from the story collection Love, Lemons and Illicit Sex by Nod Ghosh, published July 2023
ISBN (paperback) 978-1-923000-06-3
ISBN (ePub) 978-1-923000-09-4
ISBN (Kindle) 978-1-923000-12-4
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“You want to do it again, don’t you?” “No,” I sit back. “There’s a reason it’s illegal.” from Making the Words Fit the Story
Their teeth skitter like tambourines. A smattering of dust under noses tells a story they’re not ready to share. from Seven Lesbians and a Bar of Soap
I wanted to travel. I wanted to explore realities that were different from my own. I wanted to feel the danger and excitement of alternative lifestyles. from The Carpet
Her niceness grated more than her pert breasts. I couldn’t help staring at them, imagining my ex’s hands over her skin. from Words Around Two Mother
Max was feeling fragile. A friend of his had had a near death experience that involved an unhappy combination of Viagra and poppers. from The Lemon Lover
The corrosive acidity of one-too-many-a-drink and the unwanted attention of a predator with the wrong sort of eyes do nothing to slow her. from Appetite
“What are cations?” my mother asks. “They’re like lions, but with less fur,” I tell her. My lie is absorbed into the atmosphere of dishonesty and malaise. from The Night My Sister Leaves
I know my gender identity and sexuality. But even a straight-laced gay guy has his quirks. from D/F
Tripping over his own feet, he knocked a chair against the wall. “Quiet!” I whispered, but he was sex-drunk and clumsy as he left my bedroom. from Getting the Story Right
“My mother wouldn’t listen. Lost in her little world. Collecting shit in boxes, cataloguing, hoarding. She’s got a fucking disease, and no one sees it.” from The Sins of the Father
Thankfully, Ham was fucking another man when he carked, not me. But I was there. from 0.6% of Sudden Deaths
I was a loser not a respected schoolteacher – except I wasn’t a schoolteacher anymore, not since events had caught up with me. Caught me out. from The M Word
I found God through a property manager in North Christchurch. The Almighty sat on the floor of a flat I was viewing in London Street. He was flicking through a copy of Hustler, smoking a mentholated cigarette casually dropping ash onto the carpet. from Balloon Phobia and God
Johan tells me stories about the bad boys he represents. He is legally bound to keep some secrets from me, though there are things I do that take him to the brink, and he has broken an occasional rule. from The Gift
No one checks latecomers arriving at a church for a wedding. No one asks to look at the invitations. No one notices, especially if the uninvited guest comes dressed in an expensive suit, something they might have worn to their own wedding, if only they had snared the man first. from The Love Nest
He pushes a laminated sheet onto my chest. “Two rupee.” The sheet has images of Ganesh, Kali and Michael Jackson printed on it. At least it looks like Michael Jackson. from Bagdogra Airport
I need to change my phone settings. Can’t have visible incoming messages when I’m juggling two women. from Success
Another man I found on Splodge was hairy except for a pink dome on top of his head. That hadn’t been the only odd thing about the guy. Before I met him, I’d thought that sort of anatomical variation was a myth, but I digress. from Hairs Between My Teeth
I suspect Abe was pleased when I started a relationship with someone, even though that someone was with a child. It let him off the hook. from Gone
She fell pregnant a few months after our relationship began, a sordid reminder that what he was doing with me, he’d been doing with her too. from A Girl Called Miranda
Though I’d had good grades at school, my education ended early, but I learned all I needed to know in the bed of an excommunicated schoolteacher. from Just Deserts
A simple man in a complex world, he would jump at loud noises. He was frightened of mice and couldn’t keep his trousers clean. from The Size of the Lie
My wife is carrying grapes wrapped in cellophane. Fucking grapes for a sick person. Doesn’t Svetlana know I hate clichés? from So Much Older
Then he fits the neoprene quick restraints on me, but there’s nothing quick about what he does next. My turn to scream. from Incest by Proxy
He stumbles over his words, his face puce. There is a distance, as if he hardly knew his father. He talks about heaven, something Ronan didn’t believe in. Someone reads a poem. Ronan couldn’t stand poetry. from Unspoken Words
The first time I took you from your grave, there were spaces where your eyes used to be. from Where Your Eyes Used to Be
My lips fold with mock sincerity around the words of a hymn I’ve not sung since childhood, and all I can think of is how much I want to shed the skirt and run naked between the aisles shouting hallelujah. from When My Uncle Looks at My Ankles
When we reach cruising altitude, I realise I’ve been clenching my jaw. I would ask him now what he wants; what I can give him, but there’s no escape for warring lovers at thirty-three thousand feet. from The Little Blue Boat
There were others. Pictures of dead things cut and pasted from magazines. Drawings of huge eyes crying crystals. Deformed genitalia in pastel watercolours. from The Suicide Trading Card Scheme
She may have been infuriatingly perfect, but Sondrine’s boeuf bourguignon was to die for. from The Baby
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