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Category: Erotica/Gay-Lesbian Erotica/Romance
Description: Connor Morgan lives a life of mediocrity. Hopelessly single, he spends his time working at the video store with his insane friend Boyd. But Connor gets the distraction he needs in the form of his newest customer: beautiful, green-eyed Dane Masters. Before Connor can wrap his mind around their instant connection, he's dealing with the kind of obsession that can only lead to disaster. With Boyd's dubious help, Connor manages to get Dane on a date, and soon they're racing towards something that looks like a relationship. But fate has no intention of letting them find happiness so easily...
eBook Publisher: Cobblestone Press, 2010
eBookwise Release Date: August 2010

34 Reader Ratings:

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Available eBook Formats: OEBFF Format (IMP) [90 KB]
Words: 18716
Reading time: 53-74 min.

"You suck," said Boyd.

Connor threw popcorn at him. "You suck." Because he was nothing if not mature. The popcorn landed squarely in the centre of Boyd's gaping hole of a mouth. Connor smirked.

"You were saying?"

"Whatever," Boyd said, chewing. "One shot in ten doesn't make you any good."

"Maybe if you quit moving..." Connor lined up another shot.

Boyd stayed still, mouth open. The popcorn hit his ear. "Yeah," he drawled. "It's totally my fault."

Someone to the left cleared their throat. Connor startled, unprepared for an actual customer to appear. He turned, polite smile pasted on.

Which died immediately. Because, um. Hello, green eyes and perfect bone structure.

"Am I interrupting something?" asked Green Eyes, one eyebrow cocked.

"Yeah," said Boyd, because he was a douche who didn't understand how life worked. "Me wiping the floor with this moron."

Green Eyes' other eyebrow went up to join the first. "Ah. The noble challenge of popcorn throwing." He nodded, as though he was really fucking serious, and took a half step back. "I'll just wait here."

With Green Eyes watching and Boyd waiting with his mouth hanging open, Connor was under the kind of pressure only known by brain surgeons. If he didn't make this next shot, he would die until he was totally dead.

"Come on," said Boyd. "Humiliate yourself."

The popcorn went so wide, Connor might as well have aimed for the pot plant halfway across the floor.

Green Eyes smiled, which was all kinds of not fair, and Connor tried to pretend his own face wasn't burning itself off.

"You know," said Green Eyes. "You kinda suck."

"He even swallows," said Boyd, because really. He was just that kinda guy. "Anyway, man, what can we do for you?"

Green Eyes looked away from Connor, turned his smile on Boyd, and placed a stack of three DVDs on the counter. "Just returning these."

"Finding Nemo," said Boyd, nosy as ever. "Shrek and...Cars. Let me guess. You were babysitting this weekend?"

Green Eyes looked startled for a moment, like everyone did when they realised Boyd had an insane gift for figuring out people based on their movie preferences. "What makes you think I didn't get them for my own kid?"

"You're not a father," Boyd said, snorting. "A real dad already owns this shit." He handed the DVDs to Connor, who set about scanning them to give himself something busy to do, rather than hovering around like the lame speechless guy who couldn't even pop a piece of popcorn into Boyd's big mouth.

Green Eyes looked mildly impressed. "You got me. I was watching my niece."

"Your nephew, dude. Don't try and catch me out. I'm too good."

"Right," said Green Eyes. He gave Boyd a long look. "You're weird."

Connor saw his opening. "It's a condition. We're trying to get him help but the doctors can't work it out."

Green Eyes smiled at him again. "One for the medical books?"

"Dicks," said Boyd, mildly. He took the DVDs from Connor's hand and wandered out back.

"Sorry about him," Connor said. "He never got the hang of talking to people. But he's kind of a genius, so." He didn't know why that was relevant. It seemed to be the standard response when apologising for Boyd. "Boyd's such a dick."--"Yeah, but he's a genius, so it's okay." Like if they refused to acknowledge Boyd's douchbaggery, when the time came to save the world from an apocalypse, Boyd would take pity on the morons around him and find the right formula.

"He is?" Green Eyes wore a dubious expression. Connor couldn't blame him.

"Supposedly. Anyway," he said, trying for his Professional Grin. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Um," said Green Eyes, staring at Connor's grin and looking totally blindsided. Connor wondered if he had something stuck in his teeth. "Uh, yeah." Green Eyes looked away, cleared his throat, retrieved a scrap of paper from his pocket. "I've been ordered to pick up these movies."

Connor took the paper. Moulin Rouge, Twilight and Step Up. His grin changed from professional to real in an instant. "You're supplying a girl's night in," he said. "Your girlfriend not feeling too good?"

Green Eyes blinked. "Close," he said. "But you're not as good as Weird Guy over there."

Boyd hollered, "Connor's my bitch!" from out back, and it hung between them for a moment, like one of Boyd's bad smells.

"Actually," Green Eyes continued, shaking off the odd moment. "My roommate's got her friends coming over to celebrate her breakup from this dick who used her for sex and treated her like shit and I have no idea why I'm telling you this," he finished, colouring slightly.

Connor smiled. "Because I'm the kind of guy who gives off 'tell me your secrets' vibes?"

"You're something," Green Eyes muttered, and Connor's stomach lurched. "Um. Can you help me find these, then?"

"Yeah, bitch," said Boyd, returning. "Go do some work. I'm not paying you to flirt."

In an effort to pretend he wasn't embarrassed, and to avoid looking at Green Eyes for his reaction--because luck hated Connor and would make Green Eyes straight, just for a laugh--Connor said, "You're not my boss, dude. You earn less than me."

Boyd waved a hand. "I'm the genius here, and the genius says earn your fucking keep."

With that, Connor did as he was told. "Um. Follow me."

Green Eyes trailed Connor as he picked out the movies, not speaking (which was weird), just watching (which was even weirder), until Connor rounded on him near the candy and popcorn stand and said, "You should probably get chocolate. It's not a girls' night without chocolate."

"You're an authority on girls' nights, are you?" But he reached for the chocolate anyway, quirking a shy smile, green eyes twinkling.

"Hey," said Connor, watching him. "What's your name? I can't keep thinking of you as 'Green Eyes'."

Green Eyes faltered. "You call me Green Eyes?" At Connor's nod, he said, "Why?"

"Because you have green eyes...?"

"No," said Green Eyes. "I mean. Why are you even noticing my eyes?"

"Well..." Was Boyd's inability to speak appropriately to humans rubbing off? "They're kind of on your face. Sorry. Didn't know they were a secret."

"They're not. I just." He looked all kinds of endearingly flustered, cheeks staining with pink and eyes looking at everything but Connor. Then he took a breath, looked up, and said, "Dane. My name's Dane."

Connor kinda needed a moment alone. "Okay, Dane. Well if you wanna take these up to the counter, Boyd'll sort you out."

Green Eyes--Dane--nodded, looked at Connor's mouth before meeting his eyes, then flushed darker. "I'll return them tomorrow."

"I'll be here." Connor didn't know why he said that. It seemed important.

"Okay," said Dane, staring. Then he gave an odd sort of self-deprecating laugh, raised the DVDs in his hand, and muttered, "Uh, thanks for these."

"No problem," said Connor. "It's my job."

Then he spent the rest of the night thinking about him.