Men of Riverside Print Volume 3
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Men of Riverside Volume Three
Forgiving Jason
Jason vows to protect Steve from the bigots who attacked him, but can Steve forgive Jason for what he’s done?
Steve Jacobi is a window washer who is very focused on his financial independence. He’s always known that he’s bisexual, but never had the courage to approach one of the men he was interested in. Relationships have taken a back seat in his life...until goes car shopping and meets Jason Fortin.
Jason is a fun-loving salesman who likes his job. He hasn’t come out because he’s never met a man he was interested enough in. Yet he has no problem approaching Steve, and their relationship quickly develops to the point where Jason is ready for more.
But when bigots attack Steve, Jason reconsiders. Can Steve forgive him for the pain his protectiveness causes them both?
Reader Advisory: This book is the fifth in this series and the stories, while they can be read on their own, are best read in sequence.
Loving Vincente
William loves Vicente with all his heart, but can he give him the life he deserves, free from financial worries and danger, without making Vicente lose his self-respect?
William Fortin is a forensic scientist who has returned to Riverside after six years for his first job. He wants a social life and to settle down, and when he runs into his old crush from high school, Vicente Vasquez, he knows he has found the man of his dreams.
Vicente is a shy Mexican American who works hard so he can pay for the medical care his wheelchair bound father needs. He is a courier by day and a bartender by night, just to make ends meet. Dating the man who was his science tutor in high school is a dream come true.
But how can they possibly be partners when Vicente is struggling just to keep the creditors at bay and his traditional family can’t possibly find out he’s gay?
Reader Advisory: This book, whilst it can be read as a stand-alone story, is best read in sequence as part of a series.
Pages: 244
Words: 63,240
Heat Index:
Cover Artist: Posh Gosh
Book Type: Paperback
All Books, Men of Riverside, Paperbacks, Contemporary, Collection of Novellas
EXCERPT:
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Copyright © Serena Yates, 2011
All Rights Reserved, Total-E-Ntwined Limited, T/A Total-E-Bound.
Excerpt From: Forgiving Jason
Riverside, Texas
Saturday August 16, 2008
Shit, there were a lot of cars on display at his brother’s dealership. Steve Jacobi walked around in a daze. The sun beat down on the asphalt under his feet in the relentless way it had during summer. He was already thirstier than he wanted to think about, but this was an important day for him and he wasn’t going to interrupt his information-gathering because it was almost too hot to breathe.
He’d wanted his own car for so long, and now that his savings finally covered something less than a decade old, he was spoilt for choice. Carefully working his way along the lot’s perimeter, he made detailed notes.
He needed a practical, reliable sedan or hatchback that would get him to and from work, and maybe the occasional weekend fishing trip to Moon Lake, an hour or so south of Riverside. What he really wanted was one of the flashier, slightly newer sports cars that would probably break down at the first opportunity and saddle him with a lot of maintenance and repair costs to boot. But, oh, it would be such fun driving it along the highway.
He snorted at the thought. His co-workers would probably laugh their asses off, asking whom he was trying to impress. Since there was no fiancée, not even a girlfriend, he’d be wondering the same thing. Not that he was going to change his secret preferences just because he had a new car or anything.
“May I help you, sir?” The smooth male voice came from straight behind him
“Um…” Steve turned around, startled by the interruption.
The salesman who stood before him, wearing a friendly smile and a charcoal grey suit that made him look like a model fresh off the runway, was a good six inches shorter than Steve’s own six feet. He was slim, but had a strong upper body that filled the suit jacket well. His face was delicate, almost elfin in its beauty, topped off by short, blond hair with a nice wave. But the best part was his grey-green eyes. They peered at him with an intensity that made his cock stir in his suddenly tight pants.
The man looked awfully familiar. His head tilted as his gorgeous eyes crinkled at the corners and the smile gained in depth, now reflecting real emotion.
“Steve?” The salesman’s grin grew wider. “Is that really you?”
“Jason?” He had a hard time keeping his mouth from falling open. “Jason Fortin?”
God, the kid who’d been two years behind him in high school had sure grown up. Jason had always been good-looking, very popular and had gone out with every single cheerleader during Steve’s senior year. But he’d filled out some since then, and the interest now reflected in his gaze was more than disconcerting. What was up with that? Jason had always been straight. Surely it was too much to hope for him to have changed that much.
“Man, it’s good to see you.” Jason stuck out a hand. “What have you been up to?”
“Not much.” Steve shrugged as they shook hands, not wanting to go into his lack of professional success.
It was a sore point at the best of times, and he had no intention of sharing his lack of accomplishments with Jason, who had obviously done very well for himself. Shit, the man was a salesman at one of the largest car dealers in Riverside just over two years out of high school. Steve’s older brother, Tim, had taken over the car dealership from their parents last year when they’d retired to Arizona, and had made it a huge success by reaching out to younger customers. What was his job as a mere window washer compared to that?
“I don’t believe that.” Jason let go of his hand much more slowly than expected. “Right now’s not the time to get into that, but I’d love to find out what you’ve been up to. Maybe we can go for a drink or something later tonight?”
“Sure.” Was Jason asking him out? Shit, he had to get his libido under control. He was too much of a coward to do anything about the attraction he felt, and nothing about Jason indicated that he was even remotely interested in him other than as a potential buddy.
“Okay, we can agree the details later.” Jason looked around the lot, waving his hand in a circular motion. “See anything you like?”
“It’s more about finding what I need.” He hated admitting it, but it was the sad truth.
Jason frowned for a second, but his smile quickly returned.
“I’m sure I can help you with that as well.” Jason pointed at a group of vehicles in the eastern corner of the lot. “We’ve got several of what you might call the more practical makes over there. A lot of people are looking for more reliable, lower cost and fuel models these days, so we’ve created an area for the cars fulfilling that demand. Would they be closer to what you’re looking for?”
“Yes, they would be.” He followed Jason to the indicated corner, carefully wiping the beads of sweat from his forehead as they walked. He was relieved to see that the price tags matched his budget much better that those of the cars he’d been looking at so far. “That’s pretty clever.”
“Well, yes, my boss has this knack of finding out what his customers want then making it happen. Many of the older salesmen attacked him for ruining a system that’s always worked, but you can’t really argue with success, can you? We sell a lot more cars now than we used to, even if a lot of them are the cheaper models.” Jason grinned. “Apparently a lot has changed since Tim took over, but, since I started working here about the same time that his parents left, I never noticed the difference.”
“Yeah, my brother is pretty clever like that.” And I’m not.
They looked at the different models for a while, Jason being pretty helpful about the details and any questions Steve came up with. When he narrowed it down to about three choices, another salesman suddenly approached them. He was about Steve’s height, probably mid-thirties and with the air of the much maligned used-car salesman from comedy shows and commercials. He wore the same charcoal suit that Jason did, but it didn’t look half as good on him as it did on Jason’s trim physique. His dark hair was combed back and held in place with some sort of gel, and his brown eyes sparkled with artificial helpfulness.
Excerpt From: Loving Vicente
Riverside, Texas
Saturday, June 3, 2006
"Shit!" Vicente Vasquez hated golf with a vengeance.
Trying to mutter the curses under his breath so his father wouldn’t hear, he followed the damn ball into the small wooded area to the right of the seventh hole. He’d never understand why the hell they made golf courses so huge and the stupid balls so tiny. Why grown men wasted their weekends playing the game, calling it a good business networking opportunity, also eluded him. And the worst thing? The fact they’d been here this morning for a seven-thirty tee-off. Sleeping in hadn’t even been an option.
"You got it?" His father sounded impatient as he threw anxious glances at the two older business contacts he was trying to impress.
"Yes, Papá." Vicente bit his tongue to stop the anger from spilling over.
"About time. You’re holding everyone up." His father glared at him, trying to look imposing.
At five-feet-eight, that wasn’t an easy job. But old habits, based on years of verbal abuse, died hard. Even though Vicente had been a good two inches taller than his father ever since he turned seventeen two years ago, his first instinct was still to give in. So he ducked his head and walked back to the group. He’d already been three over par when the stupid ball went wide, so he was just going to take the quadruple bogey and deal with it. He almost felt sorry for his father for having to play the game with him as a partner, but, then again, this nonsense was his father’s choice of how to spend a Saturday morning, not his.
He’d never been good enough for his father, and probably never would be. Even going to college to study business, rather than becoming a car mechanic like he’d wanted, hadn’t helped. His father still thought he was useless, telling him at every conceivable occasion how much better he could do if he really applied himself, and what a great example his elder brother, Felipe, was. Vicente snorted. If his dad knew how Felipe came by his money, he’d have a heart attack.
"Sorry about that." His father shook his head and refocused on picking the perfect club for his next turn.
The embarrassed apology to the two idiots playing with them increased Vicente’s anger further. It made him feel as if his father was sorry for Vicente’s entire existence. He wasn’t even sure the two men cared about the status of their game that much. They were deep into discussing some new commercial venture involving some real estate deals in the area just south of the Riverside inner city.
When the game was finally over almost three hours later, Vicente heaved a sigh of relief. Without asking or waiting for his father’s approval, he made his excuses and left. He’d pay for it later, he was sure, but staying for an exceedingly boring lunch wouldn’t make a difference. His father would just find some other excuse for dressing him down.
Getting into his car and making it to his friend’s house so they could go fishing this afternoon was the only thing on his mind. It was the one time this week he’d have to himself, and he wanted to share it with Steve Jacobi. He’d been his best friend all the way through high school, and even though Steve had decided to be a window washer rather than attempting college after graduation, they’d managed to stay in touch. Friday nights were usually theirs to go and have a beer, but last night hadn’t worked out because Vicente’s mother had required him to attend his uncle’s birthday party.
Steve’s apartment was west of downtown in an area just this side of acceptable. His friend had only moved here last month, after finally saving enough money to be able to afford a place of his own. Vicente parked his pretentious car, the BMW 328i his father had insisted he drive, hoping it would still be there when he returned. He rang the bell and waited for Steve’s tinny voice to ask who was there. The loudspeaker system was in urgent need of an overhaul, but Vicente wasn’t going to hold his breath.
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