Well, another A to Z Blog Challenge has come and gone. I’m both sad to see it go and happy that it’s over. As always, I had hoped to have my posts pre-written and maybe even scheduled before April started. As it turned out, I had the first few written, but by the second week, I was winging it. That said, I am proud that I had every day’s post scheduled for midnight(ish) the following day, and I didn’t miss a day! I even posted on Sunday, though Richard wrote the posts.

I am very happy to be in May now, even though I lost my 34 day posting streak yesterday. Ah well. Maybe I’ll start posting daily and build that streak back up. I don’t know if it’s worth it to try, but you never know. Short posts are fun, at least. I enjoy reading others’ short posts.

If you did the A to Z Challenge, please drop your blog link in the comments so I can come check it out now that things are starting to settle down! As for me, I am going to go off and enjoy a quiet evening with my neglected cross stitch and catching up on some TV.

~Jayden

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Did you miss my A to Z posts? You can read them in any order, but here’s the first one for 2024.

Welcome to the A to Z Challenge! I am excited to share with you some meet cutes (and maybe some sexy scenes) throughout the month of April! Richard is going to be chiming in with a few of his characters from his Hallmark story, too! Here is the last installment, but stay tuned! I might continue a few of the most popular stories.

– Jayden

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The Zoo is my favorite place. The National Zoo in Washington, D.C., where I live, is free. So I go most days. It’s a great place to walk around, and I get to see all the animals. 

My favorites are:

• Alpaca
• Bald Eagle
• California Sea Lion
• Degu
• Eastern Screech Owl
• Fennec Fox
• Giant Panda
• Harbor Seal
• Indigo Bunting
• Japanese Koi
• Komodo Dragon
• Lion
• Maned Wolf
• Naked Mole Rat
• Orangutan
• Przewalski’s Horse
• Red Wolf
• Sand Cat
• Tiger
• Vietnamese Mossy Frog
• Whooping Crane
• Yellow-breasted Chat

Today, I’m at the California Sea Lion exhibit. They’re lounging around in the summer heat, taking a dip to cool off periodically. They look so lazy, but when they get into the water, they can be so active. Just like me. Active when I’m not overheating.

I take my water bottle out of my bag and take a long drink. Before I realize it, I’ve drunk the whole thing. Crap. The water bottle refilling station isn’t close to here. I sigh and resign myself to heading over to the Seal Rock Cafe. At least it’s close.

As I stand up to head over, I bump into someone. I immediately feel a coolness come over my flushed skin as his water dumps all over my shirt.

“Oh gosh, I’m so sorry!” he exclaims.

I look down at the water seeping along my shirt, and then I start laughing. “I was kind of hot!”

I can see the relief on his face. “It’s just water. I’m so sorry.” 

“No, no,” I say, “I wasn’t looking where I was going when I got up.

“Still, I should have been paying better attention, too.”

“Can I buy you another water?” I ask. “I was just going up to the cafe.”

He hesitates, glances over his shoulder, and then says, “Yeah, let’s do that.”

We head in the direction of the cafe, and I can’t help but wonder if he was looking for someone when he glanced over his shoulder… but dare I ask?

---

Do you believe that the National Zoo doesn’t have animals for Q, U, or Z on their website? No Zebras! Crazy! What a fun way to end the A to Z Blog Challenge! If you joined in, drop your link in the comments. I’m hoping to go back and visit a lot of blogs in May!

Welcome to the A to Z Challenge! I am excited to share with you some meet cutes (and maybe some sexy scenes) throughout the month of April! Richard is going to be chiming in with a few of his characters from his Hallmark story, too! Here is the next installment, but stay tuned every day (except Sundays) this month for a short scene! Like and comment, and maybe I’ll continue the more popular stories in May!

– Jayden

---

Ah yes, the toy aisle of Target. The place where nostalgia burrows its way into our lives. I push my daughter’s stroller down the aisle and look at the toys that are making a comeback. I swear I had that exact stuffed dog when I was little. I pick up the box the dog is in because I can’t help but look at it. It has little tiny puppies in its velcro belly. I think mine had four puppies, but it could come with up to six! I put it in the compartment on the stroller I was using for a cart and was just about to push on when I saw a toy that didn’t belong.

A yo-yo was sitting on the shelf behind the dog. I used to love playing with a yo-yo. I could do (simple) tricks and everything. It was a fun time in my life. But now, I try to catch my one-year-old daughter before she tumbles out of my arms instead of trying to wind up a yo-yo. I wouldn’t trade her for the world, but being a single mom is hard work. Her father left me when I found out I was pregnant. I’m sorry she won’t get to know him (his choice, not mine), but my dad is an amazing grandfather, so I’m glad that she’ll have a good male role model anyway.

But I’m still responsible for her, and she’s a lot to juggle. I glance at my watch and realize that I need to hurry before she gets cranky. It’s almost time for her nap, and I would really like to be home before that.

I head toward the baby section and nearly run into another stroller. “Sorry!” I say.

“No problem,” says the dad, pulling his stroller back. He has a daughter who looks to be about the same age as mine.

He waves me on, and I keep going toward baby items. I realize that he’s following me. I feel like this could be the beginning of a horror novel, but he’s pushing a stroller, so that seems unlikely.

When I get to the diaper aisle, I turn and pull the stroller over to the side. Crap. The diapers I like are on the top shelf, and there are none pushed to the front. I might have to either climb the shelves (which I shouldn’t do) or get help (which I don’t want to do). I just want to get out of here. Ugh! If Yasmine falls asleep before we get to the car, I’m either trapped in Target or resigning myself to a cranky baby all afternoon and evening.

I reach up and stretch on my tippy toes, trying to get there, but I’m failing.

And then, the guy with the stroller is pulling into the aisle. “Can I help you?” he asks.

“Sure,” I say. “That would be great. Thank you.”

He reaches up easily and grabs a pack of diapers. “Just one?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he says.

“Your daughter is so cute. My daughter sleeps that way, too,” he says.

I turn and look, and sure enough, both of our strollers have girls sleeping in the same position, with their heads lolling to one side and their hands curled up in a cute way. Son of a gun, she’s asleep.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, seeing my reaction.

“Now that she’s sleeping, she won’t nap if I try to take her out and put her in the car. So… I guess I’m going to be wandering around Target for a while.”

“Will she sleep if you stop walking?”

“Yeah,” I say.

“Great, do you want to get a cup of coffee at the cafe? My treat. My daughter is also sleeping.”

I look him up and down, look at his sleeping baby, and think, why the hell not? “That would be lovely.”

---

Check out what’s going on with other A to Z Bloggers on the Master List, and come back all month long! Leave us a comment if you’re participating, and I promise to visit your blogs, too!

Welcome to the A to Z Challenge! I am excited to share with you some meet cutes (and maybe some sexy scenes) throughout the month of April! Richard is going to be chiming in with a few of his characters from his Hallmark story, too! Here is the next installment, but stay tuned every day (except Sundays) this month for a short scene! Like and comment, and maybe I’ll continue the more popular stories in May!

– Jayden

---

“Shit! Shit shit shit.” I just fell, and I’m pretty sure I broke something. I check my watch and it’s after 9 at night. That means the urgent care is closed and I have to go to the actual emergency room. I really don’t want to do that. I really, really don’t, but my wrist hurts a lot. A lot a lot.

I’m really not even sure I should be driving, but whatever. I certainly can’t afford to pay for an ambulance.

I struggle to get myself presentable enough for the emergency room and get in the car. “Ow, ow, ow,” I keep saying over and over again. This is just not what I wanted my night to look like.

Two hours later, I’m sitting in the waiting room, cradling my arm, trying not to whimper. It just sucks all around.

I can’t stop my foot from tapping. The pain is so bad and they haven’t given me anything. I just want to go to sleep. I’m so tired. I try to watch the people who are coming in and out just to give myself something to do. A single woman with a baby. A teenager and his disgruntled dad. And a guy on his own. Looks to be about my age (thirty). Just as my gaze falls on him, he catches me watching him. Oh crap.

He smiles a little, and I smile back. I watch in fascinated horror as he gets up and walks over to me. “Hi, I’m Xander.”

“Hi, I’m Xara. I’m just waiting for an x-ray,” I tell him, indicating my cradled arm.

“Me too,” he says. “May I sit with you while we wait?”

“Sure,” I say. He sits down in the chair across from mine so we can see each other.

“So, what happened.”

“It’s a long story,” I say.

“It looks like we’ve got time,” he responds with a smile.

I suppose we do…

---

Check out what’s going on with other A to Z Bloggers on the Master List, and come back all month long! Leave us a comment if you’re participating, and I promise to visit your blogs, too!

Welcome to the A to Z Challenge! I am excited to share with you some meet cutes (and maybe some sexy scenes) throughout the month of April! Richard is going to be chiming in with a few of his characters from his Hallmark story, too! Here is the next installment, but stay tuned every day (except Sundays) this month for a short scene! Like and comment, and maybe I’ll continue the more popular stories in May!

– Jayden

---

Doing the wash is the chore I absolutely hate the most. Probably that’s because when I was married, I just did a load of laundry most nights in the laundry room that was adjacent to our bedroom. But now I’m divorced and live in a small apartment with no laundry in my unit and the laundry room in the basement of the building tends to eat quarters. (Yes, you have put in actual quarters. There’s no card swipe. And no, they don’t have a change machine. It’s obnoxious, really.)

So that’s how I found myself at the laundromat on a Saturday with enough clothes to fill four of the big washers. (I can also now tell you that I have enough underwear to get me through an entire month.)

I lug in my multiple bags of laundry and get everything started before sitting down with a book. I could probably go for a walk or something, but I just want to sit and read. Unfortunately, there’s a guy there who is going to make it difficult. I can tell already. He’s not a bad person, just a chatty person. I don’t want to put on headphones because the music would distract me, but I don’t know how else to politely let him know that I don’t want to start a conversation. It’s not him, honest. I just don’t want to talk to anyone right now.

I take a deep breath and listen as he chats away with someone who’s getting their laundry out of the dryer. I know that my reprieve of his chattiness is waning. The person he’s talking to leaves with a wave, and now we’re the only two people in the place.

He walks toward me, and I steel myself. I know it’s coming.

“Hey there,” he says.

I look up at him from my book.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t see that you were reading. I hope you enjoy your book.”

And with that, he walks away down the row to an empty set of chairs and sits down.

I was not expecting that. Now I want to talk to him.

---

Check out what’s going on with other A to Z Bloggers on the Master List, and come back all month long! Leave us a comment if you’re participating, and I promise to visit your blogs, too!

Welcome to the A to Z Challenge! I am excited to share with you some meet cutes (and maybe some sexy scenes) throughout the month of April! Richard is going to be chiming in with a few of his characters from his Hallmark story, too! Here is the next installment, but stay tuned every day (except Sundays) this month for a short scene! Like and comment, and maybe I’ll continue the more popular stories in May!

– Jayden

---

I am only 30 years old, and my hair is falling out. I’m not sick. I’m not doing chemotherapy. I’m just a woman with unfortunate thinning hair. I’ve been mostly successful hiding it under hats or styling my hair, so it’s not obvious, but there’s only so much that can do for me. I went to the doctor, and she recommended some vitamins. So there I was, at the drug store, looking at a long aisle of pills, trying to find the one I needed.

“Can I help you find something?” a young employee asked.

It was nice of him to ask, but I was too embarrassed. So instead of saying yes like a reasonable person, I said, “No, thanks. I’m good.” He walked away, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I continued my hunt down the row of bottles. The vitamins were (at least roughly) in alphabetical order. This shouldn’t be so hard!

I decided to take a lap around the store to give myself a mental break, and then I came upon another person. Nervous as I was, this was a man I wanted to talk to. I tried to get a glimpse of myself in a mirror of some kind to see how my hair looked, but I couldn’t. I just had to hope it was okay.

I didn’t pay attention to what he was looking at. I just wandered over next to him and pretended to look at the shelf, but really, I was trying to look at him.

“Can I help you?” he asked.

My mind blanked.

“Uhh, just looking.”

“At the male pattern baldness section?” he asked, incredulous.

Oh shit. Well, “Yeah, actually.”

I turned my focus to the products in front of us, and lo and behold, there was the one I had been looking for all along. I picked it up off the shelf and flipped it over, glancing over the details on the back. And with a confidence I didn’t feel, I walked away, and hoped that he would follow me.

---

Check out what’s going on with other A to Z Bloggers on the Master List, and come back all month long! Leave us a comment if you’re participating, and I promise to visit your blogs, too!

Welcome to the A to Z Challenge! I am excited to share with you some meet cutes (and maybe some sexy scenes) throughout the month of April! Richard is going to be chiming in with a few of his characters from his Hallmark story, too! Here is the next installment, but stay tuned every day (except Sundays) this month for a short scene! Like and comment, and maybe I’ll continue the more popular stories in May!

– Jayden

---

“Uhhh,” she stood in front of the people at the bar and was suddenly too shy to say anything. She had put her name in to sing karaoke. She had been nervous but had decided to go for it. And yet, here she was, standing in front of them now, staring like a deer in headlights.

And then the music started. She looked at the screen, a countdown clock was running. Was she going to actually get the words out?

She had ignored her friend’s cardinal rule for karaoke: always pick a song people love singing along to. It makes it much easier to sing. But she hadn’t. Instead, she’d picked a love song. One that she adored, but still, it was quiet and slow, and not that entertaining. What had she been thinking? Maybe the malibu bay breeze I had made me more confident, but since that was an hour ago, her light buzz had worn off, and now she had to sing in front of all these people.

The notes played, the countdown ended, words appeared, and before she knew it, she was singing a song she loved, and people seemed to be enjoying it. She caught a few people singing along, and of course, people were chatting, but it seemed to go well. At the end, there was applause.

She nervously put the microphone back on the stand and stepped away, not bowing or making a show of herself like some of the more confident people would.

Her heart was pounding, and her palms were sweaty as she beelined for the bar. The bartender smiled at her. “You did great, Ursula!”

“Thanks!” she said in reply. She smiled.

“Do you want another drink?”

She nodded, confirmed that she wanted another of the same, and sat down on an empty stool while she waited for the bartender to mix her drink. As the bartender handed it over, a man slid onto the stool next to her and said, “That drink is on me.”

Ursula turned to look at him. “Uri?”

“Hey, Ursula,” he said with a smile.

“It’s been a while.” 

“It sure has,” Uri said. “I want to introduce you to someone.”

“Oh?” Ursula asked. Ursula wasn’t interested in men, and Uri knew it, so she was surprised when a beautiful woman appeared next to him.

“This is Uma.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Uma,” Ursula said, extending her hand to the other woman.

“You did a beautiful job up there,” she said with a smile. “What are you drinking?”

---

Check out what’s going on with other A to Z Bloggers on the Master List, and come back all month long! Leave us a comment if you’re participating, and I promise to visit your blogs, too!

Welcome to the A to Z Challenge! I am excited to share with you some meet cutes (and maybe some sexy scenes) throughout the month of April! Richard is going to be chiming in with a few of his characters from his Hallmark story, too! Here is the next installment, but stay tuned every day (except Sundays) this month for a short scene! Like and comment, and maybe I’ll continue the more popular stories in May!

Spoiler: This one isn’t going to be a meet cute, just a cute scene.

– Jayden

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“Scooby Doo is my favorite TV show of all time,” I say as I snuggle up against my boyfriend, Tom.

“Really?” he asks, and I can hear the smirk in his voice.

“Yeah,” I say. “What’s not to love? Funny jokes, hilarious gimmicks, ridiculous storylines, and happy endings.”

“That’s fair,” he says, and he pulls me close. He grabs the bowl of popcorn and watches with me as Dick Van Dyke in cartoon form falls into the Tunnel of Love along with Shaggy and Scooby. I laugh as he tries to find a light switch and falls out of the both.

Tom laughs, too, though not as hard, and I am grateful that I’ve found him. I want to kiss him and hug him and snuggle him forever. Maybe I’m just tired, but I fit so perfectly against him that there is nowhere in the world I’d rather be.

---

Check out what’s going on with other A to Z Bloggers on the Master List, and come back all month long! Leave us a comment if you’re participating, and I promise to visit your blogs, too!

Welcome to the A to Z Challenge! I am excited to share with you some meet cutes (and maybe some sexy scenes) throughout the month of April! Richard is going to be chiming in with a few of his characters from his Hallmark story, too! Here is the next installment, but stay tuned every day (except Sundays) this month for a short scene! Like and comment, and maybe I’ll continue the more popular stories in May!

– Jayden

---

“Did you hear about the submarine?!” my roommate, Sarah, said as she threw open our shared door. I don’t know who designed this dorm, but why they would make it so that the doors could fly open and bang against the wall, I’ll never understand.

“What submarine?” I asked.

“The one that went down to see the Titanic. They lost signal.”

“Oh, wow,” I said, still only half paying attention. I was trying to study for a math exam, and math was not my best subject. I just needed to get through this final exam and then we would be off for the summer. I was ready for it, but…

“You aren’t even listening to me,” she said, but I could hear the jest in her voice. “What are you doing?”

“Studying for this final tomorrow. I just know I’m going to fail.”

“You won’t,” she said. “You always make it through.”

I shrugged. “I’m not so sure this time.”

“Why don’t you call Sam?” Sam was her ex-boyfriend’s friend, who was a genius when it came to math. When Sarah and Chuck were dating, Sam hung around with Sarah a lot. I never really got to know him, though.

“I don’t even have his number,” I protested.

“I can give it to you.”

“I guess,” I said. “Why would he want to help me?”

She shrugged. “He’s just a nice guy. You could offer to like, pay him, you know.”

“Oh, yeah, I guess so.”

“It’s up to you,” she said, and my phone dinged with the notification that she had sent me his number.

I decided that I wasn’t getting anywhere with studying on my own and it didn’t hurt to ask. I hesitated over what to say, but finally settled on, “Hey, Sam, it’s Stacy, Sarah’s roommate. I’m struggling studying for this Statistics final and I was wondering if you might be able to help?”

I put my phone down, my heart pounding a little harder than it had been moments before. Why was I so nervous? He probably wasn’t going to even respond.

And then my phone started ringing. Ringing! Who made phone calls anymore?

It was Sam.

Oh. My. God.

I almost hit reject but then decided not to. “Hello?” I asked, as though I didn’t know exactly who it was.

“Hey, Stacy, I’m glad you texted.”

“You are?”

“Yeah!” He sounded excited. “I love stats, and I would be happy to help you out. Do you want to grab a coffee?”

This isn’t a date, I reminded myself, as I said yes, and made plans to meet in twenty minutes.

---

Check out what’s going on with other A to Z Bloggers on the Master List, and come back all month long! Leave us a comment if you’re participating, and I promise to visit your blogs, too!

Welcome to the A to Z Challenge! I am excited to share with you some meet cutes (and maybe some sexy scenes) throughout the month of April! Richard is going to be chiming in with a few of his characters from his Hallmark story, too! Here is the next installment, but stay tuned every day (except Sundays) this month for a short scene! Like and comment, and maybe I’ll continue the more popular stories in May!

– Jayden

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Romance is dead.

Or at least, it feels that way to me. I just found out that my boyfriend of three years has been cheating on me. He was so romantic, too. He was always sending me flowers, taking me out to dinner, bringing me gifts. But it turns out that all those times he was traveling “for work,” he was actually with another woman. And they were married! Can you believe it? I am so angry that I’m surprised smoke isn’t coming out of my ears. It certainly feels like it should be.

When I found out, I wanted to slap him or hit him or run him over with my car. Of course, I wouldn’t actually do that, but it was a tempting thought. How could he do this to me?

But at least we didn’t have kids. I mean, of course we didn’t have kids. He didn’t want to have kids, ever, he said, but his wife has kids. With him. He just didn’t want any more kids. But he didn’t say that to me. He just said that he didn’t want kids, and since neither did I, we just left it at that. I still can’t believe I fell for it. Hook, line, and sinker. 

I sat down at my favorite bar, waiting for Pete, my regular bartender to bring me a drink, except… “You’re not Pete!” The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them.

The bartender smiled and said, “I’m not. I’m Ramon.”

“Hi Ramon,” I said, trying to recover. I ordered a drink, explaining how I like it (which I never have to do with Pete), and looked over the menu I had long ago memorized, but it gave me something to do.

I ordered my food when my drink came out. It was a slow afternoon and Ramon leaned against the bar nearby, giving me enough space that we didn’t have to make small talk, but standing close enough that I could talk to him if I wanted to.

“So, Ramon,” I said.

“Yes?” he asked, sounding eager to strike up a conversation.

“Why are men so awful?”

He smirked at me. “What did he do?”

I wanted to be mad at the smirk, but I wasn’t. I got the humor in it, especially in my question that was bashing his whole gender. I launched into a tirade about my ex and the shit he put me through. Ramon listened, responding occasionally with the appropriate noises.

When I was done, he slid another drink across the bar to me without asking. “This one is on me. It sounds like you need it.”

“Thanks,” I said.

“Don’t mention it,” he said with a smile. Then he leaned closer. “No, really, don’t mention it. I’m not supposed to buy drinks for the customers.” He winked at me as he pulled away, and I wondered if I should give him my number. Maybe romance wasn’t totally dead.

---

Check out what’s going on with other A to Z Bloggers on the Master List, and come back all month long! Leave us a comment if you’re participating, and I promise to visit your blogs, too!

Welcome to the A to Z Challenge! I am excited to share with you some meet cutes (and maybe some sexy scenes) throughout the month of April! Richard is going to be chiming in with a few of his characters from his Hallmark story, too! Here is the next installment, but stay tuned every day (except Sundays) this month for a short scene! Like and comment, and maybe I’ll continue the more popular stories in May!

– Jayden

---

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course,” I reply, not sure where this conversation is going.

“How often do you come here?” Here is the library.

“As often as I can,” I answer. I don’t work at the library, but sometimes I wish I could. I’m sure it’s not the way it actually is, but it feels like a nice, quiet job where you shelve books and very few people talk to you. I’m sure that’s not reality, and there are a lot of things I wouldn’t like, but it certainly seems ideal when I’ve had elementary school students yelling at me all day.

I am an elementary school teacher, teaching fourth grade, and my kids this year are a handful. So, as often as I can, I go to the library and sit in the peace and quiet. Of course, there are sometimes kids in the library, so I can’t always get away with that, but I do as often as I can.

The gentleman in front of me says, “I can see why. Surrounded by books, sitting in the quiet. I would want to spend every minute here if I could.”

“I do,” I say. “I’m sure I would miss the busyness of the classroom, though.”

“I’m sure,” he says. “I’m Quentin,” he says, offering me his hand. “I’m a substitute today.”

“Welcome, Quentin. I’m Quinn.”

“Q names!” he exclaims. “We’re a rare breed.”

“We are,” I agree. “Are you supposed to be subbing in the library today?” I ask. I hope the answer is yes because my hand in his is warm and I would love to spend thirty minutes sitting with him.

“No, but I’m on my lunch break, so I thought I would take a breather in here.”

“A man after my own heart,” I said with a smile.

“Well, Ms. Quinn, I am mighty glad to have met you today.”

---

Check out what’s going on with other A to Z Bloggers on the Master List, and come back all month long! Leave us a comment if you’re participating, and I promise to visit your blogs, too!

Welcome to the A to Z Challenge! I am excited to share with you some meet cutes (and maybe some sexy scenes) throughout the month of April! Richard is going to be chiming in with a few of his characters from his Hallmark story, too! Here is the next installment, but stay tuned every day (except Sundays) this month for a short scene! Like and comment, and maybe I’ll continue the more popular stories in May!

– Jayden

---

“I can’t even spell it,” I muttered as I wrote my information on the wedding invitation. Invitation. Like I had a choice? My mom would kill me if I didn’t go to my brother’s wedding, even if I didn’t really want to.

The invitation spelled out that all of the food at the reception would be pescetarian because my brother’s fiancee doesn’t eat any meat except fish. I don’t actually have a problem with anyone who chooses to be pescetarian. I don’t even have a problem with having the wedding be pescetarian. What I have a problem with is her.

I mailed in my RSVP card and prepared myself for the onslaught of shit I would have to deal with as I got ready for the wedding. Bridal shower, bachelorette party, and on and on. At least she wasn’t asking me to be in the wedding party. I was convinced that my only brother would want me to be a bridesmaid, but I was glad that she left me out of it entirely.

By the time the wedding arrived, I was ready to be done with the whole thing. I wanted nothing more than to just skip it, but I had no choice. I donned my light pink sheath dress and matching heels. Even if I wasn’t happy about the wedding, I was going to look stunning.

The wedding itself was uneventful. I hoped that the open bar at the reception would be more interesting, but I knew that I would have a bunch of people who would ask me about my date, or lack thereof. I was not looking forward to that.

“Peach martini?” I asked the bartender. He slid one across to me a minute later, and I sipped it tentatively. It was delicious.

“Hello, gorgeous,” a voice said as I turned around, carefully watching the edge of my martini glass to make sure I didn’t spill as I went back to my table.

My eyes flitted up to the voice. “Paul?”

“Hey, Patty.”

“I haven’t seen you in…”

“A decade, at least,” he said. Paul and my brother were best friends as kids. I hadn’t thought of him in ages, but I had always had a crush on him as a pre-teen little sister. “You’ve grown up.”

“You, too,” I said.

“Want to get some air?”

“Boy, do I.”

---

Check out what’s going on with other A to Z Bloggers on the Master List, and come back all month long! Leave us a comment if you’re participating, and I promise to visit your blogs, too!

Welcome to the A to Z Challenge! I am excited to share with you some meet cutes (and maybe some sexy scenes) throughout the month of April! Richard is going to be chiming in with a few of his characters from his Hallmark story, too! Here is the next installment, but stay tuned every day (except Sundays) this month for a short scene! Like and comment, and maybe I’ll continue the more popular stories in May!

– Jayden

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“I play all the woodwinds,” he boasted.

Oh really? I wondered. I didn’t want to butt into the conversation the couple on the train was having, but I wanted to call him on his obvious bull shit. There are a lot of woodwind instruments.

Lucky for me, I didn’t have to. 

The woman said, “Even the oboe?”

There was a pause, and I wanted to turn and look at him so badly, but they were behind me, and I didn’t want it to be obvious that I was listening to their conversation. I had one earbud in, but I had long before paused my music to listen in on the conversation. Was it wrong of me? Maybe. But they were in a public place, after all.

When I sat down on the seat on the train, I didn’t pay them much attention except to note that they appeared to be on a date. They seemed slightly awkward with each other, and there was a lot of that first date little touches that indicated they might want to take things further.

I wondered if they were going to the event at the aquarium. My stop was a few past there, so it would be obvious if they were.

Finally, he answered her, “Okay, so not every woodwind, but most of them.”

Ha.

The doors opened at the aquarium stop and he said, “This is us.” They stood and I watched them leave the train.

I couldn’t help but chuckle and wonder how the rest of their date was going to go.

I felt the brush of someone sitting down next to me, and I glanced in his direction. “I couldn’t help but listen in on their conversation,” he said to me confidentially. I raised an eyebrow at him. “Not-oboe man and his date,” he clarified.

I smiled. “I tried not to listen, but it was too hard.”

“Right? I would bet money that there won’t be another date.”

“Seems unlikely,” I said.

“What about you?” he asked, “Would you be up for a date?”

---

Check out what’s going on with other A to Z Bloggers on the Master List, and come back all month long! Leave us a comment if you’re participating, and I promise to visit your blogs, too!

Welcome to the A to Z Challenge! I am excited to share with you some meet cutes (and maybe some sexy scenes) throughout the month of April! Richard is going to be chiming in with a few of his characters from his Hallmark story, too! Here is the next installment, but stay tuned every day (except Sundays) this month for a short scene! Like and comment, and maybe I’ll continue the more popular stories in May!

– Jayden

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The cookie aisle at the grocery store. It’s my most loved and most hated place in the store. There are so many good cookies, and I want to buy them all. But no, I have to pick one. That’s my rule. Everything in moderation. 

And then I spy it. My favorite type of cookie: Nilla Wafers. They’ve been out of stock recently, and there’s only one more box. But just as I reach for it, another hand grabs it before me. Gah!

Oops, I let the sound come out. I honestly didn’t mean to.

And then I see that the guy who picked it up was one of the most attractive men I’ve ever seen. He reminds me of Dermott Mulrooney. He even has a little scar on the side of his mouth. I want to know what it would feel like to kiss it. I’m snapped out of my reverie by his voice.

“Sorry,” he says.

“Oh, it’s fine,” I say, waving his apology away. “I can pick a different cookie this week.”

He smiles at me awkwardly and then moves off down the aisle. A part of me is a little annoyed that he didn’t at least offer to let me have the box. I would have let him, of course, but it was the principle of the thing.

I was a little annoyed about it throughout the rest of my grocery store trip, but I had mostly shaken it off by the time I checked out.

I was pushing my cart out the door when suddenly, he was next to me.

“I’m sorry I took the last box of Nilla Wafers.”

I shrug, “It’s fine.”

“The thing is, they’re my grandmother’s favorite, and I don’t think she’ll be around much longer.”

“Oh,” I say, my whole perspective changing. I guess I should remember that I never know what someone else is going through. “I’m sorry.” My voice softens.

“It’s okay,” he says, though of course it’s not. I can tell that he’s struggling with the thought that he’s going to lose his grandmother, but also that he’s trying to talk to me… and flirt? Maybe? “Do you want a cookie?” he asks, smiling.

“I couldn’t,” I protest.

“Just a few. She won’t miss them,” he says. He opens the box and dumps out two cookies into the palm of his hand. He gestures to me, and I put out my hand. A couple of cookies drop into my palm.

“Thanks,” I say.

“You’re welcome,” he replies. He takes his hand and wraps his hand around mine, closing them around the cookies. “I hope you enjoy them.”

---

Check out what’s going on with other A to Z Bloggers on the Master List, and come back all month long! Leave us a comment if you’re participating, and I promise to visit your blogs, too!

Welcome to the A to Z Challenge! I am excited to share with you some meet cutes (and maybe some sexy scenes) throughout the month of April! Richard is going to be chiming in with a few of his characters from his Hallmark story, too! Here is the next installment, but stay tuned every day (except Sundays) this month for a short scene! Like and comment, and maybe I’ll continue the more popular stories in May!

– Jayden

---

“Monster and Cointreau,” I ordered, yelling over the karaoke singing at the bar.

The bartender raised an eyebrow at me. I knew the drink had a name. I also knew it was a terrible idea to mix a Monster Energy Drink with alcohol, but I was tired and needed the caffeine. I had tried one once, and it was tasty.

A minute later, I had my drink in hand (added to my ever-growing bar tab, of course) and was just heading back to my seat when the DJ called my name. Ah shit, My turn already.

I sipped my drink as I made my way over to the microphone. When I took it, I looked at the monitor for a hint as to what song I had put down next. I knew it was one of three picks, but I couldn’t remember which order I had put them in. I only ever do the same few songs at karaoke. Call me a creature of habit.

Ah yes, the great crowd sing-along song. Those are often the best to do at karaoke.

When the song ended, the applause took over. I smiled, handed the microphone back to the DJ, and tried to get back to my seat without making eye contact with anyone. I was pretty darn good at karaoke, but I didn’t like to be recognized for it.

Mark, the bartender, came out from behind the bar and over to my table. “Marcy, this is for you,” he said, handing me an identical drink to the one I was almost finished with.

“I didn’t order another one,” I said, secretly worrying that I had, in fact, pre-ordered another drink.

“You didn’t,” he said, “but that gentleman over there,” he nodded in the direction of a lone guy sitting in a booth toward the back, “ordered one for you.”

“Why didn’t he bring it over to me himself?” I asked.

“I think he wanted to make sure you knew your drink was safe. And listen, I know you don’t usually have more than two drinks in a night, and this one would make three. I poured very lightly on the alcohol,” he said, really emphasizing the word very. 

I smiled up at him, “Thanks, Mark.”

“I got your back. And you know if you want me to tell him to buzz off, I’ll get him right out of here.”

I smiled. “Thanks, Mark. What do you think, though? Should I be nervous around him?”

“Other than the fact that I don’t know him, he seems like an all right guy.”

“Thanks, Mark. I’ll keep my wits about me.” I held up my now empty glass to him and took the much less strong one he handed me.

“Always got your back, Marcy.”

It was good to know that I was safe, regardless of whether or not this guy was a creep. But so far, I had a good feeling about the stranger in the bar.

---

Check out what’s going on with other A to Z Bloggers on the Master List, and come back all month long! Leave us a comment if you’re participating, and I promise to visit your blogs, too!

Welcome to the A to Z Challenge! I am excited to share with you some meet cutes (and maybe some sexy scenes) throughout the month of April! Richard is going to be chiming in with a few of his characters from his Hallmark story, too! Here is the next installment, but stay tuned every day (except Sundays) this month for a short scene! Like and comment, and maybe I’ll continue the more popular stories in May!

– Jayden

---

Llama Ice Cream? There I was on a vacation to the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania, driving along a back country road, and there it was. Llama Ice Cream. Is it made with llama milk? Can you get milk from llamas? I pull into the parking lot and park, picking up my phone and googling the name. It’s definitely an ice cream store. And it’s definitely not made with llama milk. I have to try it, though. How can I not? With flavor names like lucuma, passion fruit, cherimoya, soursop, guanabana, dulce de leche, coconut…

I enter the small store, and it’s quaint, with just a few tables to sit at and a large counter with all of the ice creams on display. A large sign describes each flavor. I’m standing there, reading the sign, when someone comes out of the back room.

“Welcome!” she says with a bright smile.

“Hi,” I reply, brushing my long hair back from my face. I go back to looking at the flavors.

“You’re welcome to try any flavor you’re interested in,” she says.

I chuckle, “I want to try all of them.”

I glance over my shoulder at her, and she says, “That’s fine, come on over.”

Maybe it’s the fact that she’s feeding me delicious ice cream samples, but I can’t get over how cute she is.

When I get to the last one, I’m disappointed. Our almost flirty banter has been enjoyable.

“Have you picked your favorite yet?” she asks.

I have. It’s her, but I can’t say that. “Lucuma,” I say. “Just a small.”

“In a cup or cone?”

“Cup,” I reply.

She goes over, and I watch her pick up not the smallest cup and pile it high with ice cream. I’m never going to finish all of that. She brings it over and says, “This is my favorite flavor.”

I smile at her and wonder if she’s actually flirting with me. “Do you want to share?” I ask.

Her grin is unmistakable. “Yeah, let me just go take my break.”

She goes off to the back of the store, and I hear her voice but can’t make out the words, and then she’s back. She takes off her apron and says, “Do you want to sit outside?”

“Sure,” I say and follow her out onto the porch. I’m so nervous, I’m not sure I can even eat my ice cream, but damn if I’m going to turn down sharing with this beautiful woman.

---

Llama Ice Cream is a real place! I stumbled upon it on vacation and thought it was a fun setting for this meet cute!

Check out what’s going on with other A to Z Bloggers on the Master List, and come back all month long! Leave us a comment if you’re participating, and I promise to visit your blogs, too!