GENRE: Gay Spicy Romance
LENGTH: 13,079 words
RATING:

Perpetually single and unlucky in love, Nathan is in his mid-thirties with no romantic prospects to be seen. According to his best friend Kat, he lets go of guys too easily and doesn’t fight for relationships to work. In a final act of desperation to meet someone, Nathan begrudgingly signs up for a class at the local community center. He hoped to take Beginner Spanish, but the class was full, and Nathan finds himself in a drab pottery class with a strict teacher.

However, Nathan’s luck changes when he meets Eduardo, a fellow student. He can barely keep his eyes off Eduardo, a man his age who is handsome, charming, and, most importantly, has an empty ring finger. After a flirty conversation after class, Nathan and Eduardo connect over their mutual desire to learn Spanish. They soon ditch the pottery class like mischievous school boys. Sharing a magical kiss makes Nathan’s heart flutter as he wonders if Eduardo is the one he’s been waiting for.

When Eduardo meets Nathan’s friends, he fits right in. Nathan can’t believe how well their relationship is going. That is, until Eduardo seems to be holding back and hiding something. When the reason for Eduardo’s secretive behavior is accidentally revealed, Nathan is left reeling. Will Eduardo’s trust issues ruin everything he and Nathan have built together? Is a relationship with Eduardo worth fighting for?

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

I arrived at class fifteen minutes early and sat down at my pottery wheel, eager to see Eduardo. Janet, the wine mom, tried to sit down at the empty seat beside me, but I quickly put out my arm to protect it.

“Sorry, this one’s taken,” I said with a forced smile.

Janet took her wine box to the other end and sat down. She glared at me as she took a glass from her purse and topped it off with red wine.

I’m not here to make friends, Janet, I thought to myself. I’m here to find a man. Pottery class is cutthroat.

Theodora began class, and I checked my watch -- 7:05. Where was Eduardo? I remembered all my pining and dreaming and lusting over him this past week, and I felt slightly embarrassed.

Maybe I got ahead of myself. We definitely had a connection when we spoke after class, right?

Fifteen minutes later, while Theodora was demonstrating how to use a wire to remove a finished piece from the pottery wheel, Eduardo burst through the door.

“Sorry,” he whispered and then he hastily sat down next to me and took off his coat. As he stretched his arm back to remove his coat, his shirt came up and I caught a glimpse of skin. His stomach was flat with a hairy happy trail. By the waistband of his underwear, I could tell he was wearing designer briefs.

“Shit,” I muttered involuntarily, my eyes glued to his waist.

“What’s that?” Eduardo asked, setting his coat behind him.

“Oh nothing,” I smiled sheepishly, hoping my face hadn’t flushed red from embarrassment. “I’m glad you made it.”

“Me, too,” he winked. “I got held up. I’m planning a birthday party for, um,” he hesitated. “My nephew. He’s turning twenty-one.”

“You sound like a fun uncle,” I said.

Theodora cleared her throat, and we looked to the front of the classroom, where she was glaring at us.

“This technique might not be everyone’s first choice to learn,” she said with a bitchy smile, “but it will prevent your pottery from exploding in the kiln. So let’s all pay attention.”

She turned back to her demonstration. I hadn’t felt scolded that harshly since my grandma caught me masturbating underneath her quilt during Wheel of Fortune.

Janet sneered at us from behind her wine glass, clearly already tipsy. Eduardo and I stifled laughter. It felt like we were mischievous kids in grade school, plotting how to stick a Kick Me sign on the principal’s back.

At the halfway point in class, Theodora let everyone have a ten-minute bathroom break. Janet cornered poor Xavier, the recent college graduate, in the corner of the classroom. He looked like we wanted to melt into the floor. Meanwhile, the old couple who had taken every class at the community center, Arthur and Louise, chatted with Theodora.

Eduardo and I chatted on a bench in the hallway outside the classroom.

“Did you remember your homework? Your Spanish words to teach me?” Eduardo asked.

“Of course! It was my idea in the first place,” I chuckled, and Eduardo grinned. I looked at his wide smile and the way it lit up his eyes, too.

I don’t think I could ever get tired of seeing him smile.

“What are your words then?” he asked.

I told him my words, and he hid a smirk when I ended with “boyfriend.”

“What a great list. Fantastico,” Eduardo said.

“Break is over everyone. Let’s get started,” Theodora called out from inside the classroom. We ignored her voice and continued chatting.

“Let me hear your words,” I said, wondering if his list would be as flirty as mine.

“Here we go,” Eduardo said, pulling out a slip of paper from his pocket. “Passion, lucky, dashing,” he glanced up at me with a twinkle in his eye before continuing. “Family, romance, chemistry, curiosity, and last but not least, husband.”

My jaw dropped. I couldn't believe he had chosen “husband.” I had considered choosing “husband” but had chickened out and chosen “boyfriend” instead.

Could we really be that in tune with each other? We both thought of subtly communicating our intentions for a real relationship?

It definitely felt like Eduardo was as serious about getting to know me as I was about getting to know him. He didn’t just want to hook up or have a fling, he wanted what I wanted: to find someone special and get married.

I smiled and felt that same warmth rush throughout my body. No other man had ever done that to me, but now Eduardo had twice.

Should I kiss him? I thought as I looked at Eduardo’s bearded face and his lips. The twinkle in his beautiful brown eyes told me he wanted to.