It`s
time for Tuesday Tales.
Today we have a snippet from Last Defense, Harrisburg Railers #5, an
MM hockey romance book coauthored with RJ Scott that we’re currently writing.
In this excerpt we’re introduced to Benton ‘Ben’ Worthington, one half of our couple.
Ben is the manager of the Crossroads Animal Shelter and is, sadly, a young
widower.
Our word prompt today is “Heat”.
This story may have gay erotic scenes, strong
social issues addressed and mature language. If those things offend now is the
time to move onto another Tuesday Tales blog. Thanks for stopping by!
“No, see that’s not exactly the kind of…we’re
hoping to open up the search for more volunteers to help out over the summer.”
I leaned back in my chair, grimacing a bit when the old gal creaked loudly. The
AC blowing into my face was measly but given I’d had it in that window for
years, and it had been donated, it was doing all I could ask of it to combat
the heat. Papers shuffled about on
my desk, the semi-cool air rustling over the mounds of paperwork that now fell
to me. Gone were the days spent working with the animals at the Crossroads
Shelter. Now Ben Worthington spent most of his time in this damn office,
talking on the damn phone, trying to wheedle rich people into giving us more of
their damn money. It really kind of sucked.
Leaning back a bit more, I let my eyes
drift shut as Lenny over at the Harrisburg Herald rambled on and on about the
cost of ads and how he didn’t feel he could continue giving us a discount.
“No, we do understand. I need you
to understand that we need every penny of help we can get. We’re a no-kill
shelter. We’re not state supported. Every dime – I know I tell you this all the
time. That’s because you complain about taking five percent off the cost of an
ad every time I call.”
Lenny then prattled on a bit more about
overhead.
Yeah, tell me about overhead, Lenny. I
know all about it.
The harping turned into a droning noise,
like Charlie Brown’s teacher, and my mind began to wander. My gaze touched on
the personal things nearly buried under the mounds of papers on my desk. A
laptop with the shelter logo of a dog, a cat, and a human standing at a
crossroads, bouncing around the screen. The laptop made a funny squeaking sound
when I turned it on in the morning, but we ignored that. An empty coffee cup
with the same logo on it, several books about miserable things like fundraising
objectives, managerial and administrative duties in today’s modern shelters,
and a gay romance.
I picked up the book, flipped it open, and
continued reading about a con man and a stripper who were working together to
outfox some Mafiosi. The plot was a little weak, but the sex was hot and oh my
stars the romance was incredible. I missed romance. I missed that emotional
connection to another man. I missed meaningful sex too. The few hookups I’d had
since losing Liam had been cold and mechanical. I missed Liam so badly I ached.
Copyright 2017 ©by V.L. Locey
*~*~*
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6 comments:
Great scene. I love the Charlie Brown teacher reference. I use that a lot in my daily life. LOL
You described the minutia of his job really well. Bravo.
Wonderful excerpt. In so few words you paint a big picture, not just of the scene at hand, but of the man's entire life! That's awesome. And I want to smack the newspaper idiot for trying to wring another few bucks out of a struggling rescue.
As always, evocative language, beautifully written.
Thank you all!
I love the imagery of this scene. I can see the desk full of papers and the barely cool room. And I can feel his heartbreak at missing his husband. Great job!
His sorrow over the loss is well depicted. Great scene.
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