Nonfiction writer Benry Noir is single and needs a date for a wedding. If he doesn't attend the fun-filled function, the two grooms (and his dearest life-long friends) will be offended. The wedding can't be missed, and Benry doesn’t want to go alone, so he places an ad online for the perfect date. When the advertisement fails, he decides to borrow his best friend’s lover Just for a few days. Just’s boyfriend Armin loves his mate, but sometimes he seems to like work and travel more. When Benry first asks to borrow Just for the wedding, Armin refuses. But an opportunity to take a trip to Greece changes his mind. Still, Armin has strict rules the two men must follow, or there will be hell to pay. When Benry and Just are alone together, they’re on their best behavior and act as complete gentlemen. As hard as it might be to resist Just’s charms, Benry manages to comply with Armin’s rules. But once the wedding is in full swing and alcohol flows freely, the rules are forgotten, unravel, and break. Will their indiscretions ruin Benry’s friendship with Armin? He thinks he has found the perfect mate, but will things work out between them, or will Just disappear when the weekend ends?

Borrowing Just

I woke around nine the next morning with sweat on my chest, a raw stink on my skin, and rings around my eyes for some odd reason.


Just was in my kitchen. He sat at the two-person table in a beam of golden sunlight and held a cup of coffee from the corner convenience store. Our eyes met upon my entrance.


“I have a key. Anyway, the door was unlocked. Plus, I always know how to use the fire escape if I need to. Your dining room window is never locked. You can’t stay hidden from me in here.”


I walked up to him swaying, just like a zombie, yawned, stretched, and said, “Give me your coffee.”


He handed it to me and I took a long sip. I found the beverage soothing, refreshing, soulful, and Zen-lifting. I passed the Styrofoam cup back to him and said, “I always forget that you have a key to the place.”


Chapter 31