GENRE: Gay Erotic Romance
LENGTH: 69,803 words
RATING:

Joe Hill thinks of himself as an ordinary guy with an appropriately ordinary sort of name. He discovers that some other Colby residents think he's extraordinarily good looking, many likening him to Clark Kent. Joe’s newfound popularity goes to his head and he has a number of brief flings with various men around town.

Joe eventually begins to wonder if settling down with one special man would give him a greater sense of contentment. He sees the happiness his boss and a couple of his work colleagues enjoy with their respective same-sex partners, However, who would have him? He only spent one semester at college, and up until a recent promotion, Joe was employed mowing lawns and landscaping yards.

After offering to paint his landlady’s hallway, Joe goes to Home Depot for supplies. He has no idea what equipment he needs but a stranger helps him out. Joe is intrigued and turned on by the man but knows he probably won’t ever see him again. However, a couple of weeks later Joe see’s the stranger having dinner with his boss. Later still, Joe is invited to his boss’s house and he’s introduced to the stranger. Micah Sutton creates custom-made pieces of furniture. Joe is impressed by both the man and his woodworking talents.

Following a tentative start to their friendship, both men start to feel inferior to the other. Micah thinks he’s plain looking in comparison to Joe, and Joe believes a man with the skills that Micah possesses wouldn’t be interested in someone who spends his days ordering garden supplies in an office.

Is Micah’s and Joe’s relationship doomed from the start, or will they each wake up in time to smell the varnish/fertilizer to see they’re both exactly what the other needs?

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

So Joe found himself at Home Depot on a Saturday morning. Mrs. Brill had gotten paint chips from somewhere, so he was able to get the exact shade of ecru she wanted mixed at the store. Then the guy from the paint department disappeared, taking his smoke break or something, no doubt.

Joe picked up a drop cloth, added it to the cart with the gallon can of paint, and studied the bewildering array of brushes and rollers. Natural bristles, nylon bristles, fluffy roller covers, flat roller covers. He'd painted some for his mother when he was back in high school, but he hadn't had to choose the equipment. He just supplied the labor.

"You seem undecided. Can I help?"

Joe hadn't noticed the guy standing beside him with a cart containing cans of wood stain and varnish. A quick sideways glance revealed he was a good bit shorter than Joe, probably about 5'8", that he had curly, medium-brown hair, hazel eyes, a wiry build, a nice package, and a perky butt. He looked to be a bit older than Joe, maybe late twenties. He wasn't wearing the familiar orange apron. Just jeans, work shoes, and a tee. Obviously a customer, not an employee. And definitely hot!

"Uh, yeah, probably," Joe answered. "I'm painting walls. Need a brush to do the trim around the doors and stuff and a roller and cover. But there are so damn many choices."

"Ah," the guy said, grinning. "A do-it-yourselfer, huh?"

"Yeah. I'm doin' it for my landlady."

"So, I see you've got latex paint there. For the cutting in you'll want a brush with nylon bristles." He took one off the rack. "Now this is a really good brush. Clean it good with soap and water when you're finished and it will last for years."

"I don't think I'll be needing one quite that good."

"Okay," the guy said, giving him a smile that made him twitch, "then this will do almost as well and costs half as much."

"Um, thanks." Joe really wasn't thinking straight by this point. He was too mesmerized by the little stud beside him.

"Now, what kind of surface are you painting over?”

"Huh?"

Again, the smile. "Not over wallpaper, I hope."

"Uh, no, it's plaster."

"Stippled or smooth?"

"Smooth."

"Okay, this should do just fine," the guy said, handing Joe a roller cover. Then he took a roll of blue painter's tape from a hook, dropped it in Joe's cart, and said, "Use this. You'll be glad you did."

"Um, thanks." Joe didn't think he could possibly have carried on much more of a conversation at that moment.

"Not a problem," the little hunk said, waving his hand before heading toward the front of the store.

"Damn!" Joe said out loud. A woman with curlers in her hair and a toddler in her cart turned and scowled at him.

Ignoring her, Joe watched the tight little butt twist inside the Levi's as the helpful stranger walked away.

That's one seriously hot little dude!

Then he checked out, went home, and painted Mrs. Brill's front hall, thinking from time to time about the guy in the store.