2017 Top Ten Gay Romance

by J. M. Snyder

  “The Christmas fair?” suggested Jake. People came from all over for the Christmas fair. Among other attractions, the local Greek Orthodox congregation sold baklava which was not to be missed.

  “Definitely.”

  “Alright. Let me know when there’s something you want to check out.”

  David wasn’t looking forward to such events merely to get out and rejoin the world, though that was of course true. He also found himself thinking that going with Jake would be a lot of fun. If his alpha could make terrible sci-fi movies amusing, anything would be enjoyable with him.

  * * * *

  He woke himself up screaming, because in his dream he’d bonded with Roger, who was then stripping to claim him.

  “David.” The voice didn’t belong to Roger, and he listened for more as a soft light came on. “It was just a dream, sweetheart.”

  Only one person called him sweetheart and that was Jake. He turned over, letting his alpha pull him into an embrace. His real and wonderful alpha who was not Roger. “It felt real,” he said into Jake’s shoulder.

  “Yeah. Nightmares can be like that.”

  “The police,” he swallowed hard, “they had no idea, Jake. Of course they looked into everyone who’d asked to be considered for me, but Roger still went into work every day and nobody suspected. How does that even happen? If you hadn’t been there when you were, I’d have ended up bonding with him. And then he would’ve…” Unable to say the words out loud, he stopped there, but Jake knew. As soon as he’d bonded with Roger, something easily tested by the presence of another alpha, Roger would have wasted no time in raping and claiming him. Even if the plan to disappear with Jake’s parents’ money hadn’t worked, even if Roger went to prison, he would have been Roger’s. Aunt Julie and Uncle Ed could have fought the forced claim, but half the time those cases were decided in favor of the alpha, he’d never bond with a decent alpha anyway, and it was all so much, David could barely breathe, thinking about how close a call he’d had.

  After a minute of gently rubbing David’s back, Jake said, “I think I should make you an appointment with a therapist. You went through hell and I can’t just make it go away.”

  It was a good idea. “You don’t need it?” He knew Jake hadn’t been in the warehouse for very long and wasn’t mistreated the same way. Besides, the worst of the ordeal for David was the ever-present terror that he would bond with Roger, something to which Jake couldn’t relate.

  “Not like you do. Maybe to be on the safe side I’ll go for a few sessions with my old therapist since it reminded me a little of last time.”

  David wanted something to distract from his nightmare. “There was another time?”

  “After I was injured.” Jake sighed. “It’s not my favorite topic of conversation but you should know, I guess.” He shifted, getting comfortable before resuming, “My team was parachuting in for a hostage rescue. Don’t ask where, I can’t tell you. I think someone in that damn corrupt government tipped them off that we were coming because it was night and they knew exactly where to fire at us. My chute was hit multiple times and damaged enough that I landed hard. Hit my head and blacked out, woke up a prisoner. It was five days before we were rescued.”

  “And you were hurt the whole time.”

  “Yeah. The lack of immediate medical attention didn’t help. Smashed up my knee, cracked a few ribs, and the concussion’s what cost me some peripheral vision. Not that much, actually, and it could’ve been worse. Just before I crashed I imagined dying or being paralyzed.”

  “It still sounds traumatic.”

  “It was, and then I had to deal with medical retirement and figure out a civilian life for myself. I didn’t want therapy, but one day at the store I heard people talking in Spanish. Nothing wrong with that, of course, except it triggered a flashback. That’s when I started dragging myself to a therapist.”

  Going by this, David guessed Jake’s disastrous mission was somewhere in South or Central America. That wasn’t the important point. “Did it help? Therapy?”

  “It did. Not as fast as I would’ve liked, I’ll admit. Therapists don’t have some secret magic words that make everything okay again. But this doesn’t have to haunt you forever.”

  “Okay. Sign me up for therapy.” David did not want Roger to cast a shadow on the rest of his life, especially not since it looked as though his life with Jake was going to be particularly good. “How long ago was that mission?”

  “Two and a half years. I needed help getting around at first, so I came home to my parents’ house. Once I’d mostly recovered physically I moped around for a couple months until Dad told me I could feel sorry for myself forever or I could be grateful to be alive, but either way I wasn’t staying with them indefinitely. I started looking into civilian careers, and with a physics degree, teaching seemed like a good option, so I enrolled in a teaching certification program.”

  “And you like it?”

  “I do. Last year was my first and there were some rocky times for sure. The good outweighs the bad by quite a bit and that’s really all you can ask for in a career.”

  David wouldn’t know since omegas weren’t allowed careers.

  “I’ll make the appointment in the morning,” declared Jake. “And you should look for your writers’ group.”

  “How far are we from your city library?”

  “Maybe five miles. Why?”

  “There’s a group that meets there every Thursday evening from 6:30 to 8:30. I needed something to distract me on the ride over here so I looked into it.” Uncle Ed insisted the ride hadn’t taken hours, but it sure felt like it had.

  “We can do that. I’ll bring you over and read while you…do whatever people do at a writers’ group meeting.”

  “Critique each other’s work, mostly. I should send an email to make sure they’re fine with an omega joining.” He looked up at Jake’s face, illuminated by lamplight. “Is it okay if I kiss you?” He wasn’t sure if that was something the alpha was supposed to initiate.

  “You can kiss me anytime you want, sweetheart.”

  If anyone had asked him a week ago what he thought of being called sweetheart, David would have been ambivalent at best. Now it thrilled him, in no small part because it meant Jake cared for him as a person, not just his omega biology. After the kiss, he said, “It means a lot to me that you’ll bring me to the meetings.”

  “Being an omega doesn’t mean you should be locked away inside all the time. We’ll go places, and you can hang out with other writers on Thursdays. It’s important that you’re happy.”

  “What night is poker night?”

  “You remembered that? Wednesdays. I don’t have to go.”

  As much as David wanted Jake with him, he recognized his alpha ought to keep his preexisting recreation. After all, David wanted Jake to be happy as well. “Don’t stop on my account. If I get writers’ group nights it’s only fair for you to have poker nights.”

  “That’s not until September anyway. And if you’re worried about gambling, we limit it to twenty bucks a week.”

  “I wasn’t, but okay.” Generally speaking omegas didn’t deal with money and he was content to leave finances up to Jake. He doubted he’d be good at budgeting, since he’d never been great about saving the allowance his aunt and uncle gave him.

  “We need to get you a debit card, too.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Uncle Tim suggested it’d be good if you had a little money that was yours, so you don’t have to ask me every time you want a new book or something. Funds you control, you know? It works for him and Uncle Zeke, anyway. I think Uncle Zeke spends about ninety-nine percent of his on music. I thought we could set it up on a debit card so you can buy things online, too.”

  David was awed by how incredibly, thoughtfully progressive a family he’d joined. “Wow. I didn’t expect that.”

  “I’ll redo my direct deposit so you get money automatically when I get paid twice a month. How about we start
with fifty a paycheck and go from there? Once we don’t have to pay rent I can probably afford more.”

  “That sounds great. Thank you.” A hundred dollars a month to spend on whatever he wanted sounded wonderful to David. It was significantly more money than he’d received from Aunt Julie and Uncle David who, to be fair, stretched their budget by taking him in after his parents died. He still couldn’t believe they’d put thousands of dollars in the bank to just sit and earn interest for him. Jake was right, those funds should be saved for something special.

  He yawned, prompting Jake to ask, “Ready to go back to sleep?”

  “Can we sleep like this?” He felt secure in Jake’s arms.

  “Sure. Let me just turn off the light.”

  Before drifting off, David reflected on how very fortunate he was that being kidnapped ended up with him happy and safe with his wonderful alpha.

  Epilogue

  They were able to move in to their new house before the start of the school year after all, in part because it didn’t take very long to find the place. By mid-August, they were the proud owners of a single-story, three bedroom home. David approved of the kitchen and was practically ready to move in once he saw the spacious living room with giant windows on two sides. Jake loved the master bedroom, which in addition to being big enough for their new king bed also boasted a master bathroom with a two-person Jacuzzi.

  It was four miles from Jake’s old apartment, in a good school district and a pleasant neighborhood, and had a lawn big enough to enjoy but not so large it would take an entire afternoon to mow. One half of the basement was finished and could, their Realtor pointed out, make another bedroom or playroom for kids. The two-car garage was more than they needed and thus provided extra storage space. All in all, it was nearly perfect, except the price, which was higher than Jake wanted even though they negotiated it down a bit. His parents liked the place a lot and reminded him they took home $8 million so he didn’t need to quibble over an extra $40,000. Jake suspected his mom had decided this was an excellent place for her future grandchildren to grow up.

  Once the house was theirs, Jake hired a team to strip the hideous maroon-striped wallpaper from the master bedroom and pull up the matching carpet. Then they painted the walls light green and had silvery-grey carpet put down, making their bedroom about a hundred times nicer. The main bathroom got a makeover as well, going from blinding yellow walls to a paler tint.

  Eventually they wanted to redo the two smaller bedrooms, both of which suffered from ugly wallpaper. Those didn’t need immediate attention and anyway both Jake and David were excited to move into their new home. McLaughlin had taken a plea deal and was behind bars in the state prison, but Jake wasn’t one to take chances and he had a quality home security system installed before moving in.

  Waking up the first morning was disorienting for a minute, until Jake remembered they were in the new house and smiled. He had plans to test out the Jacuzzi.

  There was plenty to be done, as they’d only gotten as far as unpacking the bedroom. Nevertheless, Jake was content to return to bed after a quick trip to the bathroom. It was nice to lay in bed enjoying their new bedroom, and moreover he hadn’t yet gotten tired of watching David wake up.

  As unexpected as their relationship had been, David fit very well into Jake’s life, enriching it many times over in ways that had nothing to do with the sex (though the sex was great, too). Even common activities were nicer. Simply watching a movie on the couch was a more enjoyable experience curled up with David than it had been alone. Recently, Jake had been spending his mornings getting ready for the new school year, and coming home to David was delightful.

  Making David happy, Jake learned, was just as fulfilling as protecting and taking care of him. After his first writers’ group meeting, David was almost glowing in a way that made Jake happy by association. Jake didn’t understand the jerk alphas at all. The previous week he’d been testing out a potential new lab activity when P.E. teacher/basketball coach Derek Zimmerman strode into his classroom, asking, “I heard you claimed an omega. What’s it like to fuck one? He basically has to do whatever you want, right?”

  Jake had to restrain himself from giving Zimmerman a broken nose. “I never want to hear you talk about my mate with such disrespect again. Now get the hell out of my classroom.”

  David was so much more than his omega biology. Yes, the sex was phenomenal, outside his heat which was more frantic than hot, but Jake could find sex if he went looking. David was wonderful as a person. He was a smart, inquisitive guy, who embraced life with contagious enthusiasm. After a year and a half of not getting out of his aunt and uncle’s house very often, he took great delight in every excursion, so Jake made sure they went out frequently, even if it was just walking around the park or swimming at the Y. On their outings he learned how deep David’s compassion ran and that his mate had a talent for making anyone, even complete strangers, smile. In short, David had a beautiful soul.

  Sure, they were still in the honeymoon phase and Jake was nowhere near naïve enough to expect they wouldn’t have disagreements and challenges in the future. Every couple did. Nevertheless, he was confident they would get through the more difficult times just fine.

  Now, watching as David started moving in bed the way that signaled he’d wake up soon, Jake’s heart burst open and overflowed with love. It was the kind of quiet recognition that didn’t seem momentous because he’d already been aware on some level. Of course he loved David. How could he not?

  David yawned and opened his eyes momentarily before closing them again. He never really woke up all at once unless it was out of a nightmare. Half-asleep, he scooted over to press himself against Jake, a very endearing habit of his. It seemed like he could never get enough physical contact with Jake.

  Not that Jake minded. He put an arm around David, thinking leisurely morning snuggling was a good way to start their first day in the new house.

  A couple minutes later David started to wake up. Jake kissed his forehead and said, “Morning, sweetheart.”

  “Morning.”

  “New bed pass muster?”

  “Mmm-hmm. Nice and soft. And you’re in it.”

  “I think we should try out the Jacuzzi this morning.”

  “I’ve been looking forward to that,” said David. “We’ll have to get out of bed eventually, though. We have a lot to unpack.”

  “If it helps, I’m thinking once we’re unpacked in a couple days we could go to the animal shelter and see if there’s a cat you like.”

  “Really?”

  “Of course.”

  “I want an inside cat, one that likes people.”

  That sounded right. It would be good for David to have a companion while Jake worked, plus his therapist had mentioned the therapeutic value of pets. “We can do that. Litterbox duty is all you, though.”

  “That’s fine.”

  They lay in comfortable silence, in no hurry to get up and face the world. In that moment Jake figured his life was basically perfect. “I love you, David.”

  That got him an intense, awed look. “You—you do?”

  “I really do.”

  “I’m so…” kiss, “glad, Jake…” kiss, “you have no idea…” kiss, “how happy…” kiss, “that makes me.”

  “I think I’m starting to get one.”

  “I was just talking about it with Lori the other day. How I felt, and that even in my head I think to myself that I love you, that I hoped someday you’d love me, too. Now…I’m just so happy.”

  “Me, too, sweetheart. Me, too.” By some strange stroke of fortune, getting kidnapped had put him in exactly the right place at the right time. Jake wouldn’t have his life any other way.

  THE END

  Beau and the Beast by Rick R. Reed

  For everyone who believes in happily-ever-afters.

  Chapter 1

  Seattle’s Elliott Bay, Beau thought, was a study in gray. With his artist’s eye, he could appreciate the gunme
tal shade of the churning waters, here and there supporting the weight of massive ferries taking late afternoon commuters to Bainbridge and Vashon Islands. Beau thought the clouds appeared pearlescent in their pale tones of faded white, smoke, and touched with peach as the sun, all but invisible on this drizzly day, set over the water. Even the buildings, across the sound, and lining Alki Beach in West Seattle, appeared as colorless geometric shapes, stalwarts assembled against the approaching night.

  Beau had been here almost all afternoon, just behind Pike Place Market, hoping even on this chilly and damp day that he would be able to attract tourist trade from the busy marketplace. After all, even Seattle’s tepid winters drew tourists, and their favorite destination, equal to the Space Needle, was Pike Place Market and the Elliott Bay waterfront behind it.

  But today, the blustery winds, constant drizzle bordering on mist, and oppressive dark skies more suited to night, kept most tourists pursuing activities indoor in nature.

  Yet here Beau sat on his little collapsible folding stool behind the market, easel set up and hoping to do a portrait or two to make enough money to perhaps get himself a room for the night in one of the fleabag motels lining Aurora Avenue farther north. He hoped for the added bonus of a little something extra to lessen the aching emptiness of his belly. The reality of the term “starving artist” was not lost on poor Beau.

  His skin was moist and he had grown weary of smiling and trying to cajole those tourists that did walk down to the waterfront to let him try to capture their likenesses with charcoal and paper. Now, all he wanted to do was find a place to hole up for a while, to try and dispel this chill that had crept into his very bones. Seattle was like that in the winter—even though the temperature seldom dipped down to freezing, the damp caused the chill to seep in, thwarting even layers of flannel, wool, and fleece.

  On better days, Beau sometimes walked away from this area with enough money in his pocket to treat himself to teriyaki and a room, if he was lucky, for more than one night. On better days, Beau engaged with the tourists and locals who posed for him, getting an original portrait for only ten dollars (the highest amount he found he could charge, to his dismay).