Heat Wave: Richmond

By J.M. Snyder

Danny Masterson is finally getting a place all his own, and he couldn’t be more excited. Since college he’s lived with his best buddy Rob, but when Rob’s pregnant girlfriend moved in, Danny knew it was time to move out. His new apartment has all the amenities, and the sexy neighbor living downstairs named Kyle only sweetens the deal.

But a heat wave hits when Rob helps Danny move in, and the apartment’s A/C isn’t working right. Maintenance won’t come out because Danny isn’t listed as a tenant yet, so he’s stuck sweating it out over the long, Fourth of July weekend.

Kyle invites Danny to stay downstairs in his apartment in air conditioned bliss, but he has a pretty roommate named Nadia who may or may not be his girlfriend. Danny thinks Kyle might be interested in him, but so far Kyle hasn’t said or done anything to move things forward between them. Will things ever heat up between them? Or is Danny going to end up getting burned?

• Language: English
• Publisher: JMS Books LLC
• Release date: Jul 26, 2015
• ISBN: 9781611528282

J.M. Snyder

An author of gay erotic romance, J.M. Snyder began self-publishing gay erotic fiction in 2002. Since then, Snyder has worked with several e-publishers, most notably Amber Allure Press and eXcessica Publishing.Snyder’s short fiction has appeared online at Ruthie’s Club, Tit-Elation, Eros Monthly, and Amazon Shorts, as well as in anthologies released by Alyson Books, Cleis Press, and others.For more book excerpts, free fiction, and purchasing information, please visit http://jmsnyder.net.

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Heat Wave: Richmond

By J.M. Snyder

Published by JMS Books LLC

Visit jms-books.com for more information.

Copyright 2015 J.M. Snyder

ISBN 9781611528282

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.

* * * *

Heat Wave: Richmond

By J.M. Snyder

The call I’ve been waiting for all week long finally comes in at quarter after three on Friday afternoon. Figures. I’m backing out the screen door leading out of the supply room of the Henrico Diner, the grease trap from the grill balanced precariously on a pair of spatulas in my hands, when the iPhone in my pocket vibrates. It startles me so much, I almost drop the trap and stumble down the back step, the hot grease sloshing dangerously close to my dirty apron.

Shit! I lean my upper body forward as I jump back, then carefully set the trap down on the ground at my feet. The grease rolls like a brown wave but doesn’t overflow the metal sides of the trap. Thank God, or I’d be here after my shift hosing down the concrete in the late afternoon sun.

Still bent over, I dig my phone out of my pocket to answer it. Sweat drips down the back of my neck, trickles around my ears, and stings my eyes. ‘Lo?

Daniel Masterson? a woman asks.

There’s something in her voice that tells me she’s sitting in a comfortably cool, air conditioned room miles away from the heat and the grease and the noise of a burger joint on a Friday after the lunch crowd has left. I straighten up and push my hair out of my face, wincing in the humid heat outside. It presses against me like a wet sponge, sopping my skin with sweat, taking my breath away. Even though I’m standing still, the back of my T-shirt is soaked through in seconds, as if I’ve been running in place. Heat this bad makes me want to die. Yeah? Who’s this?

I hear distaste curl through her words. Shonda at Ginter Manor, she tells me. You applied for a garden apartment last week? Were you still interested in the property?

All I hear is apartment. Excitement rises in me, chasing away the heat and the sweat. Hell, yeah! Did I get it?

Your application was approved—

Woo! I let out a loud whoop and punch the side of the building, which causes my co-workers inside the kitchen to glance at me.

Turning my back to them, I step away from the door and out into the parking lot. The door doesn’t slam shut, though—the grease trap still rests on the top step and props the door open. So when can I move in?

I almost hear Shonda checking the clock. Well, there’s a lot of paperwork to get through. The lease needs to be typed up and signed, I’ll need your first month’s rent and security deposit, we’ll have to do a walk-through…

It sounds to me like she’s trying to push me off until next week. But Monday is the Fourth of July, which means the management office will be closed, so I wouldn’t be able to get any of that stuff done until Tuesday at the earliest. Henrico Diner is a small, mom-and-pop type of place, and I have the whole weekend off for the holiday. If I can get the key to my new apartment tonight, I can start moving in now and be done by Tuesday, easily. Rob will help me move in—he’s already said he would, and it’s his fault I’m moving out, anyway. He owes me.

Before Shonda can tell me I have to wait the weekend, I ask, Can I come by today?

She heaves a tremendous sigh, as if I’m the biggest inconvenience ever. I’m bracing myself for the word no; it’s coming, I just know it is.