Hooya. Ryan could get used to this flying first class business. “Thank you, ma’am,” he said as he accepted the napkin.
“Mimosa?” she suggested.
Ryan was sorely tempted, but the cocktail of meds he was on these days precluded drinking the fun stuff. “Bloody Mary mix, side of lemon,” he ordered instead. If he added enough lemon, maybe he wouldn’t miss the vodka.
“Half a cup of coffee, black, and a milk,” Josiah ordered with a blush.
“Worried too much coffee will hype you up?” he joked to Josiah.
“Actually, it calms me down.” The faint flush on his cheeks darkened. He was so pale that even a modest blush was a vibrant stain. Unlike the military types Ryan had spent the past decade around, Josiah looked like he had an aversion to the outdoors generally, and PT specifically.
“Hey, whatever works.” Ryan squeezed both wedges of lemon into the plastic cup the flight attendant passed over.
Josiah was balancing both his laptop and his beverage on his tray table, and Ryan saw a disaster waiting to happen. Sure enough, when the second flight attendant came through with their food, the glass wobbled precariously when Josiah whisked the laptop out of the way. Ryan reached out and steadied it for Josiah.
“Thanks.” Josiah took the cup back, his fingers brushing Ryan’s.
Zing. Huh. That was weird. An unexpected sizzle raced up Ryan’s forearm, and his voice came out gruffer than needed. “No problem.”
“Quiche,” the stewardess said as she set steaming dishes down on their trays.
Josiah waited until she had moved to the row behind them to say, “Eggs. Ugh. You want mine?”
“Sure.” Ryan accepted the dish with a shrug. Growing up, he’d learned to not be picky about food and the military had only reinforced that. “Allergic?”
“No, I just don’t like the texture.” Josiah shuddered. “But it’s okay. My mom packed... Oh heck. The food’s in the bag they made me gate check.”
Yeah, add “too young” to the list of why Josiah wasn’t for Ryan. Anyone whose mother still packed snacks for them was too young for this ride. But still Ryan wasn’t going to be mean. He took the wrapped muffins off both his and Josiah’s trays. “Here. You can eat these.”
“One’s fine.” Josiah handed one back.
Ryan shrugged. If you asked him, Josiah could do with a bit of bulking up. And judging from how he attacked the muffin, he was hungrier than he let on.
“Oh this is good.” Josiah’s mouth curved in pure pleasure, and Ryan almost choked on his next bite of quiche.
Fuck me. He did not want to get turned on by this kid. Kid. Kid who lived in Los Angeles and had a mother who packed him snacks and who had a killer smile. Wait. Ryan was not supposed to dwell on that. Nerdy kid who talked about games with the sort of rapture Ryan reserved for talking about a great mission with his buddies... Oh fuck. Ryan was so screwed. Flirting and looking was one thing, but Ryan really didn’t need to take a crush on a too-young guy back to Walter Reed.
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CONNECTION ERROR by Annabeth Albert
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Copyright © 2016 by Annabeth Albert
Author’s Note
The two main games mentioned in the book, “War Elf” and “Space Villager,” are fictional, but I appreciate the very real gamers and game blogs that helped with my research. I was honored to speak to a number of military service people both current and former in my research for this book, and I’m grateful to all who helped. Also, thank you to the military bloggers, especially to the former military, who give of themselves so tirelessly on forums and discussion groups, and the spouses and partners of service people who blog their lives and experiences.
Acknowledgments
Huge thanks to my critique partners, Wendy Qualls and Edie Danford, for their assistance and insights on the early drafts of this book. Also thanks to my fan group on Facebook, Annabeth’s Angels (come join us!) for being so supportive! Thank you to all the book bloggers, reviewers and readers who have supported me in so many ways. Many thanks to my agent, Saritza Hernandez, and my editor, Deb Nemeth, who saw the potential in this spinoff from my #gaymers universe. In particular, I’m so glad Deb encouraged me to explore my passion for military romance. Her insights into Pike and Zack helped this story evolve into something I’m very proud of. I’m so grateful to the entire team at Carina Press for giving this series a home and for their help in launching this series. The efforts of the marketing team and art department behind the scenes are also very much appreciated. I also very much appreciated all the help I received with researching this book! Finally, thank you to my family, especially to my husband, who helped with my endless questions about naval life.
Also available from Annabeth Albert
and Carina Press
The #gaymers series:
Status Update
Beta Test
Connection Error
Out of Uniform series:
Off Base
At Attention (coming in 2017)
On Point (coming in 2017)
About the Author
Annabeth Albert grew up sneaking romance novels under the bedcovers. Now she devours all subgenres of romance out in the open—no flashlights required! When she’s not adding to her keeper shelf, she’s a multipublished Pacific Northwest romance writer. The #OutOfUniform series joins her critically acclaimed and fan-favorite LGBT romance #gaymers, #PortlandHeat and #PerfectHarmony series. To find out what she’s working on next and for freebies and other fun extras, check out her website, www.annabethalbert.com, or connect with Annabeth on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Google Plus and Spotify!
Emotionally complex, sexy and funny stories are her favorites both to read and to write. Annabeth loves finding happy endings for a variety of pairings, and is a passionate gay rights supporter. In between searching out dark heroes to redeem, she works at a rewarding day job and wrangles two active children.
Represented by Saritza Hernandez of the Corvisiero Literary Agency
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The Ethan & Wyatt series by K.A. Mitchell
An unexpected fresh start leads to an unlikely-but-absolutely-perfect pairing in this male/male new-adult duology from bestselling gay romance author K.A. Mitchell
GETTING HIM BACK (Ethan & Wyatt, book one)
BOYFRIEND MATERIAL (Ethan & Wyatt, book two)
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ess to the tone which fits with the youth of the characters.”
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The #gaymers series by Annabeth Albert
A new geektastic series from multipublished male/male romance author Annabeth Albert.
STATUS UPDATE (#gaymers, book one)
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CONNECTION ERROR (#gaymers, book three)
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The Sassy Boyz series by Elizabeth Varlet
Meet the Sassy Boyz, a group of androgynous male dancers in New York City who struggle to overcome difficult pasts to show that even damaged boys can find love.
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The Boundaries Series by A.R. Barley
Featuring an enemies-to-lovers romance, a professor–student relationship and a silver fox who falls for a drag queen, this series is all about testing—and breaking—all the boundaries.
OUT OF BOUNDS (The Boundaries Series, book one)
AGAINST THE RULES (The Boundaries Series, book two)
OUTSIDE THE LINES (The Boundaries Series, book three)
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The Letting Go series by j. leigh bailey
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NOBODY’S HERO (Letting Go, book one)
RECKLESS HOPE (Letting Go, book two)
FIGHT TO FORGIVE (Letting Go, book three)
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ISBN-13: 9781488022593
Off Base
Copyright ©2017 by Annabeth Albert
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All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
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Off Base Page 25
