Excerpt:

Out of the Cold by Giselle Renarde.

Ever since that fateful December day, she couldn't stop thinking about
him. Keith's body had been so close behind her, she could still feel it
there at times. Her skin sizzled. Her breath fluttered. Her auntie
asked if she was feeling sickish. "What? Sick?” she asked. Of course
she felt sick—lovesick! Family never understood. "No, Auntie, I'm
fine. Tired, maybe. I'll go to bed early tonight.”



Her auntie, sister, and cousins all stared at her from around the dinner
table. She tried not to miss meals. Since she'd moved into her
auntie's basement apartment, the family wondered what's up with that
girl? any time she didn't eat with them. They always mistook emotion
for illness. She couldn't wait to steal back to her own space and
daydream in peace. Even just thinking back over the time they spent
with his long arms wrapped around her curves made her ecstatic. It was
too bad they didn't get to practise mouth-to-mouth together. That
would have been nice. But no, they used a dummy for that nowadays.



By the time their first aid class was over, Amira was burning up inside.
She wondered if Keith felt it too, but how could she possibly ask?
When she opened her mouth, silence fell out. Anxiety won, as usual. He
left. For a few sad seconds, she thought all was lost and then she
caught sight of the registration list on Sheila's table. How sleazy
would it be to sneak a peek at Keith's personal information? All she
really wanted was his email address. And it's not like she was going to
spam him or anything. Was it really such a big deal?



Amira grabbed a pen from her purse and scrawled the address on the
inside of her arm as she set a direct course for the exit. Though her
body was burning up already, she put on her knit scarf, hat, mitts, and
baby blue pea coat. Out into the cold of another Canadian winter. It
wasn't even really the cold that bothered her. Mostly, she hated that
it got dark at four in the afternoon. No wonder Christmas, Hanukkah,
and New Year's all fell around the time of year, when the sun was at its
most evasive. Imagine how desperate the population would become
without all the little twinkle lights and giant glowing orbs that kissed
the cityscapes of North America.



Big, chunky flakes fell in wet clumps, melting against her hot cheeks.
It was a mild snowfall that day, she reflected as she stared at her
computer screen after dinner with auntie et al. "Packing snow,”
Canadians called it. Why did they call it that? Probably because it
was the only kind of snow you could pack together to build a snowman.
They should call it snowman snow. She laughed at herself as she eased
back in her chair. Naming the snow, eh Amira? Well, she'd already
exhausted every other avenue of procrastination. After a week of
postponing her plan to make contact—Not today; it's Christmas Eve.
Wouldn't want to interrupt his Christmas Dinner. Can't today, it's
Boxing Day—she was adamant the day had arrived. When she pictured
Keith's large hazel eyes contoured with thick, long lashes, and imagined
standing on tip-toes to kiss him, she was more determined than ever.
His caring eyes could melt the icicles from the eaves. She imagined
those eyes staring back at her from the computer screen. The time was
nigh. Now, where to begin?



Hello Keith.



No, too formal.



Hey Keith.



No, too casual.



Hi Keith.



Yes, that was perfect! Pulling her curly hair into a ponytail, she
stared at the body of her email. Okay, so she had the first two words.
What next?



Hi Keith,


My name is Amira. We met last week at the first aid training session. I was just wondering if maybe you might remember me?




Man, this attempt at flirtation was "like, so totally boring,” as her
little sister would say. Amira scrapped it all and started over.



Hi Keith,


Amira here, from the first aid course. I'm sure you must remember me, because I can't stop thinking about you.




Well, how was that for ridiculous? There was no way good, quiet,
respectable Amira could send anything so silly. It wasn't her.
Although, come to think of it, good, quiet, respectable Amira never had
much fun, did she? And why not? Because she was too afraid of
appearing foolish? Of being turned down? What kind of a reason was
that to always play it safe? Everybody needed a little bit of fun in
life, and after years of self-denial, she was desperately craving
amusement. Why not, just this once, tell someone what she was really
thinking? If Keith thought she was a total moron, that was fine. She
would probably never see him again anyway. But if Keith had the same
thing in mind, Amira's life might just become a lot more exciting.



New World Order by Alysha Ellis



He looked at her through half closed eyes. "Even before the drive went
bad, there was only a thirty percent chance I'd get through with my life
or the cargo intact. Conditions in the rest of the galaxy are harsh
and no one depends on anything. You survive on your own if you survive
at all. It would be good to have one night of peace, of softness. I'll
leave tomorrow.” His voice lowered. "So, Lisa. You haven't told me
yet. How long do we have to wait before we can fuck?"



He opened his eyes and looked at her. She felt the heat of his gaze
warming her all the way through. He hadn't made any attempt to hurt
her, not even in retaliation for her kick. Sure he'd take off for the
other side of galaxy the moment he repaired his ship, but that was a
good thing...no recriminations, no consequences. Just one night of sex
before she settled back into her habitual sexual drought.



So, no real negatives and the benefits were obvious. He had a body to
die for. Young, fit... surely space pilots would have to be fit? What
did she have to lose? He'd already told her he was disease free.



She picked up the plates and dropped them into the sink, then she
turned. She tried to speak, but had to clear her throat of the monolith
that seemed to have lodged there. "Would now be good?”