The brilliant mind of 24-year-old Will Rosser
never rests. Literally. Scientifically-inclined and musically-gifted, he
thinks in equations, hears songs in colors, dreams in geometric shapes and is
forever trying to solve the world’s unsolvable problems. Whether
he’s trying to escape his unpleasant childhood or forget the mistakes he
perpetuates with women he barely knows, he rarely finds a moment’s
peace.
When his best friend, Damon, invites him to go on
tour as his lead guitarist, Will decides it’s a chance to get away from his bad
habits in New York and to make some changes in his life. He’ll have to walk
away from a career few people are suited for, but he knows in his heart he’ll
return to his work as an astrophysicist once he gets his life on
track.
There are parents to forgive or forget, and for
Will, they’re decisions he won’t take lightly. He strives to make his
siblings proud; to no longer have them make excuses for him. He has to consider his
personal life. The only time he ever allowed himself to love a girl, she broke his
heart, the pieces splintering around him as he flew across country from Utah to New
York when he was just a teenager.
Most of all, though, Will wants peace of
mind–something he’s never had–and he knows the only way
to get that is to face his painful past.
For Will, a tour across the States allows him to
reconstruct the man he’s known he’s capable of being. He comes face-
to-face with his own demons, making choices along the way that threaten some
relationships and strengthen others. He meets Shea, a woman that challenges him,
and a spark ignites on a blustery, winter night.
Just as Will thinks he’s safe to fall in love
again, he’s reminded that his past will always be his past, and no matter how
distant, it will follow him wherever he goes. When that past threatens his future,
Will’s sleepless nights return, and the woman he has fallen for has to decide
where in his life she belongs.
On my way back to the hotel, I see Damon eating
alone in a burger joint. “Mind if I join
you?”
“Not at all. If you haven’t eaten, you
should get the Baby Bella. Oh, my God.”
“That’s what you’re
eating?” He nods. A waitress arrives within seconds, and I point to his burger
to show her it’s what I want. “And a Coke, please.” I catch
myself watching her as she walks away. I can’t deny that she’s
attractive. In hopes of getting my mind off her, I glance around at the other patrons.
“Is it me, or does this place make you want to grow a full beard and become a
mountain man?”
“Definitely.”
“These river trips and shit? We need to
come back and do that sometime.”
“When the beards come in,” he says
with a mouthful of food.
“Of
course.”
“Where’s everyone
else?”
“I’m sure Ben’s
gettin’ some action from his girl
online…”
“That was a given,
man.”
“Tavo’s playing pool at this cowboy
bar. It has saddles for barstools. I’m not shittin’
you.”
“Pool, huh? Could I make some
money?”
“You gonna go hustle? Some scrawny city
boy in that place? Mountain men, Will. We just talked about
that.”
“They don’t scare me. And
whatever, I’m not scrawny.” I puff out my chest just to make my
point… but I’m not.
“Compared to Wooly Mammoth over there,
and his sidekick, Big Bad John?” He nods to two guys in plaid flannel shirts
walking down the street as if they’ve just dismounted a couple of bulls.
“Pretty sure they had an axe to grind with you before you even walked in just
because of your damned Yankees cap.”
“Fuck you and fuck your Mets.” He
laughs at me as the waitress sets down a soda for
me.
“You’re not scrawny,” she
says softly to me, poking her head in between us.
“See? Thank
you.”
“You’re welcome.” She
flutters her lashes at me, smiling.
Damon’s staring at me when my eyes meet
his. “What?”
“Nothing.”
“Why are you looking at me like
that?”
“Why were you looking at her
like that?”
“Like
what?”
“Like you wanted to mount
her and grind your axe into
her…”
“Oh, shut the fuck up. I was not.” He
raises his brows. “Jesus Christ, I’m not sure if you’re aware of
this, but the hormones don’t just stop flowing when you meet a woman you
like.”
“A hundred bucks says she gives you her
number… and you’ve got your own room here for one more night. This
has ethical dilemma written all over
it.”
“It does not! And I’m not taking that
bet. I’m saving my money.”
He chuckles. “You know she’s
giving you her digits.”
“Probably…” I can’t
help it if I know the signs. “I’m not gonna keep them… or call
her. Why don’t you ask her out?”
“Not my type. She has no meat on her
bones whatsoever. I have to have something to hold on
to.”
“You’re saying if she came on to
you, you’d turn her down?” I ask him point
blank.
He thinks for just a split second.
“No.”
“Dipshit. Hey, you didn’t mention
Peron… what’s he up to?”
“He was in the fitness
center.”
“No, I said Peron.” He nods.
“Peron’s working out?”
“Treadmill.”
“I might have a running buddy?” I
ask, over-dramatically.
“You
might…”
“Here’s your burger.” Our
waitress takes a seat on the empty stool next to
Damon.
“You’re Damon Littlefield,
aren’t you?”
I grin as I take a bite of my food, now wishing
I’d taken the bet. It would have been a quicker and easier way to make
money than a round of pool. Nah, I like a little bit of a
challenge.
“I hear you like to have a little fun,”
she flirts.
“Yeah,” he admits to
her.
“Into three-
ways?”
He clears his throat before answering. “My
favorite of all the ways.”
“So stupid,” I whisper under my
breath, earning an elbow in my side.
“What about him?” she asks,
nodding at me. I shake my head politely.
“Not Will’s favorite
thing…”
“But… would
he?”
“I think he might want to know who the
third party was.”
“No,” I say, trying to be
polite.
“Oh, it’d be you,” she says to
Damon.
“Wait, what?” he
asks.
She has my attention, too. “Sorry?”
I’m biting my lip, stifling a laugh if she’s suggesting what I think
she’s suggesting.
“I wanted to see if you two wanted to have
a three-way with me.”
“Oh, God, no,” Damon says even
before the laughter escapes my lips. “No, see… it’s not like that
with us. No. We’ve known each other for too
long.”
“Eight years. And neither of us are,
uh… curious at all, in that aspect. Sorry. I’ve already seen
more of Damon than I ever want to.”
“You wouldn’t have to do anything
with each other… just, you know… watch… and
maybe touch.”
“Oh, we know…” I say.
We’ve seen porn, thank you very much. “I have to pass.
Damon, you’re a handsome guy, but,
uh…”
“You’re an ugly son-of-a-
bitch,” he tells me. “Fuck
that.”
We both start laughing as our waitress gets up,
clearly embarrassed. “Look, I’m flattered,” I tell her.
“We–we–are flattered. It’s just not
something we’re into.”
She nods, smiles, and returns to us. “Well, I
get off at nine, if either one of you are interested in a little solo
action…”
“I’ll be here at five after,”
Damon says quickly. “And if you have a girl friend you want to
bring…”
“For him?” she asks, nodding to
me.
“For him, or for
us…” he says.
I glare at him, then start shaking my head
vehemently. “Not for me. That’s all you guys. Or maybe Tavo. Or
Peron. Or anyone other than me.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” she
says. “I’m Ralli, by the way.”
“Cute name,” Damon says.
“Suits you.”
“I might need one of these alcoholic shakes
to get this image out of my head,” I joke with
him.
“Might I suggest the Mudslide?” he
asks. “Dark chocolate oozing with sweet, vanilla
custard.”
“Awww, fuck,” I say, throwing
down my burger on my plate. “You’re the absolute
worst.” He can’t stop laughing, and eventually I join in with him, now
thinking about how ludicrous her invitation was. When I can talk, I finally pose a
question to him. “Do we look like we swing both
ways?”
“Compared to…” He gestures
to the abundance of mountain men around us.
“Yeah, we’re not coming back until
we get the facial hair thing figured out.”
“You better start
now.”
“Mine grows fast!” I argue, feeling
the stubble on my chin.
“Your mustache takes awhile, though. The
beard’s good, but there’s something weird about part of your upper
lip.”
“It’s a scar, you idiot. It’s
never gonna grow right.” I drag my finger over the line on my lip that I can
barely even feel anymore.
“I guess we can’t come
back.”
“I don’t think mountain men will
take points off for a scar. Girls even like it. You just have to be perfectly
coiffed. Can’t have a single imperfection… spend more on beauty
products than any woman I know.”
“But feel my skin.” He picks up my
hand.
“No!” I pull my hand back into my
body, chuckling again. “We do look like we swing both ways.
It’s your fault, too.”
He puts his arm across my shoulders and plants a
kiss on my cheek.
“We’re so getting beat
up as soon as we walk out of this place…” I
mutter.
“We’re both too
pretty.”
“I’m not shaving anymore,” I
vow. “So, Ralli, huh?” I ask him, starting to eat
again.
Will Rosser is smart.
Will Rosser is creative.
Will Rosser is driven.
Will Rosser is no Jon Scott.
Will Rosser is creative.
Will Rosser is driven.
Will Rosser is no Jon Scott.
After an exhilarating, collaborative writing
project, Lori L. Otto had an idea for an original novel. The characters and their rich
stories would keep her awake at night, and even with barely any sleep, she felt more
alert and alive than she had in years. Her days off were spent in cafés,
sandwich shops and bookstores, feverishly trying to get all of the details out of her
head and onto paper.
In the spring of 2009, after a few months of
writing, Lori decided to tweak one chapter from the novel-in-progress and enter it
as a short story in the 78th Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition,
where she was awarded Honorable Mention in the Mainstream/Literary Short Story
category.
A year later, she completed a series of three
novels–Lost and Found, Time Stands Still, and Never Look
Back–which were published in the spring of 2011. Since then, she has
published seven more full-length novels and two novellas, as well as a book of extras
and short stories. Her current work-in-progress, Love Will, is scheduled to be
released in April of 2016.
No comments:
Post a Comment