Chapters tagged slice of life

by TalesInTemptation

Chapter 31

The tap of a door being pulled shut accidently to hard, was what woke her. Natalie blinked, as her eyes adjusted to the haze of early light filtering through the curtains in her room. The bed was a mess beneath her. The sheets tangled around her legs; comforter bunched near her...

by TalesInTemptation

Chapter 32

7 a.m.? He asked himself, regretting being up so early after last night. He was glad he didn’t have a class first thing this morning. The grin on Aiden’s face lingered for a second longer until the sound of her door shutting left him alone with the cereal and the only remaining...

by TalesInTemptation

Chapter 33

Dinner was casual as it always was. A simple affair at the little dining table she had. It was the kind of low-stakes meal that didn’t invite anything formal. Natalie had readjusted her hair into a loose clip, a few strands still refusing to be contained and falling forward as sh...

by TalesInTemptation

Chapter 36

“…so I said there’s no way that counts as a proper research source,” Jenna was saying, her expression caught somewhere between amused and exasperated. “It was literally a BuzzFeed quiz.” Aiden smiled, pulling a swig from his cup. “Honestly? I’d give you the A just for calling it...

by TalesInTemptation

Chapter 37

Natalie looked up surprised as he came through the door. She was curled into her usual corner with her signature glass of wine in hand, with her hair down and loose around her shoulders. She wore a spaghetti strap tank and a pair of light, silky shorts that barely reached the hem...

by TalesInTemptation

Chapter 42

Natalie heard him moving as she came out of her room to go to the kitchen. The soft thud of a cabinet, the pull of the fridge door opening, and then closing again. She took a second in the hallway, steadying her breath. Her heart hadn’t slowed all morning since she opened her eye...

by TalesInTemptation

Chapter 43

The rest of Sunday passed at a crawl. Natalie kept herself busy with laundry, dishes, anything she could find to keep her busy, choosing to skip her yoga for the morning. She stripped her bed, remade it, washed the old sheets, then stripped it again because she didn’t like the wa...

by TalesInTemptation

Chapter 44

Natalie stepped into the office building just before nine, chewing the last bite of a protein bar as she hit the elevator button. The building was already buzzing with people. Her nerves hadn’t fully calmed and she felt like she was aware of every heel striking on tile, fingers t...

by TalesInTemptation

Chapter 45

The apartment was quiet when she walked in. The day had dragged, but at least it ended up being productive, even though there were meetings that could’ve been emails. Campaign revisions no one could agree on. Someone from upstairs had taken the last of the cold brew from the offi...

by TalesInTemptation

Chapter 47

Natalie flipped down the visor and gave herself a quick once-over. She touched up her lip gloss, with one more pass, a tap at the corner of her eye to catch a smudge. Hair still holding. Dress still sitting how it should for the most part. She adjusted the wrap slightly at her ch...

by TalesInTemptation

Chapter 48

The plates sat ignored now, mostly cleared, save for a few scraps and a forgotten piece of potato. She was on her second glass, maybe her third, but it was the warmth washing through her, more than the count, that she noticed. Her foot was bouncing absently as she talked, the mot...

by TalesInTemptation

Chapter 56

back,” she replied with a small nod, grabbing her clutch from the floor. “Her son… is that the one living with you?” His brow lifted as he leaned a little further onto one elbow. “Yeah, Aiden. He’s going to college out here, so it just worked out,” she answered as she did the s...

by TalesInTemptation

Chapter 57

Aiden sat on the edge of his bed, staring at his phone. He’d scrolled past her name three times before finally pressing it. The ring seemed to go on forever before Lisa’s voice answered, sounding a little surprised to see him calling. “Hey, honey. How are you doing?” “I’m good,...

by TalesInTemptation

Chapter 58

Natalie woke with a dull ache behind her eyes from too little sleep and too many thoughts running through her head. She could tell by the light coming through the blinds that it was later than she usually slept, but continued to lie there for a few minutes before finally getting...

by TalesInTemptation

Chapter 60

When Natalie stepped into the kitchen Wednesday morning, tugging at her robe around her waist, it didn’t carry the same sense of dread that it had the day before. The hum of the single-serve machine filled the kitchen when she slid a pod into place and set her mug beneath the spo...

by TalesInTemptation

Chapter 61

Natalie was bustling about when Aiden stepped out of his room. She had a rag in one hand and a spray bottle in the other as she worked her way along the counters, wiping them down. The cleaner she was using left a faint citrus smell in the air. “You’re up early,” he said, scratc...

by TalesInTemptation

Chapter 62

The day crawled by in fits and starts. Natalie kept her focus pinned to her screen, but the numbers and campaign notes blurred together more than once, as her mind circled back to that morning. To Aiden. To Lisa. By late morning, she caught herself staring out the office window...

by TalesInTemptation

Chapter 63

Aiden crossed the room and pulled the door open. Lisa stood there with her small suitcase at her side, and broke into a broad smile the moment she saw him. “There you are,” Lisa said, stepping forward and pulling Aiden into her arms. He only stiffened for a second before relaxin...

by TalesInTemptation

Chapter 74

They tumbled onto the bed in a tangle of damp limbs and towels, laughing when the comforter bunched under them and one of the pillows went sailing to the floor. Lisa squirmed and flopped onto her back, while Natalie stretched out beside her, fanning her wet hair out over the bedd...