Tim Hobson

Zelt's hands shook as he stared at the telegram that had just been delivered. "Your father has had a heart attack. Come at once." He didn't know whether to smile or frown. His last conversation with his father had ended with a threat, and he didn't trust the old bastard. "Oh, what the hell. If I don't show up and he dies, they'll all think I had something to do with it--not that I wouldn't be glad if I did." He checked his watch and saw that he had only thirty minutes to catch the last train of the day. Grabbing his coat and hat, he dashed out of his apartment building and hailed the first cab that came by.

Just found your romance story. Not my usual cup of tea, but I find I'm hooked. Great writing always draws me in.

Delightful, tasty snippets, both left me wanting "the rest of the story." I didn't see the prompt, but I'll keep an eye out for future ones. It looks like fun!

Thanks for the great story, @JJQuinn, and welcome to the party!

I'm loving how this story is moving forward. Keep 'em coming!

I have a photo gallery of the characters and places in my story. Is there a way to post it or link to it from the story itself or the comments section?

Wow--another blast from the past @drsawzall! I bought all of Steven R. Covey's books, used the Franklin-Covey daily planner for years (first on paper, then online), and even attended a workshop taught by his son Sean, the college quarterback. He had quite an effect on the world of the "knowledge worker" back in 1989, but when he left BYU to run his own company, I think his message became a little too commercial for me. Of course, he was also busy fathering nine children and being grandpa to 55! I guess that's one definition of "highly successful people."

I don't understand how "Views" are counted. In the summary at the top level, there are numbers for Chapters, Words, Views, and Comments. But when I drill down to the Index of Chapters, the number of Views for each chapter add up to only roughly half the number given at the top. What actually counts as a view? Does a reader have to view a certain number of pages of the story to count, or does just peeking count as a view? If a reader comes back to the chapter more than once, is that counted as another unique view?

When will Toby realize they all just want to use him, and they regard him as little more than a sexual plaything? He needs to get is ass (and everything else) back home as fast as he can.

They even make wind-up vibrators these days -- eco-friendly and all that! The one I'd love to try has a wireless remote control that someone else operates. You never know when it's going to start tickling!!!

Blast from the past! I remember International Male, Blueboy, Jock, and Playgirl, as well as the ones you could only buy in an "adult" bookstore. Internet porn has supplanted them, for better or worse.

I'm so glad to read that last few sentences. There for a moment, I feared Carey might follow Apollo into the world of sex workers. Not that it isn't perfectly legal, just that it's a very brief puff of fame for the majority of them, followed by regrets over lost time and money.

You explained it well.

Yes, he is, and aren't "bad boys" fun to write?

Ah, the fact that the "older generation" has sexual desires--kinky ones at times--and doesn't hesitate to satiate them always comes to a big surprise to adolescents and twenty-somethings. For some inscrutable reason, they always think they invented sex, and their elders have no clue! Carey and Bell now have their eyes opened wide. Let's hope they make the most of it. Thanks for a great chapter!

It's a relief to learn that it was an honest A. I'll keep reading for the rest.

"He got an A." I kind of wish you hadn't added that, or that you had said he studied hard for it. To me, it seems you could be suggesting that Carey didn't deserve the A, which would disappoint me and possibly make him feel like he used his body to get something he wasn't entitled to. The $1000 will exist only temporarily, and it may be a fitting compensation for allowing his body to be used the way it was (he may even have channeled Apollo at that moment). But his proficiency in statistics could be vital to his success in his career, and if he got the A for any reason other than learning what he needed to learn, then he was robbed. Of course, I said "you could be suggesting," and maybe you're just cunningly teasing us. Or are you exposing our own inner motivations to us? Which leads me to wonder...

I'm with you on that. My current story's lead character identifies as straight, and most of the sex scenes are, too, but I threw in a gay brother because I like writing gay sex scenes. 🤪 I had to remind a reader that this site is called "Gay Authors." Not only are we all mixed together in our lives, but a lot of us aren't exclusively gay or straight, like Carey.

My favorites are the beauty parlors called "NOLA'S SALON." I love palindromes!

I probably saw that movie since I love Paul Newman, but I don't remember the names of characters. Saint Catherine LaBouré was a French nun of the Daughters of Charity. My sisters attended a DofC high school (I went to a Jesuit "college" high school). Catherine had a vision of the Virgin Mary, who gave her the Miraculous Medal--something that I wore "religiously" until I went to college. I wouldn't swear that it did any good, but I did return from Vietnam with all my anatomy in place and working properly, and no PTSD. Does your "sweetie" friend know you named a character after her?

Katherine Ann LaBouré !?!?!?! Borrowing the names of saints now, eh? And you made her a high-class call girl hunting for a sugar daddy to boot. That takes some stones!

A cogent reminder that, as Disraeli said, there are "lies, damned lies, and statistics!" Carey has fallen prey to all of them. Excellent chapter, and I'm delighted that practically every sexual situation (except trans, at least thus far) has shown up in this story.

I'm along for one hell of a ride! Thank you for bringing these characters to life and showing how F-ed up life can be!

The intertwining of all these characters is pure genius! I sure hope things untangle by the end of the story... And yes, I know I could peek ahead and find out, but I prefer to take this one chapter at a time.

The intertwining of all these characters is pure genius! I sure hope things untangle by the end of the story... And yes, I know I could peek ahead and find out, but I prefer to take this one chapter at a time.