GENRE: Gay Erotic Romance
LENGTH: 21,258 words
RATING:

Howie Bosley has very strict rules about dating men. Get to know him, fall in love with him, then -- and only then -- go to bed with him. But, as Howie's friends frequently point out, his rules aren't working because he's still single.

Just when Howie is about to ease up on his rules, he meets an Adonis at the gym who goes by the name of Matthew Timmons. Matthew is also looking to get to know someone before hopping into the sack. Is this destiny?

But Matthew had planned a very different life path for himself, one that didn't involve falling in love. Conflicted, he makes the painful decision to cut off all contact with Howie.

What is Matthew hiding? Suddenly Howie's fairy tale romance has taken an abrupt turn, and he doesn't know if there's anything he can do to get it back on track. Isn't their happy ending meant to be?

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

Matthew was torn. He really did have an early class but he didn’t want this evening to end either. “Um ... tell me more about your cats.”

Howie lowered his gaze, took a deep breath as if he were building up courage, then looked Matthew in the eye and blurted out, “Would you like to meet them? My apartment isn’t very far. Just a short walk.”

The invitation sent a wave of excitement through Matthew’s body, and he surprised himself by saying, “Sure, I’d love to.”

Howie looked relieved. He smiled and said, “Great.”

Howie insisted on paying for the coffee and the two men left the restaurant. They walked down the street shoulder to shoulder, occasionally making contact. Matthew wondered what it would be like to just reach out and take Howie’s hand. He resisted.

They came to Howie’s building and took the elevator to his floor. Matthew’s imagination still working overtime, he pictured himself stealing a kiss as the metal box moved upward.

As they walked down the carpeted hallway, Matthew a step behind Howie, he studied the rhythmic swing of Howie’s ass, watching the flexion and relaxation of the man’s glutes. He stifled a shuddering breath.

“Here we are, home sweet home.” Howie reached into his pocket and retrieved a set of keys. “I should warn you, Katya and Sergei may not be too friendly at first. They’ll probably run and hide in the ...”

Howie’s keys dropped from his hand as he fumbled to unlock the door. The two men bent to pick them up. Their hands touched the key ring at the same time. They raised their heads, faces inches apart. Slowly they stood up. Both were still holding the keys. For a long moment they just looked into each other’s eyes. Then Matthew put his arms around Howie’s waist. Howie raised his and placed them on Matthew’s shoulders. Matthew pulled Howie to him. He could feel Howie’s hard dick pressing against his through the fabric of his shorts. Matthew felt a dribble of pre-cum run down his leg. Howie closed his eyes and leaned toward Matthew. Matthew leaned forward as well. Their lips were almost touching.

Suddenly, Matthew pulled back, his eyes wide. He felt panicky. Without a word, he backed away, then turned and retreated down the hallway. When he got to the elevator, he stopped and looked back. Howie was standing as if frozen, one hand still raised, the other hanging at his side. He looked confused.

The elevator was taking a long time to arrive. Matthew tore his eyes away from Howie’s and found the exit sign to the stairwell. He went through the door and sprinted down the stairs. He ran all the way back to the gym parking lot and jumped into Carl’s car.