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Read on to view a short excerpt from CHASE THE SUN, book two in the Free Fall series that I co-write with Nyrae Dawn (AKA Riley Hart).
About the Author
Once upon a time, Christina Lee lived in New York City and was a wardrobe stylist. She spent her days getting in cabs, shopping for photo shoots, eating amazing food, and drinking coffee at her favorite hangouts.
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Now she lives in the Midwest with her husband and son—her two favorite guys. She’s been a clinical social worker and a special education teacher. But it wasn't until she wrote a weekly column for the local newspaper that she realized she could turn the fairytales inside her head into the reality of writing fiction.
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She’s addicted to lip balm and salted caramel everything. She believes in true love and kissing, so writing romance novels has become a dream job.
Where to Find Christina Lee
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Visit my WEBSITE.
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My private Facebook reader/fan group: THE SWOON ROOM.
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A private Facebook Group with six other male/male romance authors: THE M/M DAILY GRIND
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Find me on TWITTER.
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An Excerpt from Chase the Sun
Conner
Two Months Ago
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Conner,
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I was sorry to hear about your uncle Kenny. He’s been our next-door neighbor since I was a kid, and I’ll miss the times I spent shooting the breeze with him on his front porch or around his famous campfires.
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Anyway, I didn’t get to talk to you at the memorial service because you were so busy with your family, plus the place was packed—I think the entire town showed up—and we had to squeeze way in the back. But I know how fond your uncle was of you. When your mom and dad were at the house taking stock of his property, they told me that he wanted you to inherit his ’69 Chevelle Twin Turbo convertible. He showed it to me once—such a sweet ride.
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I asked your parents for your email address—hope that was okay. I know it’s been years since we’ve talked or hung at the park across the street, but I’ve got an idea. I know the Chevelle isn’t in driving condition, but in case you didn’t know, I’m a mechanic. My dad owns Tolland’s Garage on Liberty Street.
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Point is, I’d be happy to take a look for you and maybe even get her running. It would actually be pretty cool to work on such a beauty. Besides, what else is there to do in this crap town? Let me know what you think.
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Later,
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Jamie Tolland
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CHAPTER ONE
Conner
“Dance with me, sexy,” a ginger guy asks me. He’s about the same height as me, so probably around six foot. He’s leaner, has hair in his eyes and a mole under his nose that looks like a beauty mark.
I’ve never danced with another guy before, but I won’t let something like that stop me. Life is meant to be lived, to be enjoyed, and to have so many fucking experiences you have no regrets. That’s my motto, anyway.
“He’s not into guys. He’s just here with us,” my friend Lucas answers for me, but I shake my head.
“It’s cool. I’ll dance. What’s the point of music if you don’t dance?”
Lucas’s brows pull together like he’s not sure. His boyfriend, Gabriel, smiles at me from beside him, Lucas’s arm protectively around his shoulders. It’s cool to see Lucas happy. Gabriel too, obviously, but Lucas and I have known each other longer. We used to work at a bar together. He was real closed off before he got with Gabriel, so it’s nice to see the change in him.
I look back at the ginger. When he nods in the other direction I follow him through the crowd of people. We find an empty space on the dance floor and then we start moving together to the upbeat song.
“You’ve never danced with a guy before, huh?” he asks over the music.
Someone bumps into me from behind and Ginger grabs my wrist. “Nope,” I tell him. “I’ve danced before though, and really that’s all that matters.” Who cares if my partner is a girl or a guy? Or two girls and two guys, for all I care. Hell, maybe a guy and a girl.
“I’m honored to be your first.” He winks at me and all I can think is, this guy is fucking good. I would have said the same thing if the situation were reversed.
We continue to dance through a couple songs. A bead of sweat drips into my eye. The ginger smiles at me. Fingers my black hair. So far my first experience dancing with another man feels like just that—dancing.
After a while he steps closer, puts his arms around me, our bodies touching. “This okay, newbie?” he asks.
“Yep, though like I said, I have danced before.”
“You’re sexy,” he replies.
“I know.”
Ginger chuckles. “And cocky.”
“You have no idea.” I grab onto his waist, feel his bones there. The rest of him is lean muscle rubbing against me. It’s fun and feels sexy. I like fun and sexy and don’t see a reason not to fill my life with fun and sexy shit. The mechanics of it don’t much matter to me.
A couple more songs play. Ginger’s hands run up and down my back. I do the same to him, just living in the moment. Before I know it, I feel his lips on my neck and a smile pulls at my lips. I’ve been in this same situation a hundred times, only they’re usually not in gay bars, and it’s usually me kissing a girl.
“Are you trying to take advantage of me?” I tease Ginger. He speaks into my neck.
“Can I take advantage of you?”
“Probably not.” Because I’m not going home with him. “I have to go back and see my friends in a minute.” Maybe another night I’d experiment with him but it’s not often I can get Lucas to come out with me—I have to take advantage.
Ginger leans back, and looks at me. He’s cute, all that messy red hair and flirtatious eyes.
“Then I guess I better not waste time,” he says and then his mouth comes down on mine. It feels a little different from kissing a girl. His face is rougher and his kiss more demanding. I push at his lips with my tongue, sampling him. The taste of alcohol is there, but I know he won’t taste any on me. Lucas is cool about it, but I try not to drink when we chill, out of respect.
Ginger’s hands tighten in my shirt and he moans a throaty, masculine moan into my mouth and it’s everything I want out of a dance floor make-out session—hunger and urgency. Tongues and lips and passion.
We stay out there through two more songs, dancing and kissing before Ginger says, “I’m assuming that’s the first time you’ve kissed a guy, too.”
I shrug because girl or guy, it really doesn’t matter to me. “Yeah.”
“How was it?”
“Sometimes you use a little too much tongue,” I tease and Ginger laughs.
“You sure you won’t change your mind about me taking advantage of you?”
I shake my head because I came with Lucas and Gabriel and I plan to leave with them. “Nah. Thanks for the offer, though.”
“I’m gonna go and keep looking, then. You have a good night,” Ginger tells me before he disappears into the crowd of people.
Huh. That was fun.
I make my way back to where Lucas and Gabriel are. They have their arms around each other, their foreheads together all mushy and shit. “You guys are so fucking sweet; I can’t even handle it.”
I get a snicker from Gabriel and Lucas rolls his eyes at me. “Aww. It’s grumpy Lucas. It’s fun to see him every once in a while.”
“Leave my boyfriend alone.” Gabriel gives me a playful, stern look. “And holy shit, you were making out with that guy.”
“I was.”
“Yeah, what the fuck was that?” Lucas asks “I’ve always gone back and forth, wondering if you were bi, or hell, even in denial about your sexuality because of your over-the-top talk about tits and women.”
This time it’s me who gives the playful, stern look and it’s directed toward Lucas. “Hey. Talk of tits is never over the top. I love women. I’m also not in denial. Dude, do you even fucking know me?” I’m not the in denial type.
I like to have fun, make people laugh, have sex and enjoy life to the fullest. There’s not an in denial bone in my body.
It’s not something we verbally decide but suddenly all three of us are heading toward the door. We step out onto Robertson Boulevard and the street is almost as busy as the bar. I love West Hollywood at night. It’s so alive with energy.
“He had whiskers that brushed against my face. That was different,” I say as we start walking toward the corner.
Lucas’s curls are shoved under his beanie, his eyes wide as he looks at me as though he doesn’t know what to do with me. I love getting my friend riled up like this. “You are so weird. Jesus, I can’t keep up with you,” he tells me.
“How’s work?” I ask him just because I know my subject change will get on his nerves. After the bar, we worked together making movie sets. I left because it wasn’t really my thing and I like keeping things fresh by doing different stuff. I get bored and lose interest in things easily, probably because that’s how I was raised. My parents are the most flaky, flighty people you’ll ever meet.
Lucas doesn’t respond and Gabriel says, “You have to know he’s going crazy to know what’s up with you. He’ll never ask though, so can you please just tell him?”
“Hey! It’s none of my business why Conner is suddenly kissing guys. Can we go home so I can kiss you?” he says to Gabriel.
“Ugh. I’m jealous. I want to have sex with someone tonight,” I interrupt. When two sets of questioning eyes turn toward me, I shrug. “I’ve always been open to possibilities. Have I sought out hooking up with a guy before? No. But I’ve always considered myself pretty fluid. If something sounds fun, I do it. If someone is attractive to me, I pursue them. I guess I just figure humans are sexual creatures and if two people feel mutual attraction, that’s all that matters.”
I pause for a second and then add, “Wow. I’m deep.”
Both men laugh, though Lucas rolls his eyes at me while he does. “You’re crazy.”
“I know.” I wink at him. “Have a good night, you two. Give each other a blowjob for me.”
They say their goodbyes and we go in different directions. They’re able to walk from here, but I pull out my phone and open an app to get a ride to the apartment I share with Gabriel’s old roommate, Ezra.
Gabriel’s bipolar. He had a pretty scary incident last year and ended up in the hospital. Afterward he had to do day therapy. He and Lucas took a little break then, both of them needing to focus on themselves. It wasn’t long after that they found their way back together and a short time later, Gabriel moved in with Lucas. I happened to be looking for an apartment at the same time and that’s where Ezra comes in.
Except for what Gabriel had to deal with, it was sort of perfect.
The car pulls up a couple minutes later, and I jump into the back. After giving the driver my address, I pull up my email on my phone and see a message from Jamie. He’s a guy I knew back home in Oregon. He lived next door to my uncle Kenny and when he passed away two months back and left me a car, Jamie agreed to work on it for me. It’s taken a while because he has to work on cars at his dad’s shop, first.
He’s cool. I like him. We’ve passed quite a few emails back and forth over the last two months, even about things other than the car. I don’t know how he handles still living in Riverfall. The first thing I did when I graduated high school was leave.
I smile when I read his message and discover Kenny’s old Chevelle is, and I quote, “in good enough shape to make the drive to Southern California.”
Fuck yes. Too bad I have no idea how I’m going to get it.
I hit reply to his message.
Jamie,
Thanks, man. I owe you. This was so cool of you to do for me. I’m not exactly sure how I’m going to get the car yet…I have to figure out some things first. I need to make sure I can get some time off work. I’ll probably have to take the bus up there and then drive the car back down. I’d say I would have my parents let you in Kenny’s garage so we can store it there, but I haven’t been able to get a hold of them for like three weeks. You know how they are. Do you think you can still store it at the shop? We haven’t decided what we’re doing with his place yet. We might keep it—which I’m assuming we will. Memories and all.
Talk to ya later,
Conner
The Faintest Spark: Roadmap to Your Heart, Book #1.5 Page 11
