Literary
Nymphs Interview
Title: First Impressions
Author: Christopher
Koehler
Publisher: Dreamspinner
Press
Genre: m/m contemporary
Release Date: 4/16/12
What inspired the
story?
I realized one day that my life as a member of a
LGBT running and walking club in Sacramento bore a startling resemblance to a
Jane Austen novel: it was a small, closed community in which we spent our time
in a constant whirl of socializing and what amounted to bride-finding balls, we
all knew each other's business, we all wanted the same thing (a husband), and
one wrong step meant social suicide. Actually, I was and am married, which
meant my husband and I played the role of Elizabeth Bennet's aunt and uncle,
the Gardiners, but you get the gist.
EXCERPT:
Cameron jogged back down the
beach back to the house that was the victim of the Thanksgiving Ass-travaganza
slowly. He felt calmer, even if he knew he had to be on his guard all weekend.
Perils lurked around every corner, anything from drug-addled friends and other
hangers-on of a dissolute drag queen to Henry Hughes. He wondered how he’d make
it through the weekend.
But as he climbed the
stairs, he knew that he would. He grabbed two bottles of water from the fridge
in the outdoor kitchen, sucking one down right there. The second he took with
him as he went to stretch out. He put one heel up on the railing around the
patio to give himself a good stretch, reaching toward that foot with the
opposite hand to work the kinks out of his back. First one side, then other. He
felt the remaining tension flow out of his body.
That was why Cameron ran. It
felt great when he stopped.
He stood up, turning around
to balance on a nearby table so he could stretch his quads…and looked right
into the burning eyes of Henry Hughes. Henry stood at the glass doors, not even
attempting to pretend he wasn’t staring.
Cameron flushed and turned
away, but before he had, he noticed Henry’s mouth hung open a little. Cameron
looked over the railing to the beach below, but couldn’t figure out what the
man’s problem was.
Then he glanced down. Oh. He
wore skimpy shorts that left very little to the imagination and nothing else.
He was about to pull on his sweaty hoodie, but then another idea cross his
path.
Pretending he hadn’t noticed
the other man eye-fucking him, Cameron reached up and stretched, pushing his
chest up and out. As his arms came down, he circled one hand lazily around a
nipple.
He heard a glass shatter
inside and knew his work was done.
Cameron opened the glass
door and pushed his way past a stunned Henry with a breathy, “Excuse me, can I
get by?”
Henry gulped and stood aside
as Cameron brushed past, far closer than really necessary to avoid a puddle of
glass-studded orange juice. Smiling to himself, he went upstairs in search of
his room without even a backward glance.
As soon as he reached his
bedroom, Cameron slid down the door, laughing helplessly. He’d never done
anything like that before, nothing so shameless, but the look on Henry’s face?
That made it worth it.
His giggle tapered off.
Henry. He admitted—finally—that his feelings about Henry were complicated. If
Henry had made a better showing when they first met, they might well be in a
relationship by now. He also knew it was time to stop pretending he wasn’t
attracted to him. As purely a physical specimen, Henry rang his chime like he
was the bell tower at Westminster Abbey. At the Boo Bash earlier that fall,
Henry had felt like such a solid, reassuring wall of man that Cameron had
relaxed in spite of himself. He knew he’d be safe under those arms, and the man
just as obviously found him attractive, at least based on that little spectacle
after his run. The thought of being desired like that was a powerful one, and
he fought not to respond in kind.
Cameron rested his head in
his hands as the endorphins from his run crashed. No matter how hard he got for
Henry, he just couldn’t get past how he was treated when they first met. A
first impression like that should’ve been an only impression, but for some
reason he and Henry were thrown together at every turn. He was pretty sure
friends were up to something they way they kept shoving him in Henry's way, but
he couldn’t figure out what or how they might’ve arranged this weekend.
But damn, Henry had looked
at him like he was starving and Cameron was an all-you-can-eat buffet. Cameron
found that hard to resist.
Where can we find your
website?
No comments:
Post a Comment