Getting Him Back (18 page)

“They can’t all be cool about it,” Brad said. “It doesn’t seem possible.”

“Well, there might be a few who grumble and give me fish eyes, but they’ve never said anything to my face. But, yeah, for the most part, I think they’re cool with it.”

“And they, what, regularly set you up on dates?” Brad couldn’t wrap his mind around it.

Danny shook his head and took another bite of pie and ice cream. “This was something different,” he said after he’d swallowed. “Most of the family got together last weekend and
Tía
Maria was lecturing me about how I was nineteen now and needed to find someone special to settle down with, give my life some purpose.”

“At nineteen?”

“Well, even with the colleges, this is a pretty white town, and the family sticks out a bit. I swear, if you meet a Hispanic person around here, he’s probably a relative of mine. Anyway, some of the older generation work extra hard to battle the stereotypes, you know? I think they watch too much cable. I figure they’re worried people will think gay means I’m a hard-partying sex fiend or something. They want to see me settled into a loving, committed relationship.”

“They don’t try to, you know, subdue you?”

“Nope.” Danny took another bite of his pie. “They want me to be happy. I can’t say I’m all set on the forever-and-always thing, at least not yet, but at least I know they aren’t trying to change me.”

“I can’t even imagine,” Brad said. What would it be like to be accepted like that? To have so much support?

“Yeah, well, it has its moments. Like the one where my brother says to me and
Tía
that he knows this gay guy and wouldn’t it be cool if he set us up.
Tía
thought it was a great idea. Which landed me here with a douche with cheesy lines and roaming hands. My family accepts I’m gay, but apparently thinks all two gay guys need to have in common to form a lasting relationship is a fondness for dick.”

Brad choked, spraying melted ice cream halfway across the table.

Danny jerked back with a laugh, shoving his pie plate out of the line of fire.

“Shit, sorry.” Brad snatched the rolled silverware and fought with the paper strip holding the napkin in place. His eyes darted around the room again. Was that trucker watching them? Had he overheard? Brad mopped up the tabletop while trying to catch his breath. “Jesus,” he croaked, setting the sticky napkin aside.

“You okay?” Danny smirked at him from across the table.

Brad wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Fine. Didn’t expect you to say that.” He couldn’t believe Danny was so comfortable talking openly—publicly—about being gay and dicks.

“You know it’s true. For a het guy, people will set him up with mutual friends or girls with similar interests or ideals. But for a gay guy, it’s like being gay is all that matters.”

“I guess I’ve never thought about it.”

Danny gestured with his fork. “Well, it’s true.”

Brad had never met anyone so comfortable with who and what he was. Had never been able to simply
be
. This had to be what going on a date should be like, right? Maybe tonight, here, where no one knew him and where no one paid any attention to him, he could find out what it felt like to hang out with a boyfriend, eating dessert and flirting. This was his chance. He’d never see Danny again, so the timing was perfect. Brad gave himself this one night.

One night without hiding.

One night to pretend.

Read the rest of

NOBODY’S HERO
by j. leigh bailey,

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Copyright ©2015 by j. leigh bailey

Looking for more new-adult male/male romance?
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NOBODY’S HERO
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Letting Go
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RECKLESS HOPE
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Letting Go
, book two

FIGHT TO FORGIVE
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Letting Go
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When the weather outside starts cooling down, inside the dorm things are heating up. Can these college roommates fall in love without going out of bounds?

OUT OF BOUNDS
by A.R. Barley
The Boundaries Series
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Beaten and heartbroken, Jesse Cole is placed in a new dorm room after his last roommate attacked him. Just wanting to be left alone to heal in peace, he’s shocked when tall, dark and dangerous-looking Nick Moretti walks in.

Nick doesn’t have time to tiptoe around his new roommate—he’s too busy working in order to pay for school. But something about Jesse brings out his protective instincts. As their cautious friendship grows and becomes loaded with sexual tension, he wants to make Jesse comfortable.

Enter the perfect plan: a line of tape down the center of the room. Boundaries established.

But as innocent movie nights become hours-long temptation marathons, and whispered chats from across the room delve into straight-up dirty territory, crossing the line has never been so satisfying.

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