These two men who have spent a life in love, from the very first date arranged by Henry’s sister, through the rocky times they worked to make ends meet, and into their twilight years.NOTE: This story appears in the following anthologies — Best Gay Romance 2008 (Cleis Press) and Best Gay Stories 2009 (Lethe Press).

    I can't blame him for being pissed. I fucked up royally. Can you find a way for me to make it up to him? Can he ever forgive me? Can you lead us to a happily ever after? Photo Description: Two young men, naked from the waist up. One sitting on the ground leaning back on his hands with his head turned to the side looking distressed. The second on his knees, leaning over him, kissing his neck, with his hand on the waistband of the other's pants, pulling his clothes down.This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love is Always Write" 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.Read the story here or find it in Love Is Always Write: Volume 5.Don't miss In Too Deep, a novel inspired by this short story.

    But when they both arrive at the store at the same moment, the proprietor tells them to figure out between themselves who gets the bed. Elliot and Shawn decide to hold a contest: winner buys bed.And so the competitions begin, from selling charity tickets to cleaning out stables, and interpersonal tension and burgeoning attraction mount as the days until Christmas pass. But who deserves the gift more: Elliot, who can afford the expensive gift for his casual sex partner, or Shawn, who can barely cover rent, and the mysterious man he’s head-over-heels for?

    Zach thinks Logan’s been living in that shadow long enough, but can he convince him he deserves to stand in the light?Detectives Zach Gibson and Logan Armstrong are partners, friends, and something more that they’ve never analysed or put a name to. But it works for them. For now.When Zach’s grandfather asks them to investigate the theft of a ring from the finger of his recently deceased friend, it opens a can of worms Logan has been struggling to keep closed for ten years.Secrets, guilt and revelations come tumbling out, and Logan is forced to finally deal with events from his past that have kept him emotionally bound and unable to move on.

    A smile across a counter at a coffee shop or video store. A secret revealed in a song from another place and time. Or in a love ballad crooned at a high school dance. In this anthology of never-before-published sweet LGBTQ+ stories, six authors explore the beginnings of love between young and new adult couples. All proceeds will support The Trevor Project's work with crisis intervention and suicide prevention for LGBTQ+ youth.

    Everyone in Bingwell, Brock, and Bacon says so, and after Ethan’s first encounter with the man, he agrees. Ethan resolves to avoid James but ends up working closely with him and discovers the lawyer's hiding a secret from the world. Ethan also realizes he's falling too hard too fast. Ethan has to decide if he should help James and risk getting entangled in the mess James has gotten himself into, or move on. But walking away from love is never a simple decision to make.

    The one thing that can shake his confidence, however, is meeting Josh, the one-night stand from before his tour of duty he hasn't been able to forget. It turns out Josh hasn't forgotten Chris, either. But with Chris such a changed man, can they still have a future?

    Two years ago, Derrick Cole took one of his teenage probationers to learn about a new program that helped at risk kids by teaching them how to train shelter dogs. There he met the executive director and founder, Nigel Rutherford. Although the two men came from different worlds, they immediately found common ground in an interest in social issues and a desire to help others. A strong mutual attraction grew over time into the kind of solid loving relationship that so many people only dream about.But getting to this point wasn't easy. Bias and intolerance barred the way, and Derrick's foster father, Ronald Bryant, was at the core. When Ronald dies tragically, the couple is forced to face demons from their past that threaten to destroy everything they've fought so hard for.Death does a lot of things to people. Nigel and Derrick must fight to make sure that their relationship isn't yet another tragic loss.Warnings: Contains grief and loss, death of a parent, lots of crying, a bit of PTSD, snarky teens, adorable but opportunistic dogs, foul language, emotionally intense hot man on hot man sex action, and an excessive number of pumpkins.--------------------------------------------------------------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.

    After losing love and fighting addiction, he becomes a successful substance abuse counselor and helps people regardless of their insurance or ability to pay. It isn't the dream life he had in San Francisco, but at least he has something to be proud of. Everything seems to be getting back on the right track until Angel, a heroin-addicted male prostitute, crosses his path. Erik not only sees a lot of himself in Angel, but a lot of potential as well. He quickly realizes he's willing to sacrifice a lot to get him on the right path--but is he willing to jeopardize his career?

    Being called a hero and having his photo plastered across the news makes him hate himself more. He despises his cushy job flying with the Marine One squadron, carrying the president and other officials, when he’d rather risk something, even death. He gets his wish when he’s ordered to fly a series of classified trips. Matt “Beau” Beaumont has been relegated to covering the fashion beat after getting downsized from a hard-news position. But an unexpected invitation to a White House dinner might be the boost his career needs. Offering a hot marine an after-dinner blowjob wasn’t on Beau’s agenda, but when Jake takes him up on the proposition, some phenomenal casual sex soon blossoms into a relationship both of them crave. When Beau’s extracurricular research uncovers defense department funding anomalies, he soon discovers the trouble goes higher than he imagined. Just as events start to make sense, the investigation puts Beau and Jake in deadly danger. It takes a daring play by Jake—risking everything he loves—to uncover the truth.

    He has a hard time sitting still, so deciding to make the best of his situation, he pays a visit to his old friend Nick Stone, a retired porn star he shares a history with. Only the visit doesn’t go anything like Jez expected. First Nick introduces Jamie, his much younger lover, a man so painfully shy he can’t even bring himself to talk to strangers. The love he and Nick share is plain to Jez, but also puzzling, because Nick was never the monogamous type. Then Nick tells Jez he’s dying and wants Jez to look after Jamie. In his whole life, Jez has never committed to so much as a house plant, so at first he refuses. But Nick and Jamie are insistent, and soon Jamie worms his way into Jez’s graces and his bed, determined to do the convincing Jez’s heart needs.

    At least he hopes they are. Wearied by guilt and regret stemming from a horrific automobile accident two years earlier in which a man was killed, Gordon wakes up every morning with thoughts of suicide. While the law puts Gordon to work atoning for his sins, personal redemption is far harder to come by. Then Squirt—a simple homeless man with his own crosses to bear—saves Gordon from a terrible fate. Overnight, Gordon finds not only a new light to follow, and maybe even a purpose to his life, but also the possibility of love waiting at the end of the tunnel. Gordon never imagined he’d discover a way to forgive himself, and in doing so, open his heart enough to gain acceptance and love—from the very person he hurt the most.

    If someone he s attracted to wants to have sex with him, he's not going to say no to them. That's not a character flaw, it s just common sense.Stephen seems to think otherwise. He's sure Andrew is incapable of saying no to a cheap thrill. But, at the same time, he's more than happy to provide Andrew with the prefect opportunity to prove him wrong.Andrew has no doubt that he can say no to everything the younger man offers him for the next twelve hours, and that's all he needs to do to win their bet. He's also quite looking forward to cutting the would-be dominant down to size in the process. Because, while he may be easy when it comes to vanilla encounters, Andrew has high standards when it comes to dominants.There's no way an inexperienced nineteen year old is going to receive his submission. Andrew will obviously find it easy to say no to that. Won't he ?Reader Advisory: This story has been previously released as part of the Friction anthology by Total-E-Bound

    Guilt for walking away unscathed...and for secretly loving Simon's partner, Wade. Unable to bear the pain, Dylan left the Lazy G ranch to rebuild his life elsewhere.A year later he reluctantly responds to his sister's plea to come home, where he finds the Lazy G falling apart. And so is Wade. Wade has stopped caring about the ranch, about everything that should matter most to him.Though there's more ranch work than one man can possibly handle, Dylan throws himself into the task. Wondering how he's going to find the strength to pull Wade out of the fog of grief when his own is still as raw as a fresh wound. Wondering when Wade will finally see that his second chance for happiness is standing right in front of him.

    . . a faggot? A queer? A sissy? About a dozen more words meandered through my brain, every word I’d ever heard from my friends, from adults, from TV. Was that who I was now? Were those words me now?"While most gay men grow up living in the closet until they are brave enough to step out and be themselves, Adam Shepherd experiences the opposite. After living almost all of his young life out and gay, he goes into the closet, willingly, in order to have the career and life he wants and needs. He thinks he can handle it, but he soon discovers how much he has truly given up.Chase Michaels was always there for Adam, a substitute “big-brother” and true friend in his growing up years. Adam has always harbored a secret involving Chase, but it conflicts with the closet he now lives in as an adult. When the pressure becomes too much, Adam chooses to stay in his closet . . . but at what cost? And can he change things before it’s too late?Original Prompt:Dear Author,I've missed him so much and I'd hoped he be there when I came home. I just didn't want to expect too much. After so many years of being just friends, we became more and then I got my orders. Before we could start anything, it felt like everything was over. But he came, he's here! I just couldn't contain myself and ran right into his arms.Can someone please tell me how these two began, how they survived apart and what's next? :)Photo Description: Military homecoming: Marine dressed in fatigues greets his civilian lover with a passionate embrace, arms and legs wrapped around him, as they kiss passionately, framed by a large, vibrant American Flag behind them.This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love is Always Write" 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.Read the story here or find it in Love Is Always Write: Volume 6.