Holding Back Novels & Stories

And then there is something else layered into it. Protectiveness. It is directed. Focused. Not spread out or general. It is centered. On me. My chest tightens at the realization, and the connection sharpens just slightly, enough that I feel the edge of something else beneath it. Restraint. Strong. Deliberate. Like he is forcing himself to stay calm. Like he is holding himself back from acting on something. The feeling is so clear that it makes my breath catch, and for a second I forget where I am.

Something held me back. I shook my head. “I appreciate the thought. But I can’t accept them.”

she says softly. I swallow. “I know.” “You don’t act like it.” That almost makes me smile. “Old habits.” “Bad habits,” she corrects gently. “Same thing.” Her lips curve slightly, but her eyes don’t. They stay on mine. Focused. Intent. Like she’s trying to see something I haven’t said out loud yet. And maybe she does. Because her voice softens when she speaks again. “You’re still holding back.” I don’t deny it. Because there’s no point.

Lacey's POV: Cracking down these radical factions has gotten easier since the beginning of the Reversal. In the beginning, I remember receiving so much backlash. About 40% of the population was on board. 50% resented it, but they were willing to comply. And the last 10% was the minority of radical (mostly men) people trying to win back their misogynistic society. We repressed that immediately. But naturally, as those weeds were plucked, more arose, which is why our loyal "Societal Coordinator" Harry is in charge of burning them. We use "Societal Coordinator" for technical reasons. Really, he susses out suspicious people, and "sets them straight". "Setting them straight" could mean a variety

CUTE PANDA BEAR "H...hello?" Charlie finally summons the courage to speak after staring at the man for two solid minutes. Charlie wonders how she hasn't pooped her pants from standing in the same presence with a mountain man. She mentally kicks herself for not grabbing the baseball bat behind her bedroom door or the bow and arrow underneath her kitchen cabinet... Or the pepper spray on her kitchen window sill. "Um... What? What are you doing in my ba...backyard?" Stammers Charlie.

Now there's no going back. No holding back.

Harvey pressed, "Then why not expose me? Don't you want to destroy me?" Was there still some lingering sentiment in her heart? Was that why she held back?

He filled and delivered the glasses, keeping the last for Silvia, to look straight into her eyes with one of his mischievous smiles. “There you are, woman,” he said, sliding his arm around her waist. “Missed me?” Sean, Jo and Tom stepped a little to the side, like pushed by that energy field that seemed to activate whenever the other two got closer to each other. “I think I need some tagging, y’know?” Jim said. “Hashtagging? I’m afraid I’m getting you a lot of that, and not exactly the kind you like.” “I mean something to help slow people understand I’m not available anymore.”

He came straight back to the holding area. "I need to be high enough to ensure my top pick is still available, Hassin. Krystal is my backup...That's right, back up," the Bronk says, and utter relief zaps away my need for battle. They want one of the brown-haired Earthlings, not Zuri. I won't have to fight Burk. "Get to the showers, Burk. You are going to start a frenzy," a Kea shouts, and Burk heads off looking more tense than before his fight with Moore.

"I will, but Quincy, I've been on the shot for a long time, and I've never had a problem before. This is just a coincidence." "I know. But Rowen waited to be sexually active for a long time. There's no telling how strong his swimmers are, being dormant for so many years." That one makes me chuckle. It would totally be my luck that Rowen has super strong swimmers that can get past even the heaviest of birth control. "How about this?" I offer. "If I don't get my period by Monday, I'll go out and waste a bunch of money buying a test that will say I'm not pregnant, okay?"