Thinking back, it struck Rebecca as silly that she once worshipped the Barnes & Noble in her little hometown in Connecticut. How it seemed a sanctuary from the mall and all the over-branded family dining experiences that ran up and down Main Street and not just...

There is a nondescript wooden door at the end of one of the long marble hallways of the Main Branch of the New York Public Library that you can only enter if you have the right knock and the right word and a particular pin on your lapel. Knowledge of the “Private...

Henry twisted his neck back and forth, trying to get some relief from the tightness of his collar and tie. Usually, he enjoyed cocktail parties, getting dressed up, mingling and carousing, but that evening he just wanted to be home in bed. It had been a horrible day,...

The key, Kelly found, was forgetting about the little red “G” on her nametag. Forget about the negotiation and the conversation and all of the agreements and safewords and so on. Walk into the party with a blank mind. Be in the moment and be at the party. Pretend the...

Sometimes the word “crush” made perfect sense. It felt like that, like being crushed, like being pressed under the weight of want, the density of desire. Sometimes I thought about Caitlyn and my chest swelled. She was just so pretty and kind and charming.  Maybe...

It was a little after six p.m. on a rainy Monday evening when I remembered the card. It had been a horrible day, and the sudden memory was like being hungry and recalling that you had some delicious leftovers in your refrigerator. It had been a while since I used the...

We always want what we can't have.  Sophia came to the Order’s Dollhouse for very specific things; to be undressed, made up, and re-created as a doll.  She would arrive in a whirlwind of messy hair, jeans, and ill fitting blouses and in an hour’s time she...

It was 10:15 am and from the corner of my eye I saw Sophie check her phone again. Same little smile, same red in her cheeks, as her face was illuminated by the faint blue glow for the fifth time that morning.  “I’ll be right back, Lily,” she said without looking...

The invitation came one autumn morning. A crisp white card etched with rich black ink. “You Are Invited To: Un-Still Life.”  “For your curiosity and consideration, we invite you to examine a girl on display. Cocktail attire. OoD members only. No guests. Clean...

We bought her on Bond Street. There was a little shop, above a haberdashery, with a large plate glass window with gold foil lettering on it, where they have a book full of people who want to be sold. The counter person was quite dashing in their three piece suit. They...