Iced Coffee & Friday Night Favors: Paranormal Portland Stories

By KP Maxwell

Adrian Kowalski has a very peculiar roommate. Apparently people pay him to whisper at them on a nightly livestream. Adrian's never bothered to watch it, but he's one hundred percent sure it's not his scene.

 

Zephyr Raine, up and coming ASMRtist, streams nightly to adoring fans and spends all of his money on iced coffee during the day. Zeph's unusual career helps Adrian pay the rent on time, so Adrian doesn't mind overlooking some of Zeph's more bizarre behaviors, like his obsession with a local café.

 

But when Zeph asks Adrian to moderate his stream one Friday night, Adrian's surprised at exactly how much he enjoys watching Zeph on camera and how much it changes everything between them...

 

Iced Coffee & Friday Night Favors is a short and steamy M/M roommates-to-lovers story featuring a tabby cat shifter and his unusual roommate. It's set in the same version of paranormal Portland, Oregon, as KP Maxwell's Men of Café Seuil series and can be read as a standalone.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bronze Owl Press
• Release date: Oct 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781951676100

Book preview

Chapter One

Adrian Kowalski is used to some strange requests from his roommate, but –

Mod for you? Adrian repeats, hitting a button on the controller in his hand to pause his game. His cartoon avatar is suspended midair on the flatscreen TV and cheerful music continues playing in the background. What does that even entail?

Zeph rolls his eyes, the effect made all the more dramatic by his black contacts and smudged black eyeliner. You know – He waves a hand vaguely. You just have to keep all the pervs in line. I’ll make you an admin, and you can ban anyone who gets too horny.

What? Adrian chokes out, his brain tripping over quite a few of the words that just left Zeph’s mouth, but specifically – Pervs? Horny?!

It’s Friday night, and Zeph’s in full goth attire, but he’s not going out to a club or a party. No, Zephyr Raine is an online streamer. He streams ASMR, which has something to do with whispering, as far as Adrian knows about it. And yes, that’s his legal name. Adrian totally checked before letting the guy move in with him over a year ago. Zeph splits the mortgage payment on Adrian’s condo in Southeast Portland, Oregon, so Adrian doesn’t care if he’s a little weird, as long as he’s reliable.

Adrian needed a roommate who didn’t mind the fact that he spends half of his time at home shifted into a brown tabby cat, and Zeph needed a roommate who didn’t mind his eclectic career choices. Zeph’s got this whole goth ASMR streaming thing going on, and apparently his viewers pay him to whisper at them. Adrian’s never bothered to watch it, but he’s one hundred percent sure it’s not his scene.

Zeph pouts, completely misunderstanding Adrian’s hesitation. Please? I just need one more mod. Friday nights get a little wild sometimes. One of my usuals had a last minute date. I’ve got a spare laptop you can use.

I’ve got a laptop, Adrian mutters, pulling his own out from under a pillow on the couch where he had stashed it earlier. It’s technically his work laptop but since he works as a software developer for a local tech startup, there’s no real line between life and work. It’s all kind of a blur really. He uses his work laptop for his own personal projects, and he knows some guys who even install games and shit on theirs. Just tell me what to do.

Zeph’s face lights up, and he makes grabby hands at the laptop. Do you even have a Glytch account? I’ll set one up for you.

Adrian shakes his head. No, I’ve never used it before, he admits, and Zeph snorts in disbelief.

As much as Adrian plays video games and occasionally tries to program his own, he doesn’t understand the point of watching other people do it, and that’s what Glytch is primarily used for – streaming video games. But people also use it to live stream other things, including ASMR, apparently, which Zeph is somehow able to make an income off of. He’s never late with the rent, at least, so Adrian doesn’t question him about it.

Adrian unlocks the laptop, minimizing a few windows he has open for work and opens a fresh browser screen. He passes the whole thing over to Zeph who balances on the arm of the couch, all long, pale limbs and drapey black clothing. Zeph’s fingers fly over the keyboard, and within moments, he’s handing the laptop back to Adrian.

Alright, I’ll send you the mod invite in just a sec. Just click ban on anyone who gets out of line. You can also do a short timeout instead if they’re borderline and you want to give them a second chance. I don’t have time to explain the interface to you, but you’re a programmer. You can figure it out.

Adrian nods absently, too busy being overwhelmed by the chat messages that are already scrolling past on the right side of the screen. He’s surprised to see there are already nearly a thousand people waiting for the stream to begin. The video is currently