by Andy Gallo
Lucas “Luke” DeRosa stared at the laptop, stunned. An email? Nine months together, and Kent broke up in an email?
The cowardly, cheating bastard!
This couldn’t be happening. Luke had planned his entire summer around Kent. Gave up the job back home to go to Philly and intern at the same accounting firm. They were going to live together.
Oh, fuck. Their apartment.
His dorm room door opened, and his roommate sauntered in like he’d never had a bad day in his life. Luke glanced up, and Coury’s smile vanished.
“Yo, what’s wrong, bro?” He plopped next to Luke on the bed. “You don’t look good. What happened?”
“Kent broke up with me.”
“What?” Coury straightened. “Why?”
That was what Luke wanted to know. “Said the distance thing was too much, and he met someone else.”
“What a fucker. Seriously?”
God, he wished it was a joke. “Shiiiiit. I sublet the apartment for us both and he’s staying with his new—with this other guy now.”
He should have seen the signs. Kent had blamed Luke for their inability to connect. Said Luke’s baseball schedule kept them apart. And being the fool he was, Luke accepted it had been his fault. Made up excuses to believe him when Kent said he couldn’t drive to Harrison.
“I’m so fucking stupid.”
Coury put a casual arm around his roommate. “Don’t blame yourself for his assholery.”
“Assholery?” Luke snorted. “Is that a real word?”
“Ninety-nine percent sure it is. This isn’t on you.”
“Yeah, up here I get it.” He tapped his head before moving his hand down to his chest. “But here?”
“I’m sorry, Luke.” Coury clapped Luke across the back. “Don’t sweat Philly. We’ll figure something out.”
Luke laughed. “I didn’t know you were coming too. Though help with rent would be ace.”
“You know what I mean.” Coury got up and pulled his laptop from his backpack. “The campus has a roommate-wanted site. That’s how I found the off-campus place I’m living in this summer. Don’t know if I saw any listings in Philly, but I remember seeing people advertise for other cities.”
So many problems with that idea. “Did I mention it’s a one-bedroom apartment?”
“Details.” Coury typed. “First thing is to find you a roommate, then you can worry about who’s sleeping where.”
“You don’t need to do this. I’ll figure it out.”
“I’m sure you will, but I know you. You’ll go into a funk and procrastinate. You’ve only got a couple of weeks to sort this out.”
“Right, because so many people at Harrison are going to Philly for the summer and still need a place to live.”
“Hey, things happen.” Coury nodded pointedly at Luke. “People get dumped. I’m sure there are more than a few people who’ve had a change of plans.”
“Sure. Tons.”
“All you need is one.” He spun the screen around. “Fill out the details.”
Luke stared blankly. His choices were limited. If he had to pay for the apartment by himself, he’d need to get a part-time job over the summer and during the school year. Both of those would affect his job prospects after he graduated.
Asking his family was a no-go, too.
“Right.” Luke took the laptop and started typing. “All I need is one.”
~ ~ ~
"Better Be True" is a roommates to lovers, fake-boyfriend, slow burn M/M romance with a HEA. This New Adult, college, opposite attract novel can be read as a standalone. The Harrison Campus series can be read in any order.
About Andy
Andy Gallo prefers mountains over the beach, coffee over tea, and regardless if you shake it or stir it, he isn’t drinking a martini. He remembers his “good old days” as filled with mullets, disco music, too-short shorts, and too-high socks. Thanks to good shredders and a lack of social media, there is no proof he ever descended into any of those evils.
Andy does not write about personal experiences and no living or deceased ex-boyfriends appear on the pages of his stories. He might subconsciously infuse his characters with some of their less noble qualities, but that is entirely coincidental even if their names are the same.
Married and living his own happy every after, Andy helps others find their happy endings in the pages of his stories. He and his husband of more than twenty years spend their days raising their daughter and rubbing elbows with other parents. Embracing his status as the gay dad, Andy sometimes has to remind others that one does want a hint of color even when chasing after their child.
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Email: [email protected]
About Anyta
A bit about me: I'm a big, BIG fan of slow-burn romances. I love to read and write stories with characters who slowly fall in love.
Some of my favorite tropes to read and write are: Enemies to Lovers, Friends to Lovers, Clueless Guys, Bisexual, Pansexual, Demisexual, Oblivious MCs, Everyone (Else) Can See It, Slow Burn, Love Has No Boundaries.
I write a variety of stories, Contemporary MM Romances with a good dollop of angst, Contemporary lighthearted MM Romances, and even a splash of fantasy.
My books have been translated into German, Italian, French, and Thai.
Contact: http://www.anytasunday.com/about-anyta/
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Also by Anyta Sunday
Liam Davis & The Raven
Love and romance? I don’t know how I feel about that.
But I’m about to find out.
Jock. Big-boned. Broad shoulders. Tall. Runs fingers through hair as though he’s attractive and knows it. Walks into party like he has all the time in the world, slow but oddly graceful. Laugh lines around the mouth, a deep crack in his skin where a dimple might be.
That’s how I described him in the notes for my latest party-page column.
He fascinates me, but I’m not sure why. Or what to do about it. My belly is a fluttery, twisty mess.
Best to focus on my mission to find The Raven—the campus vigilante—and warn him about the hate mail the student paper’s been getting for him.
Except . . .
Quinn looks at me and his eyes darken. He wants something. But what is it?
Why do I want so badly to give it to him?
Liam Davis & the Raven is a slow-burn, bi-awakening, New Adult, gay romance set in college. This roommates to lovers story features an MC with high-functioning Asperger's and follows him to his heartwarming HEA.
The books in the "Love Inscribed" series are standalone romances, and can be read in any order.
LIAM DAVIS & THE RAVEN: Liam & Quinn's story
MARC JILLSON & THE GAZEBO: Marc & Hunter's story