Sunday Snippet: The Hot Not Date

Yeesh. We're already halfway through the month and I have barely scratched the surface on holiday stuff. In all fairness, I'm not really feeling it this year. There's just too much terrible going on from mass shootings to the kidnapping of people off the streets. Good will toward man doesn't seem to be a thing anymore … unless it's a specific type of man.

Ohio is super cold and snowy right now. We got about six inches last night and the temperature plummeted down to single digits. It's in the teens at the moment. Won't last long. We're supposed to be in the mid-fifties by Thursday. Seriously.

Work projects are moving along. I'm finishing up a proofread and working on a copy edit. I have another new project getting ready to start soon and another copy edit coming next week. I also have the memoir that I'm reviewing as the author makes changes.

I got a few of my regular shows watched this week. I'm still in a blah place and haven't been able to dedicate the time to viewing. I did get a good bit of my mountain of laundry completed, which is a huge accomplishment. I have a new hanging rack I want to get set up but can't until I get the backlog of clothes cleared.

I did finish up Foyle's War and will be starting a new season this week. The next one only has two episodes, which means they might be a little longer. If that's the case, I might be breaking the episodes into two chunks.

I also got the season finale of Beyond Paradise in. I wanted to get it watched before the holiday special and I got it done. Really hope there's some good stuff around the corner for Esther and Archie. My fingers are crossed. Also … Martha and Humphrey are really great foster parents. It hurts my heart every time they send one of their fosters back.

In an odd twist, I caught a holiday episode of Poirot. Thoroughly enjoyed the mystery even without Hastings and Miss Lemon or Inspector Japp. Gotta say the Egyptian prince being a complete prat ended up being fun to watch. I would not have blamed Poirot if he lost his calm and thwacked that guy on the head.

That's it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from The Hot Not Date, a novella that got a start with a writing community prompt.

Here's the miniblurb:

When Keefer meets Bryce, she's on a date with Mark and Keefer is bummed she's already taken. But things aren't exactly as they seem and by the end of the night, Keefer discovers his insta-crush may not be one-sided.

And a snippety peek…

Bryce Cannon checked her reflection in the full-length mirror. "Not bad. At least Mark will have something pretty to look at during dinner." Not that Mark cared how she looked.

Her best friend might not even notice she'd put in some extra effort for their dinner date. But she had to try … he'd been moping for close to a month post breakup. Not that she blamed him. His super-steady since high school girlfriend accepted a job in another state then gently suggested she and Mark should call it quits.

Bryce pursed her lips after swiping some tinted lip balm on. "Eight years down the drain. Damn." Her heart went out to Mark.

She didn't know how to feel about Alisha cutting ties with Mark. Bryce had been friendly with Alisha … how could she not be when her oldest friend on the planet had fallen hard for the other woman. But Bryce hadn't been able to really process the about face yet.

A quiet knock sounded on the bedroom door. "Bryce? You decent?"

She stashed the lipstick in her purse and opened the door. "No, but you love that about me." Her lips curved in a smile.

Mark rolled his eyes then stepped back and blinked. "Wow. What's the occasion?" He gave her a slow once-over. "You look amazing."

She did a spin. "Yeah? Thanks." She could always count on him to give an honest opinion.

One of the many things she loved about him. He never tried to feed her bullshit. She could not say the same for some of their other friends.

Mark tilted his head to one side. "Seriously. What's the occasion?" He straightened. "Wait. You did this for me, right? What's your plan?" He started heading for the front door.

Bryce followed, turning off the light in her living room. "No plan. Just a fun not date to remind you you still have game." But he maybe needed a refresh on the rules.

Mark's eyebrows arched. "In other words, you're gonna play wingman." He pushed the door open and held it for her.

Bryce laughed. "More like sports trainer. You know, the person to help you get back on the field." She slid into his trusty Honda.

Mark got in and started the car. "Bry?" He turned to face her. "Thanks."

Her mouth curved. "You're welcome. Now … where are we going?" She put her seatbelt on.

Mark gave her a wide smile. "Duncan's on the Square. Jack said they've got the best burgers in town right now." He backed out of his parking space.

She hadn't been there yet. "Excellent choice. Let's go."

I think this one is going to be a lot of fun. Banter is one of my favorite things to write.

 

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin

Sunday Snippet: Hot Not Date

Had a fairly decent week with work projects coming together and the upper respiratory yuck staying solidly in the background. I continued improving and the cough is down to a manageable level with over-the-counter meds. Whew.

I'm almost finished with Batman: The Animated Series and then I'll get back to a wider variety of shows again. This week's episodes were "Love is a Croc," "The Ultimate Thrill," "Cult of the Cat," which I go back and forth on whether I like it or not. "Critters" is not one of my favorites. I do love "Animal Act" because Dick gets to revisit his circus family and it's followed by my favorite season three episode of "Old Wounds," which shows the messy breakup of Batman and Robin and how Batgirl played a role. I have a few issues with season three and one of them is the way Bruce / Batman became a complete hardass and, quite frankly, a giant dick a lot of the time.

"Legends of the Dark Knight" is fun because it's a complete departure from the norm and explores a couple of alternate versions of the dynamic duo.

Almost forgot about "Girls' Night Out," with Live Wire and Supergirl guest starring. That's a fun episode.

I finished up with "Chemistry," which is kind of a meh episode for me. I think I have three more episodes and I'll have the rewatch completed.

That's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Hot Not Date, a novella that got a start with a writing community prompt.

Here's the mini-blurb:

When Keefer meets Bryce, she's on a date with Mark and Keefer is bummed she's already taken. But things aren't exactly as they seem and by the end of the night, Keefer discovers his insta-crush may not be one-sided.

And a snippety peek…

Keefer Duncan hung the phone up and turned to his brother. "Yo, Reg, Matize is down with whatever disgusting ick is going around so we're minus a server." Digging into his pocket, he found a quarter.

Reggie grunted. "Told him to stay home, yeah? Don't need him spreading his germs everywhere." He came out from behind the counter and nodded to Keefer.

Keefer flipped the coin and caught it in his fist.

Reggie called his preference. "Heads."

Keefer opened his palm. "You win. I'll serve tonight. We can flip for it again tomorrow." He shoved the quarter back into his pocket, stripped off his chef's jacket, and snagged a Duncan's on the Square T-shirt.

Reggie lifted his chin. "You gonna pay for that?"

Keefer laughed. "Consider it a donation to a good cause." He swapped shirts, grabbed an apron, and logged in to the electronic server.

Reggie shook his head. "You do realize we're down a chef now, right?" He made his way back behind the line prep area.

Keefer rolled a shoulder. "Yeah, but if we ask Dylan to stick around through the rush, we should be okay. I'll have the hosts start prepping salads before the crush really starts and we can shift gears when needed." Not like they didn't have a system in place for this kind of thing.

Reggie grinned. "Good to wade out in the trenches sometimes, too. No job is too small…"

Keefer cracked a smile. "Even when you own the joint." Their shared office, a tiny cubicle by the back entrance, had the slogan painted on its primary wall.

Reggie gave a nod and went back to prepping a veg medley for the special stir-fry on tonight's menu.

Keefer liked the banter with his brother. Reg finally seemed to be having fun again after a rough couple of months nursing his wounds over a breakup. Keefer gave him space and he'd refrained from bringing anyone home since they shared a house as well as the restaurant.

Pushing through the café doors, Keefer figured he might get lucky tonight if he played his server cards right.

Keefer is going on something of a weird trip where he thinks his radar is completely broken and it's going to be fun to watch it unfold.

 

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin