Page 62

Tommy

Iwas bored. There was no other way to put that. I was in New York, with a man I’ve loved my entire adult life, and I was bored out of my skull. “I should just go back to Texas,”

I said to Amos on one of his days off.

“Um, no, you shouldn’t. What’s going on?” he asked.

“Oh, Amos, nothing about you. I… well, I haven’t gotten a job. I’ve applied for every possible position that I’m qualified for and even tried a few I’m overqualified for. Nothing… I’m sure the lawsuit put me on the blacklist.”

He looked at me sadly. “I’m sorry, Tommy.”

“No, it’s okay. I just have to figure out what’s next.”

He nodded, and I put my finger up to stop what I knew was coming next. “Don’t, I… The book is too personal.”

He chuckled only because this was an ongoing argument between us. He came over and sat beside me, drawing me into his huge arms. “Listen to me, Tommy. I am going to stop pushing, but I loved that book. Yeah, it’s hard to read the parts where I did stupid shit, but it’s what happened. Also, if you wrote how the story ended, how the two of us are together… it could be a great love story, don’t you think?”

I turned to him, considering. Amos had read the entire manuscript in less than a day. Which for him was a feat. My sweet man had gotten through college, but only because Owen and I had been on him like stink on poo. To my knowledge he’d never read anything as long as my book in one day.

I shrugged. “I haven’t thought about writing more.”

“Well, do. I don’t have to hide any longer, and you don’t have to protect a secret. Share your story. Share our story!”

From all the times we’d discussed this, nothing had hit home until now. The thought that there was more to write about hadn’t crossed my mind. Of course, there was more to the story. As he said, our story.

I got up and flipped open my laptop, read the last two chapters, and looked up at Amos, who was smiling from ear to ear. “Okay, maybe… I’m not promising anything, but… maybe.”

“That’s my man,”

he said and jumped up and kissed me on top of my head. “Now, you do that while I go get my workout. Oh,”

he said, drawing my attention, “I love you.”

I smiled, “Yeah, I love you too… Now, go away so I can do this.”

I heard him laugh all the way down the hall toward the bedroom.

I launched into writing and didn’t hear him leave or come back, for that matter. I slept a few hours that night, got up, and wrote more. Unfortunately, I ended up blowing the entire weekend and most of the next week before I finished writing and editing the work.

I had a few publisher friends, mostly acquaintances from my work here in New York. I had no idea if I had the kind of relationship I’d need to get a book looked at, but hey, this was a hot-button issue, with Amos being fired, him suing his team, and now starring on Broadway.

I looked up the requirements for submitting, wrote the query letter, did a quick bio and synopsis of the autobiography, and sent it to the three publishers who would probably recognize my name.

“Well, I did it,”

I said when Amos flopped his sweaty body on the couch. It was around two in the morning, which meant he’d gone out with the crew after the show to drink and party before coming home.

They didn’t do that often, but sometimes they went on Saturday night after the last show of the week.

“You sent it to a publisher?” he asked.

I nodded. “Yeah, and now we wait.”

He got up and pulled me into a hug. “Honey, I’m so proud of you. Of course, they’ll want it. Who, in their right mind, wouldn’t want to hear about the excellent Amos Clark?”

“God, your ego…”

I said, causing him to tickle me.

Before I knew it, he swooped me up into his arms and rushed with me back to our bedroom. How he had this much energy after a show of dancing in high-heel boots, I’d never know, but as his tongue wrapped around my cock, I forgot that I cared.

The next day, when we finally got up to get the day going, I had three emails on my computer. All three of the publishers I’d reached out to wanted the book. All three had said yes in one day!

Of course I knew it was because of Amos— the tell-all, more than my writing. Still, I was going to become a published author. I told them I needed to know what they were offering and admitted I had reached out to others.

Luckily, one of Josiah’s coworkers did publishing law and had even been a literary agent at one time. He represented me and got me the best deal with an absolutely amazing company. I couldn’t believe my luck. Well, okay, more than luck. It still felt more than a little surreal.