Sunday Snippet: X Out the Date

We're having unseasonably warm weather for January. The temperature hit seventy degrees today. I'm pretty much planning on having a blizzard during prom season and possibly during my daughter's graduation in May. Just saying.

I've had the unique experience of being project-free for a whole week. I can honestly say it's actually been kind of nice to have the downtime. It's good to catch up on mundane things like clearing my inbox and deleted items files.

Had a semi-decent week of television viewing. I finished up the episode of Frankie Drake and watched a new one. I really love this show.

Caught an episode of Midsomer Murders and finished out the twentieth series. I have a behind the scenes thing to watch then off to series twenty-one. Looking forward to starting it.

Finished the Sapphire and Steel series. I can honestly say the way ended surprised me but not in a bad way. The unique spin on how time functioned ended up being fun to watch.

Also caught the Three Doctors arc of Classic Who. Very interesting to go watch this one because I didn't get to watch during its original run.

Watched two more episodes of Gargoyles. Started the second season, which is a lot longer than I originally thought it was. I've also discovered I'm pretty sure I missed the entire third season of this show. New stuff!!

Started a new episode of Murdoch Mysteries and I'm enjoying it so far. I feel like fans are on borrowed time because sooner or later the shoe is going to drop on William and Miss Hart will be the one to wield it. Not sure how I feel about that, to be honest.

Finished up a Blue Heelers episode and started a new one. Still enjoy this show so much. I love getting a look at how law enforcement works in another country, even if it's fictionalized.

Finally, I've been waiting and waiting for a very long time for an old British show to make its way to the streaming services. It's finally here! I watched the first episode of Peak Practice and I can't wait to watch the episodes with one of my favorite actors. Of course, he doesn't show up until the final season and it's a solid bet I won't be able to wait to watch his episodes, but I'm trying to view in chronological order. We'll see what happens.

That's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from X Out the Date, a novella that started with a writing community prompt.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Preston Ayl and Elliot Newman are on the verge of making a strong commitment. Attending conferences on opposite ends of the country, the week away from each other is proving more difficult than either expects and they're crossing out the date until they're back together.

And a snippety peek…

Preston flopped down on the bed in her room and groaned. "What a loooonnnnggg day." She kicked her shoes off and flexed her toes, something she always did after being on her feet for an extended period.

Too bad Elliot isn't here to provide one of his sexy foot rubs.

Her lips quirked. The man had magic in his fingers… even when one happened to be injured. She laughed when his ringtone sounded from the phone on the nightstand.

Rolling over to grab it, she swiped to answer. "Hey, I was just thinking about you." She sat up. "Wait… is everything all right? It's after midnight in Maine."

Elliot chuckled. "Things are fine here. Well, okay, the temperature is just shy of frozen tundra cold, but the lodge is terrific and the flight was good." He paused a moment. "I have company in the form of Alex for the duration."

Preston shook her head. "What's he doing in Maine? Wait, I don't need to know. By tomorrow morning, he'll have it blasted all over his social media." Tucking her feet under her thighs, she changed the subject. "I'd rather focus on how weird it'll be to not have you next to me tonight."

Elliot groaned. "I know. That's partly why I called. I couldn't sleep so I figured I'd at least say goodnight and see how your day went."

She settled back against the pillows. "Not bad. The flight got in on time and I spent the day on shuttles from the airport to the hotel to the conference venue at the university then over to meet and greet they held at the hospital." She sighed. "I'm still on eastern time so I'm exhausted. How did your day go? Did you take the team from Atlas Health to dinner?"

Elliot filled her in. He had taken the group to dinner and did a soft pitch on the new product line. He'd meet with the full panel the following day and provide an in-depth demonstration and conduct a question and answer session for the employees.

Preston yawned and snagged the notebook on the nightstand. "Okay, I'm calling it a night. I've got my pen and I'm Xing out the date. One down, too many to go until we're in the same time zone."

A scratching sound came from Elliot's end of the line. "I marked my calendar too. I'll talk to you soon. Love you."

Preston signed off. "I love you too. 'Night, Elliot."

I'm not quite sure where this story is going to end up but I love the challenge of having my characters in two different places.

That's it for this week. Happy reading.

Skylin