Sunday Snippet: Throw in the Towel

If February in Ohio can be an angsty monster, March is its drama queen sibling. The wind is doing some wicked crazy things lately.

I'm kind of looking forward to The Walking Dead tonight. Of course, whether I watch the entire episode depends on if Negan makes an appearance. I really, really don't like him eating up screen time. No offense to the actor. He's terrific.

The Flash had another great episode. Dueling Harrisons is fun to watch. I'm truly wondering if Iris has a future on this show. I love the actress so I hope she does. That said, the CW isn't afraid to kill off favorites, so, yeah, there's that.

Arrow had another great episode. I had a sneaky suspicion about Adrian, especially after he mentioned Oliver stole his girlfriend back in the day. Season five is kind of up and down but the threads merge in ways I'm not usually expecting and I like that.

Riverdale is still holding my attention. I'm a little iffy on the jumbled up feeling I get, like there's not really a solid through-line, but I'm more than willing to hang in there and see where everything goes. I chuckle at their previously ons… I know a show that used to slip stuff that didn't make it onscreen into the previously ons… just saying.

Finished up season two of Daredevil and loved how everything came together. Looking forward to more with Matt, Foggy, and Karen. Started Jessica Jones and hit just over the halfway mark. It's not quite as great as Daredevil, in my viewer opinion, but I'm enjoying the acting and the characters. Okay, I'm not really excited about Hogarth, but eh, whatever.

And that's it in television this week. Tonight's post is from Throw in the Towel, a novella that got a start with the writing community prompt of "Towel-related hijinks". Such a fun idea!

Here's the mini-blurb:

Taurin Beach and Craig Wallmartin are top competitors on the mud run circuit. When Craig is caught by a reporter with nothing but a towel, it gives Taurin the perfect idea for catching his attention and finally getting what she wants. Him.

And a snippety peek…

Once she cooled down, she caught sight of Craig Wallmartin, the hot, hard object of her latest fantasies. Fit men made her weak in the knees and Craig could be a cover model for one of her books. Maybe all of them. He'd won the men's division and looked to be chatting with a rep from one of the shoe sponsors. He dripped with sweat and had mud and muck from head to toe—just like Taurin did. Then again, what screamed buy these shoes more than a walking epitome of demonstration? Schmoozing with a rep would be worth the itchy, caked on goodness when the course clay and debris started to dry.

But not for her.

Squeezing the mud out of her hair, she ducked into the mobile shower area the course owners had set up. Stripping off her disgusting clothes, she stepped under the hot spray, thanking the universe for the corporate cash kicking in the extra bucks for the huge comfort. She rinsed off the dirt, sweat, and—ouch—blood. A stray vine of a jagged prickly bush caught her just below the bicep.

"Might help if I learned to look where I'm going."

The small gash burned like hell but cleaned up okay. A little triple antibiotic and she should be good to go. She finished up with a double hair wash and finally turned off the shower.

Shivering a little, she wrapped a towel around her torso and quickly jammed her dirty gear into her duffel bag. Hoisting the bag over her shoulder, she started to exit the shower area into the changing room but paused when she heard voices. She hadn't heard anyone else enter the facilities.

"Mr. Wellmartin, Craig, can I get a few quotes for our viewers?"

Taurin poked her head around the partition separating the changing area from the central hub of the building. Sure enough, Craig stood—a towel wrapped around his waist and still wet and dripping from his shower—blinking at the brazen reporter from mudrunmainia.com. Lori Michels, if Taurin remembered correctly. And didn't the woman have some gall?

Craig's grip tightened on the terry cloth. "Lori, if you'll give me five minutes, I'll be happy to speak with you." He used his free hand to guide Ms. Michels toward the exit.

The woman protested. "Please, Craig, I'd really like to get a jump on everyone else…"

Taurin narrowed her eyes when Lori shifted sideways a little and Taurin caught sight of Lori's phone—recording the exchange with Craig.

Holy shit. The reporter would definitely have a jump on everyone else—an almost naked Craig would drive a buttload of traffic to mudrunmania.com site. Lori kept squirming around, trying to stay in the competitor's zone and Craig struggled to keep his towel covering his midsection. Lori, no doubt, got some very revealing footage.

Taurin couldn't stand the spectacle anymore. She dropped her duffel and rifled through for some clean clothes. Yanking a shirt over her head, she then pulled on some shorts and dashed out into the open area.

She planted her hands on her hips. "Hey, Craig, you might wanna check her phone. She's been recording your entire exchange."

His demeanor immediately went from friendly exasperation to angry disgust.

Lori shot Taurin a venom-filled look before she gasped and tried to play her ballsy move off as an accident. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea." She swiped the back button on the device and stopped filming. "Must've inadvertently hit the camera icon while you were trying to shoo me out." She batted her eyelashes.

Taurin snorted and rolled her eyes. My ass you didn't know exactly what you were doing.

Craig didn't buy the lame excuse either. "I doubt that." He shook his head and growled. "I think you've got what you wanted. Now, get out." He pointed to the exit.

Lori smirked and made a hasty retreat.

Taurin strode back to the women's side and grabbed the rest of her gear then slid her feet into her flip-flops. She turned around and almost bumped into Craig, still holding his towel in one fist.

Geez, the guy should come with a warning label—lethally hot, please don't get too close. Her gaze focused on the hard, bare chest a mere few inches in front of her. She resisted the urge—barely—to touch the smooth skin, marred by a single, jagged scar on his left pec. She'd love to trade war stories about battle wounds… in bed.

Glancing up, she found him giving her a hard stare and she quirked an eyebrow. "Yeah, sorry. Did you need something?" She squashed the desire to list the things she'd be happy to do for him.

He shook his head. "No, just… look, thanks." His voice had gone gruff and grumbly. "For, well, helping in there." His head jerked toward the changing area. "Can't believe she filmed me. I don't get it." He grimaced.

Her eyes widened at his discomfort. Did the guy have no clue? Maybe he didn't.

She flashed a grin. "Are you kidding? Mud Run Mania should pay you. You'll increase traffic and traction to their website once her video goes viral." She moved past him into the less intimate space of the changing area.

Other competitors started rolling in and she dumped her duffel bag on a bench, lifting a hand in greeting to a few.

Craig followed her after throwing on a pair of clean shorts. "Do you really think a video of me in a towel telling Lori to get out will generate that much interest?" He snorted.

Taurin blinked. He really didn't have any kind of idea how hot he looked. Members of both sexes were giving him once-overs on their way to the showers.

She bit back a laugh. "Again, I ask, are you kidding? Hell, yeah, it will." Needing to leave before she said more, she gathered her bag and beat a hasty retreat.

I enjoy writing fun romps and this one is well on the way to being one of those.

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin