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

“Oh, good,” Jill said, “Andy, come check on lighting and blocking with me—” and steered him that way. Jason, hovering, became a giant apprehensive puppy: hopeful, anxious, forlorn.


“It’s all fine.” Colby tried to make the words into metaphorical petting. Soothing scratches for puppy-ears. “Jill only wanted to check on me. No need to worry. Should we find someplace to run lines? I want to stay nearby, whenever they’re ready for us, but we can’t use this room; it shares the wall, and sound carries, and if they’re testing set-ups I don’t want to interfere.”


“You never interfere,” put in Brian the camera operator, arriving with spiked hair and arms full of equipment and script notes. “You’re like the opposite of an interferer. A…ferer.”


“I don’t think that’s how that prefix works,” Colby said. “By the way, how’re your daughter’s troop’s cookie sales going? Kayla’s close to being the top seller, isn’t she? Would you like me to buy anything else?”


Chapter 123