the opposite of a good idea. But Elliot can't help but be drawn to Lucy and her elusive ways--even when she seems to vanish from his life non-stop, each time leaving him with a bigger hole in his heart. But Elliot is determined to break down Lucy's barriers. And when he does, he discovers that her life is more complicated--and dangerous--than he could have imagined. With drafting season approaching, and Elliot's fragile mental health deteriorating, he's forced to face a difficult question: Is first love supposed to hurt so much? *** PLEASE DO NOT ADD THIS STORY TO GOODREADS.

Rayleen Banks is 24 years old working as an underestimated editor for an Oil company in New York City. Always being criticized by her falcon looking boss Ms. Newmort, Rayleen just can't seem to get a break. The only source of happiness comes from her blonde best friend Amy who is constantly helping her move on from her demented past. But once she becomes the personal assistant of Elliot Carter, sexy and mysterious business man by day and a sadistic Dominant by night. Rayleen still being a virgin, taps into her sexual side and becomes a part time submissive to her boss. After a questionable encounter with a fellow dominant, Rayleen confesses her darkest secrets which she has been bound to most of her life.. As love is added into the mix of BDSM, Rayleen is on the verge of losing her mind and Elliot is next to her every step of the way. Rape, murder, Arson, breakups, tears, suicide and many other tragedies begin to fill her life as she struggles to begin to love herself and her boss. But is Elliot who he says he is? Is her best friend Amy who she says she is? Everything that has been kept from her, her whole entire life is revealed in only a matter of months. And love and the will to truly forgive is put to the ultimate test, dropping the chains....of true possession, once and for all. All Rights Reserved

**WINNER of The People's Choice Watty Award** Finn Harlow met his soulmate in kindergarten, but fate wasn't kind and she ended up marring his best friend. After years of watching in silent agony, he's certain he's met a girl who can finally mend his broken heart--until he finds her in the arms of her lover. In walks Holden Drake; dark, mysterious, and dripping in confidence. All the things Finn wishes he was. He promises to turn Finn into a modern-day Casanova and offers a guarantee that no woman will leave Finn again. But something about Holden doesn't seem right and the deeper Finn pries, the more he stumbles into a world of sex and scandal, leaving him forced to decide if he will risk it all to chase his first love, or succumb to the invitation and join Holden's club.

For single mother Sam Martin, her life is broken, derailed by a history of abuse, broken dreams, and an ex-husband who refuses to take no for an answer. But all that changes when she meets Erik Maystrom and his widowed sister, Olivia. Suddenly, life becomes a much better place, made even better when Sam learns that Erik holds a special piece of her past. But what happens when she can't let go of her imperfections and hidden scars? Can she find true love and acceptance with Erik, or will she return to the life she always knew, unable to let go of the past that has long kept her rooted in regret? Liz Durano © Copyright 2014. All rights reserved. #ProjectWomanUp