Words With Friends With Benefits

by Jeremy Sterling

Max and Jasmine have been romantically incompatible friends for years, matching wits and vocabulary over an online Scrabble game. After each suffers a disillusioning breakup, they have a chance to discover whether their game can be taken to the next level. Friendship, wit, love, sex and wordplay all intertwine in this work of erudite, erotic romance.

Genres: Romance, Adult

37 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 3, 2013

About the author

Jeremy Sterling is obsessed with classic movies, obscure knowledge, and the idea that sexual themes and conflicts are rich fodder for classic storytelling.

Might Have Been was his first novel, winning rave reviews from readers on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords, and spending time as the top-rated story on Literotica. He has also written short stories in genres ranging from romance to erotic horror.

He is currently working on several additional stories and two novels, and has no idea which will be completed first.

Jeremy writes for fun, and is happy in his full-time professional career. He has decided to offer his work for free until such time as he has a readership consisting of millions of literary-smut-junkies so desperate to fork over enough cash for his next book that he can buy a small Caribbean island, such as Cuba.

Aim high.

He loves writing about himself in the third person almost as much as he loves feedback, and appreciates reviews, comments, or email. He can be reached via email at mugwumper123@gmail.com

Reviews

[*Tau* · Rating 3 out of 5]

This romantic/erotic short story can be read for free via Kobo.

The most important downsides were the predictability and the fact that there's not even once a mentioning of a condom. Maybe the latter is less romantic, but - taking into account the numerous sexual relationships of both characters - it probably wouldn't have been unwise to consider the use of it.
Not rooting for any of the characters, as they behaved more like insecure teenagers than adults.

Although I haven't read that much in this genre, I've read stories that were far worse.
There were in fact two things that are worth mentioning:
The use of Scrabble (a game that I adore) was original and took this story to a higher level.
Also extra points for the use of a variety of descriptions to talk about sex, which distinguishes it from the standard laughable descriptions you find in most of this kind of stories.

3,5*

[Loquacious · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet and smart story about two friends who try not to overthink their way out of love. The author uses a scrabble game as a device to express how the characters are feeling, which is alternatively funny, cute, and poignant.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a lovely read. A short story with a wealth of laughs, playful romance and a marvellous seduction. A most pleasurable read from start to finish.

5 Delightful Stars! What else has this author written?

[Isabella · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very well written romance. Very intelligent and full of emotions. Not just a fluff story; this one actually asks the reader to use his/her brain. Highly enjoyable.

[Puckgirl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute short story

[Lizzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book, even if I suck at scrabble. I loved the story, the characters, and the conversations between the tow. This really had me going for a few hours. Awesome Job Jeremy!

[Donna Beck · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clever, witty, quick read. Even though it was predictable, I enjoyed the ride. High ratings for sexiness too.

[Lina · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise was a good one - friends to lovers stories are my favourite, in fact - but the dialogue was stilted, which made a big impact in a novella-length story.