Book Title: Tapped By My Roommate (Thrust into Love, book 3)
Author: DJ Jamison
Publisher: DJ Jamison
Cover Artist: Cate Ashwood
Release Date: September 9, 2021
Genre: Contemporary M/M Romance
Tropes: Roommates, app hookup, hookups to lovers, bi awakening, geek romance.
Length: 75 000 words
It is part of a series (Thrust Into Love) but can be read as a stand alone.
Buy Links – Available in Kindle Unlimited
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Ethan Greene: Shy geek, newly bi-curious, and…propositioning his gay roommate?
Blurb
Ethan Greene: Shy geek, newly bi-curious, and…propositioning his gay roommate?
I have a passion for a lot of things: wildlife biology, Godzilla, bowties…
But when it comes to people, I’m more timid.
Which is why I’m stuck with a toxic ex-girlfriend who’s holding my lizard hostage.
I need to face her–and save my dignity.
But a little backup won’t hurt, right?
My roommate is the perfect wingman.
Rhett is assertive and charismatic. The kind of guy people respect.
And when he meets my toxic ex, he’s also the kind of guy to get protective.
I take comfort in his strength, even as I envy it.
But when he kisses me, things get awkward.
Frustrated by the tension between us, I turn to a hookup app for answers.
I don’t mean to proposition my roommate. Really.
It’s just a weird fluke–a mortifying one.
But Rhett has a proposition of his own.
He wants to help me explore my curiosity.
But he’s a bartender who practically flirts for a living, and I’m in way over my head.
It could all end in heartbreak.
Unless I find the courage I’ve been seeking my whole life.
Can I be bold enough to ask Rhett Hayes to be mine?
Tapped By My Roommate is Book 3 of the Thrust into Love series featuring a flirty bartender, a timid but passionate geek, and a mistaken app hookup that encourages these two roommates to explore friendship and love. It can be read as a standalone.
ETHAN
I paced the motel room I’d rented, nervous and restless. I hadn’t wanted to invite a hookup to the apartment in case Rhett was there. Things were awkward enough without explaining some random guy showing up to have sex with me. There’d be no avoiding Rhett’s questions—or his potentially embarrassing conclusion that his kiss had blown my mind.
The motel room was a better choice—even if I’d had to spend a hundred bucks on it, which left me feeling oddly skeevy, as if I were paying for sex rather than just a room. I ventured back to the mirror, brushing fingers over my hair that had been gelled to hell and back.
I’d debated long and hard, but I’d finally put on a button-down and bowtie. Rhett had been complimentary about the style. I couldn’t be sure he’d meant what he said. We’d both been drunk, and he’d wanted to make me feel better after Tess’s awful treatment. But if EasyLay hadn’t figured out I was a geek from our message exchange, then he wasn’t very bright.
He seemed easy-going. Out of all the guys I’d sent match requests to, he was the only one who’d made me comfortable. To my surprise, all but one had accepted my request, and most of them had replied to my initial message as well. They were too eager, though. They fired questions at me about which sexual acts I wanted, which made me nervous, because I still didn’t know.
EasyLay had asked too, but he’d eased into it enough that it had felt more reassuring than intimidating. As if he wanted to make sure I was comfortable and got what I needed. He’d seemed genuinely concerned with what was best for me, not just his own pleasure.
Whether that would hold true in person, though, who could say? I broke out in a cold sweat. What if he took one look at me and laughed his ass off? I tugged at my bowtie uncertainly. What if he didn’t laugh? What if he stayed? That was just as scary.
When the knock came at the door, I jumped and pressed a hand over my racing heart.
Relax, Ethan. He’s just a guy. A stranger. It doesn’t matter what he thinks of you.
Another knock.
I drew a breath and opened the door—and nearly aspirated on my own saliva.
“Rhett?” I choked.
“Ethan?” His eyes went wide. “Oh shit, it is you.”
“What? Of course I’m me. Did you follow me or something?”
He shook his head. “No, of course I didn’t follow you. I’m here to meet CuriousLizard.”
Oh no. No, no, no. This couldn’t be happening.
“EasyLay? That’s what you call yourself? Seriously?” I hissed, shocked and embarrassed and suddenly angry.
Why did the one guy I selected have to be Rhett? And why did Rhett have to be running around hooking up with every guy who messaged him anyway?
“Oh, it’s my name that’s the problem?” Rhett pushed his way inside, closing the door behind him. “That’s what you want to talk about? What the hell are you doing, Ethan?”
“Wh-what do you mean?” My anger gave way to uncertainty as Rhett stepped close into my space, his eyes hot—and not in a sexy way. He was furious with me. I just didn’t understand why. I was the one embarrassed here. There would be no denying the effect his kiss had on me now.
“A motel, Ethan? That’s not safe. What if I’d been some rapey asshole?”
I gaped at him. “But…but…you’re here. You knew you’d be meeting your hookup here.”
“But I know what I’m doing.”
“And I don’t?”
“No! Obviously not!” He raked a hand through his hair, turning to pace away. Then he whirled back toward me. “What is going on? Why are you looking for hookups?”
My cheeks heated, and my gaze shot to the floor. The diamond pattern on the cheap, indoor/outdoor carpeting was easier to look at than Rhett’s accusing eyes.
“Ethan?”
I couldn’t look at him. “What?”
“What you told me on the app? That was true? You’re bicurious?”
I wet my dry lips. My voice rasped out. “Kind of?”
Silence drew out between us. When I dared look up again, Rhett was right in front of me. He was looking at me contemplatively, and I knew that even if the surprise of meeting me here had thrown him off, he was a smart enough guy to add two and two.
“You liked the kiss?”
I pressed my lips together, throat too tight to speak. I nodded.
“Why didn’t you just tell me?” His voice was softer, his anger seemingly gone as fast as it had surfaced.
“What should I have told you? You kissed me, and you ran away. You didn’t like it, so why would I tell you that I did?”
Rhett put his hands on my shoulders, squeezing gently. “Ethan, I did like it. It was impulsive and a bad idea because we’re roommates, but I liked it.”
“You did?”
“Yeah, I really did.”
I tried to process what he was telling me, feeling a little dizzy with the emotional highs and lows. He liked kissing me! My heart leapt at the realization. But he regretted it. My heart sank again.
He continued. “I shouldn’t have gone there with you like that, especially without asking more explicitly. You were drunk, and I had no business kissing you.”
“You were drunk too,” I pointed out. “And you did ask first. I told you yes.” I could feel heat building in my cheeks. It wasn’t easy to talk about this, but it was time. “You didn’t do anything wrong—except maybe walk out and leave me feeling lost and confused.”
“I’m sorry about that. I was caught off-guard too, and I wasn’t sure how to handle the situation. Things are crazy awkward between us now, and that’s on me. But maybe meeting up like this tonight is a good thing.”
“I guess it’s good we’re talking about this,” I said reluctantly.
“That’s not what I mean,” he said. “I mean, yes, I’m glad to finally clear the air. But, Ethan, think about it. You contacted EasyLay because you were curious. And I’m here.”
He raised his eyebrows as if waiting for me to catch on.
“Yeah, so…?”
A slow smile spread on his face. “So, if you want to explore your attraction to men, I can help you do that.”
I blinked. “Wait, what?”
Rhett’s smile grew even wider. How was I supposed to think straight when he smiled like that?
“You said you wanted someone to kiss you, right? Maybe get naked for you? I can do that.”
My eyes widened.
“You can touch me, Ethan. You can see if you want to go any further, and if you don’t, it’s totally fine. You’ll be safe doing it. Safe with someone you know.”
“Safe. That’s why you’re offering?”
Rhett was a good guy, a nice guy. In retrospect, I should have suspected he could be EasyLay. Name choice aside, he’d been considerate of my well-being. Rhett was always good like that. Protective, even. The day he’d helped me move, he’d held me together.
So much so that he’d felt compelled to kiss me.
But this wasn’t what I wanted. I didn’t want a guy to explore with me sexually to protect me from the big bad wolves of the world. I wanted to be braver, bolder.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I’m trying to be more courageous. Isn’t doing this with you just taking the easy way out?”
“There’s nothing easy about confronting a new side to yourself, Ethan. You don’t have anything to prove.” He brushed a thumb over my bottom lip. “And I don’t know about you, but I can’t stop thinking about that kiss.”
I swallowed hard. “You make a good point.”
“How about this?” he murmured, so close now I could feel his breath wash over my lips. Lips that were already buzzing with anticipation. “One more kiss, and then you can sleep on it. If you want me to be your guide as you explore your sexuality, you can let me know. If not, you’ll be free to get back on the app and find someone else.”
“One kiss?” I checked.
He nodded once. “Right here, right now. Then you take your time and decide.”
I was helpless to do anything but agree. “Y-yeah, okay.”
His lips pressed against mine the moment the words were out, warm and demanding, and those heart flutters returned in full force.
Rhett might be safe—but he was also terrifying.
I clung to him, parting my lips so he could take the kiss deeper, and already knew what my answer would be.
DJ Jamison writes romances about everyday life and extraordinary love featuring a variety of queer characters, from gay to bisexual to asexual. DJ grew up in the Midwest in a working-class family, and those influences can be found in her writing through characters coping with real-life problems: money troubles, workplace drama, family conflicts and, of course, falling in love. DJ spent more than a decade in the newspaper industry before chasing her first dream to write fiction. She spent a lifetime reading before that and continues to avidly devour her fellow authors’ books each night. She lives in Kansas with her husband, two sons, one snake, and a sadistic cat named Birdie.
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