New story
Hi, all. Long time no see. I come bearing a small gift. If you don't mind it being un-betaed, I have the second draft of one of my current stories. Admittedly, it's still in progress, but I've already written over forty pages, so far. If you're willing to ride along as I set this out, editing a bit as I go, I'd like to share. It's a bit of a tongue-in-cheek response to some of the overdone devices in m/m werewolf stories.
Blind Eye (random working title)
Humor, werewolves
In the real world, werewolves don't automatically know who their heart beats for. Sometimes, they need help. Miles doesn't think he does, but he doesn't mind the vacation his family sends him on to a gay werewolf singles retreat. What? You didn't think they had such a thing? It's the modern age, after all.
Carl Sims listened with a skip in his heart when the car door slammed shut and the front door opened. The footsteps paused as their owner stopped to drop the keys in the small plastic dish by the door; their metallic clink softened in the elephant bowl his wife had thought was cute. God, he missed Emily. She would have been able to handle this whole thing so much better than he could.
The footsteps headed toward the kitchen. The refrigerator door opened and he heard shuffling as the jug of tea was taken out and set on the counter. Carl figured this was as good a time as any. He stood up from his favorite recliner and followed the clinking of glass and the sound of liquid pouring over ice. Stepping into the bright kitchen his Emily had painted Robin’s Egg blue, he paused and took in the boy.
Carl supposed he wasn’t a boy anymore. He looked boyish. Or maybe an odd mix of boy and man. It was a man’s set of shoulders, but the rounded, clean jaw of a boy. The hair was cut in a mature style, but it’s soft and light brown color made it seem more youthful than it was. The bearing of a man, but the height of a teenager. And his Emily’s warm brown eyes set in the smooth and handsome face. Carl smiled when those eyes looked up at him with a question.
“Hey, Dad. Want some?”
Carl came further into the room and leaned against the center island. “Sure, I’ll have a glass. How was work?”
A glass was set down in front of him and Carl intently watched the tea pour over the ice cubes, trying to build up enough courage to do what he had to do. It was the only option he had at the moment. Carl straightened his shoulders and ran through his argument one more time.
“Work was good. I have a new client who I think is going to be a lot of fun. She has two Pomeranians who are incredibly well-behaved for that breed. Cute, too.”
Carl took a deep breath and went for it. “Miles, I was thinking that you haven’t had a vacation since you started your, um, business.”
His son stopped and narrowed his eyes. “I’m not going camping. I don’t care what anybody says, I’m not going. There is no reason why we need to squat in plastic domes when there are perfectly reasonable cabins or RVs we could take.”
Carl pushed passed that. “That’s what I mean. I mean, that’s what I’m talking about. A fun trip in the woods at a resort.”
Miles’s eyes widened. “A resort? No way! We sprang for a resort this year? How did everyone take that?”
Carl cleared his throat and reached into his back pocket. He set the envelope down between them. “It’s not for everyone. Just you.”
“Me?” Miles picked up the envelope with a frown of suspicion. Opening it, he took out the plane ticket and the brochure. “Were It’s At?” he read with a deeper frown. After another moment of devouring the information, Miles looked up in disbelief. “You’re sending me to a gay werewolf retreat? What the hell?”
“Now, look, son. My friend in the next town over said his neighbor’s daughter went there and had a real nice time and met a real nice, um, girl. One of our kind.”
“Oh, our kind. Now I’m one of us, huh?” Miles said with a huff. Crap. Carl didn’t want to deal with a tantrum. Sometimes, in the dark of the night, Carl wondered if his pretty and fun Emily had passed off another man’s child as his. He’d be kind of relieved if that were true. Miles always made him feel like he was talking to an alien. It’d be good to know that it wasn’t Carl’s raising that had done that.
“Now, son, I’m trying to be supportive here.”
“You’re trying to send me away!”
“I’m sending you to a place where you’ll have a better chance finding someone you can settle down with.”
“You’re telling me I can’t find someone on my own?” Miles was offended as he leaned aggressively on the island toward his father. “I get dates, Dad!”
Carl sighed in frustration. “Yeah, I’ve seen your dates. So has everyone else. All pretty little snowflakes. And flakes is what I mean.”
“Just ‘cause I’m queer-”
“It has nothing to do with you being que- gay.” Carl shook his head. “What I mean is that because you’re gay, the amount of suitable partners is limited.”
“Suitable?” Miles asked, offended. “I have lots of men that suited me just fine!”
“They were all human!” Carl slapped his teeth together with a clank, breathing heavily through his nose. How did Miles always get him yelling like this? His Emily never had him yell for anything. …well, maybe for some things. Carl shook away the bittersweet thoughts and faced-off across the kitchen island with his son. “Miles, they were human,” he said more calmly. “They may have suited you for being… gay, but they can’t suit for our family. Our community.”
Miles glared at the iced tea jug with such malice Carl was waiting for the tea to start boiling. Carl gentled his tone a little more. “Son. I know it’s been tough for you. I do. There are so few of our kind, and then even fewer of your, um, orientation. But our community has really been trying to help you and be accepting-”
“Acceptance? I don’t need to be accepted by them!” Miles spat, flinging his arm out toward the window and the great world beyond its panes.
“You do. That’s how we are made up.”
“I’ll become a loner, then.”
Carl shook his head. They’d been over this before. “That’s not gonna happen. Miles, you’re not made for being on your own. You like people and crave their company. Your cousin… was the other way. He didn’t like being around anyone, even as a kid. You’re his complete opposite.” Miles huffed at the arrow of truth. “Humans can be good people. Sometimes, they can even become a part of our community. But those humans are few and far between. And it’s even tougher to find one who is… like you.”
“You’re making me feel like a leper again,” Miles said, but his stance had lost some of his aggression. Carl relaxed a little.
“I’m sorry, son. I’m not trying to. I’m just saying that all of us would like to see you happy and settled. It’s tough enough being one of us. But you’re, like, one percent of us. Isn’t that what they say? One percent of the population?”
“That number is wrong.” Miles sighed and leaned against the island and played with the puddle of condensation around his glass. “But I understand your point.” He looked up through his bangs. “But they weren’t special little snowflakes,” he said with a snip in his tone.
Carl sighed. “Okay, fine. That wasn’t… charitable of me. What I mean is, that…” Carl struggled to put his thoughts into words.
Miles filled in the blanks. “That my better half better be more butch than dandelion me,” he said with a sarcastic smirk.
“We like you just fine, son. But, if you want to get brass tacks about it, yeah. One of you’s gotta be able to get the meat on the table.” Miles’ sarcastic smirk became a knowing one. Carl flushed in embarrassment. “Goddamnit, Miles! Knock it off! You’re my son, for chrissakes.”
Miles chuckled and stood up straight. “Okay, okay. Sorry.” Picking up the plane ticket and brochure, he looked it over again. “So, you paid for all of it?”
“The others pitched in, too. We wanted you to have a nice room. Show the others you were a good catch and come from a good family,” Carl said proudly.
Smiling a little more warmly, Miles looked up. “It kind of feels like I’m being given a dowry and sent off to find a husband.”
Carl frowned and shifted uncomfortably. “Well, we just wanted to make sure you attracted the kind of fella you’d like to. I know you got your eyes set on a city wolf and, well, we figured if you showed up looking refined, like you always do, and staying in a nice room, you’d get that kind of attention.”
Miles came around the island and wrapped his arms tightly around his father. Carl relaxed and half-smiled. Miles pulled back and looked up into his father’s scruffy face. “I’ll hook a big alpha, just for you, Dad.” With that, Miles left the kitchen and went upstairs. Carl heard him dig out his laptop and set it up on the desk where Miles had done his homework all through school.
“Well, Emily, I did what I could,” Carl said into his wife’s pretty little kitchen. “I hope I’m nudging him in the right direction.” Carl picked up his glass of tea, toasted the air and drank half of it down to quell the nerves. Why’d his son have to be the “special” one? Shaking his head, he wandered back to his favorite chair and the TV.
Chapter 2->
Blind Eye (random working title)
Humor, werewolves
In the real world, werewolves don't automatically know who their heart beats for. Sometimes, they need help. Miles doesn't think he does, but he doesn't mind the vacation his family sends him on to a gay werewolf singles retreat. What? You didn't think they had such a thing? It's the modern age, after all.
Carl Sims listened with a skip in his heart when the car door slammed shut and the front door opened. The footsteps paused as their owner stopped to drop the keys in the small plastic dish by the door; their metallic clink softened in the elephant bowl his wife had thought was cute. God, he missed Emily. She would have been able to handle this whole thing so much better than he could.
The footsteps headed toward the kitchen. The refrigerator door opened and he heard shuffling as the jug of tea was taken out and set on the counter. Carl figured this was as good a time as any. He stood up from his favorite recliner and followed the clinking of glass and the sound of liquid pouring over ice. Stepping into the bright kitchen his Emily had painted Robin’s Egg blue, he paused and took in the boy.
Carl supposed he wasn’t a boy anymore. He looked boyish. Or maybe an odd mix of boy and man. It was a man’s set of shoulders, but the rounded, clean jaw of a boy. The hair was cut in a mature style, but it’s soft and light brown color made it seem more youthful than it was. The bearing of a man, but the height of a teenager. And his Emily’s warm brown eyes set in the smooth and handsome face. Carl smiled when those eyes looked up at him with a question.
“Hey, Dad. Want some?”
Carl came further into the room and leaned against the center island. “Sure, I’ll have a glass. How was work?”
A glass was set down in front of him and Carl intently watched the tea pour over the ice cubes, trying to build up enough courage to do what he had to do. It was the only option he had at the moment. Carl straightened his shoulders and ran through his argument one more time.
“Work was good. I have a new client who I think is going to be a lot of fun. She has two Pomeranians who are incredibly well-behaved for that breed. Cute, too.”
Carl took a deep breath and went for it. “Miles, I was thinking that you haven’t had a vacation since you started your, um, business.”
His son stopped and narrowed his eyes. “I’m not going camping. I don’t care what anybody says, I’m not going. There is no reason why we need to squat in plastic domes when there are perfectly reasonable cabins or RVs we could take.”
Carl pushed passed that. “That’s what I mean. I mean, that’s what I’m talking about. A fun trip in the woods at a resort.”
Miles’s eyes widened. “A resort? No way! We sprang for a resort this year? How did everyone take that?”
Carl cleared his throat and reached into his back pocket. He set the envelope down between them. “It’s not for everyone. Just you.”
“Me?” Miles picked up the envelope with a frown of suspicion. Opening it, he took out the plane ticket and the brochure. “Were It’s At?” he read with a deeper frown. After another moment of devouring the information, Miles looked up in disbelief. “You’re sending me to a gay werewolf retreat? What the hell?”
“Now, look, son. My friend in the next town over said his neighbor’s daughter went there and had a real nice time and met a real nice, um, girl. One of our kind.”
“Oh, our kind. Now I’m one of us, huh?” Miles said with a huff. Crap. Carl didn’t want to deal with a tantrum. Sometimes, in the dark of the night, Carl wondered if his pretty and fun Emily had passed off another man’s child as his. He’d be kind of relieved if that were true. Miles always made him feel like he was talking to an alien. It’d be good to know that it wasn’t Carl’s raising that had done that.
“Now, son, I’m trying to be supportive here.”
“You’re trying to send me away!”
“I’m sending you to a place where you’ll have a better chance finding someone you can settle down with.”
“You’re telling me I can’t find someone on my own?” Miles was offended as he leaned aggressively on the island toward his father. “I get dates, Dad!”
Carl sighed in frustration. “Yeah, I’ve seen your dates. So has everyone else. All pretty little snowflakes. And flakes is what I mean.”
“Just ‘cause I’m queer-”
“It has nothing to do with you being que- gay.” Carl shook his head. “What I mean is that because you’re gay, the amount of suitable partners is limited.”
“Suitable?” Miles asked, offended. “I have lots of men that suited me just fine!”
“They were all human!” Carl slapped his teeth together with a clank, breathing heavily through his nose. How did Miles always get him yelling like this? His Emily never had him yell for anything. …well, maybe for some things. Carl shook away the bittersweet thoughts and faced-off across the kitchen island with his son. “Miles, they were human,” he said more calmly. “They may have suited you for being… gay, but they can’t suit for our family. Our community.”
Miles glared at the iced tea jug with such malice Carl was waiting for the tea to start boiling. Carl gentled his tone a little more. “Son. I know it’s been tough for you. I do. There are so few of our kind, and then even fewer of your, um, orientation. But our community has really been trying to help you and be accepting-”
“Acceptance? I don’t need to be accepted by them!” Miles spat, flinging his arm out toward the window and the great world beyond its panes.
“You do. That’s how we are made up.”
“I’ll become a loner, then.”
Carl shook his head. They’d been over this before. “That’s not gonna happen. Miles, you’re not made for being on your own. You like people and crave their company. Your cousin… was the other way. He didn’t like being around anyone, even as a kid. You’re his complete opposite.” Miles huffed at the arrow of truth. “Humans can be good people. Sometimes, they can even become a part of our community. But those humans are few and far between. And it’s even tougher to find one who is… like you.”
“You’re making me feel like a leper again,” Miles said, but his stance had lost some of his aggression. Carl relaxed a little.
“I’m sorry, son. I’m not trying to. I’m just saying that all of us would like to see you happy and settled. It’s tough enough being one of us. But you’re, like, one percent of us. Isn’t that what they say? One percent of the population?”
“That number is wrong.” Miles sighed and leaned against the island and played with the puddle of condensation around his glass. “But I understand your point.” He looked up through his bangs. “But they weren’t special little snowflakes,” he said with a snip in his tone.
Carl sighed. “Okay, fine. That wasn’t… charitable of me. What I mean is, that…” Carl struggled to put his thoughts into words.
Miles filled in the blanks. “That my better half better be more butch than dandelion me,” he said with a sarcastic smirk.
“We like you just fine, son. But, if you want to get brass tacks about it, yeah. One of you’s gotta be able to get the meat on the table.” Miles’ sarcastic smirk became a knowing one. Carl flushed in embarrassment. “Goddamnit, Miles! Knock it off! You’re my son, for chrissakes.”
Miles chuckled and stood up straight. “Okay, okay. Sorry.” Picking up the plane ticket and brochure, he looked it over again. “So, you paid for all of it?”
“The others pitched in, too. We wanted you to have a nice room. Show the others you were a good catch and come from a good family,” Carl said proudly.
Smiling a little more warmly, Miles looked up. “It kind of feels like I’m being given a dowry and sent off to find a husband.”
Carl frowned and shifted uncomfortably. “Well, we just wanted to make sure you attracted the kind of fella you’d like to. I know you got your eyes set on a city wolf and, well, we figured if you showed up looking refined, like you always do, and staying in a nice room, you’d get that kind of attention.”
Miles came around the island and wrapped his arms tightly around his father. Carl relaxed and half-smiled. Miles pulled back and looked up into his father’s scruffy face. “I’ll hook a big alpha, just for you, Dad.” With that, Miles left the kitchen and went upstairs. Carl heard him dig out his laptop and set it up on the desk where Miles had done his homework all through school.
“Well, Emily, I did what I could,” Carl said into his wife’s pretty little kitchen. “I hope I’m nudging him in the right direction.” Carl picked up his glass of tea, toasted the air and drank half of it down to quell the nerves. Why’d his son have to be the “special” one? Shaking his head, he wandered back to his favorite chair and the TV.
Chapter 2->