Table of Contents
Love’s Landscapes
Geeking Out on 11C - Information
Acknowledgements
Geeking Out on 11C
Author Bio
Love’s Landscapes
An M/M Romance series
GEEKING OUT ON 11C
By L.L. Bucknor
Introduction
The story you are about to read celebrates love, sex and romance between men. It is a product of the Love’s Landscapes promotion sponsored by the Goodreads M/M Romance Group and is published as a gift to you.
What Is Love’s Landscapes?
The Goodreads M/M Romance Group invited members to choose a photo and pen a letter asking for a short M/M romance story inspired by the image; authors from the group were encouraged to select a letter and write an original tale. The result was an outpouring of creativity that shone a spotlight on the special bond between M/M romance writers and the people who love what these authors do.
A written description of the image that inspired this story is provided along with the original request letter. If you’d like to view the photo, please feel free to join the Goodreads M/M Romance Group and visit the discussion section: Love’s Landscapes.
No matter if you are a long-time devotee to M/M Romance, just new to the genre or fall somewhere in between, you are in for a delicious treat.
Words of Caution
This story may contain sexually explicit content and is intended for adult readers. It may contain content that is disagreeable or distressing to some readers. The M/M Romance Group strongly recommends that each reader review the General Information section before each story for story tags as well as for content warnings.
This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved worldwide.
This eBook may be distributed freely in its entirety courtesy of the Goodreads M/M Romance Group. This eBook may not be sold, manipulated or reproduced in any format without the express written permission of the author.
Geeking Out on 11C, Copyright © 2014 L.L. Bucknor
Cover Art by Natasha Snow
This ebook is published by the M/M Romance Group and is not directly endorsed by or affiliated with Goodreads Inc.
M/M Romance Group Publication
GEEKING OUT ON 11C
By L.L. Bucknor
Photo Description
A guy with golden skin, washboard abs and a scruffy, sexy grin is staring off into space. He looks like he’s thinking about something hot as he lifts up his sleeveless shirt.
Story Letter
Dear Author,
Mateo is the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen. He lives in my building, but I didn’t think he would ever notice me. I’m shy, I’m a geek and I’m probably too old for him. The other day he passed me in the hall and winked at me. Of course I completely clammed up, blushed and rushed by him. I can’t even say hi to the man without being completely flustered. But I can’t get him out of my mind.
Requests: Contemporary, age difference, opposites attract, some humor and smexin’ would be nice, HFN or HEA.
Sincerely,
Valerie C
Story Info
Genre: contemporary
Tags: age gap, opposites attract, smaller top, geeks, men with pets, blue collar
Word Count: 14,868
Acknowledgements
Thank you to everyone that I pestered about Edgar. Many thanks to the MMR Team!
GEEKING OUT ON 11C
By L.L. Bucknor
“Sounds like someone’s home, huh?”
Pausing for a moment to listen, Ed heard loud laughter coming from the hallway outside his apartment door. It was nearly four o’clock in the morning. Whoever was out there— Ed had a sure bet on who— did not care about the time. Ed shook his head briefly and went back to enter his cheat code for the computer game.
“I bet you an extra shake of fish flakes it’s our neighbor from across the hall.” Ed looked at his goldfish, Atari, and sighed. He was talking to his goldfish and playing Sims 2, instead of tumbling home, like the loud group outside his co-op door. He definitely was not going to tell the party to keep it down. He didn’t like confrontation. Also, he didn’t have the balls to say anything to anyone… especially him. Him being Ed’s hunky neighbor. Almost a year after the walking deity moved in the unit across the hall, Ed had yet to learn Mr. Hotness’ name.
He did not want to be a creepy stalker at his age. Not that thirty-four was decrepit or he should look into retirement housing. Edgar Horace Brown— named after both of his grandfathers— did not inspire men, especially those like his younger neighbor, to lust after men like him. Besides the geriatric moniker, Ed was too shy, too set in his ways to even talk to him. He sighed at his character on the computer screen. Okay, maybe a little stalker-ish— he made a character on the computer game that looked like his neighbor. And maybe he gave him a love interest that sort of looked like Ed. Creepy? A little. Pathetic? Atari told him that from the start. Ed wanted a little bit of fantasy, since he was pretty sure Mr. Live-Tumblr was straight.
The noise from the hallway sounded like more than one person, so out of curiosity, Ed got up from his computer desk to look through his peephole. He saw the object of his boners talking to another man. And the other guy seemed to fawn all over his neighbor. Couldn’t blame him, he would do the same if he were in his shoes. His tall, scruffy neighbor with golden skin, dark, spiky hair and eight-pack abs. Ed recalled the memorable summer of his neighbor shirtless, with a basketball under his arm, in the building hallway. The man’s chest was sculpted like a living statue. Quit fantasizing. He listened in on their conversation as he watched. Didn’t hurt to be a little nosy.
“So Mateo… I’ve been thinking.” His name is Mateo? Ed silently did imaginary backflips in his mind. His neighbor had a sexy name to match his appearance. Guess he could change Eleven Cee, named after his neighbor’s apartment number, to Mateo in the Sims game, now that Ed knew that was his name. Not creepy at all. Ed peered closer and listened.
Mateo smiled. Ed could see the gleam off those shiny, shiny white teeth.
“Don’t gimme that look.” The guy standing next to Mateo leaned closer to Mateo, as did Ed, behind his door.
“Trev, you know I’m usually busy.” Mateo murmured something that Ed couldn’t quite hear.
“We haven’t hooked up in ages.” Ed watched Trev lean closer, with his front on Mateo’s side. “Why is that?”
He’s gay? Ed looked down at his crotch; apparently it was very excited for tonight’s date with Sir Right Hand. Ed stopped paying attention to the conversation briefly, just to think of the possibilities that would never happen in this lifetime.
Mateo pushed away while shaking his head. He murmured something to Trev, who frowned. Ed tried to listen to whatever the two were saying, but could barely hear, as their voices got lower still. It was either put his ear against the door to listen, or peep through his peephole. He’d rather watch. Trev tried to kiss Mateo, but Mateo pushed him away and muttered something.
Trev made an exaggerated pout and walked away, in the direction of their elevator.
Mateo, while groping his pants’ pocket, glanced to Ed’s door. Ed jumped back and stubbed his toe on his doorstop. Of course, it made a loud bang. At this time of night, any noise over a whisper sounded like a bomb going off. He grasped his foot and tried to jump up and down quietly. Please don’t let him have heard me. He was too tempted to not peep once more. He tiptoed to his front door and looked to where his neighbour had stood, but Mateo
had already gone inside his apartment. Ed backed away with a smile on his face. The injury was worth it for what he learned tonight. He shook his head at himself and checked to see if he had done any permanent damage to his foot.
Even if a zombie apocalypse started tomorrow and he and Mateo were the last two human beings on Earth, Ed knew he’d never stand a chance. He was too old and too nerdy— certainly not compatible with someone who looked like a walking wet dream. Mateo looked well under thirty, well-toned and tall, whereas Edgar, at five eight (but who’s counting?) never met a gym he liked. He had a soft waist to maintain, thank you very much, and his perfect night was doing just what he’d been doing tonight: checking on his couples and families on Sims 2, and talking to Atari. To add to his shyness factor, Ed had a tendency to blurt out odd things at weird times when he was nervous. Edgar didn’t think he was so unattractive that he should wear a bag over his head when in public. He managed to snag a few hookups in his lifetime, but no one he’d ever been with could pass for a GQ model. They were normal, like him— geeky gamers, whose description of a hot night would be having an all-night Super Mario Bros tournament.
It’d been quite a while since Edgar’s last hookup— two years ago, with an old college acquaintance. Some days he wanted to have someone to sleep next to. He had needs. He even tried Grindr a year back and then chickened out. His older sister Melanie sent links to online dating sites from time to time, which Ed never tried. He talked himself into it and then talked himself right out of it again. His social life wasn’t exactly buzzing, but he wasn’t complaining. He worked at home as a web designer, which was perfect for his homebody lifestyle. When he tired of staring at his four walls, he visited the local library, or traveled into the city for museums, expos or shows. He was more resigned to how his life currently was: porn and fantasies of hot men… Okay, one hot man seemed to be the main star.
Ed looked to his apartment door again, turned away and bumped his injured toe into a wall corner. “Fuck!” He jumped and held his toe once again.
****
Edgar was late for his meeting with Melanie. They were going over web design plans for her bakery, and she thought it was better to meet at her shop to get Edgar out of the house. Truthfully, he would have rather met at his place, but Melanie had cupcakes and he could never deny baked goods. He slung his messenger bag over his shoulder as he opened his front door, and turned around to search for his apartment key to lock up. He had fifty million key chains and was struggling to find the right key when he heard a throat clear behind him.
Please don’t let it be Mateo. He dropped his key ring, nervous just thinking about his name. He bent down to pick up the keys and looked behind his feet while on the floor. Fuck, he’s standing behind me. Ed snatched his keys, quickly locked the door and looked at his feet. He knew it was odd but he couldn’t help it.
“Nice to meet you.”
Ed nodded to his feet. He turned away from his door, looked briefly to the side of his left shoulder and panicked. It was his neighbor, Mateo, wearing just basketball shorts and bedhead. Mateo, up close and personal, could wreak havoc on anyone with a pulse. Ed wished he could get a string of coherent words together or say something witty, but the words were stuck in his throat. He stared a little over Mateo’s shoulder and blushed. Damn, he couldn’t help it.
Mateo held out a hand for Edgar to shake. Ed stared and silently berated himself for not responding like a normal person.
“I’m sorry if me and my friend were noisy late last night,” Mateo said. He continued to hold his hand out. “Actually, early this morning.”
Ed nodded his head and looked to the ground, willing himself to respond. Say something. Anything. Please. Tongue… work!
“We’ve never had a chance to meet with my weird hours. I’m Mateo.” His neighbor smiled and put his hand to his side. “I’m in 11C.” Ed stared at Mateo’s shiny, shiny teeth. What to say? Ed blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
“Chillier in the hallway than I expected.” He mentally kicked himself and rushed toward the stairway, too chickenshit to wait for the elevator and further embarrass himself for the day. He didn’t look back to see Mateo’s face.
****
Two days had passed since Ed’s remarkably chilly hallway incident. Thankfully, or not so thankfully, he had not seen his neighbor in that time— he could only imagine what other “winning” repartee he’d have bumbled out loud. Ed brushed back his curly hair from his forehead and looked through his peephole. It appeared that the coast was clear. He listened for a few seconds and confirmed all quiet on the hallway front. He wanted to run to his floor’s garbage chute, get rid of his trash and scurry back to his apartment without encountering anyone.
He grabbed his trash bag, unlocked his door and turned right, toward the little room. But before he could grab the handle, the door swung open. Ed held his breath and let it go when he saw it was his elderly neighbor, Mrs. Gladstone. She was a sweet lady who was a little hard of hearing and loved to discuss her cats with anyone and everyone who’d listen. She had chosen her next victim and blocked Ed’s way to get into the room.
“Oh, Ned! You gave me such a fright!”
During the eight years he lived in the building, Ed had corrected her many times, but his neighbor kept calling him Ned. Or Fred. Even Jed once. He gave up trying to correct her at this point.
“Hello, Mrs. Gladstone! How are you?” He raised his voice. He tried grabbing the door, hoping his neighbor might get the hint, but she didn’t budge. Great.
She nodded and smiled. Ed felt unsure when he noticed a gleam in her eyes. “Such a dependable young man you are. How many years have we been neighbors, hon?”
“Eight years, ma’am.” Ed sighed and tightened his hold on his bag. He attempted to walk around Mrs. Gladstone, trying to inch his way through the blocked entrance, hoping she would get the hint. She didn’t.
“So polite. Ned, you know my friends from the senior center in town? They have a few available young women in their families. I could bring you to our next family social to meet them, if you’d like. You’re so quiet and reserved. Better than what passes for acceptable suitors these days. You have a steady income and good manners. You’d give someone a solid, steady life.”
Ed would rather meet the available men, but he let Mrs. Gladstone go on and make her assumptions about him. She started to go on about her friend Esther’s granddaughter who was divorced and lonely. She emphasized the lonely with an eyebrow wiggle and took a deep breath.
“Wow,” Ed had to cut into the spiel before she got her second wind, “thank you for the compliments, Mrs. Gladstone. But you see, I—”
“Speak up a little, hon.” She tilted her head closer toward Edgar.
“Is that Mrs. G. I hear?” someone boomed from behind the door. Ed hadn’t heard the elevator chime. Didn’t matter, as he was blocked between Mrs. Gladstone and… Mateo. Just great. Mrs. Gladstone finally moved from blocking the doorway to giggle and preen at his neighbor.
“Hello, Mateo darling.” Ed couldn’t believe she called Mateo the correct name. He guessed a handsome face could do that. Mateo moved closer to the duo— fully clothed this time. Ed was grateful for small miracles. All he needed was to pop a boner in front of Mateo or, God forbid, Mrs. Gladstone. “I am trying to talk Ned into joining me at my senior center’s family social. Get him to socialize a little. Not that you’d need to come, Mateo dear. With your face, I’m sure you leave trails of broken hearts by the dozen.”
Fuck it. Ed didn’t have to stand around to hear this. He let go of the door and turned toward his apartment, trash still in hand. He’d throw it out later. Mateo looked him in the eye and Ed felt his stomach tighten, a ball full of nerves and lust. He began to look down to the floor and tried to move aside, but Mrs. Gladstone touched his shoulder. “Oh, Ned, your trash, hon! Don’t forget to throw it out.”
Ed blushed at the attention and moved around the old woman while she gabbed to Mateo. Ed got rid of hi
s garbage bag and slowly closed the chute. The bag got stuck, and he played with it until it went down. He heard Mrs. Gladstone wish Mateo a “good evening” and figured waiting a minute or two would give Mateo enough time to get back to his apartment.
Ed entered the hallway and stopped walking when he saw Mateo still standing by the door. He didn’t know what to say, but he was beaten to the punch.
“You’re right,” Mateo told him.
What? Ed tilted his head and looked at Mateo’s shoulder. It beat having to look the other man in his brown eyes.
“It is chilly in the hallway,” Mateo said.
Ed nodded and started toward the safe zone of his apartment. Mateo walked beside him down the hallway. “Ned, is it?” Ed got to his door, his hand almost on his doorknob. Just wish him a good day like a normal person.
“No. It’s Edgar. Ed.” Look at that. You are almost having a conversation. Now he just needed to get control of his racing heart.
“Oh. Well it’s nice to finally meet you. I haven’t seen you at the co-op association meetings.”
Ed hummed affirmatively and briefly looked toward his crush, still in shock that he, Edgar the geek, was talking to Mateo, the star of some very erotic fantasies. Well, sort of, if muttered sentences that were five words or less counted.
“Not that I have time to go there every other month with my weird hours,” Mateo continued. “I bartend at my family’s bar and grill. Maybe you’ve heard of Tino’s?” He leaned against the wall across from Ed, not budging, just looking comfortable in his own skin. Ed was a little— fine, a lot— jealous of the ease.
Ed’s throat was getting drier and his tongue felt like it was stuck to the roof of his mouth. His plan to avoid Mateo for weeks was a bust. He figured it would have given him enough time to study witty repartee. Not going to happen now, since each time he interacted with Mateo, Ed further proved how socially inept he was. He nodded in response to Mateo’s question and gulped loudly, staying focused on Mateo’s chin scruff while Mateo continued to talk.
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