He’s lucky his foreman is giving him another chance with the solar panel project at an elementary school in Atlantic City. When he spies a man walking strangely in front of the school, Michael laughs, assuming he’s drunk or high. Little does he realize that Joshua Stone, a teaching assistant, has cerebral palsy, and he’s having a bad muscle control day. Taking a tumble right in front of the handsome construction worker is just his luck.When Michael learns the truth, he feels bad for his cruel behavior. He offers to give Joshua—and his tricycle, the Racing Rhonda—a lift. Joshua accepts the help, and suddenly there’s a gorgeous man breezing into his life, turning his world upside down. But Michael has more issues than his inability to hold down a job, and neither man is sure if they’ll be able to overcome their fears in order to be together.

    One of those promises was to stay in touch and keep seeing each other. But Chad never called, and Jeff remained behind to finish high school. Chad broke Jeff’s heart, but both men suffered. Chad couldn’t forgive himself for being a coward and not standing up to his parents, and Jeff wouldn’t let anyone into his heart again to hurt him. A year after Katrina and ten years after that fateful summer, Chad and Jeff meet again, only this time it’s in the ER of a local hospital. Chad is the attending doctor and Jeff is an assault victim, on the brink of death. Chad is once again swept into the past by the only man he’s ever loved, and like before, Chad makes promises to Jeff—promises he will keep, or else. When Jeff awakes from a coma, he finds the man who broke his heart sitting in his hospital room. Angry, confused and scared, Jeff has no defense against this man. And he also has no one else to care for him, only Chad. After all these years, Jeff’s dream has finally come true, Chad is back in his life. But for how long? And is Jeff willing to open his heart to the man who broke it?

    He was never found. Until now.All Nat Walker wants is to make his late father’s dream of running a father/son woodworking shop come true. And he had the perfect building in mind—until the new guy in town came in and bought the place right out from under him. The fact that the new guy is adorable means nothing. For all Nat cares, he can take his new dance studio and waltz back to New York City.Professional dancer Quinn Carroll couldn’t be happier that he made the move to the small town of Lakeshore, Oregon. Sure, it’s not New York, but now he’ll be living closer to his adoptive brother. And since his studio will be the only one in the area, he should get enough business to keep him busy. Besides, there’s something about this place that seems familiar... He doesn’t expect to fall hard for the local, grumpy woodworker who won’t even smile at him. Or find out that his entire life is a lie.

    In my first month away from home, enjoying newfound independence on my college campus, I was brutally raped by a stranger. I had barely begun my homosexual exploration, kissing and some hand jobs, with a few men who were also experimenting, when it happened 7 years ago. I have not been able to enjoy sexual relations with another man ever since. It has affected every one of my romantic relationships and I am sick and tired of being alone and afraid. I have decided to ask my best friend, a man I first met in junior high and trust with every part of my being, to help me overcome my fear of intimacy and sex. Yes, he is straight, but his love for me is strong and he suffers along with me when my fears arise. My hope is that he can help me, taking baby steps, enjoy the wonders of sex by touching me and loving me. I know that it will hurt when our intimate time together is over, but I’m not going to think about that right now. I need the overwhelming dread and fear of other men stricken from my mind before I can worry about anything else.Photo Description: Two men, short dark hair, no tattoos, shown from the waist up only. They appear to be naked and are clasped in a tight embrace. No faces are shown.This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love is an Open Road" 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.

    He wanted to build a bigger life for himself than Red Creek could give him, but a family crisis has forced him to return to his hometown with his six-year-old daughter. Now he’s standing in the rain at his old elementary school, and his daughter’s teacher, Mr. Hathaway, is lecturing him about punctuality. Adam Hathaway is not looking for love. He’s learned the hard way to keep his personal and professional life separate. But Kyle is struggling and needs a friend, and Adam wants to be that friend. He just needs to ignore his growing attraction to Kyle’s goofy charm, because acting on it would mean breaking all the rules that protect his heart.Putting down roots in this town again is not Kyle’s plan. As soon as he can, he’s taking his daughter and her princess costumes and moving on. The more time he spends with Adam, though, the more he thinks the quiet teacher might give him a reason to stay. Now he just has to convince Adam to take a chance on a bigger future than either of them could have planned.

    So when his devoted customers start showing up with white flour cupcakes, Micah could kill. To cap off a rotten day before Valentine’s Day, Micah comes home to find his boyfriend, Dharamaram, in bed with someone else. In frustration, he throws the rat out and agrees to go to his friend’s orgiastic anti-Valentines party where he meets a gorgeous cross-dressing guy who gives him a night to remember.Southerner, Quentin Darby wishes he could stop wearing women’s clothes. He desperately wants to live up to the glowing opinion his grandmother holds of him, so he’s never even told her he’s gay. And now there’s this guy who makes him wish he could just be who he is. But Micah finds out that Quentin is none other than the baker responsible for the plague of cupcakes afflicting the community! And Dharmaram adds a little blackmail to the mix. Two guys with nothing in common except love--food for thought.

    A colleague’s attempt to cheer him up brings Mitch to a secret “club.” Mitch isn’t remotely interested in the twinks parading like peacocks, until he spies the young man at the back of the room, nose firmly in a book and oblivious to his surroundings. Now Mitch is interested.Nikko Kurokawa wants to pay his debt and get the hell out of the Black Lounge—where he is forced to not only have sex, but sometimes suffer abuse to please clients. Earning his freedom isn’t proving easy, especially when he starts attracting interest. Life becomes that little bit easier to bear when he meets Mitch, who is nothing like the other men who frequent the club. And when Mitch crawls under his skin and into his heart, Nikko figures he can put up with anything. Before long he’ll be out of there, and he and Mitch can figure out if they have a future together.Neither of them counted on those who don’t want Nikko to leave….

    It is his birthright and destiny. But Henry only truly desires the one thing he cannot have…time to spend with his lover, Archie Banks. Archie is his childhood friend turned driver, bodyguard and dirty little secret. Circumstances make it difficult for them to sneak moments together – something that will become impossible once Archie moves on after he graduates from college.They fear the uncertain future, and what will become of their blossoming feelings - but nothing prepares them for the danger and disaster about to overwhelm their lives. A shocking kidnapping leads to tragedy and suddenly Henry and Archie are thrust into a dramatic fight against an unknown enemy. They must fight not only be together, but to also save the company Henry has been groomed to run his entire life.

    A chance meeting with a young American chased away the fear that he would always be alone and brought him the prospect of a new existence.Dustin Earl joined the military and escaped his small town Southern upbringing with the hope that he could give his mentally challenged brother a better life. But Dustin had never known real love, an honest hug, or a simple kiss. He considered his sexuality a weakness; a threat that had been used against those he cared about.For eight months their relationship blossomed until Dustin suddenly returned home. He cherished Stephen, but felt his responsibilities to his brother outweighed his own chance at happiness.Shattered, unable to function and unwilling to accept Dustin’s departure, Stephen flew three thousand miles to get Dustin back and rekindle what they had. But what he would learn when he got there… he could never have imagined.

    He needs practical experience with the Baltimore police beat to get his latest manuscript to his publisher on time. When he wins a ride-along at a writer’s conference, he thinks he’s hit the jackpot… until he meets his partner.Closeted cop Josh de Oliveira lost his family, his partner, and the respect of his unit—all for doing the right thing. Recently busted back down to patrol, he’s relieved to get a cushy assignment at the Author’s Police Institute where he’ll take one lucky writer on a ride-along. Unfortunately, his author looks like he belongs in the backseat of Josh’s squad car—long, ginger dreadlocks, piercings, and an “I would bottom you so hard” T-shirt. But there’s something about Drew Josh is having a hard time resisting. It’s going to be a long night and one hell of a ride as opposites attract and realize they share a lot in common beneath the surface. As animosity becomes desire, they realize they can help each other out—in more ways than one. States of Love: Stories of romance that span every corner of the United States.

    Once a year, he motors down to an exclusive yacht club on the Cornish coast and takes the summer off from the trap that is his life. When his car breaks down, leaving him stranded on the beach, he's transfixed by the sight of a surfer dancing on the waves. The man is summer made flesh. Freedom wrapped up in one lithe package, dripping wet from the sea. Once a year, Darren Stokes takes a break from his life of grinding overwork and appalling relatives, financing his holiday by picking up the first rich man to show an interest. This year, though, he's cautious-last summer's meal ticket turned out to be more pain than pleasure. Even though Alec is so deep in the closet he doesn't even admit he's gay, Darren finds himself falling hard-until their idyllic night together is shattered by the blinding light of reality- Warning: One explicit m/m sex scene and a great deal of swearing.

    This version offered for free by the authors. It can be downloaded here:Rock and a Hard PlaceDetermined to outdo each other, business rivals Sean and Andrew land themselves in hot water when their private feud spills over at a very public charity auction.With neither willing to back down over the dream vacation at stake, they're told by their boss that they're both going and that they're to return as friends.As fate would have it, their plane crashes and they wash up on a desert island where their feud is as likely to doom them as the lack of food and their inability to start a fire. But there's enough heat between them to set sparks flying once out and proud Sean discovers that Andrew's gay, but determined to remain in the closet.Rescue comes, but brings with it new challenges. They're whisked back to their old lives with secrets to keep and a shared passion that makes it impossible for them to stay apart for long.Choices must be made, new paths taken, and two men who have always been good at fighting find themselves, finally, with something worth fighting for: each other.

    Budding Navajo cartoonist Lorenzo Maryboy is a hard-working former Marine: staunch, brave, and honorable. Chance brings them together on the road to Marathon, Texas, and passion flares.Just as always, Jesse puts his art ahead of everything. He betrays their growing trust, and that Lorenzo can’t forgive. But Jesse’s found something he loves more than his art, and what he does to win Lorenzo’s forgiveness is far more dangerous than either man understands.

    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.

    Scott, a modern arts curator at a museum in Chicago, relishes the finer things in life. Julian is a strange photographer whose hair color changes as frequently as his mood. As far as Scott can see, Julian is an erratic know-it-all who lives his life one day to the next. To Julian, Scott is an uptight, too-coiffed perfectionist.As the two men continue to run into each other, their dislike grows, but beneath that animosity, a fire is beginning to spark. Scott is baffled when he realizes he is falling for Julian, a man who burns hotter than a wildfire. Scott will have to decide, for the first time in his life, if he’ll let the flames take over.