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    Happiness for Beginners
    Happiness for Beginners
    Happiness for Beginners
    Ebook83 pages1 hour

    Happiness for Beginners

    By Zahra Owens

    3/5

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    About this ebook

    Jesse harbored a crush on his TV series costar, Kaye, for more than eight years, but when the show was canceled and he realized those years of playing gay hadn’t convinced Kaye to leave the straight and narrow, Jesse turned his back on acting for good. Ten years later, Kaye is back in Jesse’s life, on Christmas Eve—and the eve of his third divorce. Jesse’s not sure his heart can take another beating, but Kaye has a few tricks up his sleeve—and a few truths from his own heart—that might just convince Jesse that the gifts of love and happiness are not just for Christmas.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDreamspinner Press
    Release dateDec 1, 2011
    ISBN9781613722961
    Happiness for Beginners

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    • 3/5
      The title of this story intrigued me, but let me warn you, the story takes a long time to get there. It is the tale of two men who have had so many misunderstandings that neither of them really knows what’s going on. They have caused each other a lot of pain, and now that they are together again after ten years of no contact, it doesn’t get any better. Not at first, and even later, not easily.

      Jesse always knew what he wanted, but he understands that Kaye couldn’t give it to him. He loves Kaye with all his heart, and I really felt for him. He has been disappointed before, but can’t help loving Kaye.

      Kaye is a really troubled man; he comes off as a bit of a bastard at first, but as I discovered through Jesse’s eyes what he’d been through, I started to understand him better. He still behaves badly, and hurts Jesse, and I wasn’t sure they’d be good together even at the end of the story, but that actually fits the character. It just isn’t fair to Jesse!

      If you like stories about deeply troubled men who try to deal with lots of trauma and will probably never be able to truly recover, if you want some psychology with your romance, and if you don’t mind and ending that is not exactly overly optimistic, you will probably like this story.





      NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Queer Magazine Online

    Book preview

    Happiness for Beginners - Zahra Owens

    Happiness for Beginners

    I’m sorry, we’re closed…. Jesse looked at the stranger, and it dawned on him that the man standing in the doorway wasn’t a stranger at all. Kaye Bannon. Look what the cat dragged in.

    Kaye nodded. Hi, J.

    Jesse waved at Kaye to enter and walked over to pull him into his arms. It was like the last ten years had never happened. The Christmas bells on the door jangled as it shut, and Kaye hugged him back.

    Where have you been?

    You know, here and there. LA mostly. And Vancouver where we were filming.

    I heard your show got canceled, Jesse said compassionately.

    It had run its course. Wasn’t a big surprise, Kaye replied, pulling himself out of Jesse’s embrace.

    But knowing how these shows film, you must have done your last take in, what? April? May?

    April.

    So what have you been doing with yourself these past eight months? Traveling? Jesse casually gestured at his shop, which was filled with big cardboard pictures of exotic beaches and long display cases of brochures. It was no secret he was a travel agent. And not the cheap backpack-traveler sort either.

    No, pretty much stayed at home.

    Banging bitches, Jesse stated, stressing the alliteration and not hiding the mockery. He didn’t need to ask. He knew his friend’s reputation and doubted much had changed in the ten years since he’d last seen him. What surprised him was the pained expression on Kaye’s face. What?

    I’m on my way to divorce number three, J.

    I’m sorry, Jesse said, trying to sound compassionate. He’d been there for Kaye’s first two divorces, but didn’t know his third wife or whether this marriage was any better than the first two. The only thing he knew was that it had lasted much longer than Kaye’s first two efforts. Jesse put his hand on Kaye’s shoulder and gave it a casual pat. I didn’t know.

    You mean I’m talking to the one person who doesn’t read about me in the tabloids?

    Don’t read them at all, Jesse answered happily. It was a little white lie, but he knew how private Kaye used to be and doubted that had changed either. "I just follow the gay celebs on After Elton and After Ellen. Every new hookup means big business, since they all want to take their new conquest away to somewhere exotic. And now with the marriage equality thing here in New York, every gay couple wants to go on a tropical honeymoon. In fact, in about two minutes I have a private appointment with two guys, both rather famous, who are getting married and are taking fifty of their closest friends on a Caribbean cruise to celebrate. It’ll certainly make my first quarter."

    Guess I better go, then, Kaye said wistfully.

    No! Kaye, I haven’t seen you in ten years! Stay. It’ll take thirty minutes. Tops. Jesse pushed Kaye to the back of the store and noticed he was trailing a small suitcase, meaning he hadn’t even checked into a hotel yet. Jesse ignored it and pushed Kaye into the tiny kitchen just as he spotted the couple through the storefront windows. Grab a cup of coffee or make yourself some tea. Don’t have that fancy stuff you used to make, but I have cookies. He pointed at the cupboard and threw Kaye a smile, which made Kaye smile too. Then the Christmas bells chimed, announcing the arrival of his customers. Gotta go, Jesse whispered as he closed the door.

    When he walked over to greet his guests, Jesse found his thoughts drifting back to how he’d met Kaye. He really needed to focus, but then again, he could sell gay cruises in his sleep. He shut the blinds to close up the shop and give his clients some privacy.

    In their early twenties, Kaye and Jesse had both been struggling actors doing odd jobs to make ends meet. They’d met at an audition for a popular late-night drama series that wanted to introduce a gay couple into their ensemble and had hit it off in the hallway outside the studio, dealing with their pre-audition jitters by running lines with each other. Their instant rapport had caught the eye of one of the producers, and they were both cast. For eight years, Kaye played the most iconic gay character on TV while Jesse played his long-suffering and much more monogamous life partner.

    By the end of their first season, Jesse had come out of the closet and Kaye’s sexuality was under constant scrutiny from the tabloids. Despite his publicist’s protests, Kaye always refused to comment, and by the third season, Kaye had married the girl who played his sister on the show, putting the speculation to rest. They divorced ten months later amidst rumors of infidelity on both sides, and she was written out of the series. Jesse helped Kaye pick up the pieces after his divorce by taking him clubbing. When the gay rumors started again, Kaye still refused to comment on them, much to Jesse’s surprise.

    For the next six years, Jesse was always there to pick up the pieces of Kaye’s heart, including after his much-less publicized second divorce, until the show was canceled and they were both out of a job. By then, Jesse was sick of being the poster boy for out actors and decided to leave the glaring spotlights, while Kaye won the lead role in a horror movie. Their paths hadn’t crossed since, and it wasn’t for Jesse trying to avoid Kaye. He’d always felt it was the other way around. The horror movie bombed, and

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