Hard Count: Book One of The Piper Ashton Saga by Lucas Malone

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Book Title: Hard Count: Book One of The Piper Ashton Saga

Author and Publisher: Lucas Malone

Cover Artist: Erin Craig

Release Date: July 9, 2026/Paperback: July 31, 2026

Genres:  Dark MM Sports Romance

Tropes: Forbidden love, forced proximity

Themes: Coming out

Heat Rating: 4.5 flames

Length:  67 000 words/369 pages

This is book one of the series and ends on a cliffhanger.

Goodreads

Buy Links - Available in Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US  |   Amazon UK  |   B&N

Two rival quarterbacks. One owned by a monster and a wink.

LET THE GAY FOOTBALL SEX OPERA BEGIN.

Blurb

Meet Piper Ashton.
Football consumed Piper.
Every snap, every route, every victory was a masterclass in control.
Until Noah Reyes.
Piper’s rival quarterback, who smiled like sin and threw like a freight train
Noah was the one player who could make Piper’s perfect world crack wide open with nothing but a wink across the line of scrimmage.
An obsession, so all-consuming, that two of the league’s most watched men began making the kind of mess that could end careers, reputations and their lives.
The truth is, Piper’s life was never really his to begin with. It belongs to a powerful billionaire who has spent years pulling every string in his life, and that man doesn’t share.

One championship.

One forbidden, toxic obsession.

One secret that could burn the entire league to the ground.

But first… a WARNING.
Hard Count is an unapologetically dark MM romance. It contains explicit sexual content, psychological abuse, coercive control, alcoholism, homophobia, eating disorders, trauma, gun violence, coarse language, and other disturbing themes. If you’re looking for a lighthearted sports romance, this isn’t it.

Excerpt - Chapter Seven

Los Angeles

The studio smelled of hot lights and baby oil.
Taxidermy lions stood between the lighting rigs, frozen mid-snarl and paws up. The campaign concept was developed by a gay 32-year-old marketing major from USC named Taylor Love. The idea he developed was beasts in briefs.
Piper arrived first. He always did. Lighting rigs, black backdrop, concrete floor, photographer already moving between equipment with restless energy.
“Hey I’m Taylor, nice to meet you Piper, I work on the marketing team. We really appreciate you signing on to this, it’s gonna be fire,” he said, seemingly coming out of nowhere and pouncing on Piper.
“Nice to meet you too, Taylor. The lions are quite the touch,” Piper replied.
“Ya, kind of extra, but who doesn’t like extra, right?” Taylor laughed as Piper nodded his head and smirked.
The wardrobe assistant landed next and handed him the campaign look without making eye contact, which he appreciated, because Piper hated small talk and Taylor spent thirty seconds depleting his quota for the day. He changed quickly into animal print boxer briefs that left nothing to the imagination.
When he stepped onto the set, the photographer looked at him for two seconds.
“Damn. That body is doing its thing,” he said as he looked Piper up and down. Joan, this fucking pervert better not test me.
Piper rolled his eyes knowing if he said what he wanted to say, Joan might leave him, and he hit his mark.
Flash. Flash. Flash.
He moved with the precision he used on the field. His chin up, no smile, jaw on point, shoulders back. Every motion deliberate. An assistant applied oil to his shoulders and chest. He closed his eyes for a second and when he opened them, the photographer was leering at him like a dog with rabies. “Good, you’re doing great,” the photographer muttered. “Don’t think. Just be beautiful for me.”
He was thinking. He never stopped thinking. His layered thoughts often got the better of him. Just do what you’re told like you always do. Be a good boy like they want you to be, Piper thought as he changed positions.
The studio doors opened.
The room stopped. Piper felt it before he turned around.
Noah Reyes strutted across the concrete floor without urgency. He was wearing dark jeans with a shirt hugging his chest and biceps that appeared one flex from splitting the seams. Hair slightly damp, as if he’d come straight from the shower. An excess of David Yurman jewelry that he somehow got away with. His eyes found Piper across the studio immediately. He smiled, then nodded.
“Ashton.”
“You’re late as fuck,” Piper said annoyed at Noah’s arrogance.
“Got pulled over for speeding.”
Piper didn’t believe him. Noah walked into rooms late because he wanted them to wait.
Noah glanced toward the wardrobe rack, then back.
“Nice setup, are these lions real taxidermy?”
“Do you really think PETA would allow that? Go fucking change,” Piper said.
“Noah, they’re stuffed animals. Didn’t the team make them look hyper-realistic?” Taylor said, looking up at Noah’s towering stature as his eyes zeroed in on his bulging arms and muscular chest etched through his t-shirt. Taylor was in heaven at this moment. Two of the hottest quarterbacks in the league in his campaign.
Noah’s grin widened. “Got it. I gotta change before Piper stabs my eyes out with that stare.”
He was gone for twenty minutes. Piper shot two more setups while he was away. He didn’t watch the wardrobe area. He hit his marks and told himself today was a job.
Noah stepped back onto the set in a pair of animal print boxer briefs. Piper slowly turned his head Noah’s way like he was in some sort of slow-motion fantasy he saw in a movie. The outline of Noah’s cock noted and impressive.
That giant cock is going to need to be airbrushed out of these shots, Piper informed Joan, and returned his eyes to the photographer.
“Gentlemen,” the photographer said. “Face each other like you’re each other’s prey.”
They did. The studio quieted when something was working. Piper held his posture. Noah held his gaze.
The camera fired.
Flash. Flash. Flash.
“Closer, keep selling this hunger!”
They stepped forward simultaneously.

About the Author 

Lucas Malone writes glossy novels that feel like Thelma & Louise put the keys into their 1966 Ford Thunderbird and, instead of driving off a cliff, drove straight into a power plant across the street from a Birkin factory.

When he is not writing, he is watching far too many movies, and trying to live a normal life collecting material for the continuing Piper Ashton Saga.

He has a particular weakness for Paul Verhoeven movies and attractive people making terrible decisions.

Social Media Links

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Series Tour - Bonded by Love by Gabbi Grey

SERIES TOUR with NEW RELEASE

Bonded by Love Series 1 - 3 by Gabbi Grey

The books should be read in order.  

Books 1 & 2 are the same throuple (MMF) while book 3 is a new triad (MMM).  

Book 3 can be read as a standalone.

Overall Heat Rating for the series: 5 flames

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press

BOOK DETAILS

BOOK 1

Book Title:  Caressa’s Homecoming

Cover Artist: Diana Carlisle

Length:  280 pages

Release Date:  January 22, 2024

Pairing: MMF 

Tense/POV: first person/past tense/alternating POV

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Menage

Tropes: Friends to lovers

Themes: Coming out, bisexual awakening

Goodreads  |  Universal Buy Link

 Friends in childhood, friends as adults, friends in the bedroom.

Blurb 

Nurse Caressa Klein returns home to a quieter life in Vancouver, Canada, after five grueling years of working with patients in Africa. She’s ready to settle back into her relationship with her two best friends.

Engineer Michael Dubois has been in love with his best friend since the day she announced her departure overseas. He’s glad she’s back—now he wants to hold on to her forever.

Actor Cole Hamilton is also in love with his best friend. Or rather, both of them. They supported each other through harrowing childhoods. Cole wants to bring Caressa and Michael into his life and, more importantly, into his bed.

Can they move from friends to a throuple, or is their relationship destined to fail?

BOOK 2

Book Title:  Cole’s Reckoning

Cover Artist: Diana Carlisle

Length:  312 pages

Release Date:  July 15, 2024

Pairing: MMF 

Tense/POV: first person past tense alternating POV

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Menage

Tropes: Friends to lovers

Themes: Coming out, bisexual awakening

Book 1 should be read first.

Goodreads   |    Universal Buy Link

 Three inseparable friends – now three insatiable lovers?

Blurb 

Actor Cole Hamilton has finally convinced the two people he loves most in the world, Caressa Klein and Michael Dubois, to move in, join him in a throuple relationship, and set his bed on fire. But he fears his secrets—his real self—will drive them away.

Michael is stressed by his latest engineering project, but his two best friends turned hot lovers worry him more. Cole is too reckless, and Caressa keeps him guessing.

Caressa adores her two sexy men, but her past and tragedies in her nursing profession haunt her.

Can their love and friendship survive secrecy and the reopening of old wounds?

BOOK 3 - NEW RELEASE

Book Title:  Donovan’s Men

Cover Artist: Lisa Dawn McDonald

Length:  312 pages

Release Date:  August 3, 2026

Pairing: MMM

Tense/POV: first person past tense alternating POV.

Genres: Contemporary Romance, BDSM, Menage

Tropes: Forbidden love

It is a standalone story, but best read as book 3

It does not end on a cliffhanger

Goodreads   |   Universal Buy Link

From forbidden relationship to forever love. 

Blurb 

Police Officer Tyson McGillvary, newly divorced, is not looking for love—with anyone.

Psychologist Hamish McAllister helps patients deal with workplace violence. He’s never been in a relationship—with anyone.

Stunt coordinator Donovan Riggs, working in Vancouver, Canada, on a popular television show, isn’t looking for permanent. He enjoys relationships—with everyone.

When a tragedy thrusts all three men together, the attraction is instantaneous. While professional ethics keep Tyson and Hamish at a distance, Donovan connives to bring both men to his bed—together. As he loses his heart, can he convince them to break the rules, or at the end of the day, will they all go their separate ways?

Excerpt from Donovan’s Men

Donovan

“Is that toxic sludge?” Cole looked dubious.

I gave them my patented mock glare, mildly offended he would say that while drinking bitter, black coffee. “How you two stay healthy drinking that shit is beyond me. This is a spinach protein shake with probiotics and—”

“I’ll have you know this isn’t shit.” Cole held up what I knew to be his standard coffee. Then he pointed to what I safely assumed was Julie’s typical sugar caffeine bomb. “That’s shit.”

She nudged him.

I snickered. I loved the banter between these two. Their ease with each other meant that when I worked them hard, they could take it and dish it back. As stunt coordinator for the show, I worked intimately with them, honing their fighting skills and teaching them how to give the best shot while performing some pretty neat maneuvers. We used professional stunt doubles for the toughest stuff, but Julie and Cole insisted on doing as much as they could themselves.

Cole and I had come up through theater school together, but while I’d pivoted to stunts, he’d taken the acting track. As a tall, gorgeous man with midnight-black hair that brushed his shoulders and dark-blue eyes that smoldered, he had women—and men—fawning all over him.

Julie, while a foot shorter, held her own. Her long white-blonde hair was her signature trait while her jade-green eyes spoke of mystery and intrigue. The former gymnast cut quite a wallop in a tiny package.

After taking a sip, Cole turned to me. “Hey, and what was with kissing Michael?” Cole tried to replicate my mock glare but failed miserably. He was clearly more curious than annoyed about why I’d kissed his amour at the gala on Saturday night.

“Just a peck.” I ribbed him. “Don’t worry, I’m not poaching.” Cole’d been busy with his girlfriend, Caressa. Their attendance at the gala had tongues wagging in Vancouver—and around the world—if the entertainment shows were any indication. Cole was one of the sexiest actors on the planet, and his being taken caused ripples.

I’d happily brought along the third member of their triad. Michael was pretty new to the whole bisexual thing, as well as the ménage thing, but Cole had wanted him there to see things were on the up and up. And not to let the man feel left out. Michael and I had gone…well, not on a date. More as friends and supporters of Cole as well as Julie and actor Elouise Hynes.

Julie watched Cole intently. “Are you planning to come out as a threesome? You know how insane that thought is, right?”

I eagerly awaited his answer as, in my peripheral vision, I caught sight of our caterer and first aid attendant, Meggibeth, approaching us. Cole held up his cup in salute—obviously to thank her for the great coffee.

In that instant, I realized she’d pulled a gun from her pocket.

Several things happened simultaneously.

Cole dropped his coffee. The cup hit the ground, and the brown liquid spilled onto the roadway where we stood.

I dropped my spinach shake, and the bottle bounced but didn’t break.

Meggibeth pulled the trigger.

About the Author  

USA Today Bestselling author Gabbi Grey lives in beautiful British Columbia where her fur baby chin-poo keeps her safe from the nasty neighborhood squirrels. Working for the government by day, she spends her early mornings writing contemporary, gay, sweet, and dark erotic BDSM romances. While she firmly believes in happy endings, she also believes in making her characters suffer before finding their true love. She also writes m/f romances as Gabbi Black and Gabbi Powell.

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Out Now - Feral Hearts by A.J. Church

RECENT RELEASE

Book Title: Feral Hearts

Author: A.J. Church

Publisher: Nytshadow Publishing

Cover Artist: Gigi at G-Cat Designs

Release Date: July 17, 2026

Tense/POV: First person, dual POV

Genres: Contemporary MM Romance

Tropes: Enemies to lovers, slow burn, hurt/comfort, mutual obsession

Themes: Bisexual awakening, mental health

Length: 129,000 words/565 pages

It is the first book in a standalone series and does not end on a cliffhanger.

Heat Rating: 4 flames

Goodreads

Buy Links - Available in Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US  |  Amazon UK

There’s nothing closer to love than a good hatred.

Blurb

Aubie

I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth, but I’ve never let that stand in the way of my two favorite past times–breaking hearts and disappointing my family. An ardent fan of the smooth line and shallow hookup, I excel at keeping things gliding on the surface. Feelings, when I have them, are reserved for the few I call friends. Until the night I walk into Club Eros and come face to face with Cutter Knight. Tall, dark, and mouthwateringly handsome, he’s also an uptight prick. Doesn’t stop me from wanting to toss all my rules out the window for just one taste.

Cutter

Once upon a time I was the golden boy of my family. Future planned out. Ducks all in a row. Then my idiot brother threw my world into a tailspin. Now I go out of my way to avoid his type, which is why I hate Aubie Gauthier. He’s a spoiled brat with an old money trust fund and a reputation for being a shameless slut. And for some reason he’s set his sights on me. I’m not gay, and even if I was, I wouldn’t be interested in someone like Aubie. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to matter to him.

Excerpt from Chapter 1

“FIRST TIME?”

I glance up at the tall hunk standing next to me and shake my head.

“Don’t be nervous,” he says with a smile. “You’ll do fine.”

“Oh, I’m not nervous.” More like excited.

I’ve spent two days working on my routine. The biggest part of that was selecting my outfit. I chose a charcoal gray velvet jacket, sheer black shirt, slinky black silk pants and dance slippers. I kept my makeup to just some eyeliner and a little shadow. I’m going for a debaucherous lord of the manor aesthetic. I picked out my music–Parked Outside by the Afghan Whigs–and threw it on a thumbdrive for the DJ, then loaded everything in a suit bag.

I stand when the stage manager calls my name and head through the short hallway to the front of the house. From the moment I stroll onto the stage and my music starts to play, I know I’m home. The mechanics of taking off my clothes are secondary to having all those eyes watching me undress, knowing that I’ll soon be naked in front of them. I nearly come before the first article of clothing hits the floor.

After dancing provocatively for half a minute, I unbutton the jacket and flash my chest under the sheer black shirt while sliding the fingers of one hand into my mouth and sucking each one dry. When I’ve got their attention, I start to lose clothing. Jacket first. One shoulder at a time. Once it’s gone, I run my fingers down the front of the shirt, unbuttoning as I go. I dance like that for a chorus with my best bedroom eyes, daring the audience to look away.

You don’t want to miss this.

My hand slides down inside my waistband, making a show of cupping my stiffening cock before pulling on the drawstring to untie my pants. I bite my lip and offer a naughty grin as I let go of the string. The silky fabric slides down my legs to pool at my feet.

I step out of them and strut over to the pole, arching my back and tangling my hands above my head as I start to writhe my back against it. The shirt slides off my shoulders and I let it drop to the floor, leaving me in nothing but the sheer thong. The flimsy garment barely contains my straining cock.

I caress myself while I dance, lost in the music.

Lost in the moment.

The sexual tension in the room is exquisite. Like a bow string being pulled taut. The music vibrates against me and I grind my hips to its beat, letting my mouth drop open to rim my lips with a teasing tongue. Come taste me, my eyes say.

I can feel it. They’re hungry for me.

For me.

Let’s give them what they want. I slide my hands down my chest to fondle my nipples, causing my cock to noticeably twitch. At this rate I’ll be making a mess on this stage. I move my hands down to my hips then turn away and rotate my hips, humping the air. Wishing I had a warm body to fuck right now. I can at least make them think I do.

I slide my fingers under the thin straps of the thong and bend over to slowly roll it down my legs, baring my hole. I look over my shoulder to get their response.

Now this is addictive. All those eyes, all this bare flesh. How could they possibly not want me?

I turn to face my admirers, finally free to prowl the stage completely naked.

And prowl I do, vacillating between bold, come hither looks and coy smiles with just enough of my inner slut to make my moves seductively feline. I know I hit the sweet spot when people start squirming in their seats. One man in the front row yells, “Oh honey, let me help you with that,” when I slide my finger over the head of my cock and bring it to my nose. I take a deep whiff before plunging the finger between my lips and moaning.

Damn, I’m turning myself on.

About the Author 

Growing up a military brat meant I was always the new kid in school, so my friends were often the characters I found in the books I read and later wrote. I love dreaming up bad boys and the trouble they can get into, and lucky for them, I’m a sucker for a well-earned happily ever after. Or at least a happily for now.

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The Dark Before Dawn by Thom Collins

NEW RELEASE

Book Title: The Dark Before Dawn

Author: Thom Collins 

Publisher: Entwined Publishing

Cover Artist: Kelly Martin

Release Date: July 7, 2026

Tense/POV: Third person

Genres: Contemporary MM Romance, Mystery/suspense/thriller

Tropes: Friends to lovers, cop, stalker

Length: 68 500 words

Heat Rating: 4 flames

It is a standalone story that is part of a wider series 

(book four in the Basic Instincts series) 

and does not end on a cliffhanger.

Goodreads 

Buy Links

Universal Link   |  First For Romance 

A brutal killer. An unwitting witness. A cop caught in the middle of a deadly pursuit.

Blurb

A brutal killer. An unwitting witness. A cop caught in the middle of a deadly pursuit.

Jude Kalvert is glad to be back in his home city and playing gigs around his favourite bars. Blyham is a dangerous place, and things seem only to have got worse in the time he’s been away. It’s not safe to be out alone at night, but when Jude runs into an old school friend after one of his shows, things don’t appear so bad after all.

Danyal Nadir has changed a lot since they knew each other. He’s a cop for one thing, newly appointed to act as liaison between the police and the LGBTQ+ community. And he’s come a long way from the shy, bullied kid Jude remembers from school. The adult Danyal is strong, confident and very attractive. Both men jump at the chance to get reacquainted.

But that first night is not as safe as it appears. Jude discovers that he’s one of the last people to have seen a murder victim alive. Soon the killer has Jude and Danyal in his sights. On the run and desperate, there’s no limit to what he’ll do. As their friendship turns to passion, their new beginning could be the end of them.

Reader advisory: This book contains scenes of violence, gore and murder, as well as homophobia and racial slurs.

Excerpt 

The police officer was incredibly good looking. He appeared mixed race, maybe of South Asian heritage with a strong, stubbled jaw and cleft chin. The body beneath the dark uniform was finely shaped. He could almost be a stripper in a cop costume rather than the real thing.

But Jude knew better than to be distracted by a hot guy and maintained his guard.

The cops’ eyes narrowed as he came nearer.

“Jude?” he asked. “Jude Kalvert?” His accent was a blend of light Scottish with a strong inflection of North East England. “Jude Kalvert? It is you, right?”

There was something familiar that Jude couldn't quite place. Maybe they had met on a cruise sometime. He saw hundreds of new faces each week, and it wasn't always easy to remember them.

“Yes,” he said. The man seemed friendly enough, but he was still wary of the uniform.

The serious cop face was transformed by a beautiful smile. “I thought I recognised you. It's Danyal Nadir. I don't know if you remember me. We were at school together.”

Jude had hated school. As the only openly gay kid in his year, the school years had been a misery of bullying, slurs and abuse. He hadn't kept in touch with a single pupil from those days. Whenever anyone reached out to him on social media, he rejected the friend request. Twelve years since he last sat in a classroom, the trauma was still too raw.

Danyal Nadir. That name did ring a bell though.

He dug into his memory. Yes. A skinny kid who had transferred into his class when he had been around ten years old. They had never been friends but had bonded in a strange way because they were tormented by many of the same bullies. Jude for his odd looks, interest in theatre and later for his open sexuality. Danyal, for his mixed heritage- his mother was white-Scottish and his father Indian- and what was considered a strange accent. 

Jesus, that school was a fucking cesspit. He prickled at the memory.

“Oh my God,” Jude said. He had to work hard to see anything of that timid kid in this strapping policeman. And yet it was there. In his eyes. And in the rare time he'd seen Danyal smile at school – the smile was the same. “You've changed so much.”

And you’re gorgeous.

A shy chuckle and Danyal’s eyes looked Jude over too, taking him all in. “So have you, but somehow I recognised you. When I saw you get out of the car, I was almost certain it was you.”

Jude felt a warmth spread over his face. Danyal was making him nervous. Not in the intimidating cop way he'd initially expected, but in the hot and bothered want-to-get-into-his-pants way. But no chance. This was Danyal Nadir. The wee kid from Blyham High.

“I didn't know you became a police officer.” Stupid comment. There was no reason he would. They hadn't seen each other in years.

“It's been a decade now. How about you? What are you up to?”

“I'm a singer. Just finished a gig tonight. I'm about to get some food before heading home.” Old acquaintance or not, he was not about to admit to his plan of visiting The Viaduct.

Danyal checked his watch. “Mind if I join you for ten minutes? I'm due a break and I'm parched.”

It was Jude's turn to smile widely. “I'd love it. I'm just heading around the corner.”

About the Author 

Thom Collins is the author of the Jagged Shores series and the Anthem Trilogy as well as numerous standalone novels and novellas. 

His latest series Basic Instincts launched in spring 2025 with the novel Now Comes the Dark.

Thom has lived in the North East of England his whole life. He grew up in Northumberland and now lives in County Durham with his husband and two cats. He loves all kinds of genre fiction, especially bonk-busters, thrillers, romance and horror. He is also a cookery book addict with far too many titles cluttering his shelves. When not writing he can be found in the kitchen trying out new recipes. He’s a keen traveler but with a fear of flying that gets worse with age, but in 2013 he realized cruising is the best way to see the world.

Check out his website for news updates and a free ebook The Night.

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Johnny Ultra by Kristoffer Gair

NEW RELEASE

Book Title: Johnny Ultra

Author and Publisher: Kristoffer Gair

Cover Artist: Ed Murphy

Release Date: June 26, 2026

Tense/POV:  Third person

Genres: Young Adult, Superhero, Comedy

Tropes: Reluctant Hero

Themes: Friendship

Heat Rating:  No sexual content

Length: 84 000 words/ Approx 270 pages

It is a standalone story and does not end on a cliffhanger. There is the promise of possibly continuing.

Goodreads 

Buy Links - Available in Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US   |   Amazon UK 

Not all heroes are adults.

Blurb

Not all heroes are adults.

Tragedy struck Gabriel Fletcher at the age of eight. Losing his parents felt catastrophic enough, but to be sent to live with his aunt and uncle who didn’t want him? Life couldn’t get much worse.

Sho Tashiro only ever wanted a best friend—someone to share adventures and play video games with—and who wouldn’t make fun of his heritage or treat him like a sidekick.

Little did they know their meeting and years of friendship that followed might be more than fate. What if every world in every universe had a Gabriel and a Sho? And what would happen if Earth was invaded by a creature that threatened to annihilate everything they loved?

One trained in martial arts + one with self-proclaimed superior Asian genetics = a friendship and adventure that feels like they jumped right out of their favorite science fiction TV shows and movies they watched as children!

The fate of the world is in the hands of two fifteen-year-old boys. What could go wrong?

Excerpt 

“So”—Mike interrupted what might quickly turn into an even more awkward conversation—“are you and Sho—”

“No.” Gabriel realized why someone might think he and Sho were together. They certainly bickered like an old married couple.

“By Hachiman, the Shinto god of war, no.” Sho folded his arms. “The clueless Caucasian child here should be so lucky.”

Gabriel rolled his eyes. “If that’s what you call lucky.” They’d kill each other. Absolutely kill each other.

They continued toward B House at a leisurely pace.

“I am his type, though,” Sho continued.

Mike peered at Gabriel. “You have a type?”

“Don’t even think about it, Sho.”

“Myself?” Of course Sho would find a way to inject a bit of himself into his explanation. “I prefer blondes because gentlemen prefer blondes... or at least that’s a movie title I heard someone from the drama club mention. I like blonde girls, if you need me to be more specific. I like a little yin with my yang, a little light with my striking, dashing, and sophisticated dark.” The explanation was getting a bit thick, even for Sho. “Gabe here likes ‘ese’.”

Mike arched an eyebrow. “‘ese’?”

“Stop.” Gabriel knew what was coming, and that it was payback for mentioning Sho’s attempt at handling a sword.

“Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese—”

Gabriel cringed. “This is how rumors get started.”

“—Taiwanese, Burmese—”

“Please use your internal voice,” Gabriel pleaded and wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead.

“Shall I mention the Japanese actor on Kamen Rider Den-O who started you on your way through that minefield in a boy’s life known as puberty?” Sho asked matter-of-factly.

“I’d rather you didn’t.”

“Or the Chinese assistant instructor in that class you take after school you don’t like anybody knowing about?”

“What about him?”

Sho grinned. “You said one look in his eyes and he restored your faith in an afterlife and the concept of reincarnation.”

Gabriel desperately tried to think of a reason that sounded remotely plausible. “He brought out the deeper thoughts in my life.”

“Then there was his Vietnamese friend—”

“Sho—”

“—who you said made you experience multiple sarcasms while trying to show off how amusing you think you are every time he spoke to you. I’d be remiss, of course, if I didn’t remind you about the Taiwanese exchange student we had last year.”

“Quit exaggerating!” Gabriel wiped his forehead again before sweat dripped into his eyes.

“Procter & Gamble actually sent you a personalized Christmas card for single-handedly keeping the demand for Puffs Super Soft Tissues alive during those months.”

“I hate you.” Gabriel’s face raged like an inferno. “Don’t let Sho talking about being a samurai fool you, Mike, or any of the other words that fly out of his mouth because he wasn’t born with a filter. Sho’s actually one of the most down-to-earth people I know, and the smartest. I have to struggle to get decent grades, and they come easy to him. Sho doesn’t brag about his grades, but he does frequently use his powers for evil, usually when he’s giving me a hard time, like now.”

Mike laughed. “So, Sho isn’t one of those Asian stereotypes who plays the violin or piano, or takes karate lessons?”

They reached the stairs and headed up.

“No. Not at all. He has a phenomenal talent for drawing, though. You should see all the scrapbooks he keeps his sketches and ideas in. They’re amazing!”

“And don’t let Gabe here fool you either.” Sho added his two cents. “I may tease him from now until eternity, but he’s the one who took piano lessons—”

“Free lessons from a community center, thank you.” Gabriel rolled his eyes. The lessons hadn’t been anything fancy or above his means. Someone somewhere at the community center knew he was an orphan, the secretary there had called him with the offer, and he’d decided to give it a try. It got him out of an empty house.

“—and while he may let the bullies pick on him, he’s actually got a second degree—”

“Sho!” Gabriel snapped.

About the Author 

Kristoffer Gair grew up in Fraser, MI and is a graduate of Grand Valley State University. He currently lives in a suburb of Detroit.

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