We had some really good years, the three of us. But now that she’s gone, the pain of her death is tearing both our minds apart. I know he’s been doing stupid things. Breaking the rules our sire taught us. Risking his life. What am I going to do? He’s all I have left— just like I’m all he has, but am I enough?Photo Description: A black and white photo of two young men— standing in profile— naked and nearly identical. They appear to be in their mid to late twenties; short dark hair, prominent noses. The background is completely black, the only thing visible in the photo are the two men facing each other, nose to nose in a tight embrace.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.

    ‘Jake’ shook his head. The boy was just his type, but he’d found through the grapevine that the blond also came with a ton of baggage. Evidently the boy’s ex really did a number on him, enough that his friends held an intervention. But it didn’t help, the boy just stopped talking to all of them. Why the kid stayed with his ex for so long ‘Jake’ couldn’t understand, but now the boy was free and still making all the wrong choices. The boy put on a brave front as he laughed, flirted and seemed to revel in the hungry eyes on him. But when he thought no one was watching, the smile slipped away and sadness settled across his features. And each time the boy returned to the club after an encounter, he looked more broken than the time before. But why should ‘Jake’ care? The boy wasn’t his problem. What the kid needed was a shrink. So why did ‘Jake’ keep thinking about him? Too much baggage he kept telling himself. But every time he looked at the lost boy he couldn’t help thinking, “What if?”Photo Description: The slim sub’s thumb was dipped inside his blue tie-dyed underwear, teasing his cock. He’d worn them to please his Dom, and the addition of his shiny motorcycle jacket, his only other piece of clothing, was the perfect naughty counterpoint to his sweet face. His high cheekbones, that soft blond hair sweeping just above his gray-blue eyes, and those plump, pink lips made him look innocent. The heat in his eyes was anything but.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.

    Maybe there's one hanging out in this bottle of Jaeger....Photo Description: Sitting on a doorstep in a brick wall, arms on his knees and a bottle of Jaeger tilted to his mouth, is a very...unusual man. He's lean, tattooed and shaven-headed, wearing only a pink tutu, pink-and-white striped socks, and rubber-toed black sneakers. He holds a cigarette, one knee sports a Band-Aid, and perched on his head is a rhinestone tiara.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.Read the story here or find it in Don't Read in the Closet, Volume 4.__________Genre: paranormal contemporaryTags: gay m/m, fairies/fae, magic, second chances, comfort, sex content mild/non-explicitWord Count: 4,850

    They were close friends for a long time, but life just got in the way and their competitive careers and busy lives meant they somehow fell out of touch. They never forgot about each other, and they have both been waiting for this moment for years.I’d like to see an emotional reunion, maybe a hint of hurt/comfort in there somewhere if you can fit it in, but most of all just a whole lot of love (I’m a hopeless romantic!).Photo Description: The black and white photograph shows a bed, from directly above, with two young men all the way over to the right side, visible from the waist up. Their torsos are bare. They lie facing one another, and their embrace is tender and loving more than it is passionate.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 is burly, with a smooth bald head, close-cropped beard and a wealth of tattoos across his naked back and down his arm. His bowed shoulders, his eyebrows drawn down, his hand slack on his knee, suggest sorrow.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.Read the here or find it in Don't Read in the Closet, Volume 1 or Don't Read in the Closet: GayRomLit Retreat 2011 Special Edition.__________Genre: contemporaryTags: gay m/m, hurt/comfort, power exchange, age differenceWord Count: 6,530

    The last thing he expects is to fall head over heels for his gorgeous partner. Friendly but distant, Aiden keeps him at arm's length, and Tyler knows his feelings are hopelessly one-sided. But as the Games begin, Tyler learns nothing is certain until the final dive.Dear Author,I could look at him all day. But sometimes, when he thinks I’m not looking, he seems so sad…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.

    Three questions. Three answers."Despite being a linguistic tutor and having every conversational tool at his disposal, all Will Chambers wanted to do was fade into the background, become lost in the echo of wild heath and harbour. But now someone wants to put his body and mind on full display, force Will to find his voice -- answer three questions, over three days. All Will has to do is provide three... simple... answers.

    We all do dumb shit when it’s just the guys, after all, right? And I mean, clearly they’ve seen me before when I was competing on the college team, but I guess it’s an understatement to say that they’ve never seen me perform in such― ahem― brief attire.Most of the guys looked uncomfortable, but I noticed one of them looking at me like he had something else in mind. He’s new and kinda one of the more quiet ones among us, so I don’t know much about him. I’ve only just started to realize that I might… well, kinda sorta totally… like guys and not girls. Is it possible he could maybe be… like me?Photo Description: A young, heavily muscled man, with his dark hair in a pompadour, is performing a gymnastics routine on a pommel horse wearing only his underwear.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.

    The description below is the prompt that accompanied the picture I chose for this event. It is my intention to expand this story into a full novel and give Cole and Eduardo time to grow as characters. The title for that story will be "Fixed Assets" and it will have a blurb. Dear Author,How did things get so bad? I thought I had it all, a great job that I loved, a wonderful home by the beach and you. All of that is gone now. I found out the hard way all you wanted from me was my money. You left me the minute you found out I lost my job and lost the money when the financial bubble burst. Now I have nothing, I feel like I’m nowhere, no one. I don’t feel like living anymore. Will anyone save me?Photo Description: A naked man kneeling and covering his face and head with his arms, his body language hinting desperation and emotional distress.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.

    That hasn’t stopped me though, well, maybe it did for a little while. But he’s (yup, I said he...shocking right?!) here in my life now and not letting me give up.Photo Description: Model and former Marine Alex Minsky poses in red briefs while holding a rolled-up white towel behind his shoulders. Most notable are his tattoos and the fact he wears a blade prosthesis on his right leg.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.

    Maybe it’s the day he’s first been unpacked and settled into his new home! Maybe it’s sometime after he’s settled into a routine. And what IS that routine, anyway? Is he privately owned? Is he on staff at a sexy high-tech brothel? Has he become self-aware enough to run away from the sexy high-tech brothel and follow his heart circuits in search of a better life and someone who can love a synthetic man?Photo Description: A human-like robot, apparently naked, lies on a bed of packing peanuts. He has just been unboxed, and waits for his new owner’s first orders.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 coming out and experiencing a painful rejection from his parents and friends, Kurt feels as if he's lost everything that mattered. Then he connects with James Theard and his perspective on life and the truth found in love changes forever.Original Prompt:Dear Author,Where is this guy? What’s he looking at, I wonder? And is that guy down the hall watching him with longing? Maybe he’s been too shy to make his move before now. Maybe he’s trying to build up his courage. So, what do you think? Can you help the shy little guy get his happy ending?Photo Description: A slim, classic-featured boy in low-riding briefs leans against a wall, washed in dim blue and gold light. One graceful hand brushes his own bare chest, as he gazes forward. Behind him, down the hall, a shadowed dark-haired boy in shorts leans out of doorway watching in rapt attention.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 here or find it in Don't Read in the Closet, Volume 3.__________Genre: contemporaryTags: gay m/m, italics, dash and ellipsis point abuse, sappy romance, prose with a mild purple hue, non-explicit, college, athletes, oh, teh angst!, excessive blushing, locker room groping, public displays of adorable, sports, nosey strangers & swimming allusion pornWord Count: 12,663

    He's stuck in a stifling courtroom with the air conditioning on the fritz during the worst heat wave in years, and the judge has denied his latest motion. He just wants to spend a quiet night celebrating with his partner, Mike, on their fifteenth anniversary. But Mike has a surprise in mind this year. A surprise that may be more than Eddie imagined possible.

    So why does he laugh when I tell him I think I love him?Photo Description: Black and white photo of two dark-haired young men lying together, the one on top cradled in the other's arms as the other smiles, revealing a cute dimple.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 8.

    He is beautiful, he is perfect, he is… me. The mirror image of myself in every way and I want him. I think he wants me. I pretended to be someone else online and planned a blind date/hook up for him, for us, telling him every detail of will happen. I told him when he got to the destination to take off his shirt and wait. Will he accept or reject me when he sees me, himself, reflected back when he opens his eyes?Photo Description: The picture is of the Brewer Twins. One is sneaking up behind the other, putting his hands over his brother’s eyes. They’re both shirtless, and it appears to be nighttime.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.