Anthem
Notes from Boston #1
by A.M. Leibowitz
M/M Contemporary/Bisexuality
Supposed Crimes
Book at Goodreads
Trevor Davidson has everything going for him. He’s just moved out on his own with three friends, and he’s landed a job as music director at a large Boston church. He has high hopes for marrying his long-term girlfriend and settling into a comfortable, devout lifestyle.
Andre Cole has spent the past few years throwing himself into a dead-end job at a Cape Cod-based call center. When an opportunity to move back to Boston arises, Andre believes it will be the do-over he needs to put his past behind him.
A chance meeting in a club on New Year’s Eve brings Trevor and Andre together for a brief but steamy encounter. Both assuming that’s the end of it, they are unexpectedly thrown back into each other’s lives when Trevor’s church hires Andre for their website design. While Andre is content at first to move on, Trevor’s conflicted feelings bubble over into his songwriting. Before he can stop it, his ode to Andre becomes an inadvertent Christian radio hit.
Unfortunately for Trevor, he isn’t the only one who knows the song’s hidden meaning. Someone has leaked the story and upended Trevor’s life.
In order to put the pieces back together, he needs to learn to be honest with his girlfriend, with Andre, and especially with himself.
***
Excerpt:
Whether it was the alcohol or the heat or the press of Trey’s body against his own, Andre wasn’t sure, but the tension felt good and his whole body was alive. The vague thought that he now owed Julian five dollars popped into his head, but he brushed it off so it wouldn’t spoil the moment. The music and the booze coursed through him, and he leaned in closer. He and Trey were pushed together partly by the crowd and partly of their own volition. Inhaling deeply, he took in the scent of Trey’s skin, a heady combination of sweat, soap, and alcohol.
Andre took a chance. He leaned up to speak into Trey’s ear. “It’s customary to kiss someone at midnight.”
Trey’s breath tickled his face. “And how close are we to midnight?”
“Close enough.”
Trey slid his cheek against Andre’s, the rough stubble creating delicious friction just before their mouths joined. It should just have been a brief kiss, something to welcome January first and no more. Except once they’d started, it was like wildfire. Andre sensed a change in Trey, almost an animal hunger. He kissed Andre feverishly, and Andre returned it with equal intensity. They were tangled in each other, panting, their mouths and hips moving together and Trey’s tongue exploring Andre’s. Trey’s palm made slow circles on Andre’s back, and Andre ran his fingers under Trey’s thick blond hair to touch his neck. For the next several minutes, Andre focused only on how good Trey’s body felt against his, the sounds of the band and the crowd fading into the background.
When Trey tried to slip a hand under Andre’s shirt, Andre gasped, and something clunked back into place. “Not here,” he said between breaths.
Trey grunted in agreement and backed off a little, but they kept sneaking in smaller, breathless kisses while Andre debated further. He wasn’t planning on going home with Trey nor asking him to come back to Julian’s place—both Julian and Elisa would kill him. They could do the next best thing and simply find somewhere marginally less public to make out for a while. Andre slid his hand down Trey’s wrist to touch his hand. He tilted his head in question, and to his surprise, Trey nodded.
They escaped through the crowd to the narrow hallway where the bathrooms were located. It wasn’t ideal, but it was good enough. The hallway was nearly empty. They paused along the wall to kiss and grope a bit more, allowing the fire to build between them. When they finally stumbled into the bathroom, Andre almost didn’t care anymore who else was in there with them.
To his relief, there was an unoccupied stall. The moment the door was latched, though, Andre just stood there, undecided. This hadn’t been in the plan, and now that it was a reality, he wasn’t sure anymore. He stared at Trey, his heart hammering in his chest. He thought he should move, but he was rooted to the spot. The spell was broken when Trey yanked on his shirt, causing Andre to stumble into him. The heat of Trey’s chest against his was Andre’s undoing. He looked into Trey’s eyes for a split second before crashing their mouths together.
***
About the Author:
A. M. Leibowitz is a spouse, parent, feminist, and book-lover falling somewhere on the Geek-Nerd Spectrum. She keeps warm through the long, cold western New York winters by writing romantic plot twists and happy-for-now endings. Her published fiction includes her first novel, Lower Education, as well as a number of short works, and her stories have been included in several anthologies. In between noveling and editing, she blogs coffee-fueled, quirky commentary on faith, culture, writing, and her family at amleibowitz.com.
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