Blurb: In the small town where he grew up, Jethro Wraight was persecuted, harassed, and traumatized because of his sexual orientation. Now living far away from where he grew up, Jethro’s only just starting to learn that it’s okay to be gay. Jethro goes to the gay bath house and meets Bart Moreton there. Bart still lives at home with his parents, even though his dad keeps telling him to get a real job, because he’s determined to become an artist. His work is good, and sells well at craft markets, but he doesn’t make enough money to survive on alone as yet.
Jethro’s never had a boyfriend before, but the two men instantly form a bond. Jethro is taking his very first steps in displaying affection openly. Bart’s focused on becoming an artist. The immediate friendship between them surprises them both.
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Buy Link: http://www.bookstrand.com/welcoming-his-man
STORY EXCERPT
A black-haired man walked over to the pool and stuck a toe in the water. Apparently satisfied with the temperature, he laid a towel on one of the chairs and left his sandals neatly beside it. He was wearing plain black board shorts, the first person in this section of the bathhouse that Bart had seen wearing anything other than his bare skin or a towel.
Well, perhaps he was shy or just new.
Bart watched as the man carefully climbed down the ladder into the swimming pool instead of diving in, and then swam a length in a neat style, scarcely making a splash. Everything about him seemed designed to prevent anyone paying attention to him, except for the fact that he wasn’t naked. It was an interesting conundrum. Was he just a neat, quiet person, or did he really wish not to be noticed? If so, why wasn’t he naked? He seemed to have a perfectly nice body. He was average height and build, not flabby or unfit looking. Unless maybe he had some scars hidden under those board shorts. Perhaps that was the reason he kept them on.
After the black-haired man climbed out of the pool and collected his towel and sandals, he walked across to the hot tubs and read the sign on the wall carefully. Once again he laid the towel and sandals neatly on a chair, reread the sign, pressed the button to activate one of the hot tubs, and climbed in.
Bart was fascinated by the man and decided it was time he experienced the hot tub as well. He dropped his towel on the chair next to the black-haired man’s towel and stepped down into the hot tub.
“Hi, I’m Bart. Do you mind if I join you?”
The man seemed a little nervous and hesitant but smiled and said softly, “I’m Jethro.”
Bart smiled back, wanting Jethro to relax. “That’s an old name. What do they call you? Jet?”
“Jet? I like that, but people usually just call me Jethro.”
“My full name’s Bartholomew, but my folks only ever used it to yell at me when I was in trouble. As soon as my mom called out, ‘Bar-thol-om-eeeew’ I knew it was time to start running.”
“Was Bartholomew a family name? I was named for an uncle.”
“Nope. Not that anyone ever said. Was your Uncle Jethro your godfather or something?”
The black haired man shook his head. “I hardly knew him. But he left me his store and his apartment when he died, so I really appreciate that.”
Bart grinned. “I would, too. What kind of a store is it? Are you managing it now?”
Jethro shook his head. “He’d had to close it when he got ill, and I haven’t decided what to do with it yet. I’m living in his old apartment though. I just recently finished cleaning it out and sorting all his furniture and possessions properly.”
Bart leaned back against the edge of the hot tub. “What do you think you might do with the store?”
Jethro looked thoughtful. “It’s in a small row of other stores. So far I’ve been talking to each of the owners about what they think would work best in the area. The consensus seems to be something that will make casual passersby stop and look in. All the stores are opposite a park and sports ground, and there’s quite a lot of foot traffic in the warmer weather. Not so much in winter, I’m told. There’s a café in the block, and people do go there all year around. It’s all very new to me, you understand. I need to think carefully about everything.”
“I do understand, but I also envy you. You have the most amazing opportunity to make it into whatever you chose. Well, within reason. I guess whatever you decide to sell can’t really compete with one of the other stores already there. But it sounds as though you’ve gone about choosing what to do very thoroughly.”
“What do you do, Bart?”
“I’m an artist. I paint and draw. Mostly I paint in acrylics and draw using pencils, but sometimes I paint with oils and draw using charcoal.”
“You must very talented. Acrylics dry so fast. I’d never be able to finish a piece in time.”
“I use a retarder to keep the paint wet longer, and I have a stay-wet palette I use sometimes. Mostly though, I don’t begin to paint until I know exactly what I want to do, so the actual painting moves along steadily. The main advantage is that I can paint on paper or board, not just canvas, and preparation time is much quicker.”
Just then the spa switched off. Jethro instantly stood up and said, “It’s been good talking to you, Bart.”
“We don’t have to stop talking simply because our fifteen minutes is up. I’m enjoying our conversation. What do you want to do next?”
“I thought perhaps a sauna? I came here once before with friends, and they love the sauna. I liked it, too.”
Bart felt a surprising flash of jealously for these friends who knew Jethro. Good heavens. I already want to know him much better. However did that happen so fast?
Buy Link: http://www.bookstrand.com/welcoming-his-man
Berengaria
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