He fights for his life, but a man can only take so many hits before he doesn’t get up again. When a new boxer appears on the scene, Noah wonders if he’s found a spot of hope in his life, or if he’ll be Blindsided again.Original Prompt:Dear Author,Ever since he lost everything he's been wasting away in underground fighting rings, selling his meat in an attempt to pay back a debt greater than his own life. When events lead to his fighting days abruptly ending, what is a broken man to do with nothing left to give? Perhaps a familiar looking someone can save his lost soul.Please give these sweeties a happy, smexy ending~Photo Description: Two tattooed, muscular fighters hold each other tightly while kissing. The shorter, in a white tank-top, has his right arm behind his lover's lower back, the left hand, wrapped in white fabric, across his lover's shoulders. The taller is naked, his left hand holding the back of his lover's neck, the right playing with his own rear.This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Hot Summer Days" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story.Download the story, read it online or find it in Don't Read in the Closet, Volume 4 or Don't Read in the Closet: GayRomLit Retreat 2011 Special Edition.__________Genre: contemporaryTags: gay m/m, boxing, tattoos, athletes, mafia, hurt-comfortWord Count: 3,600

    I think we’re OUT now.Photo Description: An artistic black-and-white photo. Although they face away from the camera, two handsome young men look over their shoulders at the viewer, their expressions reflecting surprise. They’re naked, their bodies muscular and toned. The man on the left is slightly taller, his wavy dark hair complemented by the other man’s short blond hair. The spacious training studio’s hardwood floor shines underneath their bare feet, and sporting goods, including numerous stationary strike bags, line the perimeter.This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love’s Landscapes" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story. This story may contain sexually explicit content and is intended for adult readers. It may contain content that is disagreeable or distressing to some readers. The M/M Romance Group strongly recommends that each reader review the General Information section before each story for story tags as well as for content warnings.

    All he wants besides a passing grade is a chance to make amends with the man he loved and hurt while they were deployed together three years ago.Pain, guilt, and bitterness aren’t the only lingering feelings, though, and even if three years is enough to melt the ice between them, they’ve already risked their careers for each other once. Can Justin convince Chris that what they once had is worth putting careers and hearts on the line again?

    From their first days together, they stood united against deadly enemies and prevailed. But now the deadly enemy they face is the cancer thriving inside Luki, consuming his lungs.As Luki's treatment proceeds, Sonny hovers near, determined to provide every care, control every thread of possibility just as he does when he weaves. But he can't control the progress of the cancer or how Luki's body reacts to the treatment regime. Sonny tries, but Luki dances with cancer alone-until he gets a startling reminder of the miracle of life. With renewed determination and mutual love, the two men emerge from their coldest winter into a new spring day.

    His nan has just the thing: a month-long cruise around Hawaii and the Pacific Islands. It seems perfect—until Jesse realizes what kind of cruise it is.A gay cruise.Since Jesse’s roommate, Daniel, is recovering from a broken heart, the two decide to buddy up. They hit it off, and with Daniel now Jesse's partner in crime, they explore the boat and participate in all the fun activities on offer—with some, ah, interesting results for straight boy Jesse.

    However, interference after the play has him hiding his past and burying his future in the bottom of a bottle. While Colt seems to have it all, looks can be deceiving especially when you're trapped so far in a closet that you can't see your way out. When ten years of living his expected fast-lane lifestyle lands him engaged to his manipulative Russian supermodel girlfriend, he decides it's time to call a new play. Jace Montgomery single-handedly built the largest all-star cheerleading gym in the world, driven by a need to forget a life-altering encounter with a handsome quarterback a decade ago. His reputation as an excellent coach, hard-nosed business man, and savvy entrepreneur earned him respect in the sometimes catty world of competitive cheerleading. When Jace learns of his ex-lover's plans to marry, his heart executes a barrel roll and his carefully placed resolve tumbles down without a mat to absorb the shock. Can his island escape help him to finally let go of the past and move his life forward?

    To do that, he needs a co-driver he can trust. If only he could find one….At the end of a disastrous season, Daniel’s manager replaces his incompetent co-driver with Frank Dufour, a young Canadian whose rally team let him go because he was gay. Daniel’s in heaven, thinking he might find more than just a teammate, but his manager puts the brakes on, declaring Frank firmly off limits. Frank isn’t any more ready to risk his second—and last—chance at making it in the WRC, no matter how attractive he finds Daniel. Sex and cars don’t mix.Amidst a bitter rivalry with another driver, sabotage attempts, extreme weather conditions, and the stress of racing, Daniel and Frank forge a partnership that defies the odds, but just as things start to heat up between them, a family emergency calls Frank away. Will they find their way back together or will the separation and the spotlight be too much for their fledgling love to survive?

    But what about the THREE YEARS in between? Fear not, this JOCK SHORT is a collection of four chapters, written to fill in the gaps. So grab your tissues and pull up a chair, and prepare yourself to find out what Cole, Ellis, Rob, and Russell, from JOCK 1, got into before JOCK 2 comes out.Chapters include: Graduation, In The Meantime, He Said, "I Do.", and Where Do We Go From Here?

    As an otter, he’s not too pleased by this. Arizona is dry, he’s leaving his home behind, and he has to move in with a stranger. Things take an even steeper plunge when he meets his roommate.Chandler Kipling is the captain of the Hares, a least weasel, and he’s got a bit of a thing for his new teammate. Too bad that teammate seems to hate him. And Chandler’s romantic strategies leave something to be desired. Will Dustin be able to get the message he’s trying to send? With a little time, their nightmare might turn into a dream—if they can get past their differences.

    When she announces in the middle of a vacation in New Orleans that she's managed to obtain an invitation to a notorious local Vampyre Haven at the historic Maison Bertrand, Brady reluctantly agrees to accompany her. He's never understood her fascination with "the lifestyle," as Tessa calls it, but complete in Gothic makeup and black Victorian garb, he goes with her to the mansion in the bayou for what he believes amounts to an elaborate Halloween party.He couldn't be more wrong. Brady almost immediately realizes he's in over his head: he's not put off by the decor, or even the drugs, but when they stumble across rooms where blood play is on display, he decides it's time to leave. But Tessa isn't ready to go, the doorman Gerard keeps referring to him as "the offering," and some of the more insistent guests have chosen him as a party favor when he is rescued by the enigmatic Lucien Bertrand. Or is he only getting into deeper trouble?Part of Dreamspinner Press's Daily Dose 2010: Midsummer's Nightmare.

    Then Matt starts having dreams—very good dreams—about Joseph, one of the men in the pictures from the 1940s. One morning when Matt wakes up, the bruises are still there. Could there be more to Violet’s present than he thought?

    It’s the first week of college and he’s following his jock of a roommate around like a puppy dog. It’s pretty pathetic and he knows it. Then he sits down next to this little nerd in his English class and things change. “The Three of Us” is a story of first loves, coming of age and friendship.This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love Has No Boundaries" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story.

    He's had two best friends in his life, and they've both been gay, so it's not as if he hasn't been exposed to the idea. And while his relationships with women have certainly been enjoyable, they've never lasted, and he's never really cared.He decides to take a chance with a player from another team. Ryan is a laid-back, carefree musician, and he makes everything seem easy. But maybe it's too easy, as both Chris and Ryan start to wonder whether they've stepped into the light, or stumbled even further into darkness.

    Garrett has no choice but to come out of his shell when Justin and his co-worker tease him up onto the stage for a live demonstration. That might have been that, just a one-off job but Garrett takes advantage of follow-up fact checking for his article to get to know Justin better... and it leads to an unexpected friendship and flirtation that just might grow into something more.

    The injury is minor, but his attraction to the doctor who patches him up is not.Dr. Jody Williams lost his heart to a man he buried five years ago. Still grieving, he's not looking for love. But the patient who's part Nordic God, part lost soul, ticks all his boxes, leaving him with feelings he didn't know he was still capable of having.Beneath the flawless jock exterior, Clark is hiding not just his sexual identity, but a challenging disorder. His controlling father won't allow him to take meds to manage his ADD, fearing they'll affect his performance on the football field. Now his academic struggles have put his entire future in jeopardy, and Jody is more than happy to ride to the rescue as a tutor. But playing white knight quickly turns to more and the wild attraction between them can't be contained.Athletes have started coming out but it's not without risk, especially without family support. Now Clark must decide. Hide his true self or risk it all for the man he loves?