This was my first time participating in the NYC Midnight contest series. This one has a 250-word max. I was assigned the WORST genre. Romantic Comedy. It had to include a package delivery and the word “shock.” We are assigned to a group and given 24 hours to write and submit a short story. This was what I came up with. It was the fifth story I wrote and the only one that could qualify as a comedy. 2020 just demands misery. ~jc
Annie was still shouting when she flung open her front door, “…AND STAY OUT!” Her right fist smashing into the unsuspecting jaw of the delivery man. Whoops. Wrong guy.
He awoke on the landing of 2B. “Jesus Christ! Holy fuck,” she couldn’t stop swearing at the stunning man by her feet. “I’m so fucking sorry,” she said.
“Nice hook,” he said, sitting up. Annie took off toward the kitchen. Of course she had ice, she thought. That is a normal thing people have.
“Here,” she said, seconds later and holding out a half bag of frozen corn. Steve pressed it against the cherry on his jaw. Annie’s right hand began to swell.
“You get your package,” he verified. She nodded, yes.
“I’m Annie.”
“I know. You get a lot of packages,” he explained. “Steve.”
“Fucking Bezos’ll destroy us all, Steve.”
“Well, I like my job. Meet a lot of people. I mean, that was a bit of a shock,” he said, pointing at her hand. He tried to stand, but his legs went wobbly. She grabbed his arm and helped him to the floor. She joined him on the old linoleum. Annie tenderly pulled the bag of corn away and peered at the bruise already darkening.
“You’re quite spectacular, Annie in 2B,” Steve said, reaching for her hand.
“I can knock you out again, Steve,” Annie said.
“Tell me something else about yourself?”
“I had a very sexy UPS guy?”
“I’m Amazon.”
“I know,” Annie said, “I just switched.”