The Boys of Banana Court: Box Set
Page 1
THE BOYS OF BANANA COURT
BOX SET
Exposed: Mitch and Austin’s Story
Forbidden: Josh and Darius’s Story
Deception: Isaac and Mohammed’s Story
ALEX CARRERAS
WWW.LUMINOSITYPUBLISHING.COM
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Exposed
Description - Exposed
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Forbidden
Description - Forbidden
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Deception
Description - Deception
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Author Biography
End Credits
LUMINOSITY PUBLISHING LLP
THE BOYS OF BANANA COURT
BOX SET
Exposed: Mitch and Austin’s Story
Forbidden: Josh and Darius’s Story
Deception: Isaac and Mohammed’s Story
Copyright © May 2017 Alex Carreras
ISBN: 978-1-370620-11-1
Cover Art by Poppy Designs
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No part of this literary work may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without the written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
The author acknowledges the trademark status and the following trademark owners mentioned in this work of fiction:
Twinkie
Nike
Speedos
iPhone
Jägermeister
Corona
Atkins Diet
Frosted Flakes
Fruit Loops
HoneyComb
Oreos
Axe
Diet Dr. Pepper
Netflix
Percocet
Skype
Diet Coke
BarcaLounger
Lysol
Jack Daniel’s
Crest
EXPOSED
The Boys of Banana Court:
Mitch and Austin’s Story
Mitch Montgomery should be happy. He’s just got his own apartment with his best, Josh Connors, recently landed a job at IGNITE—the coolest and gayest gym in town—and his new neighbor is hot, hung, horny, and above everything else, interested.
So why isn’t he … happy?
It’s because he thought that by now his life would be way better somehow.
Austin Grey is gorgeous. Everybody wants him. But he only wants Mitch Montgomery who recently moved in across the way. Austin has a problem. A very big problem. He used to be … fat.
While in high school, Austin was an outcast, unpopular and bullied. After graduation, he vowed to leave that person behind and become the wet dream on legs he is now. Easier said than done. While working on his outer self, he neglected his inner self, and he can’t seem to accept the new person he’s become no matter how hard he tries.
All on the same city block, the boys at Banana Court learn to live, love and sometimes lose as they strive to have a little fun along the way.
Reader Advisory: A Gay Romance coming of age series about young men who are intelligent, naïve, passionate, hard headed or sometimes, just plain hard.
Dedication
This book is dedicated to all my wonderful Facebook friends who have been so kind to me over the years. You have kept me going, and I thank you for it.
Chapter One
“This is going to be awesome.”
Mitch Montgomery nodded in agreement, enjoying the expression of sheer bliss on his best friend’s face, a friend he considered the brother he didn’t have. “Awesome,” Mitch seconded, hoisting the plain brown cardboard box marked miscellaneous higher into his arms.
Josh Connors had always been a happy-go-lucky guy, but even more so today, because they were moving into their first apartment together and leaving their parents’ homes and rules behind for good.
“Can you believe we have finally got a place together?” Mitch said. “We’ve been talking about this since the eighth grade.”
Josh smiled the same eighth-grade smile, his straight white teeth gleaming in the midday Florida sunshine, a large box clutched in his able arms. “Think of all the parties.”
“I’m thinking about all the guys.”
“Are they naked?” Josh questioned.
“Most definitely.”
“And that is why you’re my best friend,” Josh said.
“Plus, I have too much dirt on you not to be your best friend,” Mitch joked. “You know what they say, keep your enemies close.”
Mitch walked past the pool, noticing several muscular guys he recognized from the gym, all stretched out on lounge chairs covered in colorful towels. Slick with suntan lotion, the one closest to him waved and smiled suggestively.
Hot on his heels, Josh said, “Have you been holding out on me?”
“What do you mean?” Mitch replied without slowing, the box in his arms gaining what felt like a pound with each step.
“Have you done that hot piece of man flesh who just waved at you?”
“His name is Logan,” Mitch replied. “And not yet, but something tells me I stand a good chance.”
“Please, bro,” Josh whispered between pants. “Of course you do. You always score. I’ve never known you to ever get shot down.”
“Are you calling me a slut?”
“Maybe, but I’m only jealous.”
“You don’t do so bad yourself. Your last boyfriend was very attractive. Had a great ass.”
“Great ass but bat-shit crazy.”
“Even the best-looking ones can fall short.” Mitch started up the stairs to the second floor but stopped abruptly. “You don’t think he followed you here, do you?”
“I have a restraining order, remember?”
Mitch allowed himself to relax but only a little. “That’s somewhat comforting, I guess.”
“And somewhat creepy,” Josh added.
They walked up the rest of the stairs and found their apartment.
Mitch freed his right hand and fished the keys from his shorts’ back pocket. Unlocking the door, they stepped into the cool air-conditioning of apartment number four.
“We are going to make so many memories here,” Josh said before setting the box on to the floor by the door. He rushed out of the room and disappeared into his previously claimed bedroom.
Mitch had agreed to allow Josh to claim his bedroom first, since it was Josh who spotted the For Rent sign while driving by on his way to work one day. Mitch didn’t mind that his bedroom was smaller. All he cared was that it was his, and, if he stood on his toes, he could see the blue, pristine waters of Saraso
ta Bay.
Following Josh’s lead, Mitch placed his box by Josh’s and found his bedroom. That afternoon, the king-size bed he’d saved for was being delivered and just in time for the weekend. He inhaled the fresh aroma of lemon-scented floor cleaner and newly painted walls. The eggshell colored walls were boring, but he had no intention of lying around and staring at the walls. Josh was right, Mitch planned on making memories, lots of memories, starting with breaking in the new mattress.
A gentle knock pulled Mitch out of his thoughts.
He walked the few feet, expecting to see the elderly landlord who had an eye for men around Mitch’s age. He was pleasantly surprised when it was a guy wearing a tight fitting white T-shirt and aviator-style sunglasses instead of Mister Donahue, the attractive man’s wide shoulders almost filling the doorframe and blocking out the light.
“I saw the moving truck parked outside and your door’s open so…” The stranger smiled, ratcheting up the temperature in the room a few degrees.
Mitch closed the distance between them, proffering a hand. “I’m Mitch Montgomery.”
The sexual energy between them was palpable. Mitch felt energized and intoxicatingly exhausted all at the same time, the man’s smooth palm soft and sensual to the touch. Mitch inhaled the man’s fresh-off-the-beach scent. He couldn’t help imagining slathering suntan lotion over every inch of the friendly stranger’s sun-kissed skin.
“Austin Grey.”
The handshake lingered before Mitch finally released his grip. “Are you Banana Court’s official welcoming committee?”
Austin’s perfect lips smiled wider. “Officially, no, but I do like to be friendly.”
Mitch arched an eyebrow, his mind filling with a whole mess of wonderfully bad things he could do to Austin. “Being friendly is a good thing.”
Austin nodded, his ice blue eyes darkening to match his surname. “Are you friendly?” he asked. Austin’s intentions were clear.
Mitch appreciated direct men. More time for sex and less for games he hated to play, he figured. “The friendliest,” he answered.
Mitch noticed Austin’s reaction to his response, a look of mild surprise hidden behind that seductive smile. He let out a deep laugh that warmed Mitch’s body and did a little something to his soul too.
“Good, because most of us are friendly here.”
Mitch couldn’t help but chuckle. “I noticed, especially the guys at the pool.”
“They’re like permanent fixtures. I think tanning is their full-time job.”
“They appear to be damn good at what they do,” Mitch returned, referring to the deep golden tans of the bathing beauties.
Austin peered in the direction of the playful splashing and bursts of laughter coming from the pool. “That they are,” he said. “Maybe I’ll see you down there sometime? It’s the best place to get to know everyone. We take turns at the blender. Just name your poison.”
“That sounds so much better than lugging that truckload of stuff up the stairs but…”
“I’d offer to help”—Austin arched his spine and rubbed his hands along his lower back—“but I have a bad—”
“Back?” Mitch finished.
“You’ve heard that excuse before?”
“On moving day?” Mitch returned. “Most definitely.”
“And I thought I was being original.”
“No worries. I won’t hold it against you. To be honest, I hate moving too.”
“How about if I make it up to you in another way?”
“Now this sounds promising.” Mitch took a small step forward. Then another. He was dangerously close. “What are you proposing?”
Austin reached into his front pocket and pulled out a card, handing it to Mitch. “When you’re finished, you’ll probably need me.”
More than you’ll ever know. Mitch took the card and read it. “You’re a massage therapist?”
“A damn good one. Having a bad back got me interested in the profession.” Austin brimmed with confidence. “The number is my cell phone. Use it.”
Mitch tossed the card on the small kitchen island only an arm’s length away. “I will.”
Stepping backward and checking his watch, Austin said, “Speaking of, I have to go. Busy day today.”
Mitch nodded. “Thanks for stopping.”
“Sure thing,” Austin said before jogging across the landing toward his apartment that was kitty-corner from Mitch’s.
Mitch watched the body of a natural born athlete glide along the interior concrete walkway, Austin’s sinewy physique commanding attention.
The tall, blond man was hot.
Beyond hot.
And at the moment, so was Mitch.
“Who was that?” Josh asked, stepping out from his bedroom.
“Someone I plan on getting to know better.”
Now standing behind Mitch, Josh focused on Austin too. “If you don’t, I certainly will.”
“He’s mine,” Mitch warned teasingly.
“Why do you always get the ones who look like that?”
“Guess I’m just a lucky guy.”
* * * *
He didn’t recognize me, Austin thought. But why should he? He looked drastically different since graduating high school.
Stabbing the keys into the lock of his apartment door, Austin turned the lock and the door handle simultaneously. He couldn’t wait to get on the other side of the door and away from Mitch’s watchful eyes, which burned a hole into his back. What the fuck was he thinking, introducing himself like he was the finest piece of flesh in town? Pushing through the opening of the door, he slammed it shut and rested his weight against it, exhaling a long, deep breath.
You are not that overweight pathetic kid anymore.
Racing to his bedroom and almost tripping over a stack of men’s fitness magazines he’d tossed on the floor the evening before, after spending the night reading from the comfort of his sofa, Austin stopped at the full-length mirror propped against the wall in the corner of the room. He’d always meant to hang it but never got around to it. Six months later, it was still in the exact same place where he’d first set it the day he moved in. Actually, he didn’t mind it there because the slant made his reflection at least two inches taller and ten pounds’ slimmer, plus the monster of a thing weighed a ton and was impossible to hang solo. Staring at his reflection, Austin smoothed his hands over his shirt, pressing out the wrinkles.
That afternoon, he’d have to hit the gym hard since he had recently succumbed to his favorite childhood temptation, the Twinkie.
Angling left and right, he assessed his midsection. He could have sworn those two spongy, creamy cakes of deliciousness were now permanently implanted to each side of his torso, adding to his love handles. Why did he have to turn to food when he had a particularly stressful day? Better than drugs and alcohol, he mused. But that was still no excuse. And he thought he had better self-control and coping mechanisms than turning to food for comfort. Guess not.
At that moment, he vowed to try harder, to do better. He was no longer that chubby kid who hid behind shapeless black clothes, but instead an attractive man, who men like Mitch Montgomery wanted to be with. Austin recognized that look in Mitch’s eyes, the same look most of the guys at the gym or the club gave him. Wasn’t that what he had hoped for with every painful squat, strenuous chest press, and exhausting lateral pull-down he worked through a minimum of five days a week? Hadn’t he achieved the looks of a Greek god? Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried, Austin couldn’t stop the self-deprecating voices in his head that called him fat at least ten times a day, and sometimes more.
Toeing off his shoes and yanking his shirt over his head, Austin shimmied out of his shorts to redress in his favorite gym outfit, which he felt showcased his well-defined pecs and bubble ass. He knew he was being vain and ridiculous, but what he needed right then was some adoration in the form of hot sweaty men with the look of sex in their needful eyes.
Selecting his trusted
Nikes from his closet, Austin shoved them on and went to the refrigerator to fish out a premade protein shake for the drive to the gym. He grabbed his keys where he had tossed them earlier and bolted out the door, allowing it to lock behind him. Making a last-minute change of plan, he decided to get in some cardio, opting to run the three miles to the gym instead of driving. If he planned on having sex with Mitchell Montgomery, and he did, the last thing he wanted to concern himself with was his body image. When that day came, he planned on enjoying each and every second that man could give and receive. He had fantasized over him long enough, and Mitch was going to be his no matter what.
Fuck you, fat kid, and fuck you, Twinkies.
Chapter Two
After painstakingly moving every box out of the rented moving truck, one by one, and setting up the king-size bed with the help of two Latino hunks who understood very little English but knew their way around a bed frame, Mitch flopped on to the firm mattress, exhilarated and exhausted from the day’s events.
Where was that massage therapist when you needed him? he thought, reaching into a stretch. His left knee ached, and his right was paying for taking up the slack. Mitch had skipped his last three physical therapy appointments with the excuse of school, work, and the upcoming move, and he was regretting it. He had promised his mother, Sarah, that once moved in he’d resume with the painful but necessary exercises to keep his injured knee from locking up and becoming even more of a problem than it already was. Sitting up, he rubbed the soreness from the tender area, imagining Austin’s long-fingered hands massaging him instead of his own stubby digits. His leg throbbed with discomfort, but the manipulations felt good and relaxing.
Knowing that he would be alone for a while, Josh being more the foodie and on the hunt for provisions at the grocery store to fill the empty refrigerator, Mitch unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans. Already hard, his cock flopped from its denim restraint. He had forgotten to do the weekly laundry and decided to go without underwear that day, something he didn’t do that often but enjoyed when he did. It made him feel like he was doing something forbidden, something he should be punished for.