GENRE: Gay Spicy Romance
LENGTH: 31,270 words
RATING:

After a decade away, Cole Swan moves back to his childhood hometown to be closer to his grandma after his parents die in a skydiving accident. Cole feels lost. His parents were only twenty years older than he himself, so they had a lot of life left in them.

Rory Torpey is a barista and struggling actor. He starred in one indie film and hasn't landed a role since, but maybe he'll nail an audition for a project that'll launch his acting career. If there's one thing Rory wants, it's to not be stuck in a small town for the rest of his life, even if there are worse places to live than Ridge Valley.

Rory works at the coffee shop Cole frequents and, eventually, they get to know each other. Sparks fly and they start dating. A relationship might benefit them both -- Rory could break Cole out of his shell and show him he can't live in fear, while Cole could teach Rory to appreciate the little things in life. Do they have a future together?

EXCERPT:
Note: may contain sexually explicit scenes of a homoerotic nature.

Gray clouds veiled the late afternoon sky while Cole exited the Chinese restaurant on Main Street. He didn’t feel like cooking. So Chinese food seemed like a good option, despite how it’d been less than two weeks since he previously had it.

Cole hadn’t anticipated running into Rory while he walked down the block, though. Almost as if he wondered if the universe was playing a twisted joke on him or something.

Rory halted. “Fancy seeing you here.”

“I could say the same about you.”

“And he speaks.”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s nothing bad. I just couldn’t help noticing you’re a quiet person. And that’s fine. You don’t have anything to prove to anyone.”

“My parents recently died,” Cole blurted without thinking, then felt embarrassed he'd shared such personal info with a near stranger.

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

Cole forced down the lump in his throat -- now wasn’t the time for weakness or letting his tongue run wild. “By the way, the cookies were a nice touch. The generosity meant a lot.”

Humoring Rory proved best. While being overly friendly such as with the extra vanilla and free cookies might’ve been laying it on thick, Cole didn’t want to come across as a dick. Nothing bad happened in either situation. So maybe, just maybe, Cole could relax a tad. He could only deal with his tensed shoulders for so long, after all. Carrying around stress from always being in survival mode was no way to live life. Even if he loathed admitting Grandma had been right.

“Glad to hear it,” Rory said.

“Mind if I ask you something?”

“Not at all.”

“I wasn’t imagining things, was I?”

“What do you mean?” Rory asked.

“There was extra vanilla in my latte a few days ago, wasn’t there?”

“Yes, there was.”

“That was generous of you.”

“It was the least I could. I mean, you’re a regular.”

“True.”

Rory chuckled. “You don’t socialize much, do you?”

“No, I don’t.”

“It’s understandable, given what you’ve been through.”

Cole scratched his cheek with his free hand. “Thanks.”

“So ...”

“My friend thinks you like me.”

“I do,” Rory blurted.

“What d-do you mean?”

“I’m not straight.”

“Neither am I.”

Rory’s eyebrows shot up. “Really?”

“Yeah, I’m bisexual.”

“What a coincidence. I mean, I’m not a big fan of labels. But if I had to use one, I’d go with bisexual.”

Cole let out a small laugh. “I thought I was the only bisexual male.”

“You aren’t.”

“Maybe we should start a club.”

Rory gave Cole a look. So much for Cole trying to make a joke. Perhaps this was why Cole was an influencer and not a comedian.

“Maybe,” Rory finally said.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but I should get going. The free cookies and extra vanilla were truly lovely, though. And I can’t thank you enough.”

Rory stepped closer. “You don’t have to be scared. While I’m not gonna psychoanalyze you, I assume you must have a lot of emotions swirling around inside your head. And it’s okay not to be okay.”

“True.”

Rory bit his lip. “Fuck it. I’m just gonna shoot my shot. Would you like to go out on a date with me sometime?”

Cole’s ears must’ve deceived him. An attractive guy like Rory couldn’t have asked him out. That was like saying water and oil mixed well together. Yet no amount of staring changed how Rory stood in front of him, proving a hot person asked him out. And Cole was flattered. There were worse things than being asked out on a date. Like someone knocking on his apartment door with some sort of solicitation, for example.

“I’m sorry, but dating isn’t something I’m ready for right now,” Cole said. “That being said, you seem like a great guy. And anyone would be lucky to have you.”

Cole continued down the block without another word while rain pattered against the sidewalk. His conversation with Rory was a good lesson, despite how he hadn’t accepted Rory’s offer. Nothing bad happened, despite the scorching sensation jabbing his stomach while he'd conversed with Rory. So maybe, just maybe, taking more baby steps was a good idea. He didn’t have to turn into an extrovert. But he also didn’t have to spend all day in his apartment. Perhaps Cole was ready to expand his world.

Cole walked faster once the rain picked up. As much as he wanted, he couldn’t run from the truth. Rejecting Rory’s offer was about playing it safe and being nervous, not because he wasn’t interested or didn’t think Rory was handsome. And that was why regret washed over him when he entered the parking lot and approached his car. A part of Cole would’ve loved going out with Rory. And in an alternate universe where he was confident and not grieving, he would’ve accepted Rory’s invitation. So Cole couldn’t help feeling like he'd messed up. Who knew when the next opportunity would fall from the sky?