Summer School by Tam Ames

Title: Summer School
Author: Tam Ames
Cover Artist: Reese Dante
Publisher: Silver Publishing
Genre: contemporary
Length: 38k words 

Jeremy Decker is preparing for the worst summer of his life, teaching summer school and healing from his recent breakup. But maybe his sexy young teaching assistant will be able to put an end to Jeremy's summer doldrums.

English teacher Jeremy Decker's split with his boyfriend has left him with no plans for the summer and credit card debt. One solution is to teach summer history classes. College history major Lucas Van Sloan is brought in to assist Jeremy, and is thrilled to have a summer job that doesn't include supervising kids at the hometown swimming pool.

A summer heat wave has Jeremy snarlier than even upbeat Lucas can handle. Lucas drags the teacher back to his place and out of the heat, determined to pull Jeremy into his bed while he has him there. However, Jeremy's ex isn't quite ready to let go, and a college student may be no competition for a high-powered attorney.

Review

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... Oh yeah, Dickens did get that line first, but it does apply to the summer session where Jeremy’s teaching a subject he’s woefully unprepared for, and Lucas is getting his first real experience in his field. They’re approaching the session from completely opposite mindsets.


Jeremy’s coming off a bad breakup—his long distance lover had more going on in the area than Jeremy could tolerate, although he made a frantic last ditch effort to salvage an 8 year relationship. That did bad things to his credit card and led him directly into this unappreciated teaching gig. He’s surly and comes off as kind of a jerk. He’s got an assistant who knows the subject inside out, but Jeremy prefers to stand up and admit he’s not sure when the sixteenth century was. A heat wave that turns his apartment into an oven is the last straw.

Lucas thinks Jeremy’s the grumpiest hotty he ever encountered, and little things that keep Jeremy from acting on his interest, like an age gap, being his supervisor, and being truly single for the first time in his adult life don’t mean as much to Lucas. He’ll reach for what he wants, and be honest about it.

Lucas is living in the lap of someone else’s luxury while he housesits, and there’s lots of room, plus a pool and other amenities. It’s a sweet set-up for Jeremy to come to terms with a lot of things, like admitting he’s really interested in Lucas, finding out what he wants and doesn’t want, and getting over David, the ex, who wanted a lot of things Jeremy didn’t know about and wouldn’t have agreed to anyway.

The story is sweet—they get past the initial difficulties, plus others that aren’t so dire, and have lots and lots and lots of sex. David never did certain things, so Lucas has plenty of chances to expand Jeremy’s horizons in some fairly basic directions. It’s kind of cute, the expectations from his experience of a long relationship are so different from his reality.

This story is really about Jeremy’s slow flowering—the relationship that consumed most of his adult life had a certain toxicity and he’s getting over that, so of course when ex makes a last play, it’s a bit stomach churning but Jeremy’s found a spine somewhere. This is the best part of the story—Lucas wants to take over but reins himself in. Although he’s desperate to tell everyone how things are going to be, he lets Jeremy direct the encounter and Jeremy needs the confidence that brings. These two are going to be good as a couple.

This author does humor well, and there are lots of little touches to keep things light, though she wasn’t going for a humor piece here. It’s a sweet romp with an underlying serious theme of knowing what you want and being willing to speak up to get it. The couple does spend a lot of time in bed, which did occasionally have me thinking “Again?” and Jeremy was hard to like at first, being prickly-funny with a side of dumb (teachers use lesson plans for a reason, Jeremy!). He grows more likeable with time. Lucas is just adorable—young and ready to grab life with both hands, he’s got lots of confidence, and he doesn’t need to change much over the course of the story because he’s got his act together.

What I didn’t get, really, was what had kept Jeremy and David together as long as they were—Jeremy was kind of clingy, but David seemed like a “want all the shinies” kind of guy. The relationship was all over except for the shouting when we meet any of these guys though, so we can’t really see why David was so cavalier for eight years and then so insistent after he was told no. Maybe it was the novelty of “no”.

The story is sweet and sexy, and if it’s not breaking major new ground, it’s still a pleasant light read. 3.75 marbles

A Thousand Word Thursday Story from Tam Ames

Promotion Possibilities

“Really, Kyle, if you want to make Vice-President, I think you know what you have to do.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Mr. Leslie.”

“Come now, Kyle. I think you know very well. We talked about his just last week. At the staff party.”

“But, but, that was, it was… It was just a joke.”

“Mmm. A joke. You believe I thought you were joking? When you said you’d give your left nut for a promotion?”


“Well, yeah, of course.” Kyle swallowed hard and tipped his head down avoiding Mr. Leslie’s eyes.

“You should know better by now, Kyle. I don’t joke.” When Kyle peeked up he would have sworn he saw a glimmer of humor in the man’s eyes, but he said he didn’t joke.

“You should know, that as boss, I play things straight.”

Kyle’s lips twitched, but he cleared his throat. “Um, well, what exactly do you expect?”

“Oh, um,” Mr. Leslie paused and Kyle frowned slightly and tipped his head. Mr. Leslie stood up from where he had been leaning over Kyle in the leather office chair. “I want you to, um, well…”

Mr. Leslie stood humming and hawing and Kyle rolled his eyes. “Do you expect me to service you sexually?” His voice held a slight air of exasperation.

“Yes! Yes, that’s it.” Mr. Leslie’s eyes brightened. “I think you should get on your knees and service me.”

Kyle sighed and shook his head slightly. “And what will you do if I don’t.”
“Well, I’ll, I’ll fire you. Yeah. That.”

Another eye roll and a sigh slipped out of Kyle. “Fine. I need my job; I have a family to feed.”

“Yeah, that’s the spirit, Kyle, way to take one for the team.”

“Oh my God.” Kyle groaned. “Okay, you have to uh, move back.”

Mr. Leslie took a step back and there was a sudden hiss and a screech. “Jesus Christ, Tippy, move the fuck out of the way if you don’t want me to step on you.” The cat streaked from the room.

Kyle covered his face with his hands, his shoulders shaking. Finally he looked up with a grin. “You totally suck at this, you know.”

The man’s shoulder sagged. “I told you it was stupid. I feel like a dork, and this tie is gross.” He pulled irritably at the unfamiliar fabric around his neck.

Kyle chuckled, and reached out and hooked his fingers in the belt loops on Simon’s pants, well, Kyle’s pants. Simon would rather spend his money on his bike than on a suit. Kyle tugged him closer. “Come here, baby.” He wrapped his arms around Simon’s hips and nuzzled his face into his stomach. Simon loosely wrapped his arms around his shoulders.

“You tried. I appreciate it.”

He looked up to see Simon’s bottom lip sticking out. “Next time let me be the naughty bike messenger, and you can be the customer with no way to pay for the delivery.” Simon reached up and tugged at the tie again. “At least I don’t have to wear this damn thing.”

“You look hot. But fine, next time you can wear the bike shorts.” That wasn’t such a bad concept. Those shorts looked awesome on Simon.

Tippy was back, rubbing up against Simon’s leg. Oh how quickly they forget. Simon gave the cat a gentle nudge with his foot. “And he’s getting locked in the bathroom. What a buzzkill.”

Kyle looked up and Simon and winked. “Well, I still need my job, Mr. Leslie.” He batted his eyelashes like a teenage girl.

“Well, I still need a blow job, so I think we’re even. Hop to it, Mr. Future-Vice-Present.”

“Yes, boss.” Kyle grabbed the zipper pull with his teeth and heard Simon groan. Three years and they were still having fun. Breaking in the new desk chair was great. Kyle thought they just might need a new kitchen table soon. That had definite possibilities.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oh, jeez, Tam's done it again! For more of her humor, find the freebies at her blog
and a couple of shorts at Torquere. She's usually reading something m/m good and talking about it at Brief Encounters.

A Thousand Word Thursday Story from Tam Ames

 

Meat Slut

“Let go, Joseph.” I shook my leg and his hold tightened. “Joey, I said let go of me right now!” Pulling on my leg seemed to have no effect. “Joseph if you scratch me with those claws I swear to God ...” 

::You’ll do what?::

“I’ll ... I’ll ... make sure we eat nothing but lentils for dinner for the next two weeks.” 

::You wouldn’t!::

“I would, if you don’t get the fuck off my leg.” 

::But I don’t want you to go, Freddie.::

Honest to God, he whined. Who thought tigers could whine like that? “I’m only going to be gone over night.”

::That’s one night too many.:: Okay, they could also pout. 

“Well, then, get your ass off the ground, and come with me. You were invited.”

He made an odd little sound I took to be the equivalent of a tiger gasp. ::I’m not going there with you. He will be there.::

“Joey, sweetheart, you know that’s ancient history. It was over before I even met you.” 

::I don’t care. I’m not going to be in the same room as that ... that ... lion!:: 

Apparently tigers can also look down their noses at other felines. “Well, it’s your call. I can’t make you, obviously. I can’t even make you get off my damn leg.” 

::I like your leg.:: He ran his tongue up my shin. Despite my better judgment I felt a shiver go up my spine. That tongue could do amazing things when he decided to shift back. It was still rough, one of the perks I figured of having a tiger for a lover.

I resisted. He knew exactly what he was doing. “I swear I’ll be home before lunch tomorrow. Promise.”

::Will you bring me something?:: The pout was back.

“Of course. I’ll stop at that wild game market by my parents, and pick up some of those elk steaks you love. Maybe some wild boar.”

The hold on my leg loosened slightly. ::You mean it? Really? Would you get me bison if they have any?::

 “Yes sweetheart. I’ll get you bison.” He was such a meat slut, and I meant that in every sense of the word. Did I mention the perks of a tiger shifter? 

He finally released my leg. ::Fine. You can go.::

I rolled my eyes. As if it was his decision. “Okay, shift and give me a proper good-bye.” 

The air shimmered around him, and my gorgeous tiger was standing in front of me. Silky hair like midnight brushing his shoulders, his skin a burnished brown like a polished nut, those big golden eyes giving me the puppy dog look. He’d kill me if he thought I compared him in any way with a canine, but he was working the look. 

“You promise?” 

I knew what he meant; he wasn’t talking about bison or wild boar. “I swear on a stack of t-bone steaks. I have no interest in him, and I’m sure he’s not interested in me. He’s seeing someone else, and I couldn’t tell my parents not to invite him. It’s their party.” 

“Okay.” The pout looked much cuter on him in human form, his lower lip sticking out. 

I pulled him close and sucked on that lip, giving his bare ass a pat with my hand. “I love you. I’ll be home tomorrow at lunch. Have the barbecue fired up, and we’ll have your choice.”

His eyes lit up. See? Meat slut. He wrapped his arms my neck and gave me a proper good-bye kiss. “I’ll miss you anyway.” 

“I know. I’ll miss you too.” I pulled out of his arms and headed toward the car. “And Joseph?” 

He blinked back at me; he’d been gazing over at the neighbor’s yard across the fence. “Yes, Freddie?” 

“Leave the damn neighbour’s dog alone.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hehehe, Tam's done it again! Thank you, and the meat case will never look the same again. Tam has another present for us, this time a free short available through Goodreads.

I Dare You, Back (Dare #3)

Derek has been moody and bitchy since before Christmas, however no one seems to be able to figure out why. When Derek announces that he plans to leave town after he graduates in a few months, his friends know they have to take action now. A blast from Derek’s past makes it all clear, but can a reverse dare really convince Derek that a happy ever after could be his, if he’s willing to give Jaden a second chance?

Download it here.

Naughty: The Santa Problem

Title: The Santa Problem
Author: Tam Ames
Publisher: Torquere Press
Genre: contemporary, holiday
Length: 6800 words


Lane would do most anything to make his live-in love Gavin happy, but this is taking things too far. Just because Gavin can’t find someone to play Santa at his office building, doesn’t mean it’s Lane’s problem too. But Gavin can be very persuasive when he wants his way, and Lane may be taking on more than he can handle in order to keep his man content.


~~~~~~~~~~~

After the first coffee snort, I put down the cup, and my computer is grateful for it. First, Gavin has to wheedle Lane into agreeing to play Santa, and a less likely Saint Nick is hard to imagine. Young, buff, and regarding kids as some exotic species best kept on leashes, Lane takes a lot of convincing.


Gavin seems born to play a particularly naughty elf, all big eyes and tights-worthy legs. Any chance Lane had of evading the red velvet suit was lost about the time these two got together, some unknown time ago. They are a couple, but still feel like they are in the honeymoon phase. Lane is still inching his way out of the closet in some directions, and Gavin's letting him choose the ways to do it.

Of course Lane gets his ho-ho-ho on eventually, and don't plan on drinking anything while he does it; it will land on your reader. From the scared, to the wild, to the mercenary, every sort of child, not all of them housebroken, ends up on his lap. Boy, does Gavin owe him for this!

Reading between the lines on Lane's objections, there are clues that holiday and family aren't good memories for him, that this whole Christmas business is more painful than he'd like to let on. Did he not love Gavin so much, he'd be impossible to persuade, even with the winsome pleading and the *heh* bribery. And because Lane does allow himself to be persuaded, there's also a bit of healing for him; Christmas becomes better in the arms of his lover.

This isn't just a humorous romp, this story shows a relationship taking a step forward in a sweet way, and a different step in a naughty way. Two sex scenes in such a short piece are not excessive; they move both the story and the relationship along, and are just plain fun to read, too. Gavin and Lane learn something new about each other, and I'd like to peek on them again after they've had some time to explore their new information. Once again, Tam Ames has combined funny with hot, and shows growth for the couple. This author does great humor pieces (who else would give us were-hamsters?) but here the underlying serious theme gives dimension to what would otherwise be a just a lark. Fun, but with depth. 4.5 marbles

A Thousand Word Excerpt from Tam Ames

Hee, this one's on the naughty side! Tam sent us an excerpt of her new story, The Santa Problem.

****

The door opened and I glanced up to see one of the elderly security guards staring at us. I looked down and realized how it looked, me without pants and Gavin kneeling at my feet. Granted he was scrubbing my thigh down with soap but...

The guy stared for a moment, then quickly turned and practically ran out of the room as fast as his geriatric legs could carry him. I couldn't stop the laughter. Gavin looked up from his scrubbing. "What?"

"You didn't see him?"

"See who?"

"The old dude who thinks you were down there giving me a blow job."

He quickly stood up, grabbed me by the arm, and pulled me around the corner into an area with mirrors and a small chair. It was separated from the rest of the bathroom by a partial-wall. He shoved me back against the wall. You could only see us if you actually entered the area rather than turned right toward the cubicles.

"What the fuck, Gavin?" His grin was evil. "You're going to get in trouble. I can't afford to support us both if you get fired."

He just smiled wider and dropped to his knees again. He yanked down the front of my underwear. I wasn't hard, I was too shocked, but he leaned forward and took me in his mouth, and about two sucks later I was too big for him to take the whole thing. He glanced up and fluttered his eye lashes. "You want me to stop, Lane?" He licked my balls, knowing there was no way I'd ask him to stop.

I ripped that ridiculous elf hat off his head and grabbed his hair. I pulled his head back and gave him my I'm the boss look. "You have five minutes. It had better be good."

"Oh, baby, you know it'll be good." The smirk made me want to prove him wrong, but when I saw us reflected in the mirror, I remembered where we were. I didn't want to get him in trouble, so speed was probably for the best.

"Then hop to it, elf-boy." God. Maybe I was developing a Christmas fetish. I looked in the mirror again, me in the Santa jacket, him in the elf costume at my feet. Hot. Freaky weird, but hot.

"Oh, yes, Santa, whatever you say." He cooed. Okay, crossing over into too weird, but then his mouth was back on me, taking me as deep as he could, so I didn't care much. He began sucking with a vengeance, doing this little flippy thing with his tongue as he pulled up that made me crazy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you want to find out whether they get caught or not, read the rest of Tam's Christmas short, The Santa Problem, published by Torquere. Gavin is a very naughty elf. 

Blurb:

Lane would do most anything to make his live-in love Gavin happy, but this is taking things too far. Just because Gavin can’t find someone to play Santa at his office building doesn’t mean it’s Lane’s problem, too. But Gavin can be very persuasive when he wants his way, and Lane may be taking on more than he can handle in order to keep his man content.

Buy here.

Winterlude by Tam Ames

Winterlude by Tam Ames
Publisher: Torquere Press
Genre: GBLT
Length: 22 pages
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Summary: Eric hates the cold weather and his broken-down car, which means venturing out on foot into the sub-zero temperatures. Navigating the icy sidewalks, he runs into Omar, literally. An impromptu hot coffee on the cold day findsthat tattooed and pierced Eric and government IT guy Omar might have more in common than they expected. When Omar is called away before Eric can get the guy's number, Eric believes it may only have been a pleasant winterlude to temporarily distract him from the cold. Or is there a possibility his winter will get a lot warmer?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~``
Tam Ames makes the rugged Canadian winter a character in this story. The weather dictates everything: how Omar and Eric meet, how much ogling they can do, where it makes sense to go, and how much effort it's going to be to get undressed. Winterlude is a skirmish against the elements.

The story is sweetly humorous – within a few paragraphs we get a feel for Eric's witty if grumpy personality. Omar can sling the humor right back. His ethnic background is more a getting to know you talking point than a plot point, but it's good to see a character with a different cultural viewpoint.

The men are in easy accord; their trajectory from snowy street to bed is pretty straight. The story's charm lies in the banter, the sex, and the struggle with the winter more than any struggle with each other. It's a nice pick-me-up on a day you need a smile. 3.5 marbles

A Thousand Word Thursday Story from Tam Ames

Late … Again

The light from the sun shining on my face was what woke me, I think. When I sat up with a jolt, I literally gasped in pain. My head felt like it was about to disconnect from my body. I grabbed my hair as if I could physically hold it on. I was swearing off tequila … and killing Marcus. Yeah, I could blame Marcus; he’d been buying all night, not my fault.

When my head had firmly reattached itself to my shoulders, I looked at the clock. Eleven fifteen. Not so bad, considering it was after four when we left the last place, and I didn’t have to be … Holy fucking shit! I was going to be late! This time my stomach gave a heave, and a lurch, and my head was suddenly a minor problem. Fuck fuck fuck! Why hadn’t someone woken me? Alan would never forgive me if I was late - if he even stuck around to see if I showed up.



I untangled myself from the hotel sheets, and raced straight into the shower. I took the time to shave, because it had to be perfect, perfect for today anyway. I grabbed the garment bag out of the closet, and groaned as the pieces in the bag came out one after another. Who the hell made tuxedos so damn complicated? What was wrong with jeans and a t-shirt?

When I had most of the outfit on, I thought properly, I was left with only the tie, and ten minutes. There was no way I could get the tie done up, and down to the courtyard in ten minutes. I shoved on my shoes, bunched the tie in my hand, and raced out of the room, realizing I’d left the room key and wallet in my other pants. I hesitated for a moment, but I had no time, and I began furiously pushing on the elevator button willing it to come faster.

I slumped against the back wall of the elevator, and ignored the knowing glances from the family with young kids. The doors opened in the lobby where I resisted the urge to hurdle over the youngest kid, then raced down the hallway to the courtyard waiting area. I had - I glanced at the large clock in the lobby – three and half minutes. I could make it. I grimaced at the untied tie in my hand.

Oh, Alan was going to be pissed. He was always early, I was always late. It was the way it worked for us. As I flew into the room, Alan turned and looked at me, his arms crossed. He, oh so casually, looked down at his watch.

“What? I’m on time. Almost.” I held out the tie. “I was, um, having issues, and I … oh shit. I’m sorry. I know you said be on time, and I planned on it, but then Marcus said we had to go out since it was my last night, and then I was sure I set the alarm, but maybe I set it for PM not AM, and no one came to find me, and I tried to hurry, but this damn suit as so many pieces, and my head hurts, but the tie makes no sense.” The whole time I’d been babbling, he’d crossed the room toward me, holding my gaze. Oh shit, he was going to change his mind. I just knew it.

That threw me into another bout of babbling. “Please Alan, don’t go. Just wait, can’t you forgive me? I’ll try harder, I will. I’m getting better.”

He stopped right in front of me, placed his hands on either side of my face, and looked into my eyes. “Hush baby. I’m not going anywhere.”

I think I physically sagged when I heard that. “You mean it? Really?”

“I’ve waited over two years for this day, I’m not about to leave now.” He leaned in to kiss me, and I thought my heart would explode. I grabbed him, and squeezed him so tightly he grunted. I heard snickers from the other side of the room, and realized both of our fathers, and our two best friends - including a damn smug looking Marcus - were standing watching us. I felt myself flush, but I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.

Alan gently pried the tie from my hand, and put it around my neck. “Come on. Let’s get this on, and get the show on the road.” He stopped, and stared at me for a minute. “I meant what I said, Cam. I’ve been waiting for this moment for over two years; since I saw you knock down that kid on the skateboard as you tried to catch the bus, which you missed by the way. Now today, I get to fulfil a dream, every day with you for the rest of my life.”

I started to get teary eyed. Oh shit. Not in front of my dad. When I heard a sniffle, I saw my dad discretely wiping his eyes. Huh. Who knew he was a softie?

Alan finished with my tie, and straightened my tuxedo. “Okay baby. Let’s get this show on the road. We’re only ten minutes late, that must be a record for you.” I gave him a pouty face, and he laughed. “We have over a hundred friends out there, some anxious mothers, and a minister all waiting for us. Are you ready?”

I held his hand tightly. “I’ve never been more ready for anything in my life.” We got in formation, with the best men and our dads, and I took a deep breath. I meant it. Alan was the best thing to ever come into my life, and I wasn’t going to ever let him go, and I swore I’d work harder on being on time. Really I would. Sheesh, why does no one ever believe me?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aw, poor *snicker* boy! *snort* That was cute Tam!

Tam has more cuteness for us -- her new story, Winterlude, is out now from Torquere Press, and I have a shopping trip to make!

Eric hates the cold weather and his broken down car, which means venturing out on foot into the sub-zero temperatures. Navigating the icy sidewalks, he runs into Omar, literally. An impromptu hot coffee on the cold day finds that tattooed and pierced Eric, and government IT guy Omar might have more in common than they expected. When Omar is called away, before he can get the guy's number, Eric believes it may only have been a pleasant winterlude to temporarily distract him from the cold, or is there a possibility his winter will get a lot warmer?

Buy it here. You can check out Tam's news here on her blog.