An epic motion picture! A gay Napoleonic War love story! Ballrooms and battles at sea! Romantic happy endings on the silver screen! And a film that’ll change everything for its stars ... Jason Mirelli can’t play adrenaline-fueled action heroes forever. He’s getting older, plus the action star parts have grown a little thinner since he came out as bisexual. This role could finally let him be seen as a serious dramatic actor, and he needs it to go well -- for his career, and because he’s fallen in love with the story and the chance to tell it. The first problem? He’ll be playing a ship’s captain ... and he hasn’t exactly mentioned his fear of water. The second problem? His co-star: award-winning, overly talkative, annoyingly adorable -- and openly gay – box office idol Colby Kent. Colby’s always loved the novel this film’s based on, and he leapt at the chance to adapt it, now that he has the money and reputation to make it happen. But scars and secrets from his past make filming a love story difficult ... until Jason takes his hand and wakes up all his buried desires. Jason could be everything Colby’s ever wanted: generous and kind, a fantastic partner on set, not to mention those heroic muscles. But Colby just can’t take that chance ... or can he? As their characters fall in love and fight a war, Colby and Jason find themselves falling, too ... and facing the return of their own past demons. But together they just might win ... and write their own love story.

Seaworthy

Colby, however, only gazed back at him; one corner of that expressive mouth quirked up, wordless and more amused than anything. This might’ve been three drinks and an attendant loss of one layer of inhibitions; or it might’ve been a decision, the way that leaning very fractionally into Jason’s side had been earlier; or it might have been something else altogether.


Jason was not an expert in reading Colby Kent. But he wanted to be. He wanted that with a newfound all-encompassing need. The bar faded away; the world faded away. Lost in blue.


He cleared his throat, roughly. He made a gesture, undirected and flailing: the room, the exit, the elevators.


Colby gave him a nod, and then proceeded to stay at his side as they navigated the hotel bar, the lobby, the elevator buttons. They did not talk—too much echoing noise, and no need in any case; they both knew where they were headed—but they stayed together. Next to each other. Not getting lost.


Chapter 68