Don't Read in the Closet: GayRomLit Retreat 2011 Special Edition Read online

  Don’t Read in the Closet

  An M/M Romance Collection

  GayRomLit Retreat 2011 Special Edition

  an M/M Romance Group Publication ©2011

  edited by Diane W.

  Introduction

  The stories you are about to read celebrate love, sex and romance between men. They are the product of the Hot Summer Days promotion sponsored by the Goodreads M/M Romance group and are published as a free gift to you.

  What is the Hot Summer Days promotion?

  The M/M Romance group invited members to choose a photo and pen a letter asking for a short M/M romance story inspired by the image; authors from the group were encouraged to select a letter and write an original tale. The result was an outpouring of creativity that shined a spotlight on the special bond between M/M romance writers and the people who love what they do.

  Over 100 stories were submitted and published as a four volume set titled Don’t Read in the Closet. A written description of the images that inspired each story is provided. If you’d like to view the real deal, please feel free to join the Goodreads M/M Romance group (www.goodreads.com) and visit the discussion section: Hot Summer Days Letters.

  Whether you are an avid M/M romance reader or new to the genre, you are in for a delicious treat.

  GayRomLit Retreat 2011 Special Edition

  GayRomLit is a retreat for readers and writers of GLBT romance. The stories included in this special edition of Don’t Read in the Closet feature authors attending the 2011 event in New Orleans on October 13-16. For more information on the GRL Retreat, please visit www.gayromlit.com.

  The stories in this special edition can also be found peppered through the volumes of the complete Don’t Read in the Closet set.

  Words of credit and caution…

  The stories in this collection are sexually explicit and intended for adult readers. The ebook is distributed free by the M/M Romance Group and should not be offered for sale. Each story appears courtesy of its respective author and should not be reproduced without express written consent from the author.

  This ebook is published by the M/M Romance Group and is not directly endorsed by or affiliated with Goodreads Inc.

  Dedication

  As you can imagine, coordinating over 100 authors, proofing their work and publishing it both online and in eprint for free involved hundreds of hours of (volunteer) work.

  First and foremost, this project never would have happened without the tireless dedication and leadership of M/M Romance Group moderator Jen McJ. Jen managed every stage of an unmanageable project and spun order out of chaos. That level of focus and organization is unnatural and we should fear her.

  A good leader starts with a good team. Jen’s team of co-moderators Moderatrix Lori, Jason and Juniper had to endure reading and proofing nearly two thousand pages of hot, steamy man-on-man action, those poor lucky bastards! And group member, Diane who fed over one million words of text into her alchemy machine and pulled out volume after volume of mobi/Kindle, ePub, PDF and Html ebooks.

  Finally, this book is dedicated to all the authors who put pen to paper (or more accurately fingers to keys) and created the wonderful original stories you are about to read. Thank you.

  ebook navigation

  This ebook can be navigated through the Table of Contents which lists the authors, their story title and its overall genre or theme. Any time you see the words “Dear Author” or “THE END”, you can click on the link and be transported back to the TOC.

  Enjoy.

  Table of Contents

  Introduction

  J. P. Barnaby – END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT (First Love)

  L.C. Chase – OPEN TACKLE (Friends to Lovers)

  Jaya Christopher – CODY AND THE HERMIT (BDSM/Cowboys)

  Poppy Dennison – BLINDSIDED (Hurt/Comfort)

  Taylor V. Donovan – HEATSTROKE (Angst)

  Rachel Haimowitz – JUNGLE HEAT (Military/Dub-con)

  Jambrea Jo Jones – WILD BLUE YONDER (Military/Coming out)

  Lissa Kasey and Xara X. Xanakas – SINK OR SWIM (Established Couple)

  K Lee Klein – OUTFOXED (Rock Stars)

  Marguerite Labbe – TEARS OF THE SEA (Paranormal/ Fairytales)

  Clare London – SAY A LITTLE PRAYER (Paranormal/Angels)

  Belinda McBride – FREE TO FLY (BDSM)

  Michele L. Montgomery – TEARS FROM ABOVE (Paranormal/Angels)

  Cherie Noel - KISS AND TELL (Mild Kink)

  Lydia Nyx – MOON OVER MONTANA (Shifter/Cowboys)

  M.J. O'Shea – BRIDGES (First Love)

  SJD Peterson - INNOCENCE TO THE MAX (Paranormal/BDSM)

  Devon Rhodes – HIS LAST RESORT (Coming Out)

  Jaime Samms – MOURNING (Hurt/Comfort)

  PD Singer – THE BOY NEXT DOOR (Friends to Lovers)

  Andrea Speed – MY BLOODY VALENTINE (Paranormal/Sorcerer)

  Damon Suede – SEEDY BUSINESS (Sci-Fi)

  VJ Summers – LIAR, LIAR (Friends to Lovers)

  Bryl R. Tyne – ALIPIO (Fantasy)

  Piper Vaughn – WANTING (First Love)

  Missy Welsh – YOU AND BILLION BLUE TILES (First Love)

  Eden Winters – SWEET DREAMS (Coming Out)

  Want more?

  J. P. Barnaby – END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT (First Love)

  Selected by J. P. Barnaby

  Dear Author,

  I found this picture and I think the two young guys could have been through any number of things to get the point where we see them.

  [PHOTO: Two young men share a quiet moment on a bed. One, dark haired and wearing a tank top, lies on his back on the pillow. The other, shirtless and toned, braces over him. Their foreheads touch, eyes closed, faces still, nose brushing nose. The supine man's hands close gently on his lover's arms.]

  Sincerely,

  DH Starr

  Genre: contemporary

  Tags: virgin, May/December, apocalyptic, impact event, tragedy, sex with a minor

  Words: 5,177

  IT’S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT

  by J. P. Barnaby

  “The collision will occur at 10:38 Eastern Standard Time this evening near the Indiana- Ohio border just west of Fort Wayne. NASA has deemed the asteroid a planet-killer and the devastation will be absolute. All attempts at rerouting or destroying it have failed. President Burns has declared a Federal State of Emergency and authorities advise citizens to stay in their homes for these last few hours of civilization. WNIV will be going off the air to allow employees time to spend with their families. Indeed, God help us all.”

  The radio went dead as Will Southerland lay on the floor staring at it, his heart racing as he tried to come to terms with the announcement. The impact had been a possibility since astronomers first spotted the asteroid three months before, but to hear the finality in the disc jockey’s voice terrified Will. His mother and sister cried softly on the couch somewhere above him while footsteps padded on his other side as his father paced the length of the living room in their small Chicago condominium.

  “I need to go get my mom,” Will’s father said quickly. “She is all alone in the nursing home, and I want her here with us when…when the end comes.”

  “Albert, you heard what they said,” his mother reasoned. “I want her here too, but what if something happens to you?” After a moment, the absurdity of her statement apparently struck her. Of course, there was a chance that he could die in his attempt to reach the nursing home, but in the grander picture, he would be dead inside of twelve hours anyway. With a resigned nod, she lifted he
r face to receive his kiss. After grabbing his wallet, keys and the handgun he kept in a locked drawer near their bed, former Marine Sergeant Albert Southerland walked out the front door and locked it securely behind him.

  The thunderous sound of his father’s boots in the narrow hall faded as his father reached the elevator. It took about twenty minutes under normal circumstances to reach where Grandma Pat lived, but these circumstances were anything but normal. Traffic was generally light on their short monthly visits. If his father returned, it could take hours. Will’s stomach rolled and he looked around the room for something to focus on. His mother and eleven-year-old sister Ella still sat huddled together in a futile attempt to find comfort.

  “Mama, will it hurt?” Ella asked in a small voice, her head resting on their mother’s shoulder.

  “No, baby, I don’t think it will,” Sarah Southerland told her sweet daughter while rhythmically pushing the girl’s short brown hair back from her face and letting it fall again. Will thought the gesture comforted his mother as much as it did his sister. Ella hadn’t reached the stage of teenage rebellion where her brother seemed to be entrenched, and leaned into her mother’s affection. For the first five years of his life, Will had been the only child, the sole target of his mother’s love. His sister’s birth had forced him to share the most important person in his young life, but his relationship with his mother deteriorated even further when he reached his teens and his sister grew into a miniature image of his mother. They had the same long, shiny chocolate colored hair and almost waifish build. Ella had inherited her mother’s crystal blue eyes, which shone bright when she laughed, while Will’s were a dull, muddy brown. He’d also been stuck with his father’s reddish-brown hair, and an infinite number of freckles, making him feel perpetually stuck at the age of six. However right then, he couldn’t muster the normal resentment that he felt for his family.

  The whole world had changed in the span of a heartbeat.

  Suddenly, the tiny living room with its fine antique furniture and carefully selected décor seemed incredibly confining. The weight of his mother’s grief and his sister’s fear made it hard for him to breathe. His heart pounded at the idea that he would be dead before the world could see another sunrise.

  “I’ll be in my room,” Will choked and stood up quickly, lurching slightly as he staggered to his room. Once he closed the door, the feeling of panic didn’t diminish as he’d hoped it would. Closing his eyes, he began to pace from one side of the small room to the other. As he passed the dock for his mp3 player, he considered turning on some music, but didn’t think he had anything in his playlists that would help his mood. Each song would just remind him of all the things he would never get to do. At sixteen-years-old, Will’s life had really just started, and in a few hours, it would end without giving him the opportunity to experience anything on his own. He’d spent his entire life living in the shadow of his father’s expectations. There were so many things that he wanted to do—go to a concert, go to New York, fall in love, and have sex with someone other than himself.

  Christ, he’d never even kissed a guy.

  Will understood that he was gay, he’d known for about a year because that’s when 4D moved into the building. He’d had more wet dreams about 4D than any underwear model or movie star he’d ever seen. The guy could have been a model, but judging by some of the equipment Will had seen him bring up the elevator, he was an artist of some kind. Probably in his late twenties or early thirties, the guy just screamed sex. When his long brown hair wasn’t tied back, he kept it pulled behind delicate ears. Will loved when it was loose and spent a great deal of time wondering what it would feel like between his fingers while he gazed into the man’s perfect face.

  One night after swimming practice, Will had been in the elevator alone with 4D. The man had been on his cell phone for the entire four floors they were together, talking in a melodious accent that sounded Spanish. Will wondered what it might be like for him to cry out Will’s name, or beg in broken English for Will to suck him.

  As he rubbed himself lightly through baggy jeans, Will’s reckless fear of his own impending death suffused him with desperate courage. He walked over to his overflowing closet and picked out the tightest T-shirt and jeans he owned. Stripping completely, he put on the clothes and added a large button down shirt to hide how snug they were. He slid his small bottle of cologne into his pocket and walked down the hall into the living room.

  “Mom, I’m going to go check on Mrs. Fitzsimmons and maybe sit with her for a while. She shouldn’t have to be alone tonight,” he lied, trying to sound earnest and convincing. If 4D wasn’t home, or didn’t want to let him in, maybe he would go see old lady Fitzsimmons. But he was going to take his shot at 4D.

  “That’s sweet of you, Will. Why don’t you ask her to come up here with you?” his mother asked and continued to hold his sister on the couch.

  “I’ll try, but you know how she is,” he chuckled. He could see his mother was trying to decide if she wanted to let him out of her sight.

  “I promise I won’t leave the building,” he said, rolling his eyes and faking exasperation.

  “Okay, be back in a few hours,” she warned. Not wanting to give his mother any reason to be suspicious, Will forced himself to walk slowly out the door and down the hall to the elevator. Once inside, he hit the button for the fourth floor and began to take off the huge shirt as the doors started to close. Lifting the T-shirt, Will sprayed one good dose of cologne on his chest and abs before he rubbed a little up to his neck. The smell overpowered the small confines of the elevator, but when he stepped off onto the fourth floor, it dissipated and he walked down the hall towards 4D.

  As he stood in front of the door, Will wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans and stared at the wood. It looked remarkably like his door, and like the dozens of other doors on every other floor. He wanted to raise his hand and knock, but he just couldn’t make it move. For all of the bravado he’d felt in his room, it seemed to have failed him at the crucial moment.

  Just when he’d decided to head downstairs and visit the old lady after all, the elevator opened and 4D stepped off. Nearly a head taller than Will with a lightly muscled athletic body, he intimidated and excited Will. As 4D approached his apartment, the man looked up and Will saw a wild look on his face framed by long, loose waves of hair. He stopped and shifted a small backpack higher onto his back.

  “What are you doing in front of my door?” the older man barked. Will jumped back immediately even as he wished to stand at the door and listen to that beautiful accent. “Were you looking to steal from me?”

  “No!” Will replied desperately. The constant stutter of his heart racing made him feel light-headed, and he couldn’t understand how things had gone so wrong in an instant.

  “Then get away from there.”

  Will took another step back and froze. The perfect opportunity to talk to the object of all his fantasies was about to pass him by. He would die without ever having known the feel of another man’s touch.

  “I came down here to see you,” Will whispered. The man stopped and ran a hand through his shoulder-length hair. It looked as if he were trying to decide if that explanation was true, his brow furrowed and he rubbed his forehead lightly with one delicate hand.

  “Why would you want to see me? You do not know me,” he replied after a moment as he moved closer to the door in an obvious gesture to shut Will out. The key scraped in the lock and Will knew it would be his last chance.

  “Because I think about you all the time,” Will said softly and felt the blood rush to his face. The hallway suddenly heated ten degrees as he stared at his feet. Silence hung heavy in the air while both of them stood perfectly still. Will’s embarrassment stopped his voice in his throat, and it took a moment for the other shocked man to speak.

  “Come inside, I think we should talk.”

  Will followed him inside the apartment and looked around as the man walked over to a nearby table and put his
backpack on it. Hovering nervously near the door, Will shifted his weight, almost bouncing a little on balls of his feet. After focusing so much of his energy and attention on getting into the apartment, Will had no idea what to do. The small side table sitting next to the door rattled as he bumped it. He looked down to see the table held keys, a cell phone and mail.

  Stefan Chavez

  “You can sit down,” Stefan said with a gesture toward a battered futon on the far side of what looked like an artistic battle zone. The space was so different from the one Will shared with his parents that it could have been in a different building. Where his own living room looked like a museum for antique furniture, Stefan’s had been cleared of almost every piece of furniture to make space for his work. Pieces of clay, pencils and sketchbooks were scattered throughout the room like casualties of war. Half-empty bottles of liquor littered the breakfast bar around a closed pizza box. The kitchen appeared barren, but the garbage can teemed. Will passed the kitchen door and noticed takeout bags and containers sitting idly on the top of the heap, threatening to spill their greasy contents onto the faded tile floor. Navigating the dust and debris, he walked gingerly to the futon where Stefan sat. Will tucked a leg beneath him and sat down. The wooden frame of the futon was nicked in some places and gouged in others, and Will wondered if maybe the guy had pulled it from a dump somewhere.

  Sitting in the artistic ground zero, Will was better able to see the supplies and projects that sat placed randomly throughout the space. He noticed a larger sculpture sitting off to the side and his breath caught. The figure only consisted of a torso, no head or legs, but it was that of a nude man. The smooth muscle and detailed lines made Will wonder what it would feel like to have the hands that created it on his body.

  “Tell me why you are here, today of all days,” Stefan prompted as he turned, pulling a leg up into the space between them, and looked at Will intently. He rested one strong arm on the back of the futon and waited for an answer. Rather than looking at Stefan, Will stared at the futon cover and slowly fingered a hole in the frayed cover beneath him.