I Do Two!

An anthology of gay-shaded fiction in celebration of and  support for gay marriage.

My story Stripes [under a different pseudonym] is one of the stories in this anthology.  I'm hugely chuffed by that.  It always feels good to have a story accepted by a publisher, and it feels even better when the publisher selects an excerpt from your story as the teaser for the whole book!

This is my excerpt (to read MLR's you'll need to go here):

The water was chilly. We dived into the first big wave comin' in and it was all blue and green and icy after the heat on the beach.

Mattie yelped and laughed. “Fuck! It’s freezin'!”

“Man, you are such a wuss!”

Mattie leapt on me and we both fell into the water. I swallowed some water and coughed. “I’ll get you for that, dude!” We horsed around for maybe ten minutes but it got too cold. As we went back to the shore, Mattie was a bit ahead of me. Through the wet nylon of his rugby shorts I could see the shape of his swim briefs, blue and white vertical stripes, carefully cuddlin' and shapin' his bum. I started to get hard again. Luckily the water was so cold no one could’ve told.

We lay a bit more in the sun then I suggested we get lunch. There was a caravan parked in a parkin' bay off the beach road sellin' hot dogs and chips, and we walked over to it. Every metre along the way I was conscious of his body, of the slight spring in his step as he walked, of his thigh muscles clenchin' and relaxin'. There was a thin trickle of sweat either side of his spine in the dip between the swell of his back muscles. I wanted to lick it, to follow it down his spine to his butt, to keep goin' until I reached the sweet cleft of his arse and the hole within.

I must have looked a bit dazed. “You OK, mate?” he asked, worried. When I took a moment or two to answer, he asked again, “James? Anythin' wrong?”

“Nah. No worries, Mattie.” He’d remembered my name! Gazza had forgotten it when he and I first met. Even after the second or third fuck he still hadn’t remembered. I was pretty happy Mattie had remembered. It felt good. It felt like he cared. Then a warnin' voice in my head said don’t fall for him, he’s straight.

We sat on the low stone wall facin' the beach and ate our hot dogs and chips and cokes. We shared the packet of chips. It was kinda intimate takin' stuff from the same paper box he was eatin' out of. Every so often I would sneak a look at the shorts, at the bulge held in by the shiny nylon. Now that I knew it was there, I could see the blue stripes of his Aussiebum through the white fabric. His tummy was so flat that when he sat he had only a few thin folds. I had to look away and quickly rearrange myself. There’s no easy way to hide a fatty in a pair of swim briefs. I put my elbows on my knees and leaned forward.

But my short story isn't the only reason to buy the book.  There are several really classy stories in it,  from old pros in this genre (Neil Plakcy, Ruth Sims, and others) and some just as good from newbies.  I'm proud that several of the authors published here were first published in Wilde Oats, the e-zine I help edit.

All the profits from this book are going to the Lambda Legal fund to fight for the right of gays and lesbians to get married, just like normal folk.  I haven't made a penny in royalties from I Do Two!  So go for it!  You can buy the book/e-book here:

• At MLR Press itself
• At The Book Depository (free delivery worldwide)
• At Barnes and Noble
• At Amazon

The previous volume, I do, is also still available.  I can't comment on it as I haven't read it yet, but I will soon, and I'll give you guys a review.