#ISORoommates

By Leigh M. Lorien

The only thing Sora wants is to be left alone to do his art. When he moves into a house with three other people, he knows he’ll have to make some adjustments, but he didn’t count on one of his roommates being a neat-freak with no regard for personal boundaries. If there’s one thing Sora can’t stand, it’s other people telling him how to live his life.

Marc is excited to move in with new people. After his last break-up, he’s keen on being independent and focusing on his own hobbies. His new house has a garage, so he’ll finally get to work on his car! But Marc’s enthusiasm falls apart when he realizes his disorganized artist roommate, Sora, intends to work on his projects in the garage, too.

The two men could not be more opposite ... or more similar. They each do their best to ignore the other, but the longer they spend together, the harder it becomes. It’s only a matter of time before sparks start to fly -- but their differences may be too much to overcome. Can two fiercely independent men learn to let another into their space, and into their hearts?

• Language: English
• Publisher: JMS Books LLC
• Release date: Feb 17, 2021
• ISBN: 9781646567362

Book preview

#ISORoommates

By Leigh M. Lorien

Published by JMS Books LLC at Smashwords

Visit jms-books.com for more information.

Copyright 2021 Leigh M. Lorien

ISBN 9781646567362

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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.

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Will, Graeme, and Amanda—thank you for helping me survive 2020.

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#ISORoommates

By Leigh M. Lorien

Sora wanted roommates like he wanted a hole in the head. Okay, no, he wanted a hole in the head slightly less. If it was an equal toss-up, he would have just stayed in his one-room apartment next door to drug dealers.

He was overdue for an upgrade in his living situation, anyway. The drug dealers weren’t even the worst part of his apartment. The leaky roof threatened to ruin his art every time it rained, and if he found a roach drowning in his paint water one more time, he was just going to incorporate the dumb thing into the painting.

He’d found the new place on Facebook, one of those groups where people buy, sell, trade, and solicit goods and services in their city. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a garage, shared living area including a real, honest-to-god kitchen. Of course the only way he could hope to afford a place like that was with roommates, but…God. Why.

#Isoroommates! the post had quipped. Looking for two or more lovely, reliable, respectful people to share our home. Serious inquiries only. A mountain of hashtags followed. #LGBTfriendly and #safespace caught Sora’s eye, and his decision was made.

Whether Lacie, the homeowner, had actually found Sora ‘lovely’ when he inquired, or if she was just that eager to get help paying her mortgage, he wasn’t sure. It didn’t matter. A week later, he’d packed up his entire apartment into empty cardboard boxes from work, shoved them into his car, and left the leaky ceiling behind. It would be good to get a fresh start.

Lacie and her boyfriend Abraham were waiting on the porch when Sora pulled up. He parked in the short driveway at the front of the house and got out, greeting the pair with an uneasy smile.

Welcome home! Lacie cheered, smiling. She was a beautiful woman, dark-skinned with big hair and generous curves, dressed in denim shorts and a bright yellow tank top. Abraham, her boyfriend, was tall and stout, his skin only a couple shades darker than Sora’s soft golden-brown tone. Though Sora hadn’t asked their ages, he guessed they were both older than him by a little, if only because Lacie could somehow afford a house.

Need help with boxes? Abraham asked.

Oh, um, no, a lot of it’s fragile, Sora said, glancing back at his car. There were a lot of boxes and bags. It had taken him like seven trips to carry it all out of his apartment, and he’d had to play box Tetris to get it all in one trip.

I’ll be careful, the other man said. Promise.

Some of the boxes had supplies or clothes in them. He could give those to someone else to carry. Any of the ones with his paintings or sculptures in them were too delicate to hand off.

Our last roomie should be getting here soon, too, Lacie said, glancing at her phone. His name is Marc. He’s nice.

Okay, Sora replied. It didn’t matter who else lived here. He was going to avoid them like the plague.

So what can I carry? the other man asked again, and Sora circled to the passenger side where he’d thrown most of his clothes and shit he didn’t care much about. He piled a couple boxes into Abraham’s arms, then went to the trunk for the things he cared more about to make sure he was the one to carry