Nick frowned. “You shouldn’t have been doin’ all that stuff.”
“Well, who the heck was? Not you!” Eric snorted and looked out the window. “I’m not happy.”
“I love you.”
“Hmpf…”
Nick chuckled. “Truly, I do…”
Eric turned and looked at him, a half smile on his face. “What are you up to?”
“Oh, ’bout six-two.”
“Cut it out,” Eric laughed. “Oh,” he said as Nick made a left turn, “are we going to the house?”
“I thought we’d stop by. I want to measure something.”
“What?”
“A wall.”
“Which wall?”
“The…uh…the dining room wall.”
“What for?”
“Jeez, Eric. Just wait and I’ll show you.”
“You’re weird today.”
Nick pulled up outside the house, muttering under his breath.
“What did you say?” Eric asked, giving him a sharp look.
“I said, ‘Thank you, Jesus.’”
“You’re definitely weird today.”
They got out of the car and walked up to the front door.
“Where’s Henry?” Eric asked.
“Huh?”
“Henry—he has the keys, doesn’t he?”
“Uh…oh, right. Maybe he’s inside.” Nick knocked on the door.
“I didn’t see his car,” Eric said, looking back at the street.
I’m not surprised, Nick thought. He and Norman are on their way to Hawaii. The door was suddenly thrown open and a chorus of voices yelled,
“Surprise!”
Eric stood and gaped, his eyes as big as saucers as he saw the assembled crowd inside. His mom and dad, Doreen, Rich and the kids, Peter, Jeff, Andrew, David…
“Ohmigod. Oh. My. God,” he whispered as everyone gathered around to hug him. Nick gave out a heavy sigh of relief and leaned against the doorjamb in feigned exhaustion.
“Jeez, but that was hard work,” he muttered. “Whose dumb idea was this anyway?”
“All yours, brother mine,” Doreen said, laughing. “I told you he wasn’t going to like the change of plan.”
“Oh, but I love it now,” Eric yelled, enjoying all the attention. He looked around the room at the giant table spread with festive tablecloths and autumn colored motifs. His eyes were decidedly misty as he looked at Nick. “I can’t believe you did all this—”
Nick would tell him later that he had persuaded the owners to give him early occupancy, and had then connived with Peter and Andrew to get the place ready with a rented table and chairs from a local store. The guys had been only too delighted to plan the surprise, and had rushed around the day before buying table decorations and party favors.
Now, Nick winked at his co-conspirators and said, “Well, I had a lot of help.” Then, with a sidelong look at Eric, and an appreciative sniff, he added, “Mmm… Do I smell turkey?”
J.P. BOWIE was born and raised in Aberdeen, Scotland. He wrote his first (unpublished) novel at the age of 14 - a science fiction tale of brawny men and brawnier women that made him a little suspect in the eyes of his family for a while.
J.P. wrote his first gay mystery in 2000, and after having it rejected by every publisher in the universe, he opted to put his money where his mouth is and self published A Portrait of Phillip. Now several books, short stories and novellas later, he is writing m/m erotica almost exclusively. J.P.’s favorite singer is Ella Fitzgerald, and his favorite man is Phil, his partner of 15 years. Visit J.P. on the internet at http://www.jpbowie.com.
MLR Press Authors
Featuring a roll call of some of the best writers of gay erotica and mysteries today!
M. Jules Aedin
Maura Anderson
Victor J. Banis
Jeanne Barrack
Laura Baumbach
Alex Beecroft
Sarah Black
Ally Blue
J.P. Bowie
Michael Breyette
P.A. Brown
Brenda Bryce
Jade Buchanan
James Buchanan
Charlie Cochrane
Kirby Crow
Dick D.
Ethan Day
Jason Edding
Angela Fiddler
Dakota Flint
S.J. Frost
Kimberly Gardner
Roland Graeme
Storm Grant
Amber Green
LB Gregg
Wayne Gunn
David Juhren
Samantha Kane
J.L. Langley
Josh Lanyon
Clare London
William Maltese
Gary Martine
Z.A. Maxfield
Patric Michael
Jet Mykles
Willa Okati
L. Picaro
Neil Plakcy
Jordan Castillo Price
Luisa Prieto
Rick R. Reed
A.M. Riley
George Seaton
Jardonn Smith
Caro Soles
JoAnne Soper-Cook
Richard Stevenson
Clare Thompson
Lex Valentine
Stevie Woods
Check out titles, both available and forthcoming, at www.mlrpress.com
the trevor project
The Trevor Project operates the only nationwide, around-the-clock crisis and suicide prevention helpline for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth. Every day, The Trevor Project saves lives though its free and confidential helpline, its website and its educational services. If you or a friend are feeling lost or alone call The Trevor Helpline. If you or a friend are feeling lost, alone, confused or in crisis, please call The Trevor Helpline. You’ll be able to speak confidentially with a trained counselor 24/7.
The Trevor Helpline: 866-488-7386
On the Web: http://www.thetrevorproject.org/
the gay men’s domestic violence project
Founded in 1994, The Gay Men’s Domestic Violence Project is a grassroots, non-profit organization founded by a gay male survivor of domestic violence and developed through the strength, contributions and participation of the community. The Gay Men’s Domestic Violence Project supports victims and survivors through education, advocacy and direct services. Understanding that the serious public health issue of domestic violence is not gender specific, we serve men in relationships with men, regardless of how they identify, and stand ready to assist them in navigating through abusive relationships.
GMDVP Helpline: 800.832.1901
On the Web: http://gmdvp.org/
the gay & lesbian alliance against defamation/glaad en español
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (glaad) is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of people and events in the media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.
glaad en español: http://www.glaad.org/espanol/bienvenido.php
servicemembers legal defense network
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, legal services, watchdog and policy organization dedicated to ending discrimination against and harassment of military personnel affected by "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (dadt).The sldn provides free, confidential legal services to all those impacted by dadt and related discrimination. Since 1993, its inhouse legal team has responded to more than 9,000 requests for assistance. In Congress, it leads the fight to repeal dadt and replace it with a law that ensures equal treatment for every servicemember, regardless of sexual orientation. In the courts, it works to challenge the constitutionality of dadt.
sldn Call: (202) 328-3244
PO Box 65301 or (202) 328-FAIR
Washington DC 20035-5301 e-mail: sldn@sldn.org
On the Web: http://sldn.org/
the glbt national help center
The glbt National Help Center is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization that is dedicated to meeting the needs of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community and those questioning their sexual orientation and gender identity. It is an outgrowth of the Gay & Lesbian National Hotline, which began in 1996 and now is a primary program of The glbt National Help Center. It offers several different programs including two national hotlines that help members of the glbt community talk about the important issues that they are facing in their lives. It helps end the isolation that many people feel, by providing a safe environment on the phone or via the internet to discuss issues that people can’t talk about anywhere else. The glbt National Help Center also helps other organizations build the infrastructure they need to provide strong support to our community at the local level.
National Hotline: 1-888-THE-GLNH (1-888-843-4564)
National Youth Talkline 1-800-246-PRIDE (1-800-246-7743)
On the Web: http://www.glnh.org/
e-mail: info@glbtnationalhelpcenter.org
If you’re a GLBT and questioning student heading off to university, should know that there are resources on campus for you. Here’s just a sample:
US Local GLBT college campus organizations
http://dv-8.com/resources/us/local/campus.html
GLBT Scholarship Resources http://tinyurl.com/6fx9v6
Syracuse University http://lgbt.syr.edu/
Texas A&M http://glbt.tamu.edu/
Tulane University http://www.oma.tulane.edu/LGBT/Default.htm
University of Alaska http://www.uaf.edu/agla/
University of California, Davis http://lgbtrc.ucdavis.edu/
University of California, San Francisco http://lgbt.ucsf.edu/
University of Colorado http://www.colorado.edu/glbtrc/
University of Florida http://www.dso.ufl.edu/multicultural/lgbt/
University of Hawaiÿi, Mnoa http://manoa.hawaii.edu/lgbt/
University of Utah http://www.sa.utah.edu/lgbt/
University of Virginia http://www.virginia.edu/deanofstudents/lgbt/
Vanderbilt University http://www.vanderbilt.edu/lgbtqi/