Book Title: Gamer’s Choice
Author: Valerie Ullmer
Publisher and Cover Artist: Valerie Ullmer
Release Date: March 25, 2021
Genre: Contemporary M/M Romance
Trope/s: Friends-to-lovers, Age Gap, Bisexual Awakening, Gay/Bisexual Romance, Instant Connection
Themes: Accepting oneself, moving past partner abuse
Length: 51 000 words
It is a standalone story.
Buy Links – Available in Kindle Unlimited
Blurb
Neko-Ren Ellison
Love wasn’t in the cards for me.
My first relationship ended with a dramatic event, and police involvement. Needless to say, I wasn’t keen starting a new one. But a knock on the door one random night changed everything. After exchanging some witty banter through my closed oak door, safety first, I threw it open to find an exquisite bearded man, hair tied back, muscles on display… all-in-all, my fantasy come to life.
I wove elaborate dreams around the two of us within minutes, yet my illusion shattered when I learned he was straight. But the protective and intense man became a fixture in my life, and no matter how many times I tell myself he’s not available, I stubbornly hold out hope.
Graham Norris
I’m screwed.
I can’t figure out what shocked me more. The realization I’m not only attracted to a man, but to my dazzling, openly gay, younger next-door neighbor who makes every protective instinct in me flare. Or at the ripe old age of thirty-four, I’m stupidly fighting against my one chance at happiness.
Despite my grumpy and staid personality, the brilliant and funny man introduced me to his world, his family, and worked his way into my heart. The more I’m immersed in everything Neko, my desire for him only grows.
Yep, completely screwed.
Gamer’s Choice features an age gap, bisexual awakening romance between a professional let’s player and his new neighbor. It’s a standalone gay/bisexual romance with an instant connection and a ten-year age difference.
~Descriptions of domestic violence and stalking, includes abuse from an ex-partner, descriptions of an attempted assault with a weapon. Please avoid if the subject matter is triggering.~
“It’s part of my life, Graham. I tell my chat all the time they are worthy of love and no one should treat them with anything other than respect. And I get questions about it from newer fans who found the video. If I get through to one person, I don’t mind the reminder of that time in my life.”
I nodded, understanding. “Okay, I’m going to let you down. But I’m… I need to be close. After watching him hurt you, I…”
“It’s fine. We can take our food and watch something on TV. Do you like true crime?”
“Are you being serious?”
“Well, I’m of the mindset that the more of everything I can learn, the more I’m prepared for the unexpected. I’ve binged watched courses on finance, biology, writing… well, you name it, I’ve searched for information about it. Or I will. But true crime captured my interest.”
I nodded, agreeing to anything as long as it involved Neko. I watched him plate the pot roast, and then he took the potatoes from the pot, mashed them and added butter, cream, and fresh dill, before plopping mounds of the creamy side next to the meat. The carrots and onions finished the dish.
We picked up our dinner, and he led me past the living room into a windowless family room with a gigantic TV, game systems, a Blu-ray player, and a comfortable leather couch.
I watched as Neko placed his plate on the sturdy wooden coffee table in front of the couch before he turned to me.
“What would you like to drink?”
“I’ll go get it.” I figured the room without windows or a door that led outside left him secure.
“Sure, can you fill the bottle next to the fridge with ice water?”
I nodded and strode toward the kitchen, finding his bottle and filling it up. I searched through two cupboards before I found a glass and poured myself the same. The tightness in my chest loosened as I spotted him, crossed legged on the couch, as his thin fingers searched his phone for videos to watch.
Tonight, he wore a black hoodie with a rainbow stripped heart in the center along with heather gray sweats and chunky white socks. I missed the black tights.
“Here you go.” I handed him his drink and absorbed his touch as our fingers brushed together.
“Thanks. How about we watch the Great British Baking Show while we’re eating? We can get into the other videos later.”
I shrugged. “I’ve never seen it.”
His hand opened over his heart, and he exaggerated a gasp. “Well, we’re going to rectify your egregious oversight of the greatest show ever made with season one and work our way through.”
“I guess. If you think it’s necessary.”
I chuckled as he slapped my arm.
Unable to shake the uneasiness of what I witnessed, I sat closer to Neko than necessary. Instead of inching away, he leaned his shoulder against mine and started eating as an upbeat theme song surrounded us.
About the time they were going to start the technical challenge, we’d finished dinner, which was delicious, and Neko relaxed his entire body against my side. He had both legs bent, knees pressed together and tilted toward me. It felt natural, so I lifted my arm and he settled his head against my chest.
“You’re so warm.”
“And you smell amazing.”
He chuckled at my observation, sending vibrations through me, and I dropped my hand to his waist and held him closer.
Valerie resides in Denver, Colorado with her husband. While she had been interested in writing a romance novel for years, it wasn’t until she wrote her first book that she really became hooked, and now she can’t stop. She has notebooks full of ideas, and she plans to write most of them in the years to come.
When she’s not writing or learning about the craft of writing, she can be found surfing the internet way too much, watching Investigation Discovery and thinking that her neighbors are up to no good, and finding new ways to get her husband to laugh.
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