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    Smitten
    Smitten
    Smitten
    Ebook58 pages1 hour

    Smitten

    By R.W. Clinger

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Feeling his age and somewhat blue about his singlehood and dull life as a finance advisor, Jesse Fitzpatrick is about to have his world turned upside down.

    Out of the blue, Jesse’s best friend Carr returns from the jungles of Ecuador for four days. It’s a very rare occasion, since Carr has been traveling the world for the last twenty years for Armistice Coalition, a group similar to the Peace Corps. Excited about Carr’s visit, Jesse has to face the bittersweet truth -- he’s always been smitten with Carr, although Carr only treats him as friend, nothing more.

    Carr’s visit takes an interesting turn when he slips into bed with Jesse. As secrets of Carr's life begin to quickly unfold, Jesse starts to hope the traveling man might be smitten with him. Do the two have a chance at romance, or will Carr take the next flight back to the jungle and out of Jesse’s life for good?
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJMS Books LLC
    Release dateApr 22, 2017
    ISBN9781634863292
    Smitten
    Author

    R.W. Clinger

    R.W. Clinger is a resident of Pittsburgh. He has a degree in English from Point Park University of Pittsburgh. His writing entails gay human studies, and includes the novels Just a Boy, Skin Tour, Skin Artist, Soft on the Eyes, Pool Boy, and The Last Pile of Leaves. He has published many stories with Starbooks Press as well as The Weekender, a novella with Dreamspinner Press. His gay mystery, Cutie Pie Must Die, is published with Bold Stroke Books. For three years he has held the position of managing editor for the literary magazine, The Writer’s Post Journal. For more information, please visit rwclinger.com.

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      Book preview

      Smitten - R.W. Clinger

      Smitten

      By R.W. Clinger

      Published by JMS Books LLC

      Visit jms-books.com for more information.

      Copyright 2017 R.W. Clinger

      ISBN 9781634863292

      Cover Design: Written Ink Designs | written-ink.com

      Image(s) used under a Standard Royalty-Free License.

      All rights reserved.

      WARNING: This book is not transferable. It is for your own personal use. If it is sold, shared, or given away, it is an infringement of the copyright of this work and violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

      No portion of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher, with the exception of brief excerpts used for the purposes of review.

      This book is for ADULT AUDIENCES ONLY. It may contain sexually explicit scenes and graphic language which might be considered offensive by some readers. Please store your files where they cannot be accessed by minors.

      This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are solely the product of the author’s imagination and/or are used fictitiously, though reference may be made to actual historical events or existing locations. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

      Published in the United States of America.

      * * * *

      To Kenito Padilla.

      * * * *

      Smitten

      By R.W. Clinger

      Smitten, adj: struck by; afflicted; very much in love with.

      —Dictionary.com

      Friday, April 14, 2017

      Jesse Fitzpatrick stood at the kitchen window, studied the empty driveway to the A-frame’s left, and sighed. A few scattered events rolled about his skull: his sister’s wedding was in a week, and he still needed a date to the function; it wouldn’t stop snowing, even though it just happened to be midmonth; Corralito Carr de Vantino was expected to pull in his ice-covered, asphalt driveway from an extended stay in Ecuador with the Armistice Coalition (AC). AC, a group similar to the Peace Corps, gained private funds from local high-end businesses in the tristate area to accomplish its worldly work.

      How long had Jesse’s best friend, Carr, been away from Plimpton, Pennsylvania? Almost two years. At thirty-eight, a low-paid, lead crusader for AC, Carr had spent the time away from Lake Erie, building houses and water systems for third-world Ecuadorian communities. For the last twenty-two months, Jesse had kept in contact with his best friend via handwritten letters and very few calls. Carr lived in the Amazon jungle, southeast of the country’s capital, Quito, and didn’t have access to Wi-Fi.

      Excited to see his best pal, Jesse watched the snow fall from the heavens and glaze the driveway, creating what looked like beautiful icing on a wedding cake as opposed to a blistery wonderland with springtime already one month into its term. Fortunately, Carr was taking a cab from the county airport to Jessie’s A-frame abode in the woods and next to the lake, presumably carrying the same large canvas bag he had left Plimpton with almost two years ago. Jesse had calculated the cab ride at twelve miles, which translated to forty minutes because of the unhelpful weather, maybe even fifty minutes.

      Jesse’s reflection appeared in the kitchen window as he looked outside: ginger hair, soft green eyes, no facial hair, freckles over his nose and cheeks, a cleft in his chin, thin chest but with some muscle, and narrow shoulders, proving he sat and watched television or read instead of working out. One-hundred and eighty pounds of muscle on a six-one frame. The reflection pegged him as physically fit, a salad-eater, nonsmoker, social drinker, and handsome, but not in a Hollywood way like Chris Hemsworth.

      Twenty minutes ticked by at the kitchen window. Thirty minutes. Anticipating Carr’s arrival, Jesse looked at his cellphone and saw it was almost five in the evening. The overcast caused the twilight hour to look dismal and dark. Snow started to twirl beyond the kitchen window, accumulating on the ground.

      He swallowed saliva down the back of his throat and eventually whispered, You’re late for everything, buddy. Always late.

      Time for a cup of coffee with just a splash of whiskey. Why not? Maybe the beverage would calm his nerves down. He fetched a ceramic mug from a cupboard, filled it three-fourths full, and added two splashes

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