M.K. Lee's Blog: Telling Tales, page 11

The Only Thing That Ever Made Sense

Navy vet Aiden Cadotte might just be firefighter Beto Cepeda’s undoing. Beto thought he had left him in the past, both on the joint base they operated from in Iraq and in the parts of himself Beto has tried to deny. But when Aiden shows up while Beto is on a call with his crew, Beto is transported back to a time when he wanted things from Aiden he could never let himself have. What is stopping him from having those things now?

Beto is. Because despite Aiden’s unwavering patience, ...

So Far From

I am so far from saint
That all I can taste is sulphur,
And all I can feel is the broken glass
I’ve smashed slashing into my skin.

I am so far from perfect
That all my faults could cause tremors
That would tremble the Earth, crack open fissures full of gas,
Like my self-destruction is the latest technique in fracking.

I am so far from adult
That meiosis just occurred,
And I’m nothing but an organised mess of nuclei and cytoplasm,
Existence determined purely by kinase and cyclin.

Yeah. Probably j...

Christmas in July?

#247 of things that I didn’t know were A Thing. Oh well.

I don’t have a lot of Christmas stories, but here are a couple of you’re looking for a festive fix. Free ones too. Yay?

Merry Christmas, Mr Boone

This is Raife and Dexter’s first Christmas as husbands, and they couldn’t be more excited. With friends to meet and gifts to give, they embrace the holiday season with a mince pie in one hand and a glass of something sparkly in the other. Though between parties and dinners, is Dexte...

Uniform

Gary likes his work to be orderly and organised. His desk free of clutter and his to-do list checked off. Gary wouldn’t even mind wearing a uniform to give him that sense of pristine efficiency he’s going for. Yet at home, it’s as though he’s a different person.

There is a sink full of dishes, and Gary can’t remember the last time he changed the sheets on his unmade bed. Gary pretends not to notice the thick layer of dust covering everything as he works through the mound of laundry he’s home ...

The Only Thing That Ever Made Sense

available now!

When

When the floorboards creak he freezes, tells his heart to cease its racing, reminds himself it’s an old house with an old soul. Cracks and creaks are nothing but to be expected.

When the sigh breezes over his neck he cuts off the gasp that fires unchecked from his lips. Blames it on an open window, a cracked pane, a door ajar downstairs.

When the brush of an invisible hand skirts along his arm leaving goosebumps in its wake, he ceases fooling himself. Stumbles forward toward the doorwa...

The Only Thing That Ever Made Sense

Navy vet Aiden Cadotte might just be firefighter Beto Cepeda’s undoing. Beto thought he had left him in the past, both on the joint base they operated from in Iraq and in the parts of himself Beto has tried to deny. But when Aiden shows up while Beto is on a call with his crew, Beto is transported back to a time when he wanted things from Aiden he could never let himself have. What is stopping him from having those things now?

Beto is. Because despite Aiden’s unwavering patience, theirs i...

Update

© M K Lee

The Only Thing That Ever Made Sense

After two army tours and a year serving as a firefighter, Beto’s life is exactly where he needs it to be. But a surprise encounter on a call brings back painful memories, this face from his past a reminder of parts of himself Beto has tried to hide. How did he ever think he could live a life without Aiden in it? And will Aiden give him the second chance Beto needs to make everything right?

available now through jms books

To Come

The soft white satin claims my skin for hell,
Blistering, seeping, tissue paper thin.
Victory is yours, triumphant beauty.
Phthonus my companion, partner in sin.

Newcastle serenades my every nightmare,
Shattering dreams, wishes, my blown-glass heart.
This mask won’t betray the breaking within.
Secrets confined. Always. Escape plans thwart.

Silence speaks volumes. Words, from you? I?
Never. Dusted away, unacknowledged. Safe.
Comfort? Only one. The truth realised now:
Be strong. Deny. Hold t...