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    Chasing My Dream
    Chasing My Dream
    Chasing My Dream
    Ebook123 pages1 hour

    Chasing My Dream

    By Jeff Erno

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    Sixteen year old Nash Adams feels like the token gay guy in his small, northern Michigan high school. When his boyfriend dumps him on the very night they're supposed to go to the carnival together, Nash wonders if he'll ever find the guy of his dreams. Later that night, beneath a full moon, Nash gazes into the midnight sky and sees a shooting star. At the urging of his best friend Cala, he halfheartedly makes a wish. A few miles away, Caleb Cummings lies on the beach staring up at the sky when he notices a star that seems to be moving. He makes a wish of his own. When Nash and Caleb fall asleep that night, they wake up together. Though at first confused, it doesn't take long to figure out what has happened. They've entered each other's dreams. Initially they're each convinced the other is a figment of their imagination, but when the phenomena continues to occur, night after night, Nash wonders if there might be a way to find Caleb in real life. It shouldn't be difficult to find someone in this modern, technological age. But as he begins his search, he faces numerous frustrating obstacles. Eventually he has to decide if it is even worth the effort to keep searching for an imaginary friend. Maybe he should give up on his dream guy and look for someone in the real world.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJeff Erno
    Release dateMay 20, 2014
    ISBN9781311454836
    Chasing My Dream
    Author

    Jeff Erno

    Jeff Erno, author of Puppy Love, writes m/m erotica and gay young-adult fiction in southern Michigan. His first book, Dumb Jock, was published in 2009.

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      Book preview

      Chasing My Dream - Jeff Erno

      Chasing My Dream

      Jeff Erno

      Copyright 2014 by Top 2 Bottom Bookstore

      Smashwords Edition

      Edited by Top 2 Bottom Bookstore

      Photography and cover art by Allison Cassatta

      Electronic book Publication Chasing My Dream 2014

      This book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Top 2 Bottom Bookstore, 364 Crestwood, Oxford, MI 48371

      Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/)

      This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the authors’ imagination and used fictitiously.

      http://www.jefferno.com

      Chasing My Dream

      Jeff Erno

      Dedication

      To my Gram, who I often see in my own dream realm.

      Acknowledgements

      Special thanks to my cover artist, Allison Cassatta, who did an amazing job.

      Chapter One

      I can’t believe I spent fifteen bucks on that stupid game and ended up with these things. Nash looked at the pair of plush dice connected with a string. He held the string up in the center using his index finger and began twirling the dice in the air.

      At least you won something. Cala held a stick of cotton candy, bright pink and swirled like a beehive hairdo from the fifties. She tore off a piece and stuffed it into her mouth. After it began to melt on her tongue, she continued to speak. You’re still thinking ʾbout him, aren’t ya?

      No, Nash lied.

      Yes you are, and it’s okay. She placed her hand on her best friend’s back and rubbed in a circular motion. You’re too good for that fuck stain anyway.

      He scowled and looked up into the star-filled sky. They sat together on a park bench on the water’s edge, just outside of the town’s annual carnival. Boyne hosted the event every year at the same time for the local Mushroom Festival. Usually Nash looked forward to it, if not for the rides, at least for the opportunity to hang out with friends and maybe play some of the rip-off games. This year he felt differently. This year he wasn’t into it at all.

      I don’t care about Tom, and you’re right. He’s an asshole. Still, it hurt. Tom had been the only guy Nash had dated since he came out almost two years ago. When he first started telling people, back when he was only fourteen, everyone seemed really supportive. After the novelty wore off, he felt like an outcast. He discovered quickly that the other guys at school, though not necessarily mean to him, didn’t seem to want to hang out. God forbid, someone might see them with the token gay boy and assume that they too were gay.

      Nash met Tom at one of the high school dances. Tom didn’t attend Boyne City High but was from a neighboring town, East Jordan. He’d come to the dance with a friend, a female student from Boyne. She made a point of introducing her friend to Nash because, of course, she knew he was gay. Everyone knew Nash was gay.

      Nash couldn’t deny Tom was cute, but they didn’t have much in common other than their sexual orientation. They danced together and even kissed before the night was through. Then they dated a few times and communicated mainly by phone and text. East Jordan was a fifteen minute drive from Boyne, and neither of them had a car.

      It lasted almost three months, but when Nash called Tom to find out when they’d meet to go to the carnival, he broke the bad news. Tom had met someone else, a guy who lived right in East Jordan. They’d found out about each other by coincidence on the Internet, imagine that. What a small world. He wished Nash the best and said it’d be cool if they could stay friends.

      Yeah whatever, Nash told him. What a douche.

      He’d never find love, not in this God-forsaken little, hick town. It had a population of like a hundred or some shit. Actually, it was closer to five thousand, but it might as well have been five. There were no other kids there like Nash so he might as well just get used to the fact that he’d be single for the rest of his high school experience—possibly for the rest of his natural life.

      I don’t need a boyfriend, Nash said as he looked over to Cala. They’d been friends as long as Nash could remember. They might’ve been in the same kindergarten class; he couldn’t recall. But they’d started hanging out with each other in grade school and both had grown up in Boyne and attended the same school all their lives.

      When Nash came out to his best friend, she barely reacted. She said it was about time he admitted it. Hon, you can do so much better than that dude.

      He shrugged. "Easy for you to say. You have a boyfriend."

      Hm, I can loan you Jeremy, as long as you promise to bring him back in as good or better condition as you found him.

      Nash rolled his eyes. No thanks. Jeremy’s all right, but not my type. Plus, he likes the vajayjay. He made a face while Cala laughed. When she and Jeremy started dating a year ago, the relationship had really put a damper on Nash and Cala’s friendship. They didn’t hang out nearly as much anymore. The only reason they’d gone together to the carnival was because Jeremy had to work. But he’d be taking Cala again the next night.

      I’m just gonna stop worrying about it. Nash sighed. He had more important things to think about, like simply making it through high school, choosing the right college, or getting rid of the zit that kept reappearing on his forehead.

      Look! Cala said, pointing into the night sky. Look at that star.

      It’s moving, Nash said, squinting as he stared upward. It’s a shooting star.

      Oh my God! She grabbed hold of Nash’s wrist. Quick, make a wish.

      Nash laughed. Yeah, right.

      Seriously! This is…um…serendipitous! Make a wish quick before it’s too late.

      To humor her, he closed his eyes. What the hell, Then he formulated his wish, speaking it only to himself in his own mind. I wish I’d meet that special person, the one who’s exactly right for me, who’ll accept me for who I am. And..I wish we’d live happily ever after.

      Nash opened his eyes and stared up at the star as it continued to shoot across the sky. What do you think that was? he asked. A meteor or something?

      I don’t know, she said. I think it’s a special shooting star, just for us.

      He grinned. Yeah. Okay. What’d you wish for?

      I can’t tell you, she said. And don’t you tell me yours, or it won’t come true.

      Hm, he said. I hate to rain on your parade, but it’s gonna take something a lot more powerful than a shooting star to make my wish come true.

      You’ve gotta believe, she said, then leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. Nash reached up to wipe off the stickiness from her cotton-candy lips. Have a little faith.

      That’s exactly what I have, he mumbled. "A little faith. Very little."

      * * * * *

      You wanna roast a marshmallow? Caleb looked up from his e-reader to his mother. She thrust a long, spindly twig in his direction. It had been whittled on one end into a spear. In her other hand she held a bag of marshmallows. We’ve got graham crackers and Hershey’s bars. You’ve always loves s’mores.

      Caleb scrunched his face in disapproval and shook his head. Nah. I’m going down to the lake.

      Caleb, you shouldn’t be reading in the dark.

      My Kindle has a light. Otherwise I wouldn’t be able to see it. Why did parents say such stupid things sometimes? He shook his head as he pushed himself up from the lawn chair.

      He hadn’t wanted to go camping with his family over the weekend, but his mom had forced him. She said it’d be a chance for him to bond with Tim, his new stepdad. Caleb had no desire to bond with the man, and he had even less interest in camping.

      He had no idea why on earth they picked northern Michigan to go camping. During the month of May, which was when the Mushroom Festival was scheduled, the water was still way too cold to swim. And since Caleb couldn’t care less about trudging through the woods hunting morel mushrooms, the entire trip was an absolute bore.

      And the campsite itself, located

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