My short story,Testing, has been selected for publication in the summer, 2018, edition of the journal Red Earth Review, published by the creative writing MFA program at Oklahoma City University. Here’s a preview:
Testing, by Bob Armstrong
I should have seen where things were going the night my boyfriend mumbled Julian’s name during sex. It wasn’t that kind of warning. Nick was no confused closet case, and believe me, I’d have figured that out quickly. In college I’d pretty much minored in dating guys who turned out to be gay.
“Fucking hell,” Nick said. “I’m sorry. It’s not that- I mean to say, I’m not-”
How upset could I be? I’d been thinking about Julian too.
“It’s just that my mind rather wandered.”
Guy knew how to make a girl feel special.
It was our last night in Mexico City and Nick and I had a private room at the hostel. Julian, in an uncharacteristic attack of sensitivity, had gone out with my brother, Owen, in order to give Nick and me some time alone. I was thinking about Julian because I was wondering what temptations he might be presenting to Owen. Nick? Maybe he was afraid of losing Julian to my brother, or maybe Julian was just some kind of mental virus.