Title: The Marine in Unit
A
Series: A Mockingbird Place
Novella
Author: Kris Cook
Genre: M/M
Romance
Release
Date: September 15, 2015
The man who has been more of a dad to me
than my biological father is dead.
He rescued me from the streets six years
ago—a runaway teenage boy, escaping a family who thought I was an
abomination.
Now what do I do? I have no
one.
My life might look great from the outside. I’m in
college. I have my own apartment. I have lots of friends.
But I’m dying on the inside.
I feel so alone. Lost.
Hopeless.
I’m not the kind of person to wallow in self-pity. I
need a distraction.
The guy moving into Unit A may be just what I
need to take my mind off of losing my dad.
****
21-year old Oliver Lancaster is attracted to 22-
year old Adam Stockton, the former-Marine moving into Unit A. But attraction for the closeted
man morphs quickly into something deeper, something meaningful, something that terrifies
Oliver. What will happen if Adam learns about the secret from his past?
Warning: contains skinny dipping, two hot
men kissing, and sexual situations taking place in a 10-unit Mediterranean complex filled with
college-aged hotties.
“Loved this book! Very touching love story and has me wanting to know more about the residents at Mockingbird Place.” ~ The Smut- Brarians
“It is well written, and you can feel the intensity of the words and the emotions of the characters in the book.” ~ Bloggin' With M.Brennan
“A very nice read that I totally enjoyed. I will read more by this author especially this series.” ~ Inked Rainbow Reads
The Marine in Unit A Mockingbird Place
© 2015 Kris Cook
© 2015 Kris Cook
Having been awake all night, I step out of the
shower. The rally doesn’t start until noon, but I need something, anything that can distract me
from thinking about what happened with Adam. Giving him space is what Martha and Sarah
think I should do, so I decide to let a single day pass. But if I don’t hear from him by tomorrow, I
will make the first move to fix things between us. And besides, Adam still needs help setting up
his apartment before his mother arrives, and I want to be that help.
I finish getting ready, and take one last look at
my hair before leaving my apartment. I park my car in the student parking
lot. The university I attend has a
large green space in the middle of campus. Mature trees line the sidewalks that are sparsely filled with students going to and from
their classes and dormitories. In the fall the grounds will be teeming with
students.
I look at the time on my cell. 8:21am. I have
over three and a half hours to kill before the rally. Where to go? The library? No. I didn’t need to
go over my speech any more, since I’ve spent several early morning hours already working on
it. I am ready. So I decide to get a bite of breakfast in the cafeteria.
When I walk inside, I see Adam at a table filling
out some paperwork. I freeze in place. I am in a quandary whether to approach him or not,
whether to follow Martha and Sarah’s advice or not, whether to tamp down my desire to sit
down next to him to say how sorry I am—or not.
Adam looks at me. Did he feel me staring at
him? Before I can step back to the entrance to leave, he waves me over. I feel my shoulders
relax as relief rolls through me. At least he is willing to talk to me again. I take cautious steps in
his direction. Gone are his jeans and T-shirt and facial hair. He is clean-shaven, wearing black
slacks and a white dress shirt and blue tie. Casual or dress up, with whiskers or without, Adam
is the epitome of masculine beauty.
“Have a seat, Oliver.”
I do, waiting for him to lay into me again about
seeing his prosthetic legs. “Would you mind if I put your name down as a reference on this
application?
They’re asking for a student or professor’s
name. You’re the only one I know.” He looks at me with those damn gorgeous doe eyes. “I have
the option to leave it blank if you don’t want me to.”
“Please. Use my name. I’ll be happy to be your
reference.” Your friend. Your boyfriend. Whatever.
“Thanks, buddy.” He smiles and then goes back
to filling out the paperwork.
I have the strongest urge to bring up what
happened last night to try to clear the air. But hearing Martha and Sarah’s words of advice
replay in my head, I keep my mouth shut. If he isn’t ready to talk about it, then I certainly am not
going to mention it. I will give him whatever space and time he needs. At least he isn’t asking
me to leave.
“Done.” He stands. “Wish me
luck.”
“Sure. For what?”
“That I can get a job in the cafeteria. Are you in
a hurry?”
“I don’t have to be anywhere until
noon.”
“Good. Let me turn this in and maybe I could
trouble you with that tour around campus you offered me.”
I am so glad he’s asking for my help. “I’ll be
happy to show you some shortcuts.” “You’re a lifesaver. My sense of direction is shot. I wish you
could have seen the
look on my face when I walked into the women’s
locker room by mistake earlier. Why the door was unlocked I have no clue, but I could feel my
cheeks burning when the girls started giggling and running for cover. I turned and walked out as
fast I could, buddy.”
“You really do need my help. It took me a whole
semester to figure out how to get around this place. But I’m surprised that you walked into the
women’s locker room. Isn’t a good sense of direction necessary on the battlefield?” Oh shit.
Why did I bring that up?
“It’s easy on the battlefield. You just have to
know where the bullets are coming from.” He smiles, which makes me feel better. “I’m starving,
how about you?”
“Famished.”
“Breakfast is on me.” He hands me a twenty-
dollar bill. “The lady in charge asked me to fill this out today but won’t be able to interview me
until next week. Let me turn this application in and you order us some breakfast. Then we’ll go
on the tour. I’ll be right back.”
He walks away. His limp is gone. No one in the
cafeteria has a clue that he is missing a leg but me. And it certainly doesn’t bother me, not one
bit. I don’t know how he lost his leg, but obviously he hasn’t quite accepted it yet. He mentioned
a friend was supposed to help him initially, but the guy never showed. Did Adam have any help
packing and loading before driving to Mockingbird Place? He didn’t seem overly tired that night,
but he is a strong guy. A former-Marine. I guess he’s not limping because he got some rest after
unloading his things into Malcolm’s old place. No, Adam’s place. Unit A is Adam’s.
I go and order two sausage egg cheese
biscuits and orange juices for us. When I get back to our table, he is already
there.
Adam looks up at me. “Breakfast is
served?”
I place the tray on the table. “Yes, sir.” I can’t
resist and salute Adam, instantly worrying I might be overstepping again. Thus far he’s been
very closed mouth about his military service. But he returns the salute with a devilish grin,
easing my concerns. We eat our breakfast, talking about everything except the main
issue on my mind.
“I bet you’re glad our complex has a pool,” he
says. “It’s going to be very hot according the weatherman for the next several
days.”
“You like to swim?”
He shrugs. “I used to.”
I brace myself, thinking we might be getting
close to opening Pandora’s box about what happened. But as usual, Adam
changes the subject. “Oliver, how about you show me the buildings where my classes are
going to be first?”
“Sure thing.”
He hands me his schedule, and I realize the lid
on the infamous box is not only shut tight, it is also locked with no sign of the key in sight. What
is it going to take for Adam to explain his sudden and over-the-top reaction to me learning
he lost his leg? And will I ever learn if he is gay or straight?
As we leave the cafeteria, he asks, “Do you
know the guy who lives in Unit D? Long black hair. Blue eyes. Good looking. He invited me to a
party tonight at his and his roommate’s place.”
“That’s Trace. I’m going, too. In fact the whole
complex should be there. It’ll give you another chance to get to know
everyone.”
“The ones who helped us move my things were
very nice, though the MMA fighter is a bit intense.”
“Tony’s that way, but I believe he’s really a good
guy underneath all that darkness.” “I wasn’t sure I would go, but now that I know you’re going I
will.”
We had so much drama last night, and today
he’s acting like it never happened.
Now, he says he only is going to the party if I’m
going. Damn. He confuses me so much. I sense now is not the time to confront him with what
I’m feeling. But if not now, when? “I’m glad you’re going, too.”
We walk around campus, and I point out the
iconic spots.
“That’s Dallas Hall, the oldest building on
campus.”
“It’s quite grand. I like the dome.”
When we got to the building that had the last class on his list, he turns to me.
“Thanks, buddy.” Buddy. There’s that word again. But better to be called
that than nothing. I did say I would settle for friendship, but can I really? The more time I spend with him the more my
feelings get mixed up.
“No trouble, Adam. I enjoyed hanging
out.”
“Me, too. I would have been completely lost on
my first day of classes if it hadn’t been for you and your fantastic tour.” He sighs. “I better get
back to looking for a job.”
“Do you plan on working the entire time you’re in
school?”
“Yeah. With the financial aid I’m getting I don’t
have to work, but I want to. It will give me extra spending money and will keep me
busy.”
I have a feeling that he likes keeping busy so he
doesn’t have to face bigger issues inside him. “You don’t seem like you would be happy working
in food service to me. Have you thought about doing something else?”
“Like what?”
“I know the guy who heads the campus police
department, Chief Torres. He told me the other day he has two openings. I bet he’d love to hire
you, especially with your military background.”
“Right.” Adam shakes his head. “A one-legged
Marine would make such a great police officer.”
I am nervous to push him, but have to try. At
least he’s mentioning his service—and missing leg. It’s a start. “Adam, I saw you unload that
truck and move all those boxes and furniture into your place. You’re strong and capable. You
would definitely be an asset to Torres’s department.”
“You really think so?”
My cell rings. “I know so.” I answer the
call.
“Oliver, where are you?” Candy’s voice sounds
frantic. “I’m at the engineering building.”
“That’s clear across campus. You’re supposed
to speak in two minutes.” “Oh crap. The time got away from me. I’ll run. Stall if you have to.”
“Hurry.”
“Sorry, Adam, but I have to go. I’ve got a speech
to give.”
“I’d like to hear it.”
“Then follow me.”
Though starting in straight erotic romance,
Kris's total focus now is on gay romance. When asked why recently, his answer was "My muse
finally came out of the closet. Isn't it about time? I’ve been out since I was twenty-five." A
voracious reader, Kris loves many genres of fiction, but this writer's favorite books are romances
that are edgy, sexy, with rich characters and unique challenges. Kris' influences include Anne
Rice, JR Ward, Lexi Blake and Shayla Black. Last year, Kris married the love of his life
Stephen.
The Cowboy in Unit
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