BEN CAKE

and those times you’re better off alone

An essay, published by fwriction: review, about being down and out in New York. Also, cognac and disqualifying yourself from relationships. Read the full story here or click below. 

There I was, twenty-seven and already feeling old, walking the streets in the summer swelter. It was the season of denim skirts and Bloody Mary’s. Girls stood in a line on Eighty-sixth Street, waiting for the Hampton Jitney, dressed like it was Derby Day—sandals, sundresses, floppy hats. I had an ATM balance of $117.

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seven scenes that prove i’m human

A short story published by Monkeybicycle. Read the full story here or click below.  

1.

A few days before Noreen arrives, our manager, Matt, calls a meeting to explain: She’ll be in the office, he says, consulting. He mentions she’s from McSkinsey. As soon as I hear the word, I look around and notice everyone else is scanning the room, too, wondering if we’ll get picked off one at a time or all go in a major wave.

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what a man can learn from getting hit on by men

An essay published by Nerve. Read the full story here or click below. 

One: Don’t Skip Courtship

A man, we’ll call him Vincent, turned to me in the Barnes & Noble on Fifty-fourth Street. Late forties, a deep tan, silver hair greased straight back. He held out his iPhone and asked if I knew how to get to Greenwich, Connecticut, explained he was from Brazil and had a business meeting.

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What’s with all the Ball-Grabbing, Head-Stepping, and Domination?

An essay published by the Good Men Project. Read the full story here or click below. 

There’s a scene in the movie This is Spinal Tap that occurs after the band members receive criticism for the cover of their latest album, Smell the Glove. They’re unclear why their rival’s album cover is considered all right when theirs isn’t:

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