#20DaysToLA
M/M Road Trip Romance, 72K words
Available 8/18/20 from Amazon in ebook and paperback. Eligible for
Kindle Unlimited.
Universal Amazon link: http://mybook.to/20daystoLA
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/20daystola-by-tanya-chris
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54704459-20daystola
Blurb:
Braxton has a plan. To fly out to LA where
he has an apartment and a coveted entry level job waiting for him. To build a
life filled with the security and stability he never had as a kid. To find a
husband who’s a lot like him: steady, smart, responsible, and capable of making
good choices. To leave Connecticut and everything in it behind him, including
his mother, her revolving door of suitors, and his straight ex-stepbrother.
Craig has a plan. To convince Braxton to
drive out to LA with him. To see every last sight along the way, no matter how
weird or expensive or out of the way. To have one last hurrah before embarking
on the adult life he’s in no way ready for. And maybe to act on the bisexuality
he’s kept to himself so far.
Whose plan wins? Is twenty days enough to
make it from Connecticut to LA and from ex-stepbrothers to friends to
happily-ever-after? Will Braxton’s stuffed bear, Mr. Lovey, find a real-life
bear friend? Find out in this slow burn, friends to lovers, opposites attract,
bi awakening, road trip romance in which there’s ONLY ONE BED.
Excerpt:
“You don’t mind
being short, do you? I mean, since you’re gay and all. You don’t have that
thing where you have to be the taller than your partner in heels.”
“When have you
ever not been taller than your partner in heels?”
“Not me, but…”
He shrugs. “It shouldn’t be about size, should it?”
“Gay guys care
about size too. I mean—” I backtrack quickly, realizing what I just implied.
“Some guys would like how big you are. It’s a thing.”
“Is it your
thing?”
“Most of the
guys I’ve dated have been about my size.” That’s not answering his question,
but it’s as close as I’m going to get. “Muscle-heads tend to stick together.”
“Yeah? Seems a
little narcissistic going for someone who looks just like you. Not that I don’t
appreciate the work that goes into a physique like mine. It just doesn’t do
anything for me in a sex way.”
“You don’t like
guys at all, though.”
Another thing we
got at the store is a six pack. Craig reaches between us to grab a fresh beer.
He spends a minute opening it, as though that takes concentration, then takes
several swallows. I assume we’re going to drop that topic of conversation, but
he surprises me by starting it again.
“I think I’d be
more into a guy like you.”
“If, you mean.”
“Sure. If.
You’re cute.”
I don’t know
whether to be flattered or insulted. Craig thinking I’m cute makes a little
flutter of hope take wing inside me, but I can also guess he finds me more
attractive than guys who look like him because, in his mind, I’m closer to
being a woman.
I look nothing
like a woman. I’m not a tall man, but I’d be on the tall side for a woman, and
I’m not super built up top, but you can see the shape of my shoulders. I’m
hairy where men tend to be hairy—not in copious quantities, but I’ve got a nice
even coat on my forearms and calves and down my treasure trail. My features are
male, and I dress like your average guy.
I’ve known guys
who were campier or more femme, and I have no issue with them. I don’t like
drawing rigid lines between male and female. But Craig saying he would prefer a
guy like me feels like he’s putting me on one particular side of that line I
don’t like to draw.
“Braxton?”
I realize I’ve
gone silent and flash a smile at him, then hold out the marshmallow I’ve
toasted to a perfect crispy brown. He takes this one with his fingers, though
the way he licks them clean after is almost as distracting as his
stick-fellatio technique.
“I didn’t mean
to be inappropriate,” he says. “I wasn’t hitting on you or anything.”
“God, no. I
didn’t take it that way.”
“Okay, well,
good.”
He drinks his
beer, and I roast my marshmallows. We gaze into the fire, listening to a chorus
of crickets. Someone a few campsites over has music playing. The sound comes
and goes with the wind, intruding sudden bursts of rap, like angry remarks
thrown out by a passing stranger. The fire pops and crackles and Craig gets up
to tend it, though there’s no need to build it higher. It’ll be burning for
days already.
At some point we
start talking again, about what we saw today and where we’ll go tomorrow, about
anything except how attractive I find him and the subject of whether he finds
me attractive in return, but later, in the dark of our tent, with three beers
in me, I ask him, “Do you really think I’m cute.”
And he says,
“Yeah, Braxton. I really do.”
About the Author
Tanya Chris writes
feminist-friendly romance in a variety of sub-genres and pairings--most
especially M/M. Born on the West Coast and raised on the East Coast, she's
fact-based but thirsty for justice, and her books often include an examination
of a current social issue, even when they're set in the past. As a lifelong
genre-hopping reader herself, she admires character-driven work with a message,
regardless of the form it takes.
Tanya is an avid
rock climber, a long-distance runner, and a participant in her local community
theater where she has tackled most roles, including playwright, actor,
director, producer, and stage manager. Her travels, both for climbing trips and
for cultural exploration, have brought her to places as fascinating as Egypt
and as beautiful as the Dolomites, though there's no place like home.
Twitter: @tanyachrs
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tanyachrispublishing/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Tanya-Chris/e/B01CT6MWRQ
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15067939.Tanya_Chris
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tanya-chris
New to Tanya
Chris? Start here: http://tanyachris.com/quizzes
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