About Hard Choices

by Winnie Jerome
21 pages / 8200 words
Available file types - html, lit, pdf, prc, epub, Sony-optimized pdf

Things aren't easy for Todd: he's a freshman in college, his parents are majorly uptight, he can't get anywhere with girls, and he just drank too much at his first party. Fortunately, gorgeous and out Shane comes to his rescue, and for the first time in his life, Todd makes a move on a man.

He's horrified the next morning, and tries to distance himself, since his family would disown him if they found out. But he winds up meeting Shane again and he's more than a little attracted. Will Todd listen to his heart, or will he play it safe and deny his feelings?
 

Sample

1984, Halloween

Darrell's party was still in full swing when Todd decided to go outside for some air. Well, he would, but he wasn't sure if he could stand without falling over. He kept trying to sit up and the room started to spin. That was weird -- he had never been that drunk before.

Who was he kidding? He had never been drunk, period. It's not as if his parents were “just say no” types about alcohol, but they were very adamant that he could only have it once he hit twenty-one and he was three years away from that.

Of course, he probably shouldn't have guzzled a whole cupful of... What was that gnarly stuff called? Grand Marnier? Oh, and the beer before that, along with whatever tequila and rum he could find. He had hoped the liquid courage would help him work up the nerve to ask one of the girls at the party out, and to stop him from sounding like a dork when he talked to them.

He needed all the help he could get, it wasn't like he was dressed in the world's sexiest costume -- he had decided to go as a traditional, rather than, a movie pirate, but he had a good reason to cover up. Although he was tall, he was skinny as a rail, and he was all elbows and bony knees. Darrell and his friends were at least a year or two older than he was, and they all had bodies worth looking at.

He saw Darrell coasting by, and tried to sit up again. When his head protested, he gave up and decided that flopping on the carpet like a dead fish was all that he was up for.

"You look like you could use an arm up," a deep voice said from behind him.

Todd craned his neck back. The owner of the voice was a blond in white leather chaps and a g-string. His matching white leather vest showed off his broad, steel-hard chest. Other than that, he wore a neckerchief, a cowboy hat, and he had a small gold hoop in his right ear.

Todd couldn’t help himself and he just stared at the perfect v-shape of the cowboy's torso. This guy had a face that was guaranteed to turn heads and eyes that were as blue as the ocean. Not that Todd was interested in him -- there was nothing wrong with admiring someone as good looking as the Leather Cowboy. And he did look good. Really, really good.