I absolutely loved this story about Jeremy, who realizes that he may be in love with his best friend Ben.

Both are students and have been rommmate for over four years when Jeremy uses a party as an excuse to kiss Ben. One thing leads to another, only when he wakes up the next morning he's confused and unsure what it all meant. The description of how he deals with his ex-girlfriend and finally admits his love to Ben was touching and vey emotional. I hope there will be a sequel! ( )

Wanting by ML Rhodes had a great premise. College boys discovering their love for one another, working through family issues and coming clean about their feelings after an illicit night of sex. It should have rocked my wee socks off, but the execution failed to fire with me and I was left feeling a little disappointed. While all the elements were there, at times the characters level of angst overtook the story and their development seemed stilted. Still, a quick read if you’re up for some college boy smooching. Check out the book here.

http://sharrow.wordpress.com/2010/01/15/shorts-8/ ( )

That of Jeremy and Ben is once again one of those sweet love stories between young men that leaves you with an happy smile. It’s not an easy story, there are prejudices, both for Ben being gay than African-American, and changing life decisions to take, and in the end, you don’t know if everything will be all right for the two of them, but that is right and natural, we are talking of twenty and something boys who have still to build their future life, but the future perspective are good.

The story starts in the aftermath of what has initiated the above said life changing decision: Ben and Jeremy are roommates, and even if from Ben’s side it was probably love at first sight, he has never said anything to Jeremy, who is apparently straight and above all so shy that is almost impossible to push him into something sexual. But then Jeremy’s mother died, he realizes that he has no family, he starts to weight what is important in his life, and the only positive factor is Ben. On a faithful night that we don’t read, something happens between Jeremy and Ben, and now Jeremy is questioning everything he thought to know.

I think Jeremy is the classical example of man who is neither gay or straight, he simply has to be in love to have sex. It sounds old fashioned, but I think it’s the right definition for him; what is creating trouble to Jeremy is not the realization that he can be gay, actually I think that he has never thought to himself in that way, but more the difficulties that they will face if they will decide to be together. A no little part of them is also the interracial relationship, with Jeremy being from a deep south country where the racial prejudice is still strong. If Jeremy will choose to be with Ben, he knows that he will have to renounce to everything he considered home and family before.

On Ben’s side the only trouble he sees is that he doesn’t want to force Jeremy if he is not sure; Ben is slightly older than Jeremy, and openly gay, and so he fears to have in someway influenced Jeremy. Ben is gentle and kind, even when he thinks Jeremy is rejecting him, he never once let it lack his support to the friend. Unconsciously he is giving to Jeremy the substitution to the family he will loose if they will be together.

The story is basically a sweet romance, there is a bit of angst, but really not so much. Jeremy and Ben already know what is better for them, they need only to let the aftermath of their first night together to go down, and everything else will be clear, right there in front of their eyes.

One of the nicest thing in the story is, by the way, Al’s character, the straight other roommate of Jeremy and Ben: he is a so nice guy that maybe for the first time in year, it made me almost want to read his story, even if it is an het romance.

http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/914042.html