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M/M, Contemporary Erotic Romance [33 Pages / 7,200 Words] AMZ / Apple / BN / Kobo / SW / All Buy Links When Noel Decker volunteers to help Roy Hollis rake leaves, he doesn't begrudge the daunting scope of the project: just the two of them pitted against all the trees in Roy's massive backyard. Noel will take any excuse to spend time with Roy, and anyway, what are friends for? What Noel doesn't anticipate are all the new and distracting feelings that kindle in his chest, surrounded by the wild oranges and reds of autumn. For all that he's known Roy for years—Noel's whole life in fact—he's never wanted to cross lines like this. Suddenly Noel is getting all sorts of ideas about this gorgeous older man. Unexpected, brazen, thoroughly explicit ideas. How is he supposed to resist these reckless impulses, when Roy admits to wanting him too? It doesn't seem possible for the ground to be so completely buried in leaves while the trees themselves remain thickly covered with plenty that have yet to fall. Wind blows through the branches in a pleasant rustling symphony, scattering more leaves every few minutes. Come the dead of winter—or maybe just the grayer skies and deeper autumn of a couple weeks down the line—those branches will be bare and empty, offering a clear glimpse of the yards and houses to either side. For now, the illusion stands of a deserted forest with Roy's little cottage tucked away at the center, isolated and private and a little bit magical. The whole tableau is so aggressively autumnal that it makes Noel want to curl up on Roy's porch with a mug of hot cider. It may be an unrealistic dream, depending how late they're able to keep working after the sun goes down. When Noel glances to Roy again, he finds a wry flicker of amusement just barely softening stern features, and he grins in answer. Roy cuts a blunt figure in his gray sweater and faded denim, a vastly different look from the suit he wears during the week. It's not that Noel's never seen Roy wear casual clothes. But in the handful of months he's been back, he's mostly needed to manufacture excuses to make a pest of himself—which has meant a lot of stopping by Roy's office with coffee or a quick lunch, meeting him for a drink after work, conning him into breakfast when he doesn't have morning meetings. Noel doesn't resent how much of Roy's schedule revolves around the office. And hell, he knows he's done an effective job insinuating himself into the man's life, if for no other reason than Roy actually calls him for help with things like this. Last week, Roy asked Noel to come over and assemble a frankly daunting new piece of kitchen cabinetry that absolutely required two sets of hands. It's weird in some ways, figuring out how to be actual friends with a man he's known since he was a kid. Extra challenging, because they barely kept in touch through the near decade Noel was away. Both too busy, not quite family, without any kind of clear-cut framework for how they fit into each other's lives. They crossed paths occasionally, whenever Noel visited his parents, but otherwise they lost track of each other for long swathes of time. Noel isn't bitter about this, either. He always knew Roy would be there for him in a crisis—a fact he never needed to call in—but now he's back for good, searching for a more permanent teaching gig, crafting a life for himself that hasn't quite come together yet. Figuring out how he and Roy Hollis fit as friends in their own right, for all the strangeness of navigating that terrain. And they've done it. Part stubbornness, part affection, part some alchemy Noel won't even try to quantify, he and Roy have found their footing He didn't intend to get so lost in his own thoughts, or to stand motionless for so long. But when Noel tumbles back into the wider world and starts raking again, Roy is only a moment behind him. Waiting for Noel to get his shit together? Distracted by his own inner thoughts? Noel can't begin to guess. Just because he can read Roy's face better than most, doesn't mean he can read Roy's mind. But he wonders just the same, and his cheeks warm a little for no goddamn reason. They work together in silence for a time, brisk efficiency and wordless companionship. Noel's gaze keeps slipping toward Roy unprompted, and he can't figure out why. There is something undeniably fascinating about the way Roy moves—solidity and crisp focus in every drag of the rake across the ground—strength in his broad shoulders and stocky frame. But none of these things are unfamiliar. They shouldn't continually catch Noel's focus as though they were new information, and he certainly should not have to remind himself to look away. What the hell has gotten into him today? AMZ / Apple / BN / Kobo / SW / All Buy Links |
Cover design by Yolande Kleinn ISBN 978-1-946316-50-9 |