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

    You can imagine how surprised we were when we first met in person. How confused I was about my feeling for him. I was already in love with the person behind the character, but I had never been attracted to a man before.Can you tell the story of how we became that happy couple in the picture?Photo Description: Two men, in their early twenties, lean towards each other for a kiss. Both smiling, they have their eyes shut. One boy has tousled hair, an earring and an upper ear piercing. He’s wearing a bright turquoise T-shirt while the other has neater hair and is wearing a checked shirt. Their hands are held, and a gaming controller nestles between them. A computer screen with a game playing on it is visible in the background.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.

    The staff doesn't respect him, and a confrontation with the sexy but arrogant senior photographer only adds to his stress. But after Mac puts him in a situation that nearly gets him shot, Jorge realizes he doesn't know as much about being a newsman as he thought he did.Mac is frustrated by Jorge's inability to see the big picture. Journalism is about more than grammar and spell checks. When a stand-off gives him the perfect opportunity to teach Jorge a lesson, he seizes it -- but immediately regrets putting the gorgeous editor in danger.In the aftermath, Jorge earns Mac's respect. But can Mac apologize enough for his behavior -- and his inappropriate apologies that follow -- to ever earn Jorge's affection, or will he lose his chance to the police sergeant with a flirty smile?"Changing Focus" is the first of the Ashe Sentinel Connections series, and is a m/m romance.

    Lucky for him, his phone is found by a disarmingly handsome man who might be perfect for the kind of casual Christmas fling David is after.Go-go dancer Craig never would have guessed that the guy with the cute cock shot would turn out to be a doctor. Or that he’d find himself lying about his night job and worrying David will find out the truth. To complicate matters, each of their hook-ups requires days of planning. Yet before he knows it, Craig has a new boyfriend, and possibly a whole new family.David’s ready to dive head-first into something new, but if Craig’s going to commit, he’ll need to come clean about his job, his past, and—most of all—the naughty picture that drew him to David in the first place.Warning: Contains a male exotic dancer and extremely intimate photography. May contain traces of Zumba, bad roommates, and sad childhoods. Call your doctor if after six hours you still can’t get the grin off your face.

    The man who normally has a clear path to victory surrounded by brothers in combat is suddenly lost and alone. After meeting Beckett Ridge, a bearded tattoo artist, Dax’s journey begins winding down an unexpected path. Still reeling from events that shook his foundation, Beck has never been part of anything meaningful. Now faced with responsibilities foreign and daunting, Dax’s broken spirit mends Beck in ways he never even knew he was destroyed. As both struggle to find balance, they are healed by the comfort they find in one other. On the other side of chaos, they hope to find themselves On Solid Ground.

    Growing up with a cold, unfeeling father and unstable mother has taught him exactly what he doesn’t want out of life or love. The troubled young man prefers a solitary life and is content to keep it that way until a campus emergency saddles him with an unwanted roommate.Popular, wholesome, straight Nick Thompson is far more temptation than Eric’s prepared for, but Nick’s warm, easygoing manner gradually cracks through Eric’s prickly protective shell.After Eric suffers a traumatic attack, their friendship gives way to an intense passion. Eric’s no stranger to casual sex, but what he feels for Nick is something deeper, and more fragile.Independent Eric doesn't know the first thing about being in a relationship, much less with a lover who can't even admit he's gay. But conservative Nick can't seem to find his way out of his own personal closet. 'Rock', meet 'Hard-Place'.

    A throng of sugar-frenzied kids might be enough to send this uptight photographer back into the darkroom permanently. Inappropriate thoughts about his far-too-attractive—and far-too-young—assistant aren’t helping fight that urge to hide, either.For Noah Hawkins, adulting is a snap. Too bad relationships aren’t. With his business temporarily closed for repairs, he’s happy to help his sister out of a jam, even if the costume he’s given to wear borders on obscene. Constantly being mistaken for a teenager is no treat either, especially when he discovers his temporary new co-worker is sexy as hell and 15 years his senior.Can Noah convince Jamison that age is just a number? Or will Jamison resist the gift Santa seems to be handing him on a platter?

    Daniel Green, an event planner with a neat, quiet, orderly life, reluctantly agrees to plan the wedding of his childhood friend Ander, an outrageous fashion designer soon to marry a wealthy entertainment lawyer named Rafe. To complicate matters, the happy couple have agreed to have their wedding made into a reality show—something that practical Daniel isn’t sold on.Daniel is neither a romantic nor a wedding planner, but he’s the only person in the world who can manage Ander. Distracting him from his mission is Owen Grainger, a too-handsome-to-be-true producer whose quiet charm pulls Daniel into his orbit. When the stress of the show triggers bad behavior from Ander, co-producer Victor Pierce decides it's the key to a ratings bonanza, and he begins to undermine Ander and Rafe’s relationship to create more drama. Daniel is determined to protect his friend and his own reputation, but when he finds himself falling hard for Owen, there’s much more at stake than ratings.

    Either way, the two have enough chemistry—in and out of bed—that Levi isn’t sure one night with Sinjin will be enough.And a message left in candy suggests the feeling is mutual.

    French chef Luc Tessier is five-star successful. His cookery program on TV is rated as high as his restaurant, and casual flings are his specialty. The only stain on his toque is Daniel Sheridan, an English food critic who has made it his business to ruin Luc's reputation. The only way to clarify this particular pat of butter is to invite the critic to dine and bury the hatchet-preferably in Daniel's back. The moment he lays eyes on Daniel, however, Luc's thoughts turn from sauces to seduction. Daniel definitely finds Luc appetizing, but he plays it cool. He never wants to be anyone's toy, ever again. Yet in the face of Luc's relentless pursuit, he's finding it harder to keep the flamboyant chef at arm's length. A cooking competition on a remote Scottish island seems the perfect way to put some distance between them. Until Luc shows up to compete, determined to win not only the trophy, but Daniel's heart... Warning: Ingredients include two extremely hot men determined to come up with a whole new definition for "sizzling." Explicit use of food items could incite spontaneous nekkid food fights.

    With so many fences between them and happily ever after, two men wonder if it’s worth opening the gate. Ten years ago, Eddie Crane, an actor on the rise, loved his costar and dreamed of the day they could be together. But his love, with his submissive nature, couldn’t handle fame, and before Eddie could help him, he died in a car accident—with Eddie at the wheel. Now, scarred and guilt-ridden, Eddie buries himself in bad decisions and prays that a stunt—on or off camera—will go wrong. Teenaged fantasies about the actor on his wall distracted Arthur Pike from real life—his dead father, runaway mother, gruff grandparents, and his unrequited love for his cousin’s straight husband. Now grown and off the farm, Pike is a horse stuntman hired to teach a reluctant Eddie to ride. Pike is drawn to Eddie’s dominant nature despite the sadness clinging to the actor. Eddie let one lover down, but in Pike’s submissiveness, he sees the possibility for redemption.

    After graduating from art school Nate left the Midwest for sunny Southern California, not quite sure what he hoped to find. It was almost certainly not falling in love with another man. His whole world and assumptions about himself begin to slowly turn upside down on one hot summer day. Seeking respite from the heat and his loneliness at Venice Beach he has a chance encounter with a handsome blond surfer. Jez is friendly, easygoing, and just a little bit mysterious. Openly gay, Jez offers Nate a place to stay, and the two men become fast friends. Nate makes new friends, adjusts to his new life, but his unbidden attraction to Jez keeps growing. In their moments of closeness Nate realizes that he wants Jez more than just a friend, but it might be too late. To make Jez his, Nate has to face not only his own fears and insecurities, but his mysterious mate has secrets of his own. Warning: Al fresco man-love, a scene-stealing old coot, and a relentless California sun.

    Kyle Braden has nowhere else to go. With no money and no prospects, he turns to the only man who promises him help. Jack Campbell-Hayes wants to show Kyle that he can be more than he ever thought.Kyle begins to see how far he’s come from being the scarred man who shut everyone out, when the first person through the doors of Legacy Ranch is Jason; a young man with nightmares that follow him when he's awake. Lost in the system and with three years on the streets marking every inch of his body, Jason Smith is scared. His life is an evil mess of hate and despair, and even the offer of a fresh start and a clean bed isn’t enough for him feel safe. Until Kyle comes into his life and shows him that it's okay not to be in control.For these broken men, Legacy Ranch offers more than a place to live and work.It offers hope.A new story set in the world of Jack and Riley Campbell-Hayes and the Double D Ranch, Texas.

    As a successful chef and co-owner of Best Bites Catering, Travis Reed is happy. He gets to do all the things he loves - live in one of the most beautiful Florida beach towns, cook the food he loves, and hang out with Benny McKenna, his best friend and co-owner of Best Bites. If there is one thing lacking in his life, it is a lover. It couldn’t be Benny, though. Not when Benny made their friend-only status very clear shortly after they both came out. Benny made the decision to keep his relationship with Travis purely in the friend zone back when both men were in college. Now, ten years since he made that decision, he is beginning to waver. Something about the focus Travis gives to his craft makes him jealous, illuminating how lonely he is. A love life punctuated by a series of one-night-stands isn’t especially satisfying. And with Travis acting strangely ever since they moved in together, Benny is unsettled.When a friend asks Benny and Travis to participate in a non-profit dating event for GLBT people in the Tampa Bay, they agree to help out. What they aren’t prepared for is answering a series of increasingly intimate questions, all aimed at making couples fall in love. The idea of falling in love wasn’t on Travis or Benny’s radar, but now they are rethinking their assumptions. Could answering the right question lead to something more than they ever expected?Dear Author,We’ve been friends forever. Best friends in school. Roommates and best friends in college. Partners and best friends in business. He was the first person I told when I realized I was gay. He just said, “Me, too.” Yet somehow, in all those years, through all the ups and downs, we never even thought of being lovers. We were always best friends.Then one day, something changed. What happened? How did we end up here?Photo Description: Two unclothed men stand side-by-side at the railing to a ship, their backs to us, facing the ocean. The man on the left has his arm around the waist of the other and their heads are tipped together affectionately. Both men are similar looking: wide shoulders, shaved heads, shapely butts, and golden skin. The one major difference is their tattoos. The man on the left has two tribal bands across his right bicep and shoulder. The other man has a swirling tribal design that covers most of his back, with smaller designs on his lower back and upper right thigh.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.

    Things get worse when his high school bully, captain of the football team and meathead extraordinaire, Ric Saunders, shows up for an appointment at the chiropractic clinic where Alex works. Things go from bad to worse in a comedy of errors that leaves Alex's head spinning. Has Ric turned into a crazed stalker, ready to pick up the bullying where he left off eight years before? Or has Ric got something else in mind this time?