This Christmas

By J.M. Snyder

A new take on a familiar holiday classic. Ned Matthews is a college student haunted by his last boyfriend's infidelity. Ned would rather wallow in self-pity than spend Christmas with Bobby Cratchett, the boy next door and Ned's old high school crush, despite the fact the two of them are the only students left on campus for the holiday.

Amid memories of Christmases past and the emptiness of the present evening, Ned realizes he isn't the only one alone this wintry night. Can Bobby somehow break through Ned's defenses to show him Christmas is better spent with someone you've always wanted to love?

• Language: English
• Publisher: JMS Books LLC
• Release date: Jun 1, 2010
• ISBN: 9781935753285

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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This Christmas

By J.M. Snyder

Published by JMS Books LLC

This story is included in the print book So In Love by J.M. Snyder.

Visit http://www.jmsnyder.net for more information.

Copyright 2010 J.M. Snyder

ISBN 978-1-93575-328-5

Cover Photo Credit: Silvia Boratti

Used under a Standard Royalty-Free License.

Cover Design: J.M. Snyder

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 contains substantial sexually explicit scenes and graphic language which may 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.

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This Christmas

By J.M. Snyder

It’s December 24th. Christmas Eve.

Ned Matthews stands in the frozen foods aisle of Wal-Mart, the only place still open despite the fact it’s barely five o’clock in the evening. Afternoon really, no matter what the gathering darkness outside has to say. Tinny music blares through the store’s speaker system, some rock mess that’s bothered Ned from the moment he entered the store. Then it was George Michael, bitching about giving his heart away last Christmas; now Britney sings, going on and on about Santa sending her someone to love. Good luck with that, Ned thinks bitterly. It didn’t work for him but hey, maybe the jolly old elf has a soft spot for pop princesses, who knows?

He stares at the ice cream display through the freezer door as if anyone else will really give a shit if he settles for Neapolitan instead of Rocky Road. Neapolitan is his favorite—he’ll eat it stripe by stripe, starting with the strawberry, then moving onto the chocolate, and finishing with the vanilla when that’s the only flavor left. But