Sunday Snippet: Quitters Never Cheat

It's been a rough week where my brain wants to do anything but focus on work. We also got eight inches of snow on Friday and the temps dropped way down again. My sinuses are not happy at the moment.

Not a bad week of viewing television. The whole distraction thing kind of kept me from getting a full slate watched. I did get through most of my normal shows.

I started out with My Life Is Murder. I kind of like the new assistant but I'm wondering what's going on the Maddie. I also love seeing actors from other shows pop up on this one. I didn't realize how much Australian and New Zealand shows I've been watching.

Caught another episode of Agatha Raisin and finished up the two-parter. Kind of wigged out that James is getting married to someone else. But I loved the interactions in this one.

Continued the eight-part, I think, Silent Witness. This season is very intriguing with a lot of twists and turns. I'm looking forward to seeing how everything plays out.

Enjoyed another episode of Death in Paradise and didn't remember seeing any of this one. Happy to have it in the watched pile.

Watched another episode of Elementary. The introduction of Moriarity is something I've looked forward to. Not sure how I feel about Joan lying to Sherlock, but I'll reserve judgment until I see how it rolls on screen.

Caught another episode of The Batman. Enjoyed seeing Scarface again. Also liked peeling back the layers of Hugo Strange. He's an intriguing character.

Enjoyed another episode of Classic Rugrats. I don't remember either of them from the original run and liked both. Such a fun show.

Also watched another episode of The Secret Life of Amy Benson. Very interesting twist with Maggie coming back. I can definitely see how the books this series is based on would captivate readers. I do think there's a little loss of translation from the page to screen, but I really love this series a lot.

That's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Quitters Never Cheat, a novella that reunites a couple after a bad breakup.

Here's the miniblurb:

Robbin Rhayne, a talented sculptor, believes she has to suffer for her art. Ewan Arthur makes her almost reconsider the concept—sex has never been better with anyone—until he wants more and she won't commit. Several years later she runs into Ewan again and the spark is still there … too bad they're both in relationships with other people.

And a snippety peek…

Robbin sat at the bar. She'd signaled Stan over an hour ago, ready to leave. Of course, he ignored her.

Fine. I'll get drunk and solve the world's problems with Lois the bartender. As long as she didn't have to think about hers particular set of challenges right now.

"Can I get you another?" Lois nodded toward the almost empty bottle of wine.

Robbin shrugged. "Sure, why not?" She slid her glass over.

Lois quirked an eyebrow. "You're not driving home, are you?" She uncorked the bottle.

Robbin rolled her eyes. "Not sure I'm ever going to get home." No doubt Stan would stay until the bitter end.

Lois poured, topping off Robben's goblet. "I can call a cab or a ride share." She put the empty container in the trash bin.

Robbin almost asked Lois to make that happen but shook her head. "Nah, that's okay. I'm good here—unless you're ready to see the last of me." She wouldn't blame Lois if she were.

Lois flashed a smile. "No way. You've livened up what would normally be a boring shift." Her gaze dropped and her voice lowered. "Incoming at your left shoulder." A grimace marred her face.

Robbin turned and almost slid off the bar stool. She'd definitely had more than a little wine. But … she didn't really care at the moment.

Stan frowned. "What the hell, Robbin? Do you plan to sit here all day?"

She blinked. "I plan for us to head out. I signaled you over an hour ago." And she really wanted to be anywhere but here.

Stan snorted. "Sorry, babe. Not gonna happen. I'm not ready to go."

Robbin sighed. "Look, Stan, I'm tired. If you can't be bothered to take me home, I'll call a cab." She dug her phone out of her pocket.

Stan snagged her arm. "Are you kidding me? You can't spend one damned afternoon with the people I work with?" He snarled the words.

Robbin sent a glance upward to the darkening sky. "In case you missed it, it's almost evening. I did spend the afternoon with your coworkers." She slid off the stool and only wobbled slightly. "And it's not like I ever ask you to hang out with my work crew." They'd eat Stan alive.

Stan barked out a laugh, drawing a few stares. "Why would you? They're nothing but a bunch of low-rent welders who talk shit and guzzle beer."

Lois gasped behind the bar. Robbin's face flamed red-hot. She'd had more than enough of Stan's snobbish crap.

She folded her arms over her chest. "It's good to know how little you value what I do for a living." Especially when she worked her ass off.

Stan rolled his eyes. "Please, you only work that job to support your habit of buying junk for your so-called art."

Robbin's mouth dropped open. So-called art? The thing he supposedly loved the most about her? What happened to the crazy-awesome connections he could make from being in her orbit? Humiliation burned along her skin.

Lois came out from behind the rattan counter. "Look, you two should take this somewhere else. You're drawing a crowd." She put a hand on Robbin's shoulder. "Want me to call that cab?" She leaned in closer to Robbin. "You don't need this moron tearing you down."

Robbin wanted to heave. From the wine or from Stan's outburst, she didn't know. But her stomach roiled.

Stan took offense. "Stay out of this." He grabbed Robbin's arm and whirled her around. "Let's find a spot where you can sober up." He dragged her alongside him into one of the cabanas—a different one from earlier.

Robbin stumbled to keep up, making an effort to maintain a calm demeanor. Her fingers itched to slap Stan for being an absolute jackass. Her shoulder knocked into the frame of the small enclosure.

Once inside, Stan spun her around to face him. "What the hell are you trying to do to me?" He hissed in anger.

Robbin's head spun and her stomach pitched sideways. Two Stans hovered in her line of sight. She tried to pull away, but Stan's grip tightened on her forearm.

He snapped his fingers in front of her face. "I asked you a question, Robbin. What are you doing?"

She tried to tug her arm away again. "Right now, I'm trying not to throw up all over the place." If he didn't let her go, she'd aim for his shoes.

This story is coming together in a way I didn't expect and that makes me so happy.

 

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin

Sunday Snippet: Quitters Never Cheat

Another crazy-busy week but I got a lot of television watched. Finished up some short-term projects and got started a new long-term project that I'm excited about. July is almost over and I'm kind of surprised by how fast it's flying by.

On the television front, I actually got four episodes of The Muppet Show watched. Julie Andrews, Jaye P Morgan, Peter Sellers, and Petula Clark were the guest stars. Had a funny conversation with my brother about the reason I've been rewatching the series—mainly because it's something I remember us doing when we were way younger—and he regaled me with how he remembers certain skits more than he remembers the guest stars … and that's actually kind of true for me, too.

Ended up getting in two episodes of The Hardy Boys also. Really excited the guys got into the secret room and I loved how they completely disagreed about what to do with the pieces of the eye. Interested in what Stacy's game actually is. Something tells me she's not quite as ready to trash everything to do with the circle as she claims. I love how shady all the possible baddies are on this show. I can't wait to see how the first season ends with the finale.

Caught two episodes of Peak Practice and enjoyed both. I liked being able to see Beth and Jack grieve for their loss. Andrew is definitely growing on me, which is a good thing because he sticks around for a long time. Will is Will and I like him as he is.

Watched two more Master Class lessons with David Carson. The first focused on designing impactful magazines and I got some good information from that one. The second one was about designing your future and had the four group members trying to predict what their future would like in design. It was interesting and I liked the group overall.

Enjoyed two more episodes of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. The final with midwinter as the backdrop ended up being really good. The opener of season two with the epiphany set some interesting dominoes in play. I'm kind of excited to see where things go.

Loved the finale of Street Legal. I'm kind of hoping there's a second season because I'd like to know where the characters end up going. I kind of didn't see the partners hooking up coming but I'm interested in how that ends up playing out.

Caught two episodes of Chicago Med. Both were excellent. I'm so happy I'm finally able to catch this show from the beginning.

Ms. Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries had a great episode. Watching James and Peregrine tiptoe around each other makes my heart equally happy and sad. I love seeing the ramifications play out with them though. Next episode looks really good with Percy the Putz stirring the pot again.

Watched the second part of Silent Witness and ended up really enjoying the ending. I think I caught it during my initial run because I vaguely remember how things played out.

Got a full arc of Classic Who in and enjoyed the four episodes. I'm still not sure about the whole new regeneration of Romana but we'll see how the season plays out.

Caught another episode of UFOs: The Lost Evidence. I'm nearing the end of season two and I'm not sure if there's another season or not but I quite enjoy this show.

Started a new episode of Blue Heelers and, so far, it's interesting. There's a reporter that's annoying but otherwise good story rolling out.

Started a new-to-me series with Brokenwood Mysteries. I loved the first episode and look forward to see how the next few hold up to the premiere.

That's pretty much it for television. Tonight's post is from Quitters Never Cheat, a novella that has the main characters reuniting after a breakup.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Robbin Rhayne, a talented sculptor, believes she has to suffer for her art. Ewan Arthur makes her almost reconsider the concept—sex has never been better with anyone—until he wants more and she won't commit. Several years later she runs into Ewan again and the spark is still there … too bad they're both in relationships with other people.

And a snippety peek…

"Argh!" Robbin Rayne tossed her gloves off and swiped a hand across her face. "It's terrible." Her latest sculpture lacked … hell, everything.

Robbin paraded around the metal, steel, and iron structure. "No heart, no emotion, no life." Her work suffered.

Her creative mojo abandoned her—leaving half-assed monstrosities in its wake. Robbin shook her head. "So much for my brilliance." After selling all of her previous work and garnering some critical acclaim, she'd hit a wall. "None of my new pieces speak to me." Or anyone else. Not that she'd shown them to many people yet. Her coworkers at the factory and Stan. Man. I thought hooking up with Stan would spark some creativity. No such luck. Then again, she'd picked Stan because she didn't want to get sucked into anything too deep. But they didn't have much of a connection either. He liked to show off and tried to impress her and she let him do both, hoping some of his confident bravado would seep into her. But Stan barely cared about her struggle with her current projects. He loved the zeroes in her bank account from her previous sales. Liked that he didn't have to support her financially—even though he hated her job at the factory and never mentioned it when he introduced her to his friends and colleagues. When it came to her new material, he'd shrug and say the piece looked fine. Fine? What the hell did fine mean?

"Would be nice if he offered a supportive comment now and then."

You had that once … with Ewan.

Ewan Arthur.

She'd done her best work when they'd been together.

"But Ewan made everything too easy." She feared becoming complacent.

Of having life become too good. Ewan gave her stability, which often became a death knell for creativity. So why does all your new stuff suck? A damned good question. One she didn't want to examine too closely right now.

Robbin is about to face a reckoning but it'll take her a while to admit what she needs.

 

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin

Sunday Snippet: Quitters Never Cheat

Man… another week full of crazy sauce. In all honesty, I could do with a bit of slowing down and a tiny amount of smooth sailing. That said… I won't hold my breath. And it's not like anything majorly negative is going on. It's only being busier than I normally am.

Not a bad week in television. My current obsession with Roswell, New Mexico continues and I rewatched the first nine episodes. This week's episode didn't disappoint and my conspiracy theory side is having a heyday about the fourth alien. I'm such a big fan of how… messy… the relationships are. Awkward interactions abound and I'm totally here for watching all that unfold. So far, I'm also a big fan of how those touchy moments are being portrayed. I love how the core characters are letting the subtext shine and mixing it with lots of snark and offbeat comments. This show… if you're not watching it, give it a whirl. You won't be disappointed.

Caught another episode of Murdoch Mysteries and loved how the show title got worked into the book William and Julia are writing. It makes me wonder if the twelfth season might be the last. If so, I'll fondly say goodbye and look forward to rewatching from the start.

Watched the Arrow "Unmasked" episode and thoroughly enjoyed. I should be to the point where I can catch up on the crossover event with The Flash and Supergirl. I'm behind on The Flash but, sadly, I don't miss it as much as I thought I would.

Caught a great episode of Painkiller Jane. I remembered this one and enjoyed the second viewing. I actually wouldn't mind a reboot or reimagining of this concept at some point.

Started from the beginning of Peter Gunn and watched the first two episodes. I finally found another streaming source that has all of the first season episodes. This is such a great show to watch when the mood to write noir strikes me.

Watched another episode of Underbelly: Razor. Things move fast in this series and I kind of enjoyed watching Kate get served even when she did the right thing. Communication would go a long way in her world. Tillie and Nellie are probably next and I'll look forward to seeing how the cracks and chips start showing in their armor too.

Caught one of my favorite episodes of The Sarah Conner Chronicles. I truly loved how Jessie's gambit finally got revealed and the sole purpose she brought Riley back to the past came into play. And I also liked how Derek is finally edging toward knowing they're working at cross purposes. Good stuff.

Watched the final episode of Birds of Prey and I'm glad I took the time to rewatch this single season show. The last scene is more than worth watching the entire series for.

Started the sixth episode of Strike Back's sixth season. Gotta say the Mac and Wyatt interactions are terrific in this episode. Also love Coltrane's bits so far. I really want to see him rip into the DEA agent for blowing their cover. He's too smart not to know she had a big ass hand in doing that.

And that's it for this television this week. Tonight's post is from Quitters Never Cheat, a novella that started with a writing community prompt.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Robbin Rhayne, a talented sculptor, believes she has to suffer for her art. Ewan Arthur makes her almost reconsider the concept—sex has never been better with anyone—until he wants more and she won't commit. Several years later she runs into Ewan again and the spark is still there… too bad they're both in relationships with other people.

And a snippety peek…

Ewan waited five minutes after seeing Stan drag Robbin into the cabana. He didn't like the dark thundercloud look on the guy's face. He'd check to make sure she could hold her ground then take off. No need to stay since Stephie had given him the thumbs-up after meeting with her bosses.

Making his way to the cabana, he poked his head inside and saw red. "I suggest you let go of her before things get out of hand here." Stan had a hard grip on Robbin's forearm and a firm grasp on her shoulder.

Stan tossed an angry look over his shoulder. "Who the hell are you?" His fingers tightened on Robbin's arm. "This is none of your business."

Ewan whipped his phone out and hit the record button. "I'm making it my business. Mind if I record this in case the lady decides to file assault charges?" Mother fucker better let go soon or Ewan's fist would be flying.

Stan whirled around, dragging Robbin in front of him. "Butt the fuck out, asshole. The lady happens to be my girlfriend and she won't be filing any charges. Not like she'll even remember what happened." He sneered in her direction.

Ewan resisted the urge to faceplant the guy on the nearest flat surface. "Kind of my point, dickhead. Look. At. Her. Arm." Chafed and red from his grip, no doubt she'd bruise up tomorrow.

Stan glanced at Robbin's arm and let go, wheeling away from her. "Shit. Shit. I didn't mean to hurt her. She got up in my face and then started—" He broke off, probably realizing how stupid he sounded. "Doesn't matter. I didn't mean to hurt her." He flicked his gaze in Ewan's direction. "Do you really need to save that recording?"

Ewan barely kept his mouth from dropping open. "Uh, yeah. Unless she tells me to delete it, it's staying on my phone." He moved forward, putting himself between Robbin and her asshole boyfriend. "You okay?"

Her gaze glanced toward him but didn't stay. She nodded, rubbing her arm and rolling her shoulder. "I just want to go home."

Stan growled. "Well, I'm not ready to leave yet, so you're stuck, babe." He made a move toward her again.

Ewan held up a hand. "I don't think so, buddy. You can fuck off if you think she's going back out there." Seriously, she could barely stand up straight. "She can't even function right now."

Stan snorted. "Not my problem. Maybe if she didn't try to drink the entire bar in one sitting, she'd be in better shape."

Ewan bit back his anger. "You might consider why she did that." The whole group heard Stan's less than supportive stance on her work. "Can't you see how much pain she's in?" And, maybe Ewan needed to own his part in making her hurt.

Stan blinked. "From what? I barely touched her."

Ewan begged to differ. "I've got video proof that says otherwise, but I'm talking about the total lack of respect you showed her out there, man. Everyone's talking about it."

Stan glanced toward the pool area. "Fuck. That's just perfect. She brought all that on herself." He flicked a gaze in Robbin's direction. "Find your own way home. I've got damage control to do." Ducking out of the cabana, he didn't even look back.

Robbin swayed forward, her knees buckling, and Ewan caught her before she hit the ground. "Hey, let's get you out of here. I'll call a cab to get you home."

Her eyes filled with tears but she blinked them away. "Yeah, thanks." She stood and straightened her shoulders then swayed again. "I screwed everything up." Her eyes slid closed and she tilted to one side.

Ewan tucked her against his shoulder while dialing for a cab. "Come on, Robs. Let's get you home."

And just like that… he ended up smack in the middle of her world again.

I'm quite happy with how this story is unfolding. Robbin and Ewan are complicated characters and finding their way back to each other is a challenge… and fun to write.

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin

Sunday Snippet: Quitters Never Cheat

Wow, October flew by and I have no doubt November will do the same. It's crazy how fast time speeds along toward the end of the year.

The Walking Dead had a great episode. I really wanted to see where Carol and Morgan ended up. Will probably watch The Talking Dead first tonight.

Gotham keeps me coming back. Very interested in the potential twist thrown in at the end of last week's episode.

The Flash and Agents of SHIELD had great episodes. Very cool to see movement on both fronts.

Arrow, as always, makes me happy. I really like where everyone is headed and I'm definitely interested in discovering who's behind the armor pulling strings. Gonna be really disappointed if it ends up being Malcolm Merlyn. LOL

Legends of Tomorrow delivered an excellent episode. I'm kind of excited about the changes in Ray's status and situation. I love the idea of pairing him with Mick.

MacGyver had a fun episode. I love Jack's weird brand of humor. Looking forward to seeing the rivalry with Murdoc begin next week.

Finished up my rewatch of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries and getting ready to start the fifth season of Longmire. Looking forward to watching Katee Sackhoff again.

That's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Quitters Never Cheat, a novella based on the prompt of writing fiction based on a lie. I had a great time coming up with ideas for this one.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Robbin Rhayne, a talented sculptor, believes she has to suffer for her art. Ewan Arthur makes her almost reconsider the concept—sex has never been better with anyone—until he wants more and she won't commit. Several years later she runs into Ewan again and the spark is still there… too bad they're both in relationships with other people.

And a snippety peek…

Ewan resisted the urge to punch the nearest hard surface. He also refused to acknowledge the way his dick craved Robbin's brand of full-on sex. Afraid Stephie will cut your balls off? Not bloody likely. Stephie hadn't been near his testicles for over two weeks. Of course, Robbin had no clue Stephie wouldn't maim his family jewels… because she had no claim on them anymore.

He'd come to the stupid picnic as a favor. He and Stephie had split up the week before and she didn't have time to find another date. If Stephie showed up sans plus one, she'd get hit on, probably by some of the married guys, and she hated drama like that.

She worked her ass off to land the position and loved the job. Being attractive, quite gorgeous actually, Stephie didn't want her looks to get in the way of moving up the ladder. Or be the reason she made the climb.

It wouldn't take her long to land on her feet and find someone else, but she needed to appear in a stable relationship for the picnic. At least she wanted to give the impression she had a significant other to keep the hounds at bay. Ewan didn't mind playing the role.

He startled when a hand grasped his bicep. "There you are. I wondered where you'd gone off to." Stephie leaned in close, giving the impression of intimacy, but she whispered, "You can leave if you want to. I can always come up with an excuse for why you had to go." Her fingers trailed down his arm, keeping up appearances.

Ewan shook his head. "No, I'm good." He laced their fingers together. "Seriously, Steph. Let's go hit the buffet and you can dazzle the bigwigs." Leading her in the direction of the spread of food, he nodded toward two executives she wanted to impress.

She flashed a smile. "Thanks, Ewan." Her hand squeezed his. "You're the best post-breakup date ever."

Actually having a lot of fun writing this one. It's a little twisty but not overly filled with angst.

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin

Sunday Snippet: Quitters Never Cheat

Hello,

It's BACK! Strike Back premiered Friday night and within two minutes I wanted to throw stuff at the TV. That's a great show, folks!! LOL

Tonight's post is from Quitters Never Cheat and it doesn't really tie into one of my favorite television shows other than the fact that my two awesome soldiers don't tend to string their sleeping partners along. This is a lesson Robbin could stand to learn. J

Here's the tagline:

Robbin Rhayne, a talented sculptor, believes she has to suffer for her art. Ewan Arthur makes her almost reconsider the concept—the sex is great—until he wants more and she won't commit. Several years later she runs into Ewan again and the spark is still there…too bad they're both in relationships with other people.

And the snippety peek…

Robbin grabbed Ewan's face and mashed her lips against his. He resisted for a moment then grasped her hips, pulling them flush against his groin. The rigid line of flesh nestled between them had Robbin getting wet with anticipation. He still reacted to her and she wanted him buried deep as soon as possible.

She thought it would happen when he pinned her shoulders to the wall, his hand drifting up to cup a breast. Her nipple responded, tingling under his touch. Two seconds later he tore his mouth from hers and stumbled back and away.

Breathing harshly, he rasped. "What are we doing here, Robbin?"

Biting back a disappointed moan, she answered with a question. "Why did you stop? I thought you were game for this?"

He snorted. "I was at first. Then I remembered it's a thing for you. Doing the unexpected and unacceptable and getting away with it."

She glanced away. "Sometimes it is." She met his gaze again. "There's nothing wrong with that. There's no reason you and I can't have a little fun when we're both bored out of our minds. We used to do this kind of thing all the time and get away with it."

Disappointment filled his gaze. "You know, Robbin, it's not about getting away with it. It never was." He turned and paced back and forth. "Sure, we had sex in some crazy places and took chances with getting caught, but it was never about the risk involved—until I asked for more." He stopped and faced her. "You couldn't deal with what you felt so you ran. And that's okay." He waved his hand between them. "But this…you and me, right now…not gonna happen."

She hated how damned accurately he'd pegged her. And she wanted to lash out.

She sneered. "Too afraid to cheat, Ewan? Think Stephie will cut your balls off?" Why not go for the jugular?

He slowly inclined his head. "You know what? I would cheat. If I thought it would go anywhere. But I won't win." He took a step forward, getting up close and personal again. "And I play for keeps. So no. I'm not gonna take the risk." He jabbed a finger in her shoulder. "And that's something you know all about, so shut the hell up and walk away now."

She wouldn't give him the satisfaction. "Oh, I don't think so, Ewan. I'm staying right here."

He shrugged. "Fine. I'll leave." He leaned in close. "But remember this. Quitters never cheat, Robbin. And they don't win. Ever." Reaching past her, he opened the door and exited the storage building.

Robbin closed her eyes, sinking slowly to the floor and brought her knees up. Wrapping her arms around them, she rested her forehead against her legs. She so deserved his scorn. What the hell had she been thinking?

She hadn't been.

Seeing him again? Fuck. It reminded her of what she gave up when she walked out. Five minutes in the same space and she wanted him more now than she had then. And the stupid reason why? He knew exactly what he wanted and wouldn't accept anything less. He hadn't changed much. Grown stronger in his conviction and had no problem letting her know.

Damned if she didn't like it. But his words haunted her. Quitters never cheat, meaning they can't. Not really. And if they're always leaving the playing field, they can't win.

She'd left him once, and until she played by his rules, she'd never win him again.

Slumped forward, hands balled into fists at her sides, she accepted the loss, defeat's bitterness churning in her gut.

Don't worry, Robbin won't stay down long, but she does have one more trial by fire to get through. And Ewan will witness the event up close and personal.

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin