Book Title: Force Majeure
Author and Publisher: Sophia Soames
Cover Model: Rourke
Release Date: July 15, 2022
Genre: Contemporary M/M Romance
Trope: Childhood friends to Lovers
Themes: Jealousy, Hurt/Comfort, Set in Berlin
Length: 32 000 words
It is a standalone story.
Buy Links
Universal Link | Amazon US | Amazon UK
Love is an earthquake that relocates the centre of the universe.
Blurb
Oakley Hoffman is a walking, talking natural disaster. Not only does he seem to be the only functioning adult in his family, but he also stomps around creating irrational earthquakes with every badly thought-out ridiculous move he makes. He barely survived lockdown, and with life returning to something that vaguely resembles normal, Oakley has landed himself an inconvenient infatuation with his former best friend. Well, if he’s totally honest, he’s probably nursed that crush for years. Yet, this time around, infatuation has brought a bad streak of jealousy to boot.
Force Majeure is a 32K novella featuring childhood friends to lovers in adulthood, with explicit content intended for mature readers. No trigger warnings.
Force Majeure refers to a clause that is included in contracts to remove liability for natural and unavoidable catastrophes that interrupt the expected course of events.
And here I am, almost a week and a half post my first kiss, with a bandaged hand and head full of broken dreams. The stairs seem to go on forever as I climb them. Reaching my front door, I let the key sit in the lock and lean my forehead against the warm wood. I’m tired of being angry and emotional and just wish for peace—a nice, quiet padded cell perhaps, where I can lie on the floor and listen to soothing music until my mind goes blank.
“Babe?”
I jolt in surprise, so deep in my bubble of confusion that he snuck up on me.
“Hey,” I say, trying to stay calm and not react because he looks pale and terrified, and I’ve been living in this rage for days—ever since we promised we wouldn’t let things get weird, yet they still have.
“What happened to your hand?” He stares at my bandaged digits as I just shrug in response.
“You never replied,” he says quietly.
“I know. Lots going on.” Excuses. Always excuses.
“Now you sound like me. Cut it out, Oaky. You’ve been avoiding me for over a week. I know I’ve made lots of mistakes in the past, but I don’t deserve this.”
I take a deep breath. If I’m not careful, I’ll spin up into a tornado of badly-thought-out ranting, right here in the staircase. “This?” I repeat.
“Yes, this.” He waves his arms about. “So, I’m a crap human, that’s nothing new, but I was honest. I told you everything. I laid everything on the table for you, all my feelings, the things that were important, and now you ignore me, flip me off like I’m an inconvenience. But Oaky…” He stops to catch his breath, then continues in a small voice, “This isn’t who we are. This isn’t what was supposed to happen. I was trying to make it right, to be the person I truly want to be. I want to be with you. And I want to be with the Oakley that I know and love, not this mean person who hides from me and ignores me. I know you asked for space, but I didn’t think you would disappear off the face of the earth. It’s like I don’t exist to you anymore.”
“I went to my dad’s.” Pathetic. “Cut my hand on a stupid saw.” Even more pathetic. I wish I knew how to fix this. All I want to do is hug him, but I can’t. I’ve frozen, become one with the stone floor.
“I’ve had the worst couple of weeks, and the only person who made it better was you. We kissed, Oakley. You told me you loved me. That you were in love with me! Now I am doubting every bloody word that’s ever come out of your mouth!”
“I do…” Oh God. All the smart, clever things I planned to say to him are no longer there, as if they’ve been erased from my brain. I can’t remember why I was angry with him or why I’m here and he’s there instead of in my arms. And all of a sudden, it hits me what I’ve done.
I’m no better than him. No better than the people I despise—the ones who took him from me again and again.
“You…hurt me,” I stutter out, “and things got complicated in my head. I don’t know how to get everything back the way it should be, and I think…”
“Is that what you think, Oakley? That I told you all those things for a laugh?”
“No. No, no, no. I…I just need…I need time.”
“Time? That I can give you. Silence? No. That’s non-negotiable. I’ve had you in my head, in my bed, on the other end of the phone—it’s been constant for months and months—and I can’t deal with the silence. I need you. I need you to tell me that you’re okay so I can be okay. Isn’t that what people who love each other do?”
He’s right, and I once again understand the universe a little bit better as a fresh thunderbolt hits me square in the face.
“I do love you.” Now my brain’s churning out truths faster than I can process. “And you love me. And sometimes people who love each other argue and fall out, but that doesn’t mean they don’t still love each other. I need to get better at talking instead of running away, even if it means fighting.”
“Hallelujah!” Cem raises his arms to the heavens as if he really is thanking a higher power. He isn’t religious, apart from when it comes to the importance of good foundation and the musical superiority of Lykke Li.
“Seriously, dude. No wonder we’ve had years when we haven’t spoken at all because you’ve run off and I’ve been bloody stubborn, and the truth is, we’re both shitty humans at times. That needs to change.”
“I can’t help being a shitty human,” my brain kindly admits on my behalf, and I cringe.
Cem laughs. “Shitty humans are everywhere, Oaky. But you’re my shitty human, so it’s all good.”
Sophia Soames should be old enough to know better but has barely grown up. She has been known to fangirl over TV shows, has fallen in and out of love with more popstars than she dares to remember, and has a ridiculously high-flying (un-)glamourous real-life job.
Her long-suffering husband just laughs at her antics. Their children are feral. The Au Pair just sighs.
She lives in a creaky old house in rural London, although her heart is still in Scandinavia.
Discovering that the stories in her head make sense when written down has been part of the most hilarious midlife crisis ever, and she hopes it may long continue.
Find me on social media @sophiasoames on all platforms
Christina Stern is a Russian based artist. Quick sketches and portraits drawn in pencil are what she likes to do the most. Her work can be found on @christinastern on Instagram
Aurelia Morris is a cover artist, photographer, Photoshop wiz and eternal fangirl. She works in many mediums under more aliases that she can keep track of.
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