The Player

We interrupt your regularly scheduled program to share even more novellas/short stories that I found on #ProlificWorks (through their Your Book Boyfriend's Boyfriend giveaway). I didn't go through and read the description to every book (yet), but I did go through and see if I recognized any of the other authors on the list (about a month or so ago I found two--one on purpose and one on accident) and immediately claimed each one.

Here's Lily Morton's "The Player" (Lily also wrote "Merry Measure", which I read during my Christmas/Holiday phase last November/December).

["Frankie Bishop had only been married for a few months when he became a widower, leaving him with a mountain of debts, a business on the edge of ruin, and a parrot called Hank Marvin. Three years later, the business is finally thriving, and Frankie finds himself ready to look for love again. It comes as a complete surprise to discover that he’s developed feelings for Con - his late husband’s best friend and now Frankie’s business partner. Why did he overlook the gorgeous man who's been by his side through everything? Even more importantly, how can he tell Con about his feelings when Con seems to have suddenly found love with another man?"]

It took poor Frankie sooooo damn long to realize his feelings. He went from "he's my best friend" and "he's the one thing that makes me calm and happy" and "my husband cheated on me and died but at least he gave me the best friend I could ever ask for" and "no, Boyfriend can't do that, that's our thing, mine and Con's thing" over and over and over again for 60+ pages before he realized that maybe, just maybe, his feelings for Con weren't just platonic.
Granted, everyone else knew. Literally everyone else, even the parrot. Everyone they worked with, everyone they were friends with, everyone in town. Everyone knew how Frankie felt (and spoiler alert, how Con felt).

Then there was the miscommunication trope, which I agree is frustrating as hell, but it does spike up that angst so damn well. Which, in this case, really made that sexual tension grow and grow and...

#theplayer #lilymorton #merrymeasure #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks