This story was written for the 750 Word Project 2025, below this line are exactly 750 words.
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Budapest. 1938.
The station stank of coal smoke and damp wool, the stink of a country waiting for the next war. I hated the smell. It got in your coat, your hair, your lungs. You carry it with you, the same as the lies, the guilt.
I stood near the cloakroom, hands in pockets, collar turned against the cold. I wasn't waiting long before she arrived.
Tall. Built like something sinful. The kind of woman men ruined themselves over, except she wasn't here to be ruined. The cut of her coat was sharp, tailored. Under it, a dress, something dark, practical. I saw what was beneath, full hips, the heavy swell of her bust, the press of a corset keeping everything just so. A woman made for excess, yet everything about her was restrained.
She met my eyes, a flicker, nothing more. Then she turned, slipping through the cloakroom door.
I followed.
The door shut behind me, clicking into place. The light dim, a single bulb swinging overhead. The scent of wet fabric, old wood, something faintly sweet, her perfume, buried under the station's grime.
She reached inside her coat, withdrew the envelope. I moved to take it, but she didn't let go right away. A pause. A test.
Then her fingers released it. I tucked it into my pocket.
We should have walked out. I should have walked out.
She stepped closer instead. A single step, then another.
I felt the heat of her before she touched me, the warmth of her body seeping through the space between us. I didn't move.
Her hands were bare. Cool fingers brushed my belt.
I exhaled, slowly. Didn't stop her.
She unfastened the buckle, slipped the leather free. Fingers at my waist, unhurried, deliberate. Button by button, she undid my fly.