What could possibly go wrong? Part of The Real Story Safe Sex Project. http://brenthartinger.com/therealstory/

    He and Matt have been together for ten years, and—as the voice of Ecos, the wildly popular anime character—Kyle is treated like a rock star in anime circles. But in an instant, a stroke leaves him blind. When photographer Matt gets the opportunity of a lifetime, Kyle reexamines their relationship, discovers it has been a safety net rather than a true romance, and sets Matt free to pursue his dream. Kyle’s life and career as he knew them are gone, and he must now find the courage and creativity to draft a new plan.After being away for fifteen years, Seth Caplan comes home to Chicago to care for his mother and to partner with a small start-up tech company. He and Kyle meet after Kyle’s collision with a child’s sidewalk toy, and they hit it off. Kyle wants to get back into running, and Seth becomes his guide. As they get to know each other, they start seeing each other beyond their three-times-a-week runs. But Seth’s revelation of the dark reason why he left his career in California sends the relationship into a tailspin and leaves both men running blind.

    As a teenager, it was love at first sight for Harold while tutoring football star Mario, until homophobia and bullying drove Mario deep into the closet. Now they’re both married men. Mario, a model, is miserable with his producer wife, while Harold, a teacher, is perfectly content with his businessman husband, Stuart. When the two meet again, will the old flame reignite, setting Harold’s comfortable life ablaze? How can Harold be happy with Stuart when he is still infatuated with his Adonis, his first love, Mario? Harold faces this seemingly impossible situation with inimitable wit, tenderness, and humor as he attempts to reconcile the past and the future.

    Despite his mother’s objections, he wears nail polish and makeup to school and pursues his goal of becoming a professional drag queen.TV drag star Taffy Sweet gives encouragement and Evan’s cousin Holly tries to protect him, but school bullies abuse him so badly because of his sexuality and the girly way he dresses that he ends up at the hospital emergency room. After that, even his new crush, a closeted football jock named Moe Garcia, is unhappy about Evan's choice to live his life openly gay. But even in girly clothes and nail polish, Evan is a force to be reckoned with, and he soon shows the bullies—and everyone else—that beating a drag queen up does not mean the queen is beaten down.

    Lip gloss, eyeliner, eye shadow, nail polish? Back in the small town where I grew up, a boy would have never dared to dress like him. When an assignment to create a video news segment from one of our professors places us both in the same group, personalities clash, and what started as fascination on my part turns into instant dislike, which he seems to immediately return. He's smart, quick-thinking, creative…but also snarky, moody, defensive, and basically the complete physical opposite of every guy I've ever been attracted to. And yet, despite the fact that I think he needs an attitude adjustment, and he thinks I'm just a backward country hick, I've quickly come to realize that sometimes the line between love and hate really is paper thin.P.S. An HEA would definitely be preferred to an HFN ending. Photo Description: Two young men stare at each other through a chain-link fence. They are holding hands through it; one has nail polish and lip gloss.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 it online or find it in Love Is Always Write: Volume 11 - Bonus Volume.__________Genre: contemporaryTags: first love; college; coming out; gay-for-you; enemies to loversWarnings: noneWord Count: 68,123

    His relationship with his family has never been so strained and with no real life of his own, he has nothing to live for. His overachieving twin sister and his ruthless mother's political success as Mayor of Havenmoore has left him empty. Getting high started as an act of rebellion but the addiction soon controlled his every waking moment.Aspiring writer, Caden Walker, thought he had the perfect life until he discovered his boyfriend in bed with his best friend. Leaving everything behind in New York, he returns to Havenmoore to re-evaluate his life from his parent’s guest bedroom. When his mom offers him a job working for the charity she runs, helping people struggling with addiction, he’s not in a position to turn it down.Caden never expected to find what he did, but when he is assigned to work with Elias, a reluctant attraction quickly blossoms into something deeper. Can Elias find in Caden the one thing he’s always searched for or will his addiction drag him under once again? Is Caden ready to let go of his New York dream to take a chance on something unexpected? Both men are faced with difficult times of change, but can they make it through the storm to find the shelter?

    With those words, two men began a journey of love and invited us to ride along. TJ and Eric have shared so much with us: their wonderful books, their smiles, their humor, their lives, and their inspiring devotion to each other. In December of 2013, their journey took a detour when Eric was taken to the emergency room. He survived the surgery to remove a cavernous hemangioma from his brain stem, but the challenges TJ and Eric face are far from over.The authors in this anthology donated their talent as a way to support Eric's continued recovery, to help bring strength to TJ, and to show both of them just how much love surrounds them. Grand Adventures is a diverse range of stories about the journey of love. We’re going on some grand adventures for a great cause. Thank you for joining us.One hundred percent of the income from this volume goes directly to TJ and Eric.Foreword by S.A. McAuleyAn Unexpected Thing by John AmoryThe Twinkie Ignition by J.E. BirkWhen Friendship Becomes More by Sophie BonasteIsle of Waiting by Sue BrownThe Jogger by KC BurnHolding Court by Cardeno C.For Dear Life by Mary CalmesUnder the Full Moon by Ellis CarringtonStripped by Shae Connor (2nd Edition)That Place Across the Hall by C.C. DadoMistaken MD by Phoenix EmrysCops and Comix by Rhys FordLast First Kiss by LE FranksTomorrow by John GoodeFrom Fantasy to Friends by CR GuilianoWitness Protected by Dawn Kimberly JohnsonWater Under the Bridge by Mia KerickA Gentle Shove of Human Kindness by Amy LaneAir (Roads #1.75 million) by Garrett LeighAn Atheist and a Yoga Instructor Walk into a Bar by Rowan McAllisterStalking 101 by Moria McCainSimple Desires by Tempeste O'RileyObject of Care by Zahra OwensKid Confusion by Madison ParkerFall Train by Jaime SammsThe Exhibition by Andrea SpeedWhat You Will by TinneanPrologue by Brandon Witt

    Hard work and drive kept Royal O'Connell one step ahead of his competition. His spot on the swim team, keeping his scholarship, was the only plan that mattered. His world was ebony and ivory. Natural talent and ambition set Camden Morgan apart from the other music majors. His dedication scoring him a full ride. Normally, their paths would have never crossed….But when Royal meets his best friend's new roommate, his big plan and Camden’s controlled environment faces a variable that could destroy it all. Attraction. The world they live in had no room for error. That undeniable pull between them was dangerous and neither one of them could've prepared for the choice they'd have to make. Love isn't always an easy road and, when everything they've worked for is on the line, they'll have to decide if being together is worth the risk. Let There Be Light is a full-length standalone.

    He never expected it to be a sexually free commune. Hudson finds himself falling for Jude, but all the men in the yellow house are lovers. Coupling-off isn't how their house works.Jude Garrity visits the farmers market every Saturday. As an environmental engineering student, he's curious about living off the grid and sustainable agriculture. And one particular farmer.Hudson Oliva has worked hard to support his commune, the only place he's felt at home. When Jude asks pointed questions about living there, Hudson decides to be honest. Few people know what the farm is actually about, but Jude is insistent.Jude moves in, however his sexual hang-ups left over from past abuse make it hard to adjust. He's living among people who have sex freely and with multiple partners. When Jude finally loosens up, Hudson is flooded with emotions for this reserved man. Falling for Jude wasn't part of Hudson's life plan. But when vindictive rumors about the commune begin to spread, love might be all he has left.

    Their friendship seems like a dream come true—or perhaps just a dream, because no one else can see or hear James. Aaron stubbornly clings to his new friend, however, even when the friendship makes him an object of scorn and ridicule. No matter the years that pass, or the challenges they face, Aaron refuses to give up on his best friend—but life might just find a way to take James from him anyway.

    Which makes it hard for him to be in love with his straight best friend. For his part, Matt is completely oblivious to the way Tretch feels – and Tretch can’t tell whether that makes it better or worse. The problem with living a lie is that the lie can slowly become your life. For Tretch, the problem isn’t just with Matt. His family has no idea who he really is and what he’s really thinking. The girl at the local bookstore has no clue how off-base her crush on him is. And the guy at school who’s a thorn in Tretch’s side doesn’t realize how close to the truth he’s hitting. Tretch has spent a lot of time dancing alone in his room, but now he’s got to step outside his comfort zone and into the wider world. Because like love, a true self can rarely be contained. ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN is a poignant, hard-hitting exploration of love and friendship, a provocative debut that shows that sometimes we have to let things fall apart before we can make them whole again.

    That's how it's always been. But all it takes is one winding road and a sudden storm for their world to shift in an instant. As Levi struggles to cope, Kane has no choice but to become the strong one. But where Kane wants things to go back to normal, Levi seems determined to change as much as possible. He starts acting differently, more recklessly, and Kane isn’t sure what to do. What can he do, after all? He can’t stop Levi from flirting with every guy that breathes, or from going to every party on campus. But when Levi begs Kane to join him at a Halloween party, Kane finds himself in a predicament he never imagined. He’s given in to a passion he didn’t know he had, and worse—he doesn’t regret it. Faced with the reality of his growing desires, Kane starts to pull away from Levi. But no matter what he does, Kane can’t fight his yearning, and Levi isn’t making it any easier. Though Kane keeps asking himself, "what’s wrong with me?" maybe Kane should be asking what’s wrong with Levi... And will it tear them apart for good? Our Gentle Sin is a contemporary m/m romance of a taboo nature that some readers might find objectionable. It contains explicit sexual content between two consenting adults, violence, coarse language, and the use of sexual slurs. It is not appropriate for readers under 18 years of age.

    Coming out and coming of age in the days of AIDS, MTV, Reaganomics, and Just Say No. Daron Marks is a young guitar player with a dream, make it big like the guys he grew up idolizing in New Jersey--or at least escape his dysfunctional family. He makes it as far as music school in Rhode Island, and the stages of Boston beckon. But it's hard to succeed from the closet.

    Max Conway, an ex-Navy Seal, loves working at the bottom of the world. Like any other diver, he's tough and hard drinking. Half the year he's stuck in the States traveling the commercial dive circuit and hitting gay bars every night. The other six months he's lead safety diver at McMurdo Station in Antarctica, reveling in the cold blue Antarctic Sea. The only drawback to life way down under is that Max feels like he has to tuck his libido into storage while he's on station, stashing all those free condoms for use back up north. That is until Andre Dubois, a gorgeous French scientist, shakes up his world. Not only is Andre out and proud, he's sober as the day is long. And the days are long during an Antarctic summer. Max must choose between his comfortable inebriated closet and a life in the sun with Andre.

    He’ll never be able to work in his field again, his education is all but useless, and his surgeons are pessimistic about whether he’ll ever walk again. He needs someone in his corner, but most lawyers take one look at his tattoo-covered foster father and turn their backs. It’s just Sean’s luck that the one attorney willing to give him a chance is also the hottest guy he’s ever seen.As a trial lawyer, Nate Delany has a lot to prove—to his father, the world, and himself. Sean intrigues Nate, and he struggles to reconcile the gifted tattoo artist he can’t stop fantasizing about with the quiet, brilliant engineer. His investigation reveals facts left out of the accident report—including an illicit affair, greedy coworkers, and a vicious corporation that will do anything to protect its bottom line. When Sean’s life is threatened, winning Sean’s case, and his heart, becomes a lot more dangerous.