About Birthstone: Pomegranate

by Vic Winter
26 pages / 10000 words
ISBN: 978-1-60370-254-6, 1-60370-254-7
Available file types - html, lit, pdf, prc, epub and Sony Reader pdf

Davey is proud of his business, Pomegranate weddings. He's built it from the ground up, and couldn't be happier to be putting on his best friends' wedding and reception. He's even hired his best photographer, Alan to work the ceremony and reception.

Alan would love to be more than an employee to Davey, but he's not sure how to get close enough to make it happen. What he doesn't know is that Davey shares his desires. Can Davey find a happy ending for them like he had for so many of his clients?

This Single Shot Classic was originally released as the Birthstone Pomegranate

Sample

Davey split open the pomegranate, the tear-shaped seeds spilling out, red and glistening in the light. It promised a sharp, sweet flavor. He could taste it in his mouth, could feel the way each seed would explode, releasing its burst of flavor.

It wasn’t his to eat, though, and Davey bit his lower lip to keep from licking it as he painstakingly removed the seeds from their web of thin, white flesh. When that one was done, there were fifty or so others in the cooler, waiting their turn.

There was a statue of Persephone carved in ice that was to be the centerpiece, the pomegranate seeds were meant to spill out around her feet. They’d be delicious so cold from sitting on the ice. It was the centerpiece for the buffet; the only things meant to outshine it were the grooms and the wedding cake, which carried through the pomegranate theme as well. Of course when he’d designed the Persephone piece, he hadn’t pictured himself being stuck loosening all the seeds.

Darren and Peter had better appreciate it. Especially given he was throwing this particular wedding reception for free -- his gift for his friends. Davey wasn’t sure if they knew just how big a gift this was. He usually charged people a whole lot of money to plan their weddings, and that was before you added in the actual cost of the food and accessories.

But Darren and Peter had been good to him, taking him in when coming out to his family had proved disastrous. Sixteen, scared, and all alone, Peter had found him trying to turn tricks on the street and had taken him under one wing, bringing him home to Darren who’d stripped him, shoved him in the shower, and then tucked him into bed. He probably owed them his life and what was a little thing like a reception compared to that?

Pomegranates finally done, he fluttered around the rest of the place, making sure his instructions had been followed to the letter by the reception hall and catering staff. The hall itself looked lovely: deep red roses in pale pink vases sat in the middle of every table, red ribbons draped over the backs of each chair, wine glasses with Darren and Peter’s names and the date on them, also in red, waited patiently to be filled with wine, and a disposable camera sat at every place setting.

The buffet tables weren’t anywhere near ready, but as the ceremony wasn’t for another couple of hours, that didn’t stress him. Yet. He did head to the kitchen to check on the chef and see how the delicious meal he’d planned was coming along, though. Just because it was too early to start stressing the matter, didn’t mean he couldn’t make sure things were running smoothly.