Title: BEAcon of Love
Author: Jamie Sands
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: 11/19/2024
Heat Level: 1 – No Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 45900
Genre: Contemporary Romance, romcom, gay, neurodiversity, comic-con setting, artists, TV stars, creatives, cosplay, costuming, online influencer, humor, friendship, game geeks, outing, coming out, introvert/extrovert, anxiety/panic attacks, autism representation, people pleasing
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Description
Cole has come to BEAcon for one reason: the contest cup. He’s spent months knitting chainmail and perfecting his poses. With cosplay rivals to out compete and the chance to attend panels for his new favorite show, Cole can’t afford any distractions—especially not falling in love.
Milo, star of the viral breakaway TV show Dusk City, would rather be staked through the heart like the vampire he portrays than crammed into a convention center with thousands of fans. Sure, success is great—but not when the future of the show and your co-workers depend on him staying in the closet. The frenzied fan reaction is nothing short of overwhelming.
When Milo’s anxiety gets to be too much, Cole doesn’t hesitate to come to the rescue of his handsome TV crush. His unorthodox solution opens the doors to an unexpected—and undeniable—connection. Between signings, meltdowns, and the swirling microcosm of the huge fan convention, can Milo and Cole ever be in the same place at the same time again?
BEAcon of Love
Jamie Sands © 2024
All Rights Reserved
Cole was in the bathroom—a blessedly quiet one, off to the side of the convention floor, and down a few hallways, close to the entrance. Much less busy than the main ones near the auditorium, which were always packed with people.
He had to use a stall because he had to undress out of his full-body costume to pee, which made it really awkward, but hey. Worth it for the photos, right? At least he’d had the forethought to make the gloves removable so he could still wash his hands while dressed.
Cole was zipping himself back into the bodysuit when the door to the bathroom slammed open, followed by heavy footsteps and someone gasping and muttering to themselves.
It had definitely been one set of feet, and the person was now, from what Cole could tell, trying not to sob.
The sound reverberated in the mostly empty bathroom.
Every atom of his being cried out to help whoever it was. Cole left his mask off and let himself out of the stall to go wash his hands. A man was at the sinks. He had his hands braced on either side of one, hunched forward. A fashionably aged leather jacket stretched over his curved back, and his head hung forward. He had dark, almost black, curls, and from the movement of his shoulders, he seemed to be having trouble breathing.
“Hey, uh, you okay, man?” Cole asked, pitching his voice lower. He dried his hands quickly.
The man turned to glance at him, and Cole’s heart skipped. It was Milo Donahue, sexy star of Dusk City and more than a few of Cole’s amorous daydreams.
His eyes were glassy with unshed tears, his face screwed up, tense and unhappy, but it was obviously still him.
“You’re Milo Donahue,” Cole said. Then he mentally kicked himself because, of course, Milo Donahue knew that he was Milo Donahue.
“Yeah,” he rasped.
“Sorry. Uh, you’re obviously going through something. Can I help?”
Milo straightened up, covered his face with both hands, and shrugged. His shoulders stayed up. He shook his head, and his voice came out muffled. “Probably not.”
“Are you…” Cole watched the TV star’s slim but muscular chest heave up and down. “Sorry to assume, but you’re having a panic attack, right? I can help. My best friend has them sometimes, so I think I can help. Is that what it is?”
Milo made a strange noise that sounded a bit like a wail and didn’t move his hands from his face.
Cole swallowed. It hadn’t been a yes, but then he didn’t think it was a no either.
Maybe babbling wasn’t helping. He tried to pitch his voice louder and focused on giving clear instructions in a friendly manner.
“The first thing I need you to do is to try and physically relax; even a tiny bit can help. Can you drop your hands from your face? Now, please.”
Milo hesitated, and Cole wished he could reach out and squeeze his shoulder or something, but he didn’t know this man, and the last thing he wanted was add to his panic by touching him unexpectedly.
Then Milo dropped his hands. They went to his sides, balled into tight fists.
“It’s okay,” Cole said. “Now, look at me and tell me three things you notice about me.”
Milo blinked at him as if he’d suddenly started speaking an alien language.
Cole smiled, trying to be encouraging. “Yeah, I know, it sounds weird, but just try it?”
Milo swallowed and looked deep into his eyes. Cole’s heart was going a mile a minute. Milo was so handsome, and here he was in real life right in front of Cole. But he couldn’t get distracted.
Milo cleared his throat. “Um, you’re dressed as Spiderman?”
“Yes, good, that’s true.” Cole suddenly became very aware he was in a skintight bodysuit being checked out by his celebrity crush. He had to keep on distracting Milo from his panic and distance himself from that fact. “What else?”
“You have very squashed hair,” Milo said. Cole self-consciously ran a hand through his hair.
“Well, of course, it’s squashed. It’s been in a Spiderman mask,” he said, laughing off the awkwardness he felt. “What color is it?”
“Blond,” Milo said.
“Good, that’s two things.”
“It’s three, really,” Milo said.
“Okay, but one more.”
“Your eyes are a really, really pretty blue, like the Pacific Ocean.” Then, Milo covered his face with a hand again, although it looked like a blush this time.
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A number one bestseller on Amazon, Jamie (he/they) writes optimistic urban fantasy and romance, highlighting queer characters. They also dabble in short stories in all sorts of genres, notebook design, and tabletop roleplaying game design. Their work has been shortlisted for the Sir Julius Vogel Award. Jamie grew up in Wellington, New Zealand, and was a library devotee and constant reader of fiction from a very early age. They now live in Auckland with their wonderful spouse. Jamie has visited Japan three times and would like to move into Tokyo Disneyland. Pen names include Jaxon Knight (contemporary rom coms) and Drake LaMarque (mostly paranormal historical, high steam).
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