Book Title: A Soul Unbroken: A Journey
Author and Publisher: A.D. Britten
Cover Artist: (for printed book) Cover design from Amazon template by author, photo by Elijah Hiett on Unsplash; (for ebook) Cover design from Amazon template by author, photo by Oliver Sjostrom on Unsplash
Release Date: Originally released in 2006; updated and re-released in 2019
Genre. Contemporary M/M Romance
Theme: Overcoming the odds
Heat Rating: 3 flames
Length: 85 735 words/414 pages
It is a standalone book.
Buy Links – Available in Kindle Unlimited
Joey Christopher has never had an easy life, but living with Allen made everything better, until it wasn’t.
Blurb
Joey Christopher has never had an easy life, but living with Allen made everything better. His mere presence made Joey happy and made life seem more manageable despite Allen’s serious faults. However, when Allen is arrested during a drug bust Joey must learn to live on his own for the first time. He even spends some time in a homeless shelter, while he does everything possible to get Allen home to return to the life they once lived-only better.
For the rest of that day Joey told himself that he wouldn’t go to Gary’s party; he couldn’t go. He meant to take the card out and tear it up before leaving work, but forgot. When he got home later that night he meant to take it out and rip it up, but he was so tired that he just got ready for bed and went to sleep. The end of the week came and the card was still there in his jeans pocket. He happened to wear the same pair of jeans that Friday that he had worn on the day of Gary’s visit. Joey took a deep breath as the last customer left and he went through the store rearranging misplaced books on the shelf and tidying up the store. At around 5:30pm, Mr. Griffin came out of his office and told Joey that he could go home early. He would finish up.
The next day was going to be busy with another book signing and Joey was going to be the only person that morning. The older woman who had worked there last time, Mr. Griffin’s cousin, could not make it there until later in the day.
So Joey left the store and told himself he was going home and he meant to go home. But somehow he found himself at 7 pm standing on Gary’s porch, one of the first to arrive at his party. He lived at the same address he always had. As soon as Gary looked through the peephole and saw Joey standing at his door, he opened it and invited him in.
Joey, looking a little uncertain, walked in. He had not taken two steps when Gary drew him close and planted a long and ardent kiss on his lips. Joey was surprised by it but didn’t resist. It had been so long that although he was never deeply attracted to Gary, he relished the feeling. “It’s been a long time, Joey,” Gary said afterwards. Joey wanted the kiss to continue, against his better judgement, but Gary’s attention turned to the room. It was then that he noticed some of the familiar faces in the living room and kitchen, all people from Gary’s small publishing house.
“Hi, how are you?” Madeline said smiling. She was sitting at the dining table with a few other people, a man and a woman, with whom she had been talking. She raised a glass of wine to Joey, having recognized him from the earlier party. Joey wanted to melt. He suddenly realized that it had been a long time since he’d had any alcohol. Why on earth was he being so celibate about everything now? He asked Gary for a glass of wine, which he dutifully poured for him, until a previously unseen large, fluffy, gray cat hopped up on the table, spilling the bottle in the process.
“Awwwww!” Madeline said, standing up to avoid the spill. “Silly cat!”
Gary went to the kitchen to get some paper towels.
Joey stood there, a little stunned. “You have a cat?” he asked.
“Yes, what’s wrong? Are you allergic?” Gary asked concerned.
“No,” Joey replied. “You just don’t seem the cat type.”
“Well, he’s the last remains of Hollis, an old boyfriend,” Gary said with a slight weariness to his voice.
Madeline picked up the now mostly empty wine bottle and went to the sideboard to replace it, while Gary and another guest continued to clean up the mess. “I told you, you should’ve gotten rid of him,” Madeline playfully chastised. “As soon as he was gone, that cat should have been gone too. Why keep memories of Hollis around anyway? You’re over him now, or so you say.”
Gary just smiled at Joey as he got up from the floor, threw away the red, wet paper towels and took Joey by the hand, leading him to the back of the house where Gary’s bedroom was.
A.D. Britten is a published author of various short stories, articles, and two novels. Originally from the Midwest, Britten now lives on the East Coast.
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