Reader Challenges
Love Bites
We heard about this challenge on Twitter and thought it would be a fun Reader Challenge for February. Tell a love story (your own or make one up) in 140 characters or fewer--that is, the length of a single tweet or short sentence.
We'll choose five winners who will each receive a copy of Us: Americans Talk About Love, a collection of folks talking about love. Post your love bites here by 11:59pm EST on Sunday, March 7th to be included in the contest. Good luck!
Replies (82)
Posted by
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In dance, we taught that castanets in flamenco were like love bites in the music and as we moved into the light and shade of passion thought fondly of loves first arrow.
Feb 17, 2010 1:15 pm
by dreamdust -
And then she cried.
Feb 18, 2010 8:47 pm
by jodyelaine -
I keep a lot of photos at the Missed Persons Bureau. It’s like that other bureau, except I know where the person is. He’s just not with me.
Feb 19, 2010 4:01 pm
by candace2932 -
A girl doesn't have to be Nigella Lawson to know that when a new love says he "just eats for fuel," he's signaling the end of the beginning.
Feb 20, 2010 11:59 pm
by yvmariejones -
Six years on, and it still hurts, this love - like an arrow in the gut, a knife in the heart, a constant burning pain.
Feb 21, 2010 2:34 am
by Vivienne -
He looked up at the sky and let the snowflakes fall on his face. He put her tongue out and tasted them. They reminded him of her. Soft, gentle, beautiful and sweet. Why did he ever let her go? He realised now that she was the best thing that ever happened to him. Too late...
Feb 22, 2010 8:42 am
by artiahc -
Clearly, she didn't belong there. But he had a pretty good idea where she did belong. In his life. And he was right.
Feb 22, 2010 8:53 am
by Brouhaha -
Fell quickly. Suffered long. Traded love. Siren’s song.
Misery to fantasy. Fantasy to sin. Sin to Misery. Love again!!Feb 22, 2010 10:20 am
by puzzlegirl -
She labored for hours. Through the tears and the sweat, she birthed much more than a child. Purest, sweetest love between three people.
Feb 22, 2010 10:46 am
by MollieMorris -
"Um, honey. You forgot to kneel."
"What? Oh, right." I kneel, then once more, "Will you marry me?"
...
"Yes!"Feb 22, 2010 10:56 am
by jrobtaylor -
i thought unconditional only preceeded surrender. she showed me unconditional love. i really love this girl. how do i tell her im married?
by anon_e_mouse -
I last saw you 7 years ago. We meet again by chance. You still make me nervous--in a good way. We cancel all our plans and make new ones.
Feb 22, 2010 11:50 am
by hrmny24 -
Unrequited. TV screen, guitar, voice, green eyes. He changed everything; unknowingly. She compromised it all; unconditionally. It was real.
Feb 22, 2010 12:09 pm
by NinasFeet -
love ju :)
Feb 22, 2010 12:42 pm
by wraptextaround -
"I am a renaissance man" he wrote. "What does that mean?" she wondered. Against her rules, she met him. They did not fall madly in love. They chose to love. THEN they fell madly in love. But fate intervened and a fatal tragic accident took her renaissance man away...
Feb 22, 2010 1:21 pm
by rsusselj18 -
Oh, how do I remove you from my mind since you have moved on without a second thought in looking back at what was once our love? Tic toc.
Feb 22, 2010 2:26 pm
by licha77x7 -
We met in the comic book shop where we both wanted the last Watchman trade paperback. We decided to share it. And now we share everything.
Feb 22, 2010 2:26 pm
by Golem100 -
We use Twitter instead of letters. Love bytes.
by Golem100 -
He hadn't seen her in a long time. She ran to him and kissed him. Despite how they had fought against it, they were in love.
Feb 22, 2010 2:36 pm
by saturntv -
Drove 135 miles after closing the store to ask me to marry him, slept 2 hours and drove back to open the store the next day.
Feb 22, 2010 2:49 pm
by swebco -
She. Soft Top Jeep. He. Tuffy Security Products. She. Trail Runner. He. Mountain Biker. She. Dark Curly Hair. He. Smitten with Her. Love.
Feb 22, 2010 3:24 pm
by michecancer -
He liked the look of her. She was easy to be with. He was content. Love, however, requires more. It can’t be a decision. Love grows organically not artificially.
by Clay1279 -
She said: You don't know how to kiss. He saw black. He wished her dead. She laughed and skipped across the street. The oncoming truck crushed her. Twenty years later he saw her again. She laughed at his imagination. She kissed him. She said: You still don't know how to kiss. He shoved her hard in front of the oncoming truck.
Feb 22, 2010 3:48 pm
by seagoat -
I had only known him for six weeks before he asked me to marry him. I accepted, he then asked again 20 years later, right before his death... I accepted again...
by WarmHoney -
Strangers met, became loves, grew a family, & Love Still though a thousand miles apart, touching each other daily through FaceBook and Messenger, Waiting for reunion. Patience, lonely heart!
by PennyLyon -
They met, they kissed, fell in love. They parted. Twenty years in love - meeting... kissing. Now, 11,000 miles to meet him... to kiss him...
Feb 22, 2010 5:13 pm
by Editorwikizine -
Readily they’d yelled and embraced in equal ferocity. As she plumped with his 2.5 kids there was less embracing and more yelling. But damn, did they have passion!
Feb 22, 2010 6:13 pm
by Al.Norm -
M'Anythings! M'Orgasms....
Feb 22, 2010 6:57 pm
by BobBevard -
This is just to say
I have taken the last piece of pie
that was left in the tin
and which
you'd probably expected
to see this evening after dinner.
Forgive me
It was so tempting
And, yes, as irresistible as you.
by ctpomodoro -
You are the winter tree bent by wind. The wind dies. Darkness enfolds us.
by amiksak -
Nobody's girl. Find me a you.
by WordActress -
Our hearts instantly cohere, for years we continue to love one another in virtuous silence…in languishing honor and unconsummated passion.
Feb 23, 2010 12:38 am
by rlleigh -
I have loved, I do love, I will continue to love the one person who will never let themselves be truly loved. Not by me anyway!
Feb 23, 2010 5:57 am
by x4xtazy -
Modern Romance:
"You're going through a divorce?!?! So is my brother. You two should meet."
And so they did.
Three years later they were married again...this time to the right person.Feb 23, 2010 8:56 am
by bnbalestri -
Our love outlasts all those around us and yet we too are no longer together. Now with another we still love each other.
by CPoirier -
She no longer primped; he no longer jogged. But they leaned into each other on Sundays on the couch, and he with one word could cause her a minute-long laughing fit complete with laughter aftershocks for hours. He pumped her gas. She baked him bread.
Feb 23, 2010 9:58 am
by hyperliterate -
Once upon a time, a girl met a boy. They fell in love, got married and lived happily ever after. They had no kids and no mortgage!
by merryberry -
Sorry - I misread the limit as 140 words. Here's my shortened version:
She no longer primped; he no longer jogged. He with one word could cause her laughing fits. He pumped her gas. She baked him bread.
by hyperliterate -
Lying on the bed, he thought about what she said 10 minutes ago. After so many rejections, finally a smile on his face!
by merryberry -
Love at first sight, but too shy to speak. More than 30 years later, love at first sight, not too shy to speak but too married to stay.
by JMCornwell -
Goodbye, he said while she tended the romance corner in the feng shui correct house, pruning the roses, dusting the table, straightening the picture, making everything right for romance.
by JMCornwell -
I saw him; the one. I became shy to compliment his true manliness. He claimed me with his boyish glances; I mesmerized him with my demure qualities. It was the beginning.
Feb 23, 2010 12:55 pm
by Emprezz -
Why leave when all you crave is here. With me. The touch of Love lingers even when the window closes and all that remains is the breeze through the cracks in the pane.
by Emprezz -
2 men, one game at fenway. one asked too late but he asked a second time and won my heart
and now we have seen 16 seasons, 2 championships and one fabulous life together!
by mhcm -
Lines of light broke through the hospital's venetians. The baby's fingers curled and perfect like a new fern frond. ''Its just you and me now'', I thought. "This must be love...Baby."
Feb 23, 2010 9:25 pm
by Flicker -
Right time, right man, right woman, right beach, right words, right moonlight, right touch, right breeze, right moment, right question, right answer, right hearts.
by HerMajesty -
Adoring friends; then passion dawned… and, blessed miracle, stayed. We zig to each other’s zag. We’re kind, and full of lust. It’s for always.
by lisbie -
To bnbalestri on Modern Romance
Right love? Wrong love? Young love. If we feel love at the time, we go through it all with all conviction because it feels right. Love is blind! "Yes," she says; "but this time it is Right!"
by Flicker -
Her beauty, her eyes tore his soul apart. Gone; the femme fatale had wounded again with the poison tip of Eros’s flaming red arrow of love.
by Francesca_F -
I dreamed of you last night. Oh how I dreamed of you. You stood high on the mountain top as I danced in the moonlight. I dreamed of you last night. And in that space between you and I, I found acres of grace and a way to say goodbye.
by maryjwhite -
Middle-aged love: the memory of the spark fades, the glow more warm and comforting now.
Feb 24, 2010 11:54 am
by Chaosopher -
Niagara Falls and Mother loved him - not me. Then love, hate, obsession, distance, children, grandchildren and almost 50 years. Love is harder than you expect.
Feb 24, 2010 11:56 am
by ynleung -
She was all I wanted --a dream come true--until I realized that she was really, really mine. then it was all ..."oops!"
Feb 24, 2010 1:22 pm
by BashoKatzenjammer -
The first time they met it was a wrong number. When she answered the phone he said, Sorry, and then: Wait. Don't hang up. I'm so lonely.
Feb 24, 2010 4:14 pm
by qwrrty -
The house was spotless when the cake was done. Norm took it from the oven and added a HAPPY ANNIVERSARY card. He took his suitcase and left.
by qwrrty -
All those words failed that enchanted evening when I saw my flushed face in your liquid eyes lying so long in pools of recognition.
by sunanda -
She thought she knew who she wanted. It wasn’t him. He was irreverent, rebellious. She loved him for 27 years…and counting.
by Christycat -
He kissed her on her 18th birthday. So began her lifelong love. No more kisses after 22. So continued her lifelong love.
by Christycat -
The one I love is looking straight back at me. I blink and double-check the mirror. Yup I am still there.
by x4xtazy -
With you I feel safe. With you I feel warm. With you I feel comfort. My love, my duvet.
by x4xtazy -
Met on NetGirl. 1996. 6 months later moved to mountains the day after Christmas. Married 10-11-97. Bought chalet. Adopted dogs and cat. Lived happily ever after!
Feb 25, 2010 2:08 pm
by lyndymac -
Great entries, everyone! To make sure you're eligible to win, please make sure your entries are no more than 140 characters. Double-check by copying and pasting your entries into MS Word and performing a word count, which will also tell you how many characters there are (spaces included!).
by MaggieH (admin) -
It wasn’t love at first sight…but love happened. Nine months later, he died unexpectantly. Definitely better to have love and lost than never to have loved at all.
by donnalynn -
Our eyes met one glorious day, our hearts melted; we just knew it, 56 years now. Not even death will bring us apart, good bye my dear love.
by CarolinaBravo -
Two eyes collide. First love. First kiss. First date. Looking up at the stars. They realized their lives would never be the same. It was a midsummer night’s dream.
Feb 28, 2010 8:29 pm
by MonicaR -
"You have an ex wife and 5 kids. Why would I ever want to date you?"...that was three kids and 35 years ago.
by mstlgt -
So it was my birthday -
and so it was pasta we ordered -
and it led to a few cups of coffee -
and a couple of pizza boxes -
and some sleepovers -
and it’s been sometime now -
and tomorrow again is my birthday.Mar 1, 2010 2:37 am
by pheyth -
So it was my birthday
and it we had pasta
it led to a few cups of coffee
a couple of pizza boxes
some sleepovers
it’s been sometime now
and tomorrow is again my birthday.
by pheyth -
Like the love for a Lolita, the tremors seized his body as she turned the pages that lead to the very being of a John Thomas.
by beattifickid89 -
(LOL for the last time...)
So it was my birthday
and we had pasta
it led to a few cups of coffee
a couple of pizza boxes
some sleepovers
it’s been sometime now
and tomorrow is again my birthday.
by pheyth -
My sweetheart leapt a once-feared precipice,
Trounced fear, chose love, and cured me with a kiss.
by pmilton -
I found love and found religion: her moonlit sleeping face is more holy than sunrise.
Mar 4, 2010 3:37 am
by kirstylogan -
Central Park. Chance meeting. But they don't call it fate without reason. Time stands still in
moments such as these.
by aal751 -
They yelled and embraced in equal ferocity. As she plumped with his kids there was less embracing more yelling. But damn, was there passion!
(I didn't know we had to count the spaces :P)
by Al.Norm -
The crowd was three hundred deep, dancing, sweating, palpitating. The bass beating wildly fast harmonized with her heart as their eyes met.
Mar 4, 2010 7:16 pm
by SamanthaC -
She danced with passion. She married for companionship. She wept over youthful decisions.
by dunedinwriter -
Shorn hair littered the sink. Do you like it? She turned to him. He turned away.
by dunedinwriter -
Heart exposed, broken. Mended with the threads of love. Whole again.
Mar 6, 2010 12:05 pm
by ValerieM -
"I never realized I was lonely until I met you," she said.
"You will never be lonely again," I replied.Mar 7, 2010 10:22 pm
by sei01 -
1st job
1st boss
1st love
1st loss
good friends?
Or lovers?
It depends.
I left
Years passed
Was it over?
Did it last?
He met his end!
We’ll meet again?Mar 7, 2010 10:22 pm
by teragram -
Thanks for sharing your love bites, everyone! We'll post the winners here soon.
by MaggieH (admin) -
We're delighted to announce the winners of the Reader Challenge! They are, in no particular order:
-I keep a lot of photos at the Missed Persons Bureau. It’s like that other bureau, except I know where the person is. He’s just not with me.
–candace2932
-We met in the comic book shop where we both wanted the last Watchman trade paperback. We decided to share it. And now we share everything.
–Golem100
-i thought unconditional only preceded surrender. she showed me unconditional love. i really love this girl. how do i tell her i’m married?
–anon_e_mouse
-Middle-aged love: the memory of the spark fades, the glow more warm and comforting now.
–Chaosopher
-The one I love is looking straight back at me. I blink and double-check the mirror. Yup I am still there.
–x4xtazy
Congrats to the winners, each of whom will receive a copy of Us: Americans Talk About Love. And many thanks to everyone for sharing your love bites!
by MaggieH (admin)