Time Flares
by Herbert Grosshans
The Anniversary Gift
Robert thought his wife Suzan didn't know about his infidelities until she made him a special Anniversary Gift.
Gin and Tonic
Ginger wanted to spend some quiet time on her holiday, but when she meets two handsome men things begin to heat up very quickly.
A Taste of Paradise
When Darrin Parker bought the old house, he bought more than he bargained for. He bought a taste of Paradise.
For Love of Arilee
Is the love of a human boy for an alien girl strong enough to bridge the gap between two different species?
Remember Me Next Christmas
They came out of the moor during a snowstorm the day before Christmas…three women and three men. Beautiful Karima captures Frank's heart, and even when he discovers her true identity, his love for her is stronger than his loyalty to his friends and family.
An Act of Mercy
A chance encounter of two lonely people reveals more than just their names.
Time Flares
Flung back in time two-hundred years, the crew of the Spaceship Synergy must find a way to return to the twenty-third century without changing the past.
Excerpt
The Anniversary Gift
The once majestic oak trees threw dark shadows across the long gravel driveway as Robert drove through the gate toward the ancient two-story house. Looking up at the small window of the attic, barely visible among the vines covering most of the front of the house, he thought he saw the face of a woman looking out, but he knew it was just his imagination. Nobody ever went up into the attic.
When they bought the house a couple years back, people in the neighborhood told them the house was haunted. It was the reason they were able to buy that big house for such a bargain, but he didn’t believe in ghosts. Only Suzan did.
He didn’t bother driving the car into the garage. He was too tired to lift the heavy wooden door. Someday they’d install an automatic door opener. Maybe. The door needs a paintjob, he thought as he opened the small side door. The rusted hinges made a squeaky grinding sound when he closed the door again. And the hinges a few drops of oil. Maybe someday he’d get around to it.
“Honey, I’m home,” he called, chuckling to himself. Even after ten years of marriage he still got a kick saying it. He put down his briefcase, stood quiet for a moment, inhaling the familiar old-wood smell of the house.
The oak floorboards creaked as Suzan came out of the living room to greet him. Tall and slim, her auburn hair falling in soft curls down to her shoulders, she looked as beautiful as always. Her green eyes sparkled mischievously as she brushed her full lips against his.
“Glad you’re home,” she said, smiling. It was her standard greeting, but it sounded good to his ears every time she said it. Especially today. Today was their anniversary.
“Had a good day?” she asked, taking his briefcase to put it into the closet. She always did that. She hated it when he left it standing in the back hall.
“The usual. Got a bit of a headache. I’m glad the week is over,” he answered.
“A nice hot shower will fix you up, honey.” She smiled and stirred him toward the bathroom. “I’ve got your robe already laid out for you.”
“You’re the best.” He put an arm around her.
“I know.” Before she closed the door behind him, she said, “Enjoy your shower but don’t take too long. I have a surprise for you.”
“A surprise?” he called, but she didn’t answer.
He undressed, folded his pants, and put them on the counter. His shirt he hung on a hook behind the door, beside his robe. He even folded his underwear and laid it neatly on top of his pants.
Again he smiled. There had been a time when he would have dropped everything into an untidy heap onto the floor.
That was before Suzan. She had gradually changed him, without him even being aware of it. Suzan had made this neat person out of him. And he liked it. She was a terrific woman. He loved her. And yet…there seemed to be something missing, some excitement.
Their sex life had always been great, except lately it had become somewhat stale, almost routine. Weekends, maybe Tuesdays and Wednesdays, just like clockwork. Only when he was out-of-town on business they made love the day he came home.
As far as he knew, she had never cheated on him, but he had cheated on her.Hotel rooms were lonely places, and sometimes he invited a waitress, or some other woman he met at the bar, up to his room.
But those women meant nothing to him. These encounters were never really satisfying…just a quick release, forgotten the next day.
He looked at his reflection in the mirror. Tall, muscular, his stomach like a washboard, at thirty-five, he presented a handsome figure of a man. Picking up women had never been a problem for him.
When he went to college his reputation as a stud gave him access to a circle of beautiful girls. There had been times when he fucked a different girl every night.
Sighing, he entered the shower stall. The warm water felt good on his skin. He closed his eyes thinking of all those hot pussies and beautiful girls and women he had known.