Once upon a time I decided that for Short Story Saturday I was going to follow a list of prompts. One of these prompts that actually turned out great, was writing a scene with no dialogue. This is especially challenging for me as I am great at dialogue. I love writing dialogue. One of my favorite parts of any story is the interactions between two characters. When I wrote this, it was difficult to write something and convey an emotion without dialogue for me. I have grown as an author since then, but this stood out to me as something good. I hope that you enjoy this flashback to me as a writer in 2014. Enjoy.

Christian sat in the dimly lit living room of his top floor loft, gazing out at the city through the floor to ceiling picture window.  He rolled the liquid in his cup back and forth before bringing it to his lips and feeling the familiar burn of the whiskey slide down his throat.  He may be located in the center of the city, a city currently bustling with Saturday night life, but he felt as alone as the ice cubes in the now empty glass.

Feeling the need to get up and move, he stood and crossed the room in quick deliberate strides.  After refilling his glass, he paced back across the large room.  Agitation was crawling under his skin and taking root; he didn’t understand it.  Normally he was poised, self-assured, calculating, but when it came to her, he was lost.  It was as if he was a fifteen year old boy all over again.  He was certain this woman would be his undoing.

It wasn’t as if he’d never been in love before, but this was entirely new.  They’d been good friends for two years now.  Not once had she effected him like she had the last three months.  She was driving him insane.  He was no longer the same confident being he had been in her presence.  No; now he felt as if he needed to do anything and everything to win her over.  But every time he tried, he ended up looking like a bumbling fool; too distracted by her eyes, her hair, and her mouth.  Oh God, her mouth, how he longed for her lips to be pressed against his own…

Christian stopped the though in its tracks and downed his drink in one swallow.  He had to do something to stop this madness.  His sudden inability to communicate the smallest of things to her was the cause of his agitation, that was certain.  Wasn’t it? He shook his head in dismay; there he was, second guessing himself again.  It seemed to occur more and more these days, and there was only one cause.

Christian shook his head, set his glass in the sink and took himself to bed, before he managed to lose all of his self respect.

Across town, Azaria laid in bed wondering what on earth had happened to Christian lately.  They used to hang out a couple of nights a week with co-workers and friends.  Grabbing a bite to eat, watching a movie, a drink on Friday evening….now she barely saw him.  When she did she him, it was different.  Now, instead of long conversations on whatever subject of interest, he was quiet, standoffish, and barely said more than a couple of words at a time.  Something had changed between them, she longed to know what was wrong.

Should she tell him that she missed the old him? The confident, funny, intelligent man she’d fallen for when they first met?  Had he finally found out how she felt?  Could that be the reason for the distance between them? No, she dismissed the thought before fluffing her pillow and wrapping up a little tighter in her blankets.

Whatever Christian’s problem with her was, it was probably better in the long run if she just outright asked him about it.  So with a resolve to do just that the very next time she saw him, she closed her eyes and let sleep take her.

Well, I hope you enjoyed that! As always, please enjoy your weekend and be safe out there!