My contribution this week to the Rainbow Snippets meme comes from “Loggerhead,” my short story about a married gay couple who finally get the honeymoon they never had. Here, their affectionate bickering hints to the fact that they’ve been together for much longer than most honeymooners:
I was a Midwestern farm boy, and despite having moved to the East Coast after high school and never looking back, the ocean still felt magical to me. The sea air as we approached the coast in our rental car tasted like a lover’s skin – warm and salty, homecoming and other-worldly delight.
“We should move down here,” I said, starting a conversation we had every time we came to Florida.
“You’d miss the fall colors,” Jake said. “This town has fewer residents than our condo building. And the closest gay bar is a twenty-mile drive up the interstate.”
“Key West, then.”
“Still no fall colors. No scarves and peacoats. No winter fashions. No ice skating in the park.”
“I’m too old to care about fashion anymore,” I said. “And one of these days I’ll fall and break a hip on the ice.”
“You’re thirty-nine, Eric. Not eighty.”
“Loggerhead” is in my anthology Falling Hard: Stories of Men in Love, and you can also find it in the multi-author anthology Sexy to Go Gay Romance, available for pre-order now.
Find more Rainbow Snippets on the Rainbow Snippets Facebook page or by looking for #rainbowsnippets on twitter. It’s a great way to discover new authors! And feel to free to browse other story snippets I’ve posted on my blog.
LOL @ the last line. Love the easiness of the conversation — sounds like they’ve had it a couple hundred times before.
Thanks! I’m glad these guys brought a smile to your day. 🙂
Sensually visual and down to earth at the same time.
That’s what I strive for! Thank you.
Loved the description of the sea.
Thank you! I love the smell of ocean.
I’m with Jake on the fall colors and the winter, although…the ocean! Maybe they could do timeshare? 🙂 The back-and-forth with these two is great!
Or maybe they could move to coastal Massachusetts. Or Delaware. Fall colors *and* ocean! Thanks for commenting. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
I loved the comfortable feeling from the line about how they have the same conversation every time they visit the state.
Thank you! They’ve been married a few years now and have their patterns 😉
Bahaha! That last line got me. I wasn’t expecting that. But also, I would definitely trade in fall colors for not being cold or having to shovel snow.
I’m glad you liked that line. The conversation might be slightly autobiographical, at least the “I’m old”/”No you’re not” exchange.
I always vacillate on whether it’s better to live in the north or the south. On the one hand, winters are not so cold in the south. On the other hand, there’s summer and hurricanes to worry about (well, at least in the southeast). I used to live in the southeast and the summer weather would set off my migraines. But peaches and a long growing season … Ha. Maybe Jake and Eric are just two aspects of me 😉
Beautiful description! This is my favorite story from the collection (followed closely by Rough Love). The feeling it left in me was the warmest and the most complete from all the stories I read this year.
Oh my goodness. I am so honored. Thank you!
I love Loggerhead <3
And thanks for thinking about my book budget and posting something I've already bought this week 😉
Ha ha! And thank you! 🙂
*lol* Love their banter. I’d give up fall leaves to live near the ocean again in a heartbeat. <3
Thank you! I know what you mean, too. I am so far away from the ocean.
This snippet made me smile. Love the feel of it.
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it.