Kiss and Tell

By R.W. Clinger

Burke Spire has a lot going for him: he’s fit and healthy, he just won the lottery, and he recently quit his accounting job. There’s one problem, though -- he’s single and wants to find Mr. Right. Another problem: he doesn’t know how to meet the man of his dreams.

Enter Colby Blue of the True Blue Dating Agency. Colby charges a steep fee to use his dating services, but Burke thinks it’s money well spent, in hopes of finding a boyfriend, or even a husband through arranged dates. But after two horrible dates, Burke demands a private meeting with the company’s owner.

Although not one to kiss and tell, Burke complains to Colby about his bizarre and obnoxious dates. As their meeting becomes a face-to-face confrontation, neither man can deny their growing attraction to the other. Is the connection between the two men strong enough to call love, though? Or will Burke Spire forever stay lonely and single after all?

• Language: English
• Publisher: JMS Books LLC
• Release date: Jun 17, 2017
• ISBN: 9781634863728

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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Kiss and Tell

By R.W. Clinger

Published by JMS Books LLC

Visit jms-books.com for more information.

Copyright 2017 R.W. Clinger

ISBN 9781634863728

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.

* * * *

Kiss and Tell

By R.W. Clinger

Burke Alexander Spire wanted it to snow outside, but the springtime sun hung steadily in the bright sky, beaming down golden rays of June light across his sloping backyard next to Lake Erie. Unfortunately, the temperature peeked at almost eighty degrees with some mild wind. By evening, he knew rain would hit; a springtime storm expected to blow down from Canada, over Erie, then through his lakeside town of Channing, Pennsylvania. He guessed there would be a tornado warning, just like every June spent along Lake Erie, forty-two years and counting.

As far as he knew, there wasn’t a weather record detailing snowfall in June. Although he knew it was unlikely to snow, he still wanted it to, craving the cold winter months and relishing the hellish ice and winds. Like others who enjoyed winter over summer, he accepted the sunshine, stared out the A-frame’s kitchen window, and admired the lake’s rolling waves, a blanket of grays, blues, and thick greens.

Almost noon, and he yawned, already maybe needing a nap. He thought about taking a ten-mile run, but didn’t feel up to it. He also thought about eating, but he really wasn’t hungry. Rather, his mouth felt dry, and he decided to have a drink, something made from scratch in his kitchen, worth the labor: vodka, iced tea, a squeeze of lemon, ice, and a gentle splash of ginger ale. After creating the beverage, he drank half of it. It numbed his soul, and he attempted to smile. He couldn’t bring himself to accomplish the difficult task, at least not yet.

Two months ago, things were different in Burke’s life. He got out of bed at six o’clock in the morning, showered, shaved, and enjoyed a cup of java with ten pages of a Clive Cussler novel. Thereafter, he climbed into his Jeep Wrangler, drove the ten miles into Erie, and sat behind a desk for nine straight hours at Tuner & Dyson Accounting. There, he analyzed and summarized clients’ profit margins. For twenty years, he had worked for T&D as an accountant, concentrating on sustainability factors, growth margins, passive income, debentures, and taxable municipal bonds.

Exhausting years.

Years and years Burke felt he would never get back.

Life was different now. Extraordinary. Unbelievable.

Burke no longer needed to get up in the morning if he didn’t want to. He no longer needed to clean his A-frame, wash his Jeep, or cook. Things had turned a different corner in his life ever since he walked into the convenience store on the corners of Bitner and Daye and purchased a state lottery ticket with six numbers: 39, 29, 1, 8, 19, 48.

April 21. A day he would never forget. Never.

All six numbers hit, and he walked away with a little over forty-three million dollars that rainy evening, state taxes already subtracted from the winnings. Of course, he made the trip to Harrisburg to sign for the money and arrange payments to his savings account. Of course, he quit his job the following day and flew to Talum, Mexico, where he spent an entire month, basking in the Gulf’s sun. Of course, he