A twenty-year-old virgin, he doesn’t have the time or energy to date or socialize. When his father agrees to try medicinal marijuana as a treatment option, David meets an attractive, outgoing young man named Zev, who becomes the friend David never realized he needed. David’s father is nearing the end of his life, and Zev is becoming far more than a shoulder to lean on — he might be David’s first opportunity to embrace life and let go.

    Instead of hitting the bar, he decides to give anonymous phone sex a try, thinking nothing of envisioning Carter, the smooth talker on the other end of the line, as the new HR guy. It’s all fun and games until it starts affecting his work. Finding himself drifting off in sexy fantasies at the office is bad enough. It’s downright crazy when he learns that the hot new HR rep’s name is Robert Carter. When Patrick finally invites Robert out to a hockey game, the similarities start stacking up—and their fledgling relationship may flounder when the coincidences become too numerous to ignore.

    He convinces two friends that a visit to the rodeo is every gay man’s wet dream, and so the three of them gaily (and I do mean gaily) set off to watch cowboy asses in action.A visit to a bar after the event gets Martin closer to the action than he ever thought possible, and he meets Jesse Cumberland, the man who caught his eye in the ring and made his rhinestones sparkle. Instant attraction leads to a one-night stand that gets under Martin’s insouciant skin and causes him to rethink his determination not to get involved emotionally. When Jesse invites Martin to his ranch, the visit is almost derailed by Martin’s realization that they lead very different lives. As a flaming city queer, he sees no way to fit with the solid, athletic Jesse. It’s up to Jesse to see if he can change Martin’s mind.

    The resulting turmoil is not caused by a bullet but by a blast from the past: Evan’s first lover has returned to visit him in the hospital and deliver some big news.Ten years ago, Dixon Bain walked out of Evan’s life because he thought his family didn’t approve of him having a male lover. But Dixon has discovered that what he thought he knew could not be further from the truth, and now he’s returned to claim the only man he’s ever loved... if he can melt the ice around the edges of Evan’s still-wounded heart.

    The only real relationship he's ever been in was with the subject of his best-selling book, "Caged," a young man held hostage for five years. Unfortunately, it was entirely one-sided, since Zach was already involved with someone else.So the last thing Brian expects when he goes in for treatment for an injured knee is to develop feelings for his physical therapist. But Jerry seems intent on either avoiding Brian or demanding more than he is willing to give, and Brian doesn’t know if he has the courage to face his past to forge a future.

    When Joel uneasily leaves Ian for the holidays, he ends up telling stories to his sister and discovers he feels much more for Ian than he thought. So when Ian calls, distraught because the only other thing in his life that loves him (a half-feral cat named Manky Bastard) is going to have to be put down, Joel hurries back home hoping that opposites really do attract.

    He's stuck in a rut, uninspired by his job, and in love with a man who has no clue. Thinking a change of scenery and company will do his aching heart some good, he goes off on a road trip with his best friend, only to find that the answers to his problems may have been right there in front of him all along.

    Calvin would love to be the kind of submissive who doesn’t care about dates and milestones, who only cares about serving his master to the best of his ability, each day the same as every other.Remington takes a rather different view of the matter. He knows there are occasions when a man needs to take a little time to reflect on everything that has gone before, when both a submissive and his master need to take a little time to remember.

    All these stories reflect the iconic sights and national character of the British Isles: a taste of our idiosyncrasies and eccentricities, but also an unashamed representation of the love, loyalty and laughter of our people. Follow the British way of life from historic villages to modern cities, from the countryside to the sea, through history and with a fantasy twist, in gardens, shops, campus and the familiar, much-loved local pub. The stories cover universal themes of romance, desire, remembrance and reconciliation. The authors range from multi-published to up-and-coming, and they all share a passion for their characters, whether through great drama, erotic excitement, humour—or a combination of all three! Contents: The worst pub in London / JL Merrow — Our place / Clare London — We’ll always have Brighton / Zahra Owens — Commission and omission / Charlie Cochrane — Paint / Stevie Carroll — Ben’s new colleague / Serena Yates — Giving it up / Josephine Myles — Thoughts in spring / Mara Ismine — Mouth Almighty / Victoria Blisse — Reunion / Lisa Worrall — While the boys are away / Lucy Felthouse — Nessie / Caroline Stephens — Slap and Motley / Sandra Lindsey — Like a girl / JL Merrow — Last client / Jay Rookwood — Sunshine Superman / Elin Gregory — Escape to the country / Stevie Woods — Prince Charming’s Buttons / Stevie Carroll — Yesterday upon the stairs / Erastes — Benefits of peace / Alex Beecroft — They who come after the stories end / Sophia Deri-Bowen A revealing collection of short LGBT fiction, available free of charge from Smashwords; edited by: Josephine Myles, Alex Beecroft, Charlie Cochrane, Clare London and JL Merrow. This anthology is a souvenir of the 2011 UK Meet, an occasion for GLBTQ supporters to get together in a relaxed setting to celebrate and chat about the fiction community they love.

    He doesn’t have time to date, but that’s not to say he doesn’t have needs.Instead of trying to find a date, Jordan makes an appointment with a prostitute—something he’s never done before—and his companion turns out to be his high school crush, Gabe! Panic would ruin everything, including the chance at something real that Jordan suddenly craves.

    He has a decent job at a bank, a good place to live and a nice boyfriend. Or at least, that’s what he likes to fool himself into believing. In reality, his job is full of backstabbing pit vipers, the roof of his apartment leaks and his boyfriend left him two weeks ago for the mailman. So the last thing he wants or needs is yet another complication in his life. Then one day as he’s working his teller window, in walks a huge complication in the form of a dark-haired stranger named Drake. Before he knows it, Trevor’s life is anything but simple as he finds himself falling hard for the man. But can Trevor let go of simple long enough to learn to embrace extraordinary or will he be forever destined to be alone?

    Tom Berriman isn’t looking forward to Christmas. The only decorations he appreciates are the attractive pair of legs belonging to the electrician working on the emergency room ceiling. When the electrician comes crashing down and requires treatment for electric shock, Tom’s mortified to realize the legs belong to a guy he most definitely wasn’t friends with at school.But newly hunky widower Vince seems willing to bury the hatchet—and Tom starts to think maybe the holiday won’t be so lonely after all!

    Frank is interested, but unlike most people Frank's ever met, Benjamin isn't swayed by his name or good looks. Or is he?As Frank gets dragged into the drama of his sister's political campaign, he manages to pursue Benjamin under the guise of funding Benjamin's video game start-up. But unknown to Frank, Benjamin runs a mysterious muckraking news site, and when the now-involved Benjamin takes steps to back down his coverage of Frank's sister's campaign, everything starts to unravel. Frank wonders if Benjamin was just using him all along, and Benjamin assumes that Frank wants nothing to do with him. Will the mixed signals break them apart?

    These stories -- re-edited for quality content and given a Winterheart Designs cover -- were written in 2008, in part as a protest over the passage of Proposition 8 in California. They follow the course of Ethan and Barry's love affair in ten year intervals from the moment they first admit it, at prom in 1978, to a major breakup and reconciliation in 1988, to a family vacation in Hawaii that turns into more in 1998, and election night 2008, a time of deliberation and decision.This version includes the *bonus* holiday (also previously published) story “The Cursed Noel.”

    They're best friends through thick and thin until a practical joke leads Nate to a surprise revelation: If I had known just how thoroughly it would turn my world upside down, I would never have kissed Andy in that damned banquet room. I would have kissed him a hell of a lot sooner. Part of the Dreamspinner Press 'To Have and To Hold' daily romance series