Write On Me, Sam by Patrick Whitehurst

The motel’s feable forty-watt bulbs cast her flesh in an orange and ghostly light. Sam hadn’t been this close to a woman in a long time. His nervousness surprised him. The place smelled of mildew and lilac, an odd combination, but not wholly unappealing. His ballpoint pen wobbled against her stomach. Her black hair fanned […]

The Man with the Moist Lips by Patrick Whitehurst

Moist. What is it about that word people hate? Sam wondered. He’d overheard the baristas gabbing about it at the drive-thru coffee joint. It stuck with him as he climbed the steps to the second floor apartments overlooking Nineteenth, the ones with a half-assed view of Potrero Point from one side. He didn’t know the […]

Cosplayers Shouldn’t Kill by Patrick Whitehurst

“You want me to kill her because she’s going to dress as Daenerys?” Sam felt like a damn fool. He should never have advertised for dirty work on Craigslist. But times were tough. Living in San Francisco wasn’t what it used to be. Even the Comic-Con had moved to Oakland. Nobody could afford the city […]

It Otter Be Illegal by Patrick Whitehurst

“We’re all dressing as Thanos,” he said. Like an idiot, I asked him to repeat the answer, just to be sure I’d heard right. Was he really talking about a villain from the Marvel Comics movies? “Baby Thanos. Mama Thanos. And…” I cut him off. “Papa Thanos. I got it. Just sounds stupid.  Keep paddling, […]

Dating Today by Patrick Whitehurst

She had the body of Nikki Minaj, but the face of a Latina warrior. Hot lava poured from her scalp and draped itself over her mountainous bosom. To Charlton, who’d been around and Googled everything that hadn’t come around, it was the most beautiful hair color he’d ever seen. Bottled or not, he loved it. […]