robertlee

Picking a favorite book is definitely a hard thing to do. So many books have touched me in different ways. Things like Harry Potter or Percy Jackson or The Hunger Games, I devoured those books and could still read them to this day each time feeling like I'm going on a new adventure. But I wouldn't consider them my favorite. Or even top ten. My favorite would probably have to be Almost Like Being in Love by Steve Kluger. It was probably the first gay book I bought and the first one to make me feel like being gay was a normal okay thing. Reading about these two characters and seeing their lives unfold across vastly different time periods of life and the love they shared for each other just touched me in such a profound way. It also was the book to made me want to write Gay fiction.

“Can we talk?” Nate appeared at my front door as soon as we all sat down for dinner. Mom didn’t like being interrupted during our family time. “Honey, who’s there?” You could feel the twinge of anger in her voice. “It’s Nate, Mrs. Martin.” Immediately her voice lit up. She always liked Nate for some reason. “Care to join us, dear? I won’t accept no for an answer. You can talk to Cam after dinner.” You had to know when to admit defeat with my Mom. She

And time I gave him. Myself too. As much as hated to admit it, it made everything easier. We just hung out, talked, spent time together. Becoming closer than we had ever been. It was nice. His favorite color was orange, which was surprising to me. When he grew up he wanted to be a teacher and counselor for a high school. Not sure what subject yet, but as he said once we made it through high school he would know. And he liked me. Every day we spent together he made sure to let me know ho

Thank you!

Chilling out was not going well. Nate and I acted like nothing had changed at school. Not my choice exactly. I could sense that he wasn’t ready to make any kind of public announcement, even to our little group. Honestly, I probably wasn’t either. But what do I know? Every moment thoughts gnawed at the back of my brain. Tearing little pieces away and filling the space with convoluted feelings and fears and worries. It was awful. During lunch today, I had to make another of my great escapes

My heart hadn’t stopped pounding since that moment. We pulled apart and hung out for a little before Nate had to head home. “I’ll see you tomorrow. This was nice.” As he walked out the door, he winked. I died. Literally died on the spot. Hours later I was still planted in the same spot. Lounging in my chair and just staring out the window. Lost in a world of ignorant bliss I had never experienced before. So that’s what a kiss was like? It felt supremely more awesome than I

It reminds me of my first kiss and knowing it was coming but feeling that bubbly anxiousness inside. Thank you!

Agreed! They needed to get things out and what better way hah

The day had finally come. Alexa had joined my small circle of friends after our talk, practically texting me all the time making sure I wasn’t going to chicken out. Alexa: Don’t be afraid, you got this! No matter what he says you’re still an amazing person who deserves to be happy! Go get him tiger! J Messages like that filled my phone for the last two days while I tried to figure how to approach this best. Nate still hadn’t talked to me and I didn’t want to scare him off. I had

Thank you! I tried to keep smaller chapters because when I was writing this story I was thinking of a book I read when I was younger that was aimed towards a younger audience that had short and sweet chapters that kept me interested. Some day it might get fleshed out a bit more but for now that's how the story came to me.

Thank you so much. I remember the first friend I got a crush on and those feelings still come up even just thinking about it now.

Cornering Alexa was harder than I thought it would be. She never seemed to be alone. Always flanked by her friends and whichever boy was fighting for her attention that week. I was starting to feel like a stalker, lurking through the hallways trying to catch her alone. It took three days but I finally found her during lunch. My new spot was hanging out in the courtyard, listening to the chaotic buzz in the distance. Being around my friends was hard right now. Isaac and Emma were in the l

Thank you for the comment and reading. Hopefully you'll enjoy where this goes!

Lunch time. Cafeteria was swarming with kids like usually. Everyone going to their group before they were left too exposed in the middle of the chaos that surrounded us. Yet, I felt like I would rather be out there in it then sitting at this table of my nightmares. Nate wouldn’t look me in the eyes instead burying his face in his food. Emma and Isaac must have finally discovered their love for one another after the dance. They couldn’t keep their eyes or hands off of each other, “acciden

Apparently, that feeling was fleeting. Another lesson that my sisters had taught me. Crushes were over as soon as they started. That must have been how Nate felt. I waited all day to hear from him but never even got so much as an “I’m sorry I was completely crazy last night but I’m back to my senses now” text. I would have understood that at least. But this was much worse. Now I’m left hanging. It had to be something about me. Like I was some disgusting beast that he couldn’t bear to be

Thank you guys! Ava was a fun one to write. Most of the women in my life have that spunk so its hard to not include it in my characters.

Things were exactly as you would expect them to be in this town. We had four restaurants, two gas stations and a local grocery store. Even Walmart wasn’t desperate enough to put down roots here. Closest one was a fifteen minute drive out of town. Everybody knew each other and was involved in each other’s business. You were either a yocal or a poor soul who was trapped here for the time being. Or until death took hold of you. Usually what happened first. Enter me. I was determined to esc

Meadowbrooks was the kind of town you dreamed of escaping from. Conservative, redneck and anti anything progressive. Bryan had an escape plan though. Follow his parents wishes for one more year and they would pay for his freedom. It was working out well so far. He had friends. He had a job. He was just biding his time but he didn't plan on being the one thing this town hated most: Gay. Could he keep his secret long enough to get out of Meadowbrook? Would his friends still stick by his side if they knew? Would he be able to hide his feelings for Rob? Would things be any different out there in the "real" world?

Cam is one of those characters that became too similar to me as I was writing him. I'm very anal about being on time, which for me is almost always half an hour early. it's very sad and annoying to most people haha

Drenched in sweat and barely able to move I plopped down on my bed after 1 a.m. Mom let me break my curfew this one time since it was a special occasion. On the night stand beside me, she already printed some of the pictures out from her camera. I picked my favorite and pinned it to the board above my desk. I wanted to remember this night forever. We all danced and laughed together forgetting that the boys even came with dates. Nate told Alexa how he felt and she ditched almost immediate

The big dance had finally arrived. Emma and I decided, or I should say Emma decided alone, it would be much less pathetic for me to take her as my date. Whether I wanted to or not, we were going together. Mom fretted for hours over spiffing me up to look like one of those fake kids out of the catalogs. There was no person in the world outside of Hollywood that actually looked like those people. Expensive clothing, perfectly manicured hair, perfect teeth that shined white as a fresh snow,

Never in a million years would I have imagine staying up until five in the morning on a school night. A school night! Like, I guess being 13 actually did have some perks after all. Never would I have imagine being the person Nate would come to with dating problems either. The kid who had never been on a date being approached by the teen heartthrob. I guess he wasn’t in much better shape than me. What I lacked in theory, he lacked in practice. “I don’t know what to do. I’m sorry I

Thank you! I tried to remember what it was like to be his age and think how I would feel. I know when I was younger there were man late night or early mornings where I would be researching things about myself to figure it all out.

It's for the drama factor. Keeping you in suspense!

My mind hadn’t stopped turning since lunch yesterday. All those thoughts bouncing around. What was I? I never really needed to think about it before but something clicked. Maybe it was being a year older now. My hormones or something might have activated overnight. Everyone else was talking about dating and crushes for years now, maybe I was just a late bloomer? More than likely I was just weird. Emma would have smacked me if she heard me say that but I’m allowed to say it since it’s my journal