photo credit: tomosuke214 via photopin cc
Hey there, welcome to another snippet from my “Don’t Read in the Closet 2014” story. I’m still calling it Isn’t it Wonderful, but that’s not the real title. That has to stay secret until the lovely MM Romance Group Mods give the all-clear.
This snippet takes place immediately after last week’s. If you didn’t see that one, our hero Theo had been stood up and was contemplating breaking a coffeehouse mug in frustration. (The whole snippet is here.) Oh, and I apologize for the punctuation abuse you’re about to witness. I’ll seek professional help for that soon, promise. 😉
“If you want to break something, trade me for this one first.” Ben held out a plain white coffee cup and when I grabbed it he didn’t let go. “Come back here.”
His grin almost made me want to smile myself so I checked for coffee drips on my Vans—sometimes you just don’t want to be charmed by clear blue eyes and a friendly smile.
Ben used the white coffee cup to pull me around the end of the counter and back behind it and he sat me on the stool he keeps there for when it’s slow. Stashed under the register, his abandoned paperback splayed open like an accordion.
“Now let go of this one.”
My right arm jiggled and I looked up—my face and ears burned—I’d almost broken my favorite mug, the one Ben’s little sister had hand painted to look like a snow leopard, and just because some asshole didn’t want to date someone with only one foot, so I let Ben take it.
Thanks for reading!
Don’t forget to check out the other snippets. If LGBT fiction is your thing, visit Seductive Studs & Sirens, for a grab-bag of great fiction visit Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday.
Charley Descoteaux 
Thanks for continuing the snippet…
Evelise
Thanks for coming back to read it. 🙂
so sweet! love it! can’t wait to read the real title 😀
Thanks, Joelle! I like a little sweet mixed with my angst sometimes. 🙂
Love the kitty and look forward to reading more of this. Which reminds me. I need to get my ass in gear to work on my prompt. Too many irons in the fire….but lucky me..one’s almost gone – making way for the sexy cowboys waiting.
Also I love the caring Ben’s showing. Very sweet!
Dakota
Thanks for commenting, Dakota!
I’m looking forward to reading yours too–gotta love those sexy cowboys. 😀
No wonder Theo is so upset. i wonder if he’s right about why his date stood him up—if so, I agree with his assessment of the guy.
Now Ben on the other hand . . . he seems like a keeper?
Thanks for reading, Sarah. I hope you’re not so eerily perceptive IRL or your kids will never be able to get away with anything! 🙂
Anything you write, I’ll read, Charley.
And ha! I wish…
An interesting interplay between the characters. The reveals in this snippet are all very telling. I’m definitely curious to see more of this one.
I really like the characters and I enjoyed all the detail about the mugs…great snippet!
What a sweet snippet. It’s lucky Ben was there for him, he sounds like a keeper. Maybe Theo is looking in the wrong place…
Oh, man, the “one foot” line grabbed and made me want to read more, Charley. One thing, you had a tense change in “…the counter and back behind it and he sat me on the stool he keeps there for when it’s slow.” “Keeps” should be “kept” and “it’s slow” should be “it was slow” to keep with the tense of the rest of the story. 🙂
Good catch! Thanks for pointing out the tense issues.:)
Aww. That’s so sweet. You are fantastic at showing the thoughtful, compassionate side of the soon-to-be (?) lover.
Intriguing. I’m coming in late so that “someone with only one foot” is a real hook.
Oh, I like Ben! He handled Theo very well. Maybe he needs to do that long term? 🙂
I love this snippet! And Ben making him trade coffee cups — the whole thing reminded me of trading something with a toddler.
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