Inland Empire by James Buchanan
There are two worlds in this novel and Brandon behaves in a different way according to the world he is in that moment. Inland Empire is the sequel of Cheating Chance; the first book takes place in Nicky's world (so maybe the worlds are actually three), Las Vegas, where Nicky is out and proud and has no problem with that. He has a tight circle of friends and Brandon, his new boyfriend, enters the circle. It's always Brandon who comes to visit Nicky, since Brandon is not out: he is a Los Angeles police officer, and he stated from the first moment with Nicky that he has no intention to come out. But in the first book Nicky was in danger, Brandon had to call for some favor, and in a way, he came out a bit from the closet. Now, at the beginning of the second book, Nicky is coming to visit and Brandon can't avoid to present him to his friends. It's actually the Pink Elephant who tries to hide in a glass shop, since Nicky is obviously gay, he is staying with Brandon, and you can say seeing them together that they are not only buddy friends. I actually found almost irritating Brandon's stubbornness in insisting that he is in the closet... that closet has bigger hole that a wrecked ship.
And so we read of Brandon who tries to live a double life: the mostly submissive partner for Nicky, when they are alone, and the bad big straight cop, when they are among other people. It's quite a contrast since Brandon doesn't change so much in attitude, and so it's strange, but interesting, to see him as the bottom in their relationship, seeking Nicky's comforting body and almost begging his love, without actually saying the word, and maintaining that facade of strong and untouchable man; and it's even more strange to see him denying that Nicky is someone special in his life, when it's obvious that Nicky is among the more important person in his life.
Another nice contrast is seeing as Brandon, all straight attitude, is mostly the bottom in their relationship, and Nicky, not exactly flamboyant, but almost, turns a dominant lover in their intimacy. There is a reason for Nicky's behavior, a bad experience with a past lover that makes difficult for him to submit to a lover, so the contrast is not so strange; basically Nicky was a submissive lover, but he got hurt, and now it's difficult to trust again. And Brandon's attitude doesn't help, since, trying to "hide" Nicly with him in the closet, he isn't proving to Nicky that he accepts him like he is, he is forcing Nicky to do something he doesn't like, and ab absurdo, he is behaving like his former lover, taking advantage of Nicky's trust to force him to do something unhealthy for him.
In the end I would like to spend some words on the setting, the LAPD. It's not a "romance" perspective that we have of the job, there are not lonely hero who arrives and burst into a scene alone and almighty, routing the enemies. Oh yes, Nicky and Brandon can play on how sexy can be Brandon with his former motorbike cop uniform, but all in all, Brandon's job is dangerous and underpaid, brought on in poor neighborhoods and among petty criminals, and at the end of the day, the only reward he has is a small apartment and a take out dinner. And Brandon himself is not some perfect hero, who can live as he wants without facing the consequences of his actions. Only if you meet someone special like Nicky, you can have something more, but you need to have the courage to be true with yourself and the world, knowing that there will be no rainbow flags cheering for you.
http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2010 (ebook)
http://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?book=INLAND01 (print book)
Amazon: Inland Empire
Series: Taking the Odds
1) Cheating Chance: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/260732.html
2) Inland Empire
Reading List:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle
Cover Art by Pluto