It was the going out of business “Blow Out Sale” at Mom & Pop’s Sex Shop. People had come from all over the Greater Los Angeles area to see what they could get their hands on. I sat in the back room watching the security camera feed and wondered if I’d ever find another job …
“Last night I got really drunk and accidentally butt dialed my ex… with my thumb.” That joke used to kill at parties. But ever since the invention of CellSync, or the “Intercerebral Telephonic System” if you’re a computer scientist or just really pretentious, it’s become obsolete. This new generation of kids have the luxury of …
When you’re young it doesn’t take much to break your heart. The mortar holding together the brick grows stronger as the years pass by. It gives you the illusion that you can’t be hurt, but really just makes it harder for anyone else to get in. If only I’d met her when I was older. …
We make friends and lose them. The people we once were have trouble coming to grips with the people we are and the people we’re becoming. To have a lifelong friend is like playing a game of hot potato with another person where the timer never goes off. You learn to deal with the tension, …
“You go first,” Justin said. I pressed it against my skin, equal parts scared and excited. At the worst, it would hurt really badly. At best, I’d finally be in charge of something in my life, which was spinning out of control. One month earlier my parents informed me of our plans to move. “We’ll …
To read part one, click here. To read part two, click here. To read part three, click here. One missed call... An entire week had gone by with nothing, and now, as I was saying goodbye to Alice and the life we built, there she was. I debated calling her back right then, but decided …
Continue reading Break Ups, Make Ups & Movie Stars (part four)
To read part one, click here. To read part two, click here. Making love to her that night was one of the most emotional experiences of my life. It was as if there was an electric current pulsating through our bodies. We never lost contact, too afraid of letting the feeling slip away and the …
Continue reading Break Ups, Make Ups & Movie Stars (part three)
To read part one, click here. I stayed on the couch that night. As Alice slept in our room, I tried desperately to find the words that might make her reconsider her position. I started several letters, but none of them came out like I wanted. I Googled “love quotes” for inspiration, but nothing seemed …
Continue reading Break Ups, Make Ups & Movie Stars (part two)
At nineteen years old, I met the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen in my entire life. Her name was Alice. I never worshipped Aphrodite, fought for Helen of Troy, or bowed before Nefertiti, but trust me when I say they all paled in comparison to her. I still remember the first time I saw …
Continue reading Break Ups, Make Ups & Movie Stars (part one)
The philosopher Albert Camus believed there was only one truly philosophical question; whether or not a person should take his or her own life. I’m not sure if I was predisposed to a morbid curiosity or if I learned it somewhere along the way. It doesn’t matter. I have it. And along with its many …
Stories by Jared Naylor 