"Hot Off The Presses" by The Nut

“Hot Off The Presses”
By
The Nut

November 29, 2006
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ONE:
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Tina took her morning coffee and newspaper to her favorite chair, next to her big apartment window. She was upstairs, and she loved her excellent view of the street below and the other buildings around her. She turned to her favorite section, what she always read first…her horoscope. On that day, Leo read…

“…Keep your mind open to the possibility of a love interest coming your way…”

Fat chance of that, thought Tina, as she went to work on her latest watercolor.

Mark was always in a hurry, but made it a point to have his morning coffee and at least skim the paper. Being a lawyer, he wouldn’t ever admit to anything that seemed superstitious, but he couldn’t resist reading his horoscope everyday. He found it and then read it. He tossed the paper aside with a chuckle. I have little time for that, he thought, what with all the overtime I’ve been putting in trying to make partner. Mark glanced at his watch. Better get going, he thought.



Boy, it sure was pissing it, thought Tina, as she headed towards the door of the art supply store downtown. I just hope that I can hail a cab without too much of an effort. Oh well, here goes nothing. She opened the door, went to the edge of the sidewalk, raised her arm, and called out “taxi” as she saw one approach. Amazingly enough, it stopped. A man rolled the window down, and asked her “would you like to share my ride? It’s such a downpour.” “Why thank you kindly, sir” said Tina as she got into the cab.

The cab stopped outside of Tina’s apartment door, just as the rain was beginning to let up. “Thank you so much, sir” she told the friendly stranger. “You’re most welcome, I couldn’t leave a lovely lady like you stranded, now could I?”he said, as the cab drove away.



Tina was nearly finished with her watercolor that afternoon, when her thoughts turned towards the kind gentleman in the cab earlier. She let out a little giggle. He had been handsome, and it was very thoughtful of him to stop. It wasn’t until after he dropped her off that she realized he had went out of his way to do so. Once inside, she looked out her window and saw the cab turn around and head back towards downtown.



Tina slipped into bed that night, and found sleep hard to grasp. Her mind kept wandering to her “romantic interest”. She pretty much lead a life of solitude. She was an artist, a painter, and sold her works for her living. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been on a date. Even though her work kept her very busy, she did have to admit that she felt a hole in her life. It might be nice, she thought, as she drifted off.

Mark was about to crash. He had ran himself ragged at the office that morning, then took off to court, and then came back to the office. He had went in at 6am and left at 10pm. He had grabbed food when he could. All he cared about right then was a quick shower and some sleep.

As he showered, he thought back to his horoscope. He knew that he was a rising lawyer, trying to make partner, and that that meant a lot of work. But wasn’t he a person, too? Sometimes he felt like he lived his whole life at his office. He craved a personal live, time to himself, away from the office. It would be nice, he thought.

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TWO:
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Tina walked back to her apartment from getting her paper at the news stand. When she got back in, the coffee pot had finished brewing. She poured herself a cup, got her paper, and again went to her favorite chair. The Leo horoscope for the day read:

“…Life changes could be coming your way…”

What a crock, thought Tina. I’ve got a new order to fill, and it’s gonna be a good one, she thought. I need to get to work.

In the early morning hours, Mark sat skimming the paper with his coffee. He read his horoscope. Shit, he thought. That sure is loaded. He glanced at his watch. God, time to go.



Tina ended up working six hours straight on her new project, before she decided that she was getting exhausted, and needed to take a break. She made herself a sandwich and a glass of iced tea, and took them to her favorite chair. As she ate, she stared out her big window at the rainy, dreary day.

Her thoughts turned to that day’s horoscope. She couldn’t help but think: If she could change something about her life, what would it be? She was happy with her painting, she enjoyed doing it and made a good living at it. She loved her little apartment and felt comfortable in it. All was well with her family, and the few friends she had. But it sure would be nice to have some sort of change, she sensed, but didn’t know just what..



Another crazy day for Mark…office at 6am, court at 9am…then back to the office. Who knew what time of night he would leave there?

No matter how hard Mark tried to focus on the client’s file he was desperately trying to read, he couldn’t focus. He kept thinking about that day’s horoscope. It was as if it had read his thoughts of the night before. He DID crave a life change. He was dedicated to his work, but needed something more. He just wished he could figure out what that was.



With it being Saturday, Mark decided that he would take a much needed break from his office and sleep in a bit. When he did wake, he headed out to the news stand near his apartment for the morning paper. He got to the stand, reached over for the paper, noticing it was the last one. Just as he put his hand on it to get it, he felt someone else’s hand brush against his.

Oh great, thought Tina. The last paper, and I’m gonna have to fight someone for it. She looked down and saw that she had put her hand on a man’s that had already reached for the paper. Gotta do the right thing.

“Go ahead Mister, you were here first” she said, as she looked up. “That’s okay ma’am, you take it.” When their eyes met, they knew…

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THREE:
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“Go ahead Mister, you were here first” she said, as she looked up. “That’s okay ma’am, you take it.” When their eyes met, they knew…



Mark was instantly drawn to her. He had the feeling that they had met before, déjà vu, he thought it was called, but that could happen to anyone. “Hi, my name’s Mark” he said, as he raised his hand from the paper and offered it to her.

Tina took his hand, shook it, and said, “I’m Tina.” For some reason, she felt a strange connection to him. She knew that she had met him somewhere before. Then it dawned on her.

Fully aware that his coffee maker at home was dripping away, he said “would you like to go across the street to that little café and share some coffee and the last paper?”



They went across the street to the café, had several cups of coffee together, talked about everything, and never even touched the paper. They meshed so well right away, it was like kismet. There had to be a force drawing them together, they both thought. Mark was so taken with her that he asked her out for dinner that night, and she gladly accepted.



Mark invited Tina to one of his favorite Mexican restaurants, saying that he would pick her up around seven. When she gave him directions to her apartment, it was then that he knew – the lady from the taxi. He thought about his horoscopes – nah!!!



Mark and Tina had a wonderful dinner. The restaurant was dimly lit, with a candle on each table. The food was delicious. They talked more. Mark had learned over coffee that morning that Tina was a painter, but he learned more about her sales and project requests. Tina had learned over coffee that Mark was a lawyer, but didn’t realize that he may soon make partner.

Then, Tina began talking about the odd horoscopes she had been reading and how it seemed like they were playing out in her life. Mark was stunned. Casting a “superstitious” nature aside, he said that the same thing seemed to be happening to him. After talking about it, they discovered a very unusual thing…they had the exact same birthday, right down to the year.



After dinner, they decided to go for a walk in the park. The whole evening had been so romantic, and the way that they had been brought together was so unbelievable. Mark put his arm around Tina’s shoulders and asked her if she wanted to come back to his apartment for a drink.

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FOUR:
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Mark and Tina sat on the couch sipping brandy. They talked more about the unbelievable coincidence of the horoscope and how it brought them together. Tina sat her snifter on the coffee table, kicked off her shoes, pulled her legs up under herself, and leaned against Mark. Mark put his arm around Tina’s shoulders. Mark began massaging Tina’s shoulder, and she shifted herself around, facing him. They gazed into each other’s eyes as they leaned into each other for a passionate kiss.



They kissed and embraced each other for the longest time. “Come here, you” said Mark, as he wrapped his arms around Tina’s waist and pulled her onto his lap, straddling him. He ran his hands up and down her back, under her top, as she nibbled on his neck. He began moving his hands around from her back to her breasts. As he reached up and cupped her breasts, she let out a little sigh, and began to grind herself against him. He returned the favor.

Mark pulled Tina’s top off, exposing her bare breasts. He took one of her hard nipples into his mouth and began nibbling on it. She sucked in her breath and grasped his head. Mark put his arms under Tina’s knees, stood up with her, and carried her off to the bedroom.



Once Mark reached the bedroom with Tina, he put her down, and they began going at each other, overcome with passion for each other, and stripping each other down. Tina laid down on the bed and said “take me now, Mark.” He eagerly obliged her, thrusting his hard thickness into her wet center. “Oh God, yes” cried out Tina. They made passionate love for hours.



They laid in each other’s arms, resting from their awesome experience. Mark admitted to Tina that he really didn’t believe in horoscopes, that he just read his for fun. “I’m a believer, now.”