He has a summer job, a case of existential panic, and a hopeless crush on the unattainable Jai Hazenbrook. Except how do you know that your coworker’s unattainable unless you ask to blow him in the porta-potty?That’s probably not what Dad meant when he said Nick should act more like an adult.Twenty-five-year-old Jai is back in his hometown of Franklin, Ohio, just long enough to earn the money to get the hell out again. His long-term goal of seeing more of the world is worth the short-term pain of living in his mother’s basement, but only barely.Meeting Nick doesn’t fit in with Jai’s plans at all, but, as Jai soon learns, you don’t have to travel halfway around the world to have the adventure of a lifetime.This is not a summer romance. This is a summer friendship-with-benefits. It’s got pizza with disgusting toppings, Netflix and chill, and accidental exhibitionism. That’s all. There are no feelings here. None. Shut up.

    Since then, his obsessive-compulsive behavior and sarcastic nature have driven away most of the population, and everyone else hates him because he's gay. As he sees it, he's bound to repulse any prospective friends, let alone boyfriends, so why bother?By the time Cole enters college, he's become an anal-retentive loner—but it's not a problem until his roommate graduates and the housing department assigns Ellis Montgomery to move in with Cole. Ellis is messy, gorgeous, straight, and worst of all, a "jock"!During a school year filled with frat buddies, camping expeditions, and meddling parents, Cole and Ellis develop a friendship that turns Cole's glass-half-empty outlook on its head. There must be more to Ellis than a fun-loving jock—and maybe Cole's reawakening libido has rekindled his hope for more than camaraderie.

    He’s done his time and has worked hard to keep his nose clean ever since. He keeps out of other people’s business and he expects the same in return.When a family tragedy strikes, he’s forced to take in his late, estranged, sister’s five-year-old daughter. Jack doesn’t know the first thing about kids. He’s never even met his niece until now because she was raised in another state. His future plans didn’t include children, but now he’s stuck with a kid.For the first time in a long time, he has to ask for help. Even if he could connect with his grieving niece, Mia, he lacks the desire. However, whether he wants to be close to the child or not, he’s legally responsible for her safekeeping. Since he can’t emotionally give Mia what she needs, he decides to hire a professional.Thomas Andrews is a carefree soul who adores children and believes in helping others. He loves his job as a manny and is thrilled to help bring happiness to Mia’s world. What he doesn’t expect is to butt heads with Jack as often as he does. Jack’s cold hands-off approach to caring for Mia irks Thomas more than he can say.But Thomas being Thomas, he can’t hold his tongue, and his criticisms don’t go over well with his new employer. What really has Thomas mystified is why he cares so much what Jack thinks, or why he feels attracted to the surly man. He knows he should just collect his generous paycheck and keep his mouth shut.With someone as opinionated as Thomas, that’s easier said than done.

    In a society where the ability to see the higher end of the color spectrum denotes a better social standing, Eddie Russet belongs to the low-level House of Red and can see his own color—but no other. The sky, the grass, and everything in between are all just shades of grey, and must be colorized by artificial means. Eddie's world wasn't always like this. There's evidence of a never-discussed disaster and now, many years later, technology is poor, news sporadic, the notion of change abhorrent, and nighttime is terrifying: no one can see in the dark. Everyone abides by a bizarre regime of rules and regulations, a system of merits and demerits, where punishment can result in permanent expulsion. Eddie, who works for the Color Control Agency, might well have lived out his rose-tinted life without a hitch. But that changes when he becomes smitten with Jane, a Grey, which is low-caste in this color-centric world. She shows Eddie that all is not well with the world he thinks is just and good. Together, they engage in dangerous revolutionary talk.

    He knows this. Everyone in his small town of Abby, Oregon, knows this. He reads encyclopedias every night before bed. He has a pet ferret called Harry S. Truman. He owns a video rental store that no one goes to. His closest friends are a lady named Lottie with drag queen hair and a trio of elderly Vespa riders known as the We Three Queens.Gus is not normal. And he's fine with that. All he wants is to be left alone.Until Casey, an asexual stoner hipster and the newest employee at Lottie’s Lattes, enters his life. For some reason, Casey thinks Gus is the greatest thing ever. And maybe Gus is starting to think the same thing about Casey, even if Casey is obsessive about Instagramming his food.But Gus isn’t normal and Casey deserves someone who can be. Suddenly wanting to be that someone, Gus steps out of his comfort zone and plans to become the most normal person ever.After all, what could possibly go wrong?

    But instead of being sent to a juvenile detention center like he expected, he is given a chance to commute his sentence by working on a farm for the summer. Enter Sam, son of the farm owners, who shows Kyle what he feels is perfectly normal and that he doesn’t have to hide from his feelings. In turn, Sam’s parents show Kyle that his abusive stepfather and battered mother are not the norm. With their love and support, Kyle finds his place in the world—by Sam’s side.

    It starts with a minor meltdown at work that leaves Danny under house arrest with a cast on one leg and an ankle monitor on the other, courtesy of the San Diego Police Department. On top of that, he’s battling a chronic case of virginity, with no relief in sight.Oh, and there’s one more little glitch. A serial killer is stalking the city, murdering young men. And when strange sounds are heard in the house behind Danny’s, the neighborhood kids think they’ve found the killer. But not until Danny learns he's next on the madman's list do things really begin to get desperate.Damn! And Danny had plans to come out this summer—maybe even get laid! He doesn't have time for ankle monitors and serial killers!Then ginger-haired Luke Jamison moves in next door. Not only does Luke solve a few of Danny's more urgent problems, he also manages to create a couple more that Danny never saw coming. Gee. If he can survive it, this summer might not be so bad after all.

    Over the years, the vibrant art community has attracted an eclectic group of residents who are proud to call this small haven on the Gulf Coast home. Come visit this small eccentric town known as the pride of lower Alabama and enjoy the tales of the men who call this lovely place home. Working in his aunt's design firm as a commercial architect and interior designer, Ladd Eldridge has lived his life since the age of 15 to perfection. As long as he has control over every aspect of his life, he won't have to remember all the years he was neglected, hungry and virtually raising his younger brothers by himself. With a father he barely remembered and a negligent mother who eventually abandoned them for her latest drinking buddy, his childhood was nothing but poverty and struggle until they were brought to Fairpoint and reunited with his father's family. Ladd keeps a tight grip on his world to ruthlessly avoid the chaos of his childhood, but his greatest wish is to have a home and family with someone special. He needs to find a man who will make him feel loved and convince him it's finally safe to let go. Connor McDaniel is still licking his wounds from the spectacular failure of his last relationship. He had already bought a ring and was mentally planning their future family when his boyfriend of 2 years left him without a backward glance. Connor took the job overseeing the renovation of a historic building in Fairpoint for his family's company, to get as far away from his ex and his glorious new life as possible. He'll regroup and turn his vision of his own Scottish pub into reality. He's been looking for the perfect building to make his dream come true and if he can't have his personal life succeed, he's determined to make his work successful. But Connor is still a closet romantic and all he's ever wished for was a man to love and protect who will help him create a family of his own. Ladd and Connor both gazed longingly at the same stars and made their heartfelt wishes, never knowing that when their stars fell, their wishes really could come true.

    In this hilarious, romantic comedy, two twenty-something neighbors embark on a zany mission to meet the founder of Starbucks, and in doing so, find each other.

    R for language and implied sex. No DRM.

    Mark Mitchell's strategy for surviving is to emulate the mighty turtle: pull back inside his protective shell and keep a low profile to avoid trouble. And it works-nobody bothers him. Of course, nobody really knows him, either, even in a town so small it seems like everybody must know everyone else.Mark certainly knows Bill Cromwell, whom he meets officially when his father volunteers him for manual labor at the school. Bill is his polar opposite: outgoing, gregarious, athletic. But when a massive snowstorm traps the two boys together for three days, Mark learns that being popular doesn't mean you can't be bullied or abused-or gay-and that bullying doesn't stop at the school doors.Mark isn't na ve. He's seen the news reports of gay teen suicides, and he's determined not to become a statistic. But it's not himself he's worried about.

    When we play together, I’m brave and strong and handsome and I slay the dragon. But when we stop playing, I’m back to being regular old me.Am I brave enough to tell him how I feel? When the game ends, can we still be comrades in arms, or is it all just empty fantasy?[This’d work for computer or video games, but I’m particularly fond of the intimacy of old-school tabletop role-playing ...]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.Download the story, read it online or find it in Love Is Always Write: Volume 3.

    He just needs his big break. So when he hears that Blue Horizon Records is holding auditions looking for the next big thing, Danny jumps at the chance. It doesn’t turn out exactly as he imagined, though. Instead of getting solo contracts, Danny and four other guys are put into a boy band. Innocent, idealistic Elliot Price thinks he’s headed for college. An impulsive decision to sing in the local talent search changes all that. A bigwig producer happens to see him, hands him a business card, and turns Elliot’s life upside down. Elliot and Danny are close from the beginning. They love all the guys, but it’s different with each other. Soon their friendship turns into feelings more intense than either of them can ignore. The other three boys only want Danny and Elliot to be happy, but when their management team and record label discover two of their biggest tween heartthrobs are in a relationship, they’re less than pleased. Danny and Elliot find themselves in the middle of a circle of lies and cover-ups, all with one bottom line—money. They have to stay strong and stick together if they don’t want to lose themselves… and each other.

    It was simply where he lived until he was old enough to leave. The day he turns eighteen, he boards a Greyhound bus and leaves Chicago behind for what he hopes will be something better.Upon arrival in Omaha, an unexpected streak of good luck leads him to Banks Motel where he meets sexy tattoo artist Adam Banks. A belated birthday celebration is just the beginning for them, and Adam easily infiltrates the protective wall Dillon has built around his heart and becomes the center of Dillon’s world. Adam and the Banks family take Dillon in as one of their own, and Dillon finds he’s never been happier in his life.That is until becoming a part of someone’s family proves to be harder than Dillon thought. When caring about other people makes him more vulnerable than he can handle, Dillon’s first instinct is to run. Throw in a meddling ex-boyfriend and it all becomes too much for him.Can Adam prove that the positives far outweigh the negatives, or will Dillon let his fear of being hurt ruin his chances at finding a real home?

    He’s dropped a lot of weight since his high school days, but he’s still a big guy, and the painful words and bullying follow him. Rejected—again—because of his size, Crowley is starting to think that maybe love just isn’t meant for huskier men. Averell Lang and his twin are so different they might as well not even be related. So when Rell’s brother brings his roommate home to snowy Susset for the holidays, Rell expects the worst—another uptight, pretentious hipster. What he discovers instead is Crowley. Nerdy, fascinating, attractive, Crowley. Rell never expected to look at a man this way, and what he sees in Crowley Fredericks is something he didn’t even know he was looking for. If both men can overcome their hang-ups, they might unwrap more than presents this holiday season.