by David Horne
“Book of Love”
M/M Gay Romance
David Horne
© 2019
David Horne
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This book is intended for Adults (ages 18+) only. The contents may be offensive to some readers. It may contain graphic language, explicit sexual content, and adult situations. May contain scenes of unprotected sex. Please do not read this book if you are offended by content as mentioned above or if you are under the age of 18.
Please educate yourself on safe sex practices before making potentially life-changing decisions about sex in real life. If you’re not sure where to start, see here: http://www.jerrycoleauthor.com/safe-sex-resources/ (courtesy of Jerry Cole).
This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Products or brand names mentioned are trademarks of their respective holders or companies. The cover uses licensed images and are shown for illustrative purposes only. Any person(s) that may be depicted on the cover are simply models.
Edition v1.00 (2019.12.30)
http://www.DavidHorneauthor.com
Special thanks to the following volunteer readers who helped with proofreading: RB, JayBee, Naomi W., and those who assisted but wished to be anonymous. Thank you so much for your support.
Table of Content
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter One
Life is a funny thing. It never follows any set path. It can veer left only to jerk violently to the right. You think you have it all planned out. You’re born, you grow up, go to school, marry, have kids and so on. Matthew Ward thought that this would be his life when he was younger. However, life found a way to change. It started when he hit puberty, and he discovered that women, just didn't do it for him. The talk in the locker rooms made him cringe inside.
Matthew kept those feelings to himself, the shameful feeling inside his chest when he was checking out guys rather than the girls. He knew how to act like he was into girls. But, it never went farther than saying school and sports were more than enough for him.
Matthew knew that it would eventually something would happen to crumble his world. He supposed it was karma getting back at him for what he did in high school.
He was at his peak. He was the star quarterback on his way to a full scholarship when tragedy struck. He suffered a “career-ending” injury before his career could even really begin.
It happened on their home field. Everything was going great. They were leading and just a few minutes away from the end of the game. They were close to another touchdown when he felt the excruciating pain in his knee before he went down. A misstep was all it took to tear his ALC and with it his scholarship and life plans.
His father was more worried about the loss of opportunity than his son's torn-up knee. Matthew guessed that his father was always more concerned about his own legacy than what his child was feeling.
Luckily, Matthew could still get a scholarship. It wasn’t a full scholarship, but it was better than nothing. It was while doing therapy that he discovered a new passion. Matt had known that he would never be able to play sports again, but he could help other people get back into the sport that they loved. His father wasn't impressed with his new life choice. His father started to lay obvious hints that he wanted Matthew to start thinking about marriage. People were beginning to talk.
William Ward, Matthew's father was a small-time business owner with hungry ambitions to make it big in the business world. One of his plans was to marry off his son to his one and only big-time associate's daughter. It was all in hopes of getting a better foothold into the elite world of the rich and famous.
There was just one tiny problem. Matthew despised the girl. He never hid his feelings from his father that he wanted nothing to do with the girl. He would rather die alone than be with a money-hungry good-for-nothing, immature woman. His mother was on his side. She was less ambitious than his father and wanted nothing to do with the life of the rich and famous.
His father was continually pushing for Matthew to meet the girl. His pushing began to cause stress in his parents' marriage.
When Matthew started his college studies, everything came to a head. His mother filed for divorce. It shocked his father as he thought that she'd never leave him. He tried to get her to change her mind, but his pride was too great when she said that he had to leave their son be.
Daphne Ward left the Ward home for good as he finished his first semester. Matthew still talked with his mother and had coffee at her new home. She was his rock. His mother was the only thing keeping him sane as his father became more and more demanding.
Matthew could no longer take it and confessed to his father that he was, in fact, gay. His father gave him a look. For a moment, Matthew thought his father would unleash fury upon him. But, he just swirled on his heel and left the room.
He quickly learned his father had a plan, a plan he thought Matthew would adhere to. Marry the woman and have a lover on the side. It sounded so simple to William that he was shocked when his son glared at him. Matthew couldn't believe his father’s nerve. Marriage was something sacred. Clearly, his mother leaving his father had loosened a few screws in his father's head.
The argument was loud, things were thrown and bridges were burned. Matthew packed all his most important belongings. He then grabbed his wallet and keys before giving his father one last hurt-filled glare before slamming the front door behind him.
Matthew quickly ran out of money as his father froze his accounts. Matthew called his friends only to find out that his father worked faster than he thought possible. His few friends had turned their backs on him. Now, out of luck, Matthew took to wandering around to try and find some kind of sign of what he was supposed to do.
Then he tripped right over it.
He took a tumble down to the ground. Then he heard a yapping bark and a small cold nose touching his cheek.
"Oh, my goodness! Are you all right?" a British-accented voice asked from the same side as the nosy nose. The voice oddly sounded familiar, as well. Looking up, the first thing he saw was a pair of dark brown eyes belonging to a puppy.
A hand suddenly appeared and gently nudged the puppy away before returning as a gesture of help. Matt absently thought it was a rather beautiful hand before he followed the arm to see a tattoo. Its lines were clean and elegant. The tattoo was of two books, one looked old and the other new with a pocket watch resting on the top book.
Matt allowed his eyes to travel further up and soon met two evergreen eyes he never thought he'd see again.
"Matthew Ward?" the man said.
Matt nodded his head with a feeling of dread and guilt, suddenly wrapping itself around his heart. Matt hesitantly reached out for the still offer hand.
In front of him was Alfred Xavier Bailey, a British-born boy who moved to the United States his sophomore year. He was soft-spoken, polite and openly gay. He became an instant target for Matt's old friends and teammates. Matt never got involved in th
e bullying himself, but now, as an adult, he has the heavy thoughts that maybe he should have done something sooner. Especially knowing what his so-called friends ended up doing.
Matt took in the man who he hadn't seen in a few years. Matt noted that Alfred had indeed blossomed from the lanky teenager Alfred The man in front of him was neatly dressed in dark gray skinny jeans and a white button-up shirt with a deep red vest. The only thing seemingly out of place were the chunky black combat boots
"Hello Alfred, how have you been?" Matt asked awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his neck. Alfred was always a good-looking guy with his aristocratic face with its sharp nose and cupid's bow. His skin was as pale as ever, making the mole under his right eye stand out more.
A tight looking smile appeared on Alfred's face. "I'm doing well, thank you." There was an awkward silence where neither man knew what to say. A yip brought their attention to the little puppy looking up at Matt with a look of pure joy.
Kneeling to get a better look at the adorable creature, Matt looked up at Alfred. "Can I pet him?"
Alfred looked slightly hesitant before nodding.
The dog had a fluffy coat, with a tan and white color scheme. He was a happy little thing with an ear that didn't seem to want to stand upright like its twin. "And what's your name?" Matt asked the dog as he scratched the back of the floppy ear.
"His name is Sam." Was the quiet replay. Looking up, Matt noticed that Alfred was looking uncomfortable.
"Are you sure you’re okay?"
A frown marred Alfred's face as he glared at Matt. "Oh I don't know, I don't know how I’m supposed to feel seeing a reminder of my high school years. A reminder of memories that I would like best to remain buried deep in my mind. I don't know how I’m supposed to feel seeing you, Matthew. You might never have hurt me, but you sure did nothing to stop your friends." Alfred crossed his arms and huffed.
"How do you think I feel, Matthew." Was the acidic reply with a bit of a lip curl that shouldn’t have looked as attractive on Alfred as it did, but that was a thought to think back on when he was by himself.
Matthew looked around him, the back-alley shortcut between two buildings that connected two streets, was clear of any other people. Sam made a whine when he realized that Matt had stopped scratching.
"Listen… you have all the rights in the world to be pissed at me. I know I fucked up all right," Matt said as he slowly got back to his feet. Meeting Alfred's gaze again, he noted that Alfred was looking at him puzzled.
It was then that Alfred took a good long look at Matt.
The once-proud footballer seemed half the man he was in high school. There was an air of pure defeat. The man had dark shadows under and swirling in his eyes. His once clean-cut look was more that of a street bum, his dark hair looked dirty, and his clothes looked like they hadn't been washed in weeks. He looked a bit sloppy as if he hadn't had a decent shower in a while, and he carried a large duffle bag.
"Matthew… I think I should be the one asking if you’re all right." The man might have never helped him in his times of misery, but Alfred wasn't stupid. He knew Matt was most likely stuck between helping him but then being shunned by his own friends and doing nothing. Life was never just black and white, after all.
Matt shrugged and looked off to the side before his shoulders slumped. "Not really."
Before any more could be said, Matt's stomach decided to reveal its state of hunger with an imitation of a dying whale.
A sheer look of mortification settled on Matt's face as he lowered himself onto the ground and gave a shuddering breath that sounded disturbingly like a sob to Alfred.
Looking down at his dog, who was staring at Matt with a tilted head. Alfred sighed silently and slowly moved closer before he kneeled in front of Matt. His shoulders were slightly shaking, but no sound came from the clearly down-ridden man.
Matt felt so utterly defeated at that moment. He was just thankful that it was in front of Alfred and not one of his ex-friends or worse his dad. He jolted when he felt a soft hand wrap around his left wrist.
"Matt, please look at me."
A gentle tug made him move his left wrist to look into worried green eyes. "What happened to you?" Alfred was looking at him in a way that made warmth spread throughout his chest. How long had it been since someone had looked at him that way? Matt knew that if he were to tell his mother, she'd give him a place to stay. But, her house was small, and he didn't want to burden her with his problems.
Before he could open his mouth to answer Alfred, a look crossed his face, a look of determination, and then the look melted into something softer. "Come on." Alfred gently tugged Matt to a standing position before he lightly dusted him off. Matt watched as Alfred studied him up close and wondered what was going on inside the other man's head. It was then when he noticed that Alfred had an undercut and the upper longer hair was tied into a short ponytail at the top back of his head.
Nothing was said as Alfred grabbed Matt by the wrist and started to lead him to a bookstore that was close by. It was a quaint and utterly unique store. The windows were framed by painted books while the middle remained bare so you could look inside. Alfred reached into his front pocket and brought out a set of keys.
"You work here or something?" Matt asked, still utterly confused as to why he was being dragged along and why he was even allowing it. Alfred glanced behind him and smirked. "Or something." He then went into the store and quickly punched in the alarm code. Then he flicked the light switch.
The inside of the bookstore was crammed with bookshelves. The books were clearly sorted to be by genres as Matt spotted the tags bolted to the shelves. He then noticed that near the window was a seating area. The furniture had a vintage feel but looked new and colorful. Nothing was the same color besides the wood being all dark mahogany wood. There was a fireplace that looked like it hadn't been used in decades. Overall the place had such a homey feel that his shoulders drooped in relaxation.
"I own this bookstore."
Matt spun around to look at Alfred, who was locking the door again. "You own this place?" Matt knew that there were young entrepreneurs, but still, this was in an expensive area, and the books looked to be first edition books as well. Alfred ran his fingertips over the surface of the counter. "I inherited it." A look of sadness flashed over Alfred's eyes before it vanished. "My grandfather passed away two years ago. He knew how much I loved this store. So, he left it to me with a large amount of capital to help me keep the place afloat while I learned the ropes. He also left me the apartment above the store."
There was a moment of silence as Matt tried not to get at least a little bit hopeful.
"And you see, the store has been doing really great. So great in fact that I find myself in need of an extra helping hand in the store. It just so happens that I’m not using the apartment above the store." Startling green eyes locked with Matt's hazel brown hues.
"However, I do need to know how you got yourself into the situation you're in because, as far as I can remember, your family is rather well off."
Matt shuffled his foot as he looked around for a spot that he could sit down on without fear of dirtying the store. Looking down at himself, made him question that decision. Alfred seemed to be thinking along the same lines before licking his tongue in thought.
"Why don't you go upstairs and get a shower, I have spare clothes that should fit you okay enough. I’ll order us some food, and then you can tell me what happened to you and how we can resolve it," Alfred suggested before pointing at a door behind the counter.
With nothing else to do, he nodded and went to the door. With his back to the room, he looked over his shoulder at Alfred, who was still looking at him with an encouraging smile.
"Thanks… this, just thanks."
Something in his tone must have given him away, given away at how close he was to giving up. The encouraging smile turned soft and understanding. "Go on, do you want anything in particular?" Right. Food meant money, money that he di
dn't have. "I can't afford any—" Matt started to explain before Alfred waved his words away. "Nonsense, I'll buy you some much-needed food. I wouldn't be a decent human being if I didn't. Besides, my grandfather and my parents would be most upset with me. So go take a shower, have a change of clothes and tell me what you are in the mood for," Alfred said in a no-nonsense tone of voice that with the British accent he hadn't lost in the slightest. It made him sound all the more-stern, but the open smile on the face of his savior made Matt cave.
"Pizza would be nice."
Alfred nodded and brought out his phone. Just then, Sam yapped and wiggled his way onto a couch.
"Pizza does indeed sound good."
Chapter Two
The shower felt heavenly on Matt’s skin, the warm water cascading down his aching muscles. Matt looked into the white tiles unseeingly as he washed his hair of its days of grime. It feels good, Matt sighed as the feeling of being human came back to him slowly as his current situation started to dawn on him.
Some might think he would be stupid to trust Alfred, but Matt didn't have much to go on anymore. He certainly wasn't going to go back to his father. There was nothing left but eternal unhappiness if he bent his knee to his father's whims.
Turning off the water, Matt stepped out and saw that there were towels rolled up under the sink He took one and he dried himself off and wondered where the room was. He probably should have asked.
Matt walked to the door with his dirty clothes under his arm. When he opened it, he was shocked to see Alfred with his hand raised to knock on the door. Matt watched in fascination as Alfred's eyes traveled down his torso. He could almost feel the stare. It was a little bit of a confidence booster as he saw a rosy hue appear of Alfred's high cheekbones.
Alfred seemed to find himself again and cleared his throat. "Here…" The man shoved a pile of clothes into Matt’s chest, looking to the side as he did so. The action was adorable, and Matt had to bite his cheek to stop himself of saying something.