GENRE: Gay Spicy Romance (MMM)
LENGTH: 32,598 words
RATING:

Harrison Cooke, Camden Barrera, and Tristan Newman will be attending a party together while pretending they’re boyfriends, but in the process of getting to know one another, they develop real feelings. Normally, people who are in love will date and nurture their feelings before eventually finding their happily ever after. The end.

That isn’t the case for Harrison, Camden, and Tristan, though. Harrison is a control freak who gets jealous easily. Camden is an insecure attention-seeker. Tristan is a clingy man with a pretty face, and he’s afraid of opening up to Harrison and Camden about his past relationships. Worst of all, the three may talk about a lot of things, but they don’t communicate properly when it comes to the truly important issues.

Will Harrison, Camden, and Tristan succeed in working things out before the problems and misunderstanding break them apart for good?

EXCERPT:
Note: may contain sexually explicit scenes of a homoerotic nature.

“Do you work long hours at the art gallery?” Tristan asked, and Camden shook his head.

“Not really. Take today for example. I managed to return to my apartment on time because there wasn’t much going on. I could shower and relax a bit before you and Harrison came and picked me up. It depends on the number of transactions the gallery has at any particular moment. What are you studying at the community college?”

“Business Management,” Tristan replied. “I hope I can start my own business someday.”

“What kind?” Harrison inquired without taking his eyes off the road.

“As a consultant,” Tristan answered, and he seemed shy all of a sudden. “Or I may start my own business. I want to be as successful as Harrison is.”

Camden glanced at Harrison. He wanted to know how Harrison would react. He couldn’t help it. He was curious what Harrison’s type was. Maybe Harrison liked someone like Harrison who had an ethereally lovely face and a lean yet obviously muscled body. Over the years, Camden had received compliments for his handsome face and muscular body, but he might be a little too bulky for Harrison’s taste. Judging by the way Harrison was gazing at Tristan, it was highly possible that he liked someone with a smaller build. It was the first time in a while that Camden felt self-conscious about his body. He was too brawny. Moreover, he was rather annoyed by Tristan’s presence because he had to share Harrison’s attention with another person. It reminded him a little too much of his years of growing up with two siblings.

“I’m sure you can make it,” Harrison said while smiling at Tristan.

Tristan blushed even harder. “Thanks.”

Even though the backseat of Harrison’s ultra-luxurious car was amazingly comfortable and spacious, Camden had to do his best not to fidget. He had to force himself to smile while making small talks with Harrison and Tristan. He had no idea what Tristan’s relation was with Harrison. He had been taken aback when Harrison had fetched him from his apartment, and he saw that Tristan was occupying the passenger’s seat at the front of the car. He couldn’t remember much of what had happened afterward. The only thing he recalled was Harrison opening the door for him and gently ushering him into the back of the car.

Since then, he couldn’t stop staring at Tristan, and he wasn’t sure why exactly. There could be two reasons for that. The first was that he might be irrationally jealous of Tristan, which didn’t make sense since he and Harrison weren’t romantically involved. He was infatuated with Harrison, but that was nothing more than a one-sided crush. Harrison would never be interested in someone like Camden who really had nothing much to offer. The second possibility was that Camden was probably stunned by Tristan’s pretty face. He had encountered many good-looking people in the past, but Tristan was in a league of his own. Tristan’s face was too beautiful to be real. Camden shook that thought off and focused on the present moment instead.

“Does your family reside in Austin?”

Tristan abruptly appeared sad, and Camden knew he must have touched on a sore subject. “I don’t have any family left.”

Camden was mortified. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, man,” Harrison added.

Camden was taken aback. Apparently, Harrison didn’t know about Tristan’s family, or lack thereof, either. Maybe Tristan and Harrison were recently acquainted with each other.

“It’s cool,” Tristan said while beaming at Harrison and Camden. “I’m fine.”

Camden was thankful when Harrison suddenly brought up the party that would be held this Saturday because the mood inside the car was plummeting fast, and it was becoming rather tense. The conversation was flowing along smoothly until Harrison mentioned that he wished to bring both Camden and Tristan to the party. Camden had guessed that might be what Harrison had in mind, but he was still astonished when it was confirmed. He liked Tristan. He had nothing against Tristan. However, he considered Tristan as his competition. He didn’t have to be a mind-reader to be able to tell Tristan was romantically interested in Harrison.

Then he quietly chided himself. He and Harrison weren’t dating. Most importantly, Harrison wasn’t into Camden like that. Camden didn’t have the right to be annoyed and jealous. He kept reminding himself of that all the way to the tailor. He should be grateful that Harrison was at least treating him and Tristan equally. Harrison opened doors for Camden and Tristan, and he gave them more or less the same amount of attention as they made their way toward the two-story building where the tailor was waiting for them.