Free The Booby Trap and Other Bits and Boobs by Dawn O'Porter

hand towards her, trying to somehow bridge the gap that had yawned open between them. Grace slapped it away, then sat forward, reached behind her back and unhooked the black bra. It fell into her lap as she sat up straight and fixed her eyes on his.
    â€˜Come on then,’ she said. ‘Let’s get this over with.’
    Ben’s eyes widened. ‘What are you –’
    â€˜Do what you came up here with me to do. Touch me. Finish your stupid little quest if it means so much to you, then we can go back downstairs and I can try and find someone I actually like to talk to.’
    She reached out, grabbed his wrists, and pulled his hands forward, guiding them towards her breasts. Ben realised what was happening a millisecond before it was too late, and pulled back. For a moment his hands trembled as they were pulled in opposite directions, until Ben managed to free them from her grip and plant them firmly onto the duvet cover.
    â€˜What’s the matter?’ she asked, her gaze locked with his. ‘I thought this was what you wanted?’
    â€˜So did I,’ he said.
    â€˜So what do you want now?’
    â€˜I don’t know,’ said Ben. ‘Not this.’
    Grace tilted her head to one side, and regarded him with an unreadable expression. ‘What about your quest?’
    â€˜To hell with it,’ he said, and smiled. ‘It was stupid.
I’m
stupid. And I’m sorry I involved you in it. I’m really sorry.’
    Grace stared at him for a long moment. Eventually, a small smile rose on her face.
    â€˜It’s all right,’ she said. ‘I’m going to get dressed now. Look away.’
    Ben nodded, and shuffled himself round on the duvet, fixing his eyes on the far wall of Cheryl’s bedroom. A full-length mirror stood beside a chest of drawers, reflecting what was happening behind him, and he fought the urge to take a single glance into it, one last action in pursuit of a quest he no longer wanted any part of.
    â€˜Okay,’ said Grace, and he turned back to look at her. The blue top was back in place and the colour was fading from her cheeks. Her hair was messy where she had pulled the top over her head, long strands of it hanging loosely around her ears and down towards her neck.
    â€˜How do I look?’ she asked.
    â€˜Good,’ he replied.
    Grace rolled her eyes. ‘Good? Is that all? Jesus, there is so much I have to teach you.’
    â€˜Okay,’ he said. The thought of being taught anything by Grace Matthews suddenly seemed like the best thing in the world. ‘I’m a fast learner.’
    She laughed. ‘I bet you are. Come sit next to me.’
    Ben made his way up the bed, and flopped down beside her. He raised his knees so they formed an arch, and felt a shiver of excitement rush through him as she rested hers against him.
    â€˜What’s your favourite colour?’ he asked. His reserves of small talk, never particularly overflowing, were dangerously close to empty.
    She frowned momentarily, then smiled. ‘Green. What’s yours?’
    â€˜Blue,’ he said. ‘Pale blue.’
    â€˜Why did you tell me about your quest? You must have known I wasn’t going to like it.’
    Ben nodded. ‘I did. But I didn’t want to lie to you.’
    Her smile widened, and she inclined her head slightly towards his. ‘Yeah? Why not?’
    â€˜I don’t know. It just seemed important. It seemed like –’
    Her lips stopped his words. Ben’s eyes widened, then slowly closed, as the world he knew faded to black around him.

A Trip Down Mammary Lane
AMY HUBERMAN
    Going to the shops with my mum
    Was the same old boring humdrum
    She never seemed to listen
    As I’d see the goods in the shop windows glisten
    I yearned for all the stuff I could see
    So badly I wanted to pee
    Passing another shop door, my tongue would scrape on the floor
    â€˜Mum! This window! Look at those puppies!’,