Autumn Masters is a failure in her own mind. She is about to let her dream of being a writer die when she is given an opportunity that may be too good to be true. She has to navigate dating, sex, attraction, writing, teaching, and learning all at the same time. Will she survive the torture, use it to her advantage, or be swept beneath it all?

The Torture of Autumn

When she got home, she almost didn’t make it to the shower. She was still so tired, so out of breath. She’d stopped running three blocks ago, walked the rest of the way, and ended up dragging herself up the steps, barely able to think straight.


She didn’t notice anything. She didn’t notice that she’d left the door unlocked. She didn’t notice that the message on her phone was blinking. She didn’t even notice that she wasn’t the only person in the apartment.


She peeled her clothes off her as she neared the shower, dropping them in a trail from the door. First she undid the MP3 player and let it fall to the floor, oblivious to whether or not it broke. She kicked her shoes off without untying them, yanked her socks off with a hopping step, and then peeled the t-shirt she’d been wearing, not wanting to touch it any more than she had to. The bra stuck hard to her, forcing her to almost wrench it off.


Chapter 51: Showering with an audience