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

The bell rang out its usual announcement as I breezed into the Button Hole. Katie was putting the finishing touches on the repair of that Filter Queen, and Benji was standing by, handing her tools like an operating room assistant and serenading her with what sounded like a song from Chris’s show. Seeing it was me, they set aside the vacuum, and Benji finished his song with a flourish. Katie offered her cheek as usual, as did Benji, who had taken to imitating the salutation, although he playfully tapped his with a finger, indicating where the kiss was to be planted.


Katie appraised my outfit and scrunched her lips side-wise. “Nice shirt. What, were they out of ‘I Love Josh, Not Chris’ T-shirts?” she queried.


“Well, it smells like you dug it out from under a pile of old laundry, for starters.”


“Really?” I panicked, sniffing a handful of collar. Little bit it did. Okay, maybe apartment only from now on. Maybe I shouldwear it to clean my bathtub.


Chapter 48