Confessions of a Torquere Short Story Slut

I really shouldn't be allowed to go shopping at Torquere on my own. Sigh. I am such an impulse buyer. Yes, I am the woman who buys chocolate bars and gum at the grocery store check-out. Ah well, this is better for me than chocolate.

Persistence Pays by Mara Ismine (29 pages)

Asa is a martial arts sword enthusiast who works at a library and would rather stay home and read. Tan, his friend, is the exact opposite, outgoing, sees casual sex as a sport and tries to get Asa into bed. Asa finds him wildly attractive but doesn't want to be a casualty of Tan's lifestyle so pushes him away. Tan shows up soaking wet and manages to wangle an invitation to sleep on the couch. The next morning Asa's parents show up unexpectedly. His parents were very accepting when he came out and figure Tan is his boyfriend, despite his denials, and invite him to join them at the museum. Tan and Asa's parents get along great and finally that night Tan reveals that he wants Asa for more. The story of the surly quiet guy and the slutty outgoing friend who really love each other is pretty standard, what stood out in this book, an author I'd never read, were Asa's parents. I was chuckling out loud. His parents were brilliant. His mom had been reading up on gay sex and relationships, she was ogling Tan's ass, his Dad was laughing at the whole thing, Asa was dying at the idea of his parents imagining him having sex. Funny line:

"Why couldn't you be normal parents and disown me for being gay?" I didn't really mean to say that, it just sort of slipped out. I didn't want them to disown me. Not most of the time.

"Sorry, son, you just aren't that lucky," Dad said in a commiserating voice. "You are stuck with us."

So if you are looking to try a new author and a story with some humour and the kind of parents you hope to read about it's worth a read.

Flame by Eden Winter (12 pages)

This was recommended by Jen in her Saturday Shorts and I'm a sheep. :-) But I'm glad I was. This is a fantasy story about Kai and Rayken. Rayken and his tribe save Kai's village, however he is left with no family so Rayken takes him with him. When Kai is of age he mates with Rayken and is very happy. However now Rayken and his tribe are about to enter a battle against a violent enemy. I won't go into details of what happens to keep it a surprise, but I was really impressed by this story. I loved how it used Kai's memories of what happened to explain how they got be where they are. Rayken and Kai's relationship was filled with love and Kai was totally accepted by Rayken's tribe and he was learning about was myth and what was real about these legendary warriors. The ending was very touching and almost led to a sniffly moment, a happy sniffle. As Jen noted, so much background and story was there in 12 pages. A really excellent little story.

Head over Heels, Inches of Trust 5 by A.R. Moler (13 pages)

Did I not say that I wouldn't spend more money on this series? Sigh. I'm an eternal optimist. This is more of cop Tristan and architect Brian. Late at night Tristan shows up at is door with a black eye and sprained wrist. He got pushed down a flight of stairs and had nowhere to go. Brian takes him in and takes care of him. He finally finds out why Tristan is so stand-offish. Tristan's partner died in a car crash (work partner) and his boyfriend left him because he didn't get why Tristan would be upset. He seems to finally get it in this one that Brian is not going to bail on him but I'm not really sure that it was the end. Although under the influence of some good drugs Tristan says the L-word but they don't discuss it. So I'm not sure if #6 is going to show up, I'm torn between being pissed off and desperate to see them truly HEA.

On Call: Dancing by P.D. Singer (16 pages)

This is the continuation of the story of vet Dante and doctor Keith. They've been dating for a while and Dante wants to go dancing. Keith HATES dancing, and has two left feet but when Dante insists he agrees. On the way to the club they witness an accident and stop to help the injured people. They also find an injured dog and end up back doing surgery rather than dancing. They do some private dancing and after some satisfying smexin' Dante confesses why he wanted to go dancing THAT night. It pushes all Keith's buttons and he as to work through feeling betrayed. I think this was a nice follow-up to the first and while I suppose there could be a third story, I would be happy to have it end here with a satisfying conclusion.