People are a vulnerability I don’t need or want. But then there was him. I couldn’t get him out of my head, he was a distraction I didn’t need. No matter how much I pushed him away, he kept coming back. One kiss and I know I’ll never let him go.Photo Description: Close-up of two men, both in monochromatic blues and high-contrast lighting. The man on the left is showing his side profile with his eyes closed, pressing his forehead to the other man’s cheek. The man on the right is looking toward the viewer with striking, blue eyes.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.

    He loves his circle of family and friends and finds peace in the beauty of flower arranging. Still stinging from his recent breakup, Tom attends an Anti-Valentine’s Day “Ex-orcism,” hoping for some fun and forgetfulness. Mario Tellez is tired of party boys, and he’s had his eye on Tom for a while. When they run into each other at the Ex-orcism, sparks fly, until an accidentally overheard conversation drives Tom to do something he normally doesn't do.What should have been a hot and fun night turns into Tom and Mario seeing each other at their absolute worst, although surprisingly, it brings out the best in them, too. Navigating around the toxic people in their lives isn’t easy, and after a small series of bumps in the road, they finally come around full circle… to Valentine’s Day and laying old demons to rest.

    . . a faggot? A queer? A sissy? About a dozen more words meandered through my brain, every word I’d ever heard from my friends, from adults, from TV. Was that who I was now? Were those words me now?"While most gay men grow up living in the closet until they are brave enough to step out and be themselves, Adam Shepherd experiences the opposite. After living almost all of his young life out and gay, he goes into the closet, willingly, in order to have the career and life he wants and needs. He thinks he can handle it, but he soon discovers how much he has truly given up.Chase Michaels was always there for Adam, a substitute “big-brother” and true friend in his growing up years. Adam has always harbored a secret involving Chase, but it conflicts with the closet he now lives in as an adult. When the pressure becomes too much, Adam chooses to stay in his closet . . . but at what cost? And can he change things before it’s too late?Original Prompt:Dear Author,I've missed him so much and I'd hoped he be there when I came home. I just didn't want to expect too much. After so many years of being just friends, we became more and then I got my orders. Before we could start anything, it felt like everything was over. But he came, he's here! I just couldn't contain myself and ran right into his arms.Can someone please tell me how these two began, how they survived apart and what's next? :)Photo Description: Military homecoming: Marine dressed in fatigues greets his civilian lover with a passionate embrace, arms and legs wrapped around him, as they kiss passionately, framed by a large, vibrant American Flag behind them.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 6.

    His every desire is within arm's reach, except the one person Devin has always wished would be his in the end. All it takes is one conversation to open his eyes to a new possibility, one moment to change what Devin believes about friendship and love and one person to change the rules of the game.Sam Marshall has been fighting his feelings for his friend and roommate for two years. When an opportunity presents itself, he makes his move, only to be faced with the very real fear that what he sees in Devin, the potential waiting to be realized, may be more than their friendship can handle.

    Something different. Which is why he’s got a one-way ticket to New York and his bags packed. One last night out to the bar finds him in a sexy stranger’s bed, giving in to an explosive chemistry Jacob had been searching for, but never found. Until now. It’s too bad he’s leaving town, although once he finds out his one night stand’s true identity, Jacob can’t get away fast enough.Cash Warner made a mistake. It doesn’t matter that he’d never felt anything like the fire generated between him and Jacob. He doesn’t plan to ever see his one-night hookup ever again. Except he does. When the reality of what they’d done fully sets in, Jacob flees, leaving Cash struggling with how to deal with the bitter taste of betrayal he can’t escape. Because even with Jacob gone for years, Cash can’t stop wanting more of that one night. Fate conspires against them once again, bringing Jacob home after tragedy strikes, and they’ll find it near impossible to keep their distance despite being committed to other people.

    Faced with his mother’s gambling debts, forgery, and the possibility of foreclosure by the bank, Ben vows to make Crofton Hall pay for herself. But opening an Elizabethan manor house to the public isn’t a one man job. With time running out, Ben needs help—and fast.Ashley Niven needs a new challenge, and that’s exactly what he gets when he answers a job advert asking for people who like history, earls, and old houses. Working with the dashing Earl of Crofton to open up Crofton Hall is a dream come true, and Ashley soon finds himself drawn not just to the charm of the house but its charismatic owner.But Crofton Hall has many untold stories, and a family secret dating back four hundred years to the 1st Earl of Crofton, Anthony Redbourn, is about to change all their lives.Second edition. Previously published by Dreamspinner Press.

    To escape their threats, he ran away to Canada. Now his twin sister Nicole is getting married to his best friend Peter, and Ryan will risk anything to attend. Help arrives in the most unexpected form: Peter's older brother Daniel, the man Ryan had loved from afar.

    They look like best friends, but is there something more between them? Maybe one of them is head over heels and the other one a bit clueless? They would make such a cute couple :)Photo Description: In the photograph, two young men sit closely together. One is smoking, while the other appears to be talking. Their close proximity to one another suggests friendship and intimacy. Behind them, the surroundings look bleak and drab.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.

    At first Logan thought those three simple rules would be easy to follow. But that was before he accepted a side job assisting his boss’s housebound agoraphobic nephew, Caleb.Caleb is deceptively normal for a guy who hasn't left his apartment in three years, and his friendly, caring personality tugs on heartstrings Logan didn’t know he had. But hitting on his boss’s nephew is asking to be unemployed. Logan has enough problems with booze on every corner and a supervisor trying to jump into his bed. He doesn’t need to work out how to free Caleb from the anxiety that keeps him in his apartment; he needs to keep his nose clean, attend his AA meetings, and make a fresh start—alone.If only his heart would get with the program.

     “You helped me find what I’d forgotten I wanted.” 

Different worlds... 
Ethan Parker has his whole life planned out for him -- and it’s a life he doesn’t want. But saying no to his family is too hard, so he buries his dreams and goes through the motions. Being on the swim team at Dalton University is his only escape from the constant pressure to be someone he’s not.

 Sexy, mysterious Orlando Nolan seems to be Ethan’s polar opposite. Tall, toned, and tattooed, he looks more like a rugged rock star than an Ivy League student — but with one of the highest GPA's at Dalton, he's guaranteed a job at one of Silicon Valley’s best once he graduates. “I’m not brave like you. No matter how much I wish I could be.” 

Shared secrets...
 When Ethan needs help studying, Orlando can’t resist the chance to spend more time with the blond, blue-eyed, all-American boy from his dorm. Neither one expects the bond that forms between them, or how easy they find it to open up to each other. Then Ethan spends Thanksgiving with Orlando and his family … and their unlikely friendship catches fire. “He doesn’t fix me, he makes me realize that I can fix myself.”

 And wrenching choices...
 But family disapproval causes unhealed wounds to surface. Orlando doesn't know how long he can wait for someone who's afraid to love him back. But can Ethan sacrifice everything for the one person who makes him feel alive? Finding Orlando is a steamy stand-alone New Adult MM romance novel. It depicts a first time gay, friends to lovers relationship resulting in a satisfying HEA and no cliffhanger.

    Bonus short: Dominic and Luke's visit to see Garrett and Kai.

    Leading his crew to win their oars might be easier if Dave didn’t have to hide his crush on Archie, the stroke rower – but as they prepare for their final race, Dave doesn’t suspect that Archie is in the same boat as him in more ways than one!

    The fact that Ryan is gay has been kept secret, thanks to his hard-working agent, and Ryan reluctantly plays along with the ruse.One night, Dar Phillips misdials a telephone number, but the guy on the other end of the line sounds sexy and funny so Dar keeps the conversation flowing. The man claims to be working on the upcoming Ryan Pierce film and invites Dar to meet him face-to-face at the movie studio. Dar eagerly agrees, but he’s not interested in meeting the film’s star, only the “wrong-number guy” whose voice on the telephone so enthralled and excited him.When the men finally meet, and Dar discovers the true identity of the stranger on the phone, sparks instantly fly...until the paparazzi show up and claim that Dar sold Ryan’s secret to the tabloids...

    The kind of day he loves, even if the looming New Year's Eve leaves him feeling nostalgic and a little lonely. But then the last person he ever expected to see walks through the door of his shop, and Sherlock realizes that some things don't fade with time, but grow stronger.

    You continued to smile anyway.Words: 2,869 (approx)