urban - Stories

James Toranaga is a twelve year old boy dealing with the aftermath of sexual assault. He’s doing okay. The memories are tough, and the world feels a little rougher than it used to, but he’s a strong kid with a loving family to support him.

It sure makes his emerging sexuality harder to deal with, though. He doesn’t want to think about it.

Luckily, he has the perfect distraction: he can fly.

But these strange new powers may bring dangers of their own. He is not the only one who has them.

Gay lawyer Ben Carleson – from In The Plan – is back, this time in 1985, near the beginning of his career and soon after he finished law school and passed the California bar exam.

He and Gene De Wijk met over a different kind of bar several years earlier, and since then, Ben’s given Gene incidental legal advice – for a business agreement, a will, and helping Gene close on the sale of his new house. Now, they’re both up against something much bigger.

Ed has a story to tell about survival. It begins with an incident so horrible you may think Ed isn’t going to come out okay at the end. There are many low points in his life, but Ed keeps trying to make things work no matter how bad it may seem. Just when he thinks he’s finally in the clear, we’ll let him tell his story.

When Josh and his family moved to the Lower East Side of Manhattan, he knew he'd be helping his dad to renovate their new apartment. It hadn't been touched since the building opened in the mid-1950s and it needed a ton of work. Even so, it cost as much as they got for their old matchbook house in Brooklyn - close to a million dollars - and the only way they could afford it was to gut it and renovate it themselves. Josh was no stranger to handiwork, having helped rebuild after Hurricane Sandy, when he was just seven and could barely hold a drill. Little did they know that this time they'd face a hurricane and a global pandemic.

All the characters from Catering with Benefits return to cope with the ups and downs of their daily lives and loves. Craig and Justin continue to grow their business as Justin bares all for Liberace. Jared and Thomas' encounter more snakes and their relationship faces some difficult times. Will Andy find true love? Will Edward's program premiere? Virginia Price looks for a new lover. Edward has a special house warming surprise for Justin and Craig.

Late October, and Spencer K Wyrrell—Squirrel—sits hidden behind an evergreen bush, freezing his arse off in the rooftop garden of his boss' London penthouse flat. Taking a break, he is waiting with an ice bucket and a bottle of Dom for the arrival of his colleague, Bev. But when the balcony door slides open, the person who steps out is the smoking hot celebrity, Marshall J Highlander. Squirrel overhears Highlander’s call. A newspaper is threatening to publish nude photographs of him and his ex-boyfriend from a holiday in France.

And on that night, an unexpected friendship begins to blossom during a time of Christmas lockdown.

This short tale is of a young man’s journeys during turbulent times.

Memories can seem a nest of tangled snakes. Expectations, emotions, doubts and inherent elements crystalize here to be sorted in different ways, from different perspectives.

Jason is getting his life back together with Ben's love and help. However, the unexpected arrival of Ben's sister, Jade, throws their happy little bubble into chaos. New experiences and feelings arise in Jason that could cause problems for their budding relationship.

This is a collection of my short non-fiction pieces.

It's mostly lightweight stuff, just written to make you smile or laugh.

This collection parallels that of my short fiction on this site -- Circumstances. Also, pretty lightweight.

Enjoy.

In Finding Warmth, Ben took in Jason, a homeless young man with a lot of potential for good and love.

Now, we explore Ben's background and learn more about his unique sexuality, Demisexual attraction. Jason has to decide if he accepts what Ben's needs would entail in order to create a relationship.

Ben is a visually impaired gay demisexual, who encounters Jason, a gay homeless young man. Though they both have their own issues and background, they grow closer with each encounter.

Justin has learnt not to expect a connection when he escorts older men. An evening promising modern ballet doesn't seem a likely candidate to buck the trend.

A story of love and acceptance

It's the time of the year when we hear of miracles. This is my hope for someone Christmas Miracle