Beijing, Tokyo, Sydney -- these exciting cities are standard fare in the life of flight attendant Todd Eisenbraun, and he chases a romance with sexy-but-straight Josh through them all. Closer to home, a new neighbor in his San Francisco apartment building has a huge crush on Todd. His friends -- Katie, a flight attendant-turned-small appliance repairwoman, and Marzipan Q. Thespian, a man-dangling local philanthropist -- think Todd should at least give Chris a shot. Sure, he’s overweight, but he’s also handsome, a hilarious playwright, and a great cook ... what’s not to love? Todd and Chris become quick friends, but Todd’s idea of the perfect man is skinny and straight, and Chris is decidedly neither. Josh may have a fiancée and a teenaged son, but Todd just knows he’s “the One.” But if Josh is straight, the road to love is not; Todd is jostled by internalized homophobia, body image issues, exotic locales, the glamorous world of sewing machine repair, and a community theater musical salute to the life of Judy Garland before he arrives at the realization that he’s been looking way too hard for something he may have already found.

Kiss Me, Straight

“So,” I hazarded in conspiratorial French when he brought me a glass of red wine, “how do you like the new guy?” 


“Have you seen him? So young, but so fat!”


“I’ve heard. But I mean, how is it working with him and stuff? Is he a nice guy?” I ventured.


“A doll!” Jean-Paul confirmed. “And quite a good cook, you will see.”


A foursome was jostling through the door just then, of a type very typical at Marzipan! A young boyfriend and girlfriend, probably new to San Francisco, with somebody’s visiting parents. Hers, judging by the way the boyfriend was tripping over himself to impress. I quickly asked Jean-Paul to just bring me whatever Chris had whipped up for the special before he scurried away to charm the new arrivals.


Chapter 14