Or, at least since the first day of kindergarten, when he stole my Lego's, then shared his cookies with me when he realized he'd made me cry.He was my best friend. The first person I came out to. My entire support system in high school when no one would come near me for feel of catching "gay cooties" or AIDS.He's the guy I gave my virginity to. The guy who taught me to fuck. The guy who taught me to be safe. He doesn't know it, but he's also the guy who taught me to make love.I'm the guy he goes home with when there's no better prospect at the club.It was never supposed to be serious. I knew that, I even wanted that. I'm the one who broke the rules.So, dear author, how do I watch him go home night after night with the pretty boy - or man - du jour, when all I want is for him to come home with ME, and to stay?Photo Description: Two young men lie in a tangle of white sheets. The nearer man is asleep facing us, arms wrapped around his pillow. Behind him, his lover watches him, lean naked body braced up on one elbow, his dark eyes fixed on his lover's still form, his mouth just slightly curved up in affection.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: Tags: gay m/m, Word Count:

     To distance himself from Trevor, even after discovering they weren’t really related, he left for college at sixteen. Moving into the city, building a new life, and running an anonymous blog about what he considers sick, twisted feelings might make Tristan famous on the Internet, but it isn’t enough to get over his obsession. Every time he goes home, a quick glance at Trevor brings it all flooding back. When commitment-phobe Trevor announces he’s got a serious boyfriend during one of Tristan’s rare visits home, the adoring kid brother will be forced to run once again. This time, however, Trevor doesn’t stand back and watch him leave. Instead, he follows him, making it nigh on impossible for Tristan to keep his love a secret for much longer.

    His cupcakes are delicious and everyone loves them—so why is his bakery failing? “I’m begging you: please call me for an interview…” Arthur is about to lose his mind. With his amazing grades and business degree, he thought he’d be a shoe-in at any company in Rosebridge—but he can’t convince anyone to hire him. With his savings drying up, it looks likely that he’ll have to admit defeat and return home to face his homophobic parents. Arthur is simply off limits—he has to be. Arthur is perfect for the bakery: motivated, meticulous, and a great worker. Unfortunately, Arthur is also gorgeous, hilarious, and way too young for Russ to date. Arthur can’t ignore the way Russ’s strong arms and low laugh send electricity up and down his spine. He can’t let anything jeopardize his new job, but Arthur also can’t ignore how perfect the two of them could be together… Sweet Deal is a steamy 55,000-word contemporary romance with May/December themes, a workplace romance, and a happily-ever-after ending.

    It's much, much harder…Greg London isn't afraid of hard work. It's determination and elbow-grease that have helped him rise from his blue-collar beginnings to life as a Ph.D. candidate at a prestigious university, after all. Sure, his single-mindedness doesn't leave a lot of room for a personal life, but that's the price of success in his field. Besides, it's not like the boring nerd ever ends up with the hot guy he's lusting after anyway.Then the gorgeous jock next door propositions him for a night of no-strings sex, and his focus goes right out the window. To all appearances, Marshall Sulkowski has everything—looks, charm and grace. But little does anyone know, his baseball scholarship has left him floundering at a university that should have been way out of his reach, and after his recent outing as bisexual, his dad cut him off. While Marsh's charm may have gotten him into his brilliant housemate's pants, it won't be enough to win him Greg's heart. Greg and Marsh's red-hot affair helps each of them get a little bit of what they need to stay afloat. But as the end of the semester approaches and the pressure rises, what they need starts to shift. They'll each have to push past their own insecurities to ask for what they really want: love, and someone who accepts them for exactly who they are.

    During the day he’s a dedicated student, working hard for his maths degree. But times are tough, and in order to make ends meet by night he becomes “Einstein”, wooing punters with his online solo sex show. Still wounded by his last dysfunctional relationship, Nathan’s happy being single. But when his highest tipping client demands it, Einstein has to overcome his social awkwardness to rope in some extra help.>Party boy Rory Jones has never given his geeky neighbour a second glance, but he’s not one to turn down the offer of a free blow job, even when Nathan tells him it’s going online. Once on camera, Rory discovers his exhibitionist streak and the two of them are so hot together, the one-off becomes a regular gig.But being neighbours with benefits isn’t without its challenges. Nathan’s client keeps wanting more, and he finds himself pushed into a role he’s not prepared for. Meanwhile Rory’s growing affection leaves him worried his ultra-rational lover won’t ever be able to share his emotions. If he and Nathan can’t find something more than great sex in common, they’ll be left with the square root of absolute zero.

    What he doesn’t have is a partner to share it with—a fact that’s never bothered him much. But the romantic in him isn’t entirely dead. When a moment of weakness finds him with a contact to a high-class escort specializing in fulfilling fantasies, Micah asks for only one thing: Show me what it’s like to feel loved.

    Oh, and he’s still in the closet. Unwilling to sacrifice his career or livelihood - not to mention the fact that not even his family knows - his personal life remains on the back burner. Dr. Wyatt Carrington lives his best life out and proud. With the love and support of his friends, families, and coworkers, he has never questioned his decision to come out. He dates often but has been unable to find his true love. Or at least a man that understands his crazy work schedule. When Wyatt is tasked with the unfortunate and unenviable responsibility of telling Brick that some of his players may have genital warts, the meeting has both men feeling...well, uncomfortable. After a series of coincidental run-ins, Ben decides to bite the bullet and ask Wyatt out. Though very discreet, secrets - and gay men - come out of the closet sooner or later. It’s always best when it’s done of your own volition. But that’s not always how the cookie crumbles. Or in their case, the pizza.

    But when @joshfortytwo announces he’s coming to Miami for a spontaneous visit, Benji is pretty sure the left tackle (whatever that is) expects to meet a cute girl in a bikini, not an aging twink hoping to finally get his life together when he finishes massage therapy school.Josh doesn't let himself wonder about questions like:• why don't you want to ask @princessglitter if she's a girl?• why don't you tell your friends that you can't hang on Sunday nights because you've got a date to watch anime with your new BFF?• why do you call it a date?He just knows he needs to escape from the stress of having been injured just before the bowl game, and @princessglitter has somehow become his best friend.But when Josh's secrets and Benji's sex appeal smash together for forty-eight scorching hours, they're going to feel the heat from Miami to Minnesota.

    Coming out and coming of age in the days of AIDS, MTV, Reaganomics, and Just Say No. Daron Marks is a young guitar player with a dream, make it big like the guys he grew up idolizing in New Jersey--or at least escape his dysfunctional family. He makes it as far as music school in Rhode Island, and the stages of Boston beckon. But it's hard to succeed from the closet.

    One man is gay. The other is straight. Yet the moment they met in college they knew they’d be forever linked. After years of friendship, growing pains, and heartaches, they have grown into two men, each looking for their place in the world. And when they head off on a road trip to a family wedding, they are stunned to discover that sometimes you find what you’re looking for when you take an unexpected turn...

    No matter how badly he wishes to fit in, friendly banter and casual conversations have never been his thing. College is yet another social universe he has no clue how to navigate—until he meets Jared, a football player with chestnut eyes and a cocky grin that holds the power to shatter his self-imposed prison. Jared's attention opens Connor up to a new realm of emotional and physical intimacy. But as Connor's self-confidence grows, so does his fear that everything will fall apart. Because in this socially stratified world, how long can a relationship between an introverted violinist and a closeted football player really last?Re-edited edition

    I’ve done everything I can to defy his rules. Reckless, destructive, immoral. But after all this, there’s only one thing I haven’t allowed myself to indulge in . . . Him.Ryan A welder's son. I’ve done everything I can to make him proud. Hard-working, loyal, strong. I’ve accomplished all his dreams while denying my own. But there was only one thing I’ve ever wanted . . . Him.

    All that changes, however, when Steve innocently wanders into a city park and falls victim to a vicious gang of queer-bashers who beat him within an inch of his life. After that there are no secrets any more - and it's a very long road back, for both of them, from there...

    Until he meets me.Above average intelligence is the only break life has given me. I studied hard, got the scholarship to my preferred school, and now I’m poised for my dream job. That is, until Gabriel struts into my life lobbying for the position he didn’t lift a finger for. And who gets to train him? This guy.Gabriel is many things- soccer star, golden boy, rival- but this is one thing that won’t come easy to him. I’ll prove I’m the better candidate for the position and somehow manage not to get lost in his eyes. We spend our days talking about space, and when two stars collide, there’s always an explosion.Stars Collide is a steamy, low angst, enemies to lovers, opposites attract, MM romance with a determined science major, a former athlete finding his way, a galaxy of assumptions, and only ONE bed. It is book 1 in the Written in the Stars series, featuring science-loving nerds and the men who fall for them.

    When handsome pro boxer Felix Montero mistakenly registers for his Yoga for Seniors class, Jack takes an avid interest in his struggles to manage stress—as well as in his heart—and discovers he may have healing of his own to do.Faced with the ghosts of his athletic aspirations, will Jack return to his old dream or carve out a new path, and will their budding romance survive the test of Felix’s next bout in the ring?