Rainbow Snippets*-- Berry Time!

As slow as 2020 felt, this year seems to be whizzing by. I have all these things I want to accomplish, but I can't seem to make much progress. I don't know if it's my age or my state of mind. Whichever it is, I'm not very happy about it!

I picked two buckets of gooseberries this week, and now I'm hoping to get enough blackberries to make a cobbler. I love berries!

This snippet continues from last week's snippet, only it's later in the evening and Ben and Cherry have stepped out of the bar to get some fresh air. Told from Cherry's POV:

I didn’t mean to say it aloud, but the words pushed their way out of my throat, nonetheless. “What are you doing with me? Why am I here?” 
           “What?” Ben’s bewilderment over the question was clear under the dim streetlight. “Why would you ask that?”
           “You can have your pick. Any of the women in there. They fawn all over you. So, why me? What do I have to offer?” Okay, I’d never realized that liquor made my inner monologue less inner, and instead, more nakedly on display. But I couldn’t stop myself. All my doubts, all my fears, rushed out; a wave of insecurity that I didn’t even realize I’d been hoarding. “I’m nothing special. Hair that won’t lay flat, freckles everywhere, colorless eyes. No special talents. I’m not interesting. I’m a codfish.” Ben was speechless as I spewed it all out. “Hell, one woman in there told me I must give really good head. As if that’s the only reason you’d be with me. Is that it, do I give good head?” I paused to draw a breath, but Ben stopped me with another kiss.

(Ben's response next week)

Embers and Flame Blurb:

After an amicable breakup, Charles “Cherry” Andrews’ ex left him the couch, the bed, and the camping equipment. Replacing the noises of St. Louis with crickets and birdsong at his favorite campground feels like the perfect vacation. He’d hoped to prove to himself that he’s fine on his own, but instead of finding inner-peace, he’s simply bored. His evening becomes instantly more interesting when a gorgeous guy with a loud motorcycle pulls into the neighboring campsite. 
Ben Torres hopes that a cross-country motorcycle tour will help him find his own peace after his mother’s recent death, but a faulty tailpipe curtails his plans within hours of leaving home. Luckily for him, the cute redhead in the next camp spot happily shares his fishing equipment as well as offering taxi service during a week-long search for parts.

An unexpected kiss on their last day together leads to an afternoon of discovery that turns into a summer romance that in turn becomes a long distance relationship in the fall. Everything would be wonderful if they could spend the rest of their lives in a tent by a lake. But Cherry’s overly involved ex-boyfriend sticks his nose where it isn’t wanted and Ben’s 17-year-old son has a hard time accepting his father’s bisexuality. Two-hundred miles may be the least of the challenges they face.

*Rainbow Snippets is a (Facebook) group for LGBTQ+ authors, readers, and bloggers who gather once a week to share snippets from a work of fiction–-a WIP or a finished work or even a book recommendation. If you're interested in following a diverse group of authors, check it out here.