Remember Him


Steve Milton - 2019
     He broke my heart ten years ago. Back in high school, Baxter pretended he didn't know me. I was a skinny, plaid-shirt-wearing nobody. I was openly gay, but nobody even cared — except Baxter, when he wanted a hookup. That was all a nerd like me could expect from the star quarterback and prom king. He treated me as his shameful secret. I’ve stayed away from Baxter for a decade now, even when he came back to visit Honey Bay. I’m older now. Wiser. I know I deserve better. But I can't stop thinking about those fleeting moments in Baxter's arms. Andy Silver: my one weakness. Every time Andy smiled at me from under his floppy hair, I couldn’t help myself. How could a nerd in wire-rimmed glasses be so hot? It was a high school fling. I spent ten years running away from it. My parents never would have understood who I really was. Disappointing my father was out of the question. I couldn't live the life I wanted, even if I loved Andy more than he ever knew. Bumping into Andy ten years later was the shock of my life. That shy nerd is a celebrity now? And he works out? I shouldn’t dwell on how much I miss being with him, even if every sight of him sends me there. My parents sent me to Honey Bay for business. I might just stick around for a second chance at love. Remember Him is a 42,000-word small-town second-chances gay romance. On their way to a feel-good happy ever after, a jock and a nerd dodge windmill blades, fog up the windows, and discuss the fine points of timber, lumber, and plain old wood.