Laura S. Fox

Definitely!

Oh, yes, I love it how you, readers, pick up more and more clues about Lyn and his character, and especially his 'why's'. The difference between him and his mom is that, indeed: she's impractical, so he tries to be practical. It might not have been his place to do that as a child, but he's not a child anymore. Lyn's background will continue to be revealed through his flashback chapters. And again, it is important to see that exactly the fact that Alexander is helping him with money actually builds a wall between them. Despite the best intentions in the world, charity can feel humiliating, especially for someone like Lyn who works so hard to not need charity. It also makes him be less receptive to Alexander's true feelings. There is definitely a dynamic taking place in these scenes where all of them are together. The balance is fragile And that's all I will say for now.

I thought the flashback might make readers remember things from their own youth. I did worry - writing the chapter - that readers will naturally judge the lack of precaution the characters show, but I've seen it happening so many times - when we're young, we tend to ignore danger because other things are more important to us. Lyn is, on the dot, exactly as you say. I want all the characters to have layers, Brad included, of course. I think I mentioned it before... he's the toughest character to read, because Lyn is the narrator and he's the one who fails to read Brad. But readers will pick up cues, I know it Like you did right here. And Alexander is mad at himself, especially. And maybe, just maybe, from realizing how vulnerable you become when you love someone.

Oh, that's such a good catch! I mean, Lyn is a very competent person in many areas of life, even if he suffers greatly on the inside and fears real intimacy. So yes, you readers get to see his anxieties and just like in his own eyes, these anxieties obscure just how good he actually is at doing things. So nice of you to notice the metaphor Also, I failed to mention it in my previous comment - melancholy is such a good word, thank you for finding it. Mom does want to keep Lyn to her version of safe. Brad is the distraction with dangerous potential. And Alexander... oh, well, he's always with Lyn, even if not in person

Oh, Maestro, of course you'd notice... yes, Alexander is mad at himself for failing to understand the situation! It is something I experienced in life with people, especially parents. Parents are getting mad at their children when something dangerous happens... when they're not actually that mad at their children, as they are at their own inability to detect that danger in advance! It is the sort of care that's easy to mistake for anger - also because of communication issues, of course. I loved Cyrano, I watched it a lifetime ago. Now I feel tempted to watch it again. The only one I watched is the version with Gérard Depardieu in the main role. That nose must have earned him the role! And I know Lyn appears so 'easy' here... easy to lean into Brad's care while Alexander watches from a few feet away... I wonder how readers don't feel more tempted to throw rotten eggs at Lyn!

I'm glad that you mention Alexander putting up a front, too. It's difficult to keep these two lanes - how Lyn sees things, how readers (surely) perceive them. 'We' know Alexander likes Lyn; Lyn doesn't. That's one of the sources of the drama, of course. And you're right, unsustainable is a great word for the situation. And it will all come to a head... Thank you for the praise

Then it means I succeeded in transferring Lyn's mom's anxiety from the 'virtual' page to you, dear reader!

It was one of the points of the chapter to show Brad's recklessness. Also, how the others didn't think much about safety, either, because in real life, people tend to overlook what they believe to be 'the little things'. That's how tragedies happen more often than not. On the other hand, Lyn misread Alexander, once again. He's too caught up in his own head to see the truth.

Brad is reckless. I won't deny this flaw in his character because it is my intention to present the guys as realistic as possible in a romance novel. (They're lucky Lyn is the main character and killing him in a memory chapter would have complicated things in the present, lol.)

Although... in this case, it was Brad who pulled everyone into the water!

Yeah, Lyn definitely has a hard time understanding Alexander, but he's not putting effort into it, either. And it is something that influences the present, as well...

Yeah, it's my intention to reveal Lyn and the others through these snippets of the past...

Chapter Nineteen – Fucked and Fucked Up Revenge required careful planning, and Lyn could feel Alexander’s eyes following him everywhere, as if there was no other thing their owner was interested in. Therefore, he needed to get away from his horny roommate and his astonishing fuck-me eyes. The night before, Alexander had asked for nothing in return for the spectacular rimjob he had given. This lack of reciprocity annoyed the hell out of Lyn, and he had to think of something that would truly

Eco-Jesus, oh yes... I haven't thought of him in such a long time. Seeing his character, he's probably continuing his career as a would-be scammer. Maybe he's a crypto-bro now, I don't know! Jonathan and Maddox are busy living their happily-ever-after

Even Xpress had to meet its end... I'm sure others might attempt to follow but there's only one Xpress, lol.

Thanks! I wanted to offer readers a glimpse into the guys' happy future!

Thank you! And my next adventure is actually happening right now...

Thank you! It was time to say goodbye... but I guess readers can always revisit these stories

Yep, and as my unofficial middle name says... they lived happily ever after.

I can tell that readers got truly attached to these characters... But I'll leave their story here, and let the readers imagine their happy life together.

I get the feeling, I do... but I wanted to write an ending that leaves more room for readers' imagination regarding the guys' happy life together.

Thank you, I'm happy you enjoyed it!

You're not the only one wondering about Wen... I don't think I'll ever write his story, but I do have this conviction that some people are redeemable, and he could be one such person. Maybe he made a compromise! A villain in newspaper sheets... and a kitten in the other sheets. Sorry, couldn't think of a better rhyme!

Epilogue “Hey, man,” Jamie said, a large grin stretching his entire face, as soon as he noticed the guy walking straight toward him, his arms wide open. “Long time no see, right? How long has it been? Three years?” “Yep.” Rusty smirked as he shamelessly checked out Jamie’s biceps by squeezing them hard. “I saw the flashy poster, and bang! There was your name. I had to see you. You so disappeared on us after we finished college. I thought you’d be wandering the world, breaking hearts

It will not be long until you get the answer to that 'who' question... Thank you, Doha!