Author Name: Annabeth Albert
Book Name: Status Update
Series: #gaymers
Book: One
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26162169-status-update
Publisher: Carina Press
Release
Date: December 7, 2015
Blurb:
Adrian Gottlieb is winning at
life. He’s a successful video game designer with everything a man could ask
for, including a warm comfy ride to Denver and a date for his sister’s
wedding. But he finds himself in need of a total reboot when he's left
stranded at a snowy campground in Utah. Holiday plans? Epic fail.
That is until Noah Walters offers
him shelter for the night and a reluctant cross-country ride. Nothing about the
ultraconservative geoarchaeologist should attract Adrian, but once he discovers
Noah’s hidden love for video games, the two connect on a new level. Soon, a
quiet but undeniable chemistry sparks.
Something doesn’t add up,
though. As the miles accumulate and time runs out, Noah must face the most
difficult choice of his life. Meanwhile, Adrian must decide whether he’s ready
to level up. Is their relationship status worth fighting for, or has this game
ended before it's even begun?
Book 1 of the #gaymers series
Pages or Words: 64,000 words
Categories: Contemporary, Erotica, Gay
Fiction, Humor, M/M Romance, New Adult, Romance
Excerpt:
Chapter
One
Noah knew the
dog was trouble as soon as he and Ulysses entered the campground’s off-leash
dog area. The little guy—some sort of Chihuahua/mini-pin mix in a
yellow-and-green checked coat—stood in the center of the scrubby grass, barking
his fool head off. The only human in the dog area sat at the picnic table on
the far side, completely absorbed in his shiny phone, oblivious to his dog
strutting around like all eight pounds of him would be enough to keep potential
threats out.
Ulysses gave Noah a look, like “you really expect me
to ignore that?” Noah tightened his
hold on the tennis ball chucker. Ulysses never did well competing with smaller
dogs for his toys. He unclipped Ulysses with a stern look.
“Be good.”
Still yapping, the little dog rushed over to inspect
his new enemy. Predictably, Ulysses wandered away to do his business. He was
too old for these sorts of games.
Noah gave a halfhearted wave in the direction of the
owner, but the guy didn’t look up from his phone. The young guy was a typical
hipster tourist—thick tortoise-framed glasses, artfully messed-up dark hair,
with a thick purple streak, falling over his forehead. Slim build, but his wide
shoulders stretched his too-thin jacket, making the shiny fabric ripple with
his motions. He wasn’t any more prepared for November in Utah than his designer
dog. Still, he was a cute guy, if one was the type to notice things like that,
which Noah was not.
Noah looked away, studying the sheer cliffs that
surrounded the Capitol Reef National Park. Didn’t matter how much time he spent
in Southern Utah, he never got tired of the view. Phone guy was missing the
light shifting into one of those perfect late fall sunsets that made the early
dusk worth the loss of daylight. Pink streaks mingled with gray sky to cast a rosy
glow over the scrubby grass and low fence of the dog area.
Rowwwr. Ulysses
flopped at Noah’s feet, a deep beseeching whine rattling out of his barrel
chest. He was eighty pounds of unhappy. He’d waited patiently all afternoon
while Noah worked, and now he was missing out on his ball time thanks to the
teacup gatekeeper.
“Okay, but play nice.” Noah threw the ball hard with
the chucker toy, going for enough distance to outstrip the tiny dog’s ability
to keep up with Ulysses. Not surprisingly, the little guy was tenacious,
cutting off Ulysses’s path to the ball. Ulysses gave a warning woof,
and Noah broke into a run, heading after the dogs.
“Down,” he called out. Ulysses wouldn’t attack the
smaller dog, but he wasn’t above a major tantrum. And despite the smaller dog
acting as instigator, people would see the huge black dog and toss out the
“aggressor” label. Noah preferred to exercise him late in the day—Ulysses
simply didn’t enjoy playing with other dogs, and Noah wasn’t one to force his
dog into uncomfortable situations.
The little dog stood over the ball, yapping up a
storm while Ulysses barked and growled, ignoring Noah’s command to sit.
Finally, the owner hefted himself off the picnic
bench.
“Pixel, baby, what are you doing?” the owner called
in a melodic voice that didn’t inspire Noah’s confidence in the man’s ability
to control his dog. “Did the big doggie scare you?”
Hah. Typical.
Noah snorted. “Can you grab the ball?” He didn’t trust those little dog
breeds—too quick to snap. He’d nearly been bitten trying to retrieve a ball
more than once.
“Oh sure.” The guy reached under Pixel—typical cutesy
name for an annoying dog—and delicately plucked the ball free, but instead of
handing it to Noah, he gave it a toss, sending both dogs running.
Oh great. Noah
let out a slow breath, little puffs of vapor in the crisp evening air that did
nothing to defuse his tension.
“It’ll be okay.” The way-too-handsy guy patted the
sleeve of Noah’s parka. “They just need to work it out. Pixel loves to play.”
Noah took a step to the side. Who did that? Touched
complete strangers? But the guy kept up his friendly grin, not unlike his dog,
who kept gamely chasing Ulysses. Ulysses won the race to the ball this time and
hightailed it back to Noah. Not releasing his prize, he whined softly.
“Hey, boy. You got a toy?” The guy knelt to dog level
and extended a hand, but instead of sniffing, Ulysses shook his head.
“Sorry. He’s not much on new people.” Neither am I. Noah’s voice sounded rough
to his own ears—too many days with only Ulysses to talk to.
“It’s okay.” The guy straightened, then extended a
hand to Noah. “I’m Adrian Gottlieb. You been at Capitol Reef long?”
“Couple of weeks.” He returned Adrian’s handshake,
hating it when a little buzz shot up his arm. Unlike his own gloved hand,
Adrian’s hand was bare, a hint of a tattoo playing peekaboo with his cuff, his
grip strong and firm. And Noah had absolutely no business noticing anything
more than the guy’s relentless friendliness.
Adrian smiled expectantly as he released Noah’s hand.
“Oh, I’m Noah. And that’s Ulysses,” he added, because
dog people always wanted to know all
about the dog. No doubt the guy was bursting to tell Pixel’s life story.
“Add-dreeee-an,”
a heavily accented voice called from the gate. A beefy guy close to Noah’s age
leaned on the fence, bald head gleaming in the setting sun. “I’m lonely. When are you coming back?”
“Coming,” Adrian shouted, then gave Noah a shrug with
a “what can you do?” expression on his face. He grabbed Pixel and jogged across
the field.
Noah nodded like he knew anything about handling demanding friends. Adrian greeted the
mammoth dude with a quick peck. Okay
then. Not a friend. He should have guessed, but he was a bit slow about
relationship stuff. The country was changing, even way out here, but no one
would dare try even that much PDA in his tiny West Texas college town. His
stomach gave a weird flip—not quite discomfort, but something else he refused
to name. Time to return his attention to Ulysses. He hurled the tennis ball as
hard as he could.
Buy the book:
Meet the author:
Annabeth Albert grew up sneaking
romance novels under the bed covers. Now, she devours all subgenres of romance
out in the open—no flashlights required! When she’s not adding to her keeper
shelf, she’s a multi-published Pacific Northwest romance writer.
Emotionally complex, sexy, and
funny stories are her favorites both to read and to write. Annabeth loves
finding happy endings for a variety of pairings and is a passionate gay rights
supporter. In between searching out dark heroes to redeem, she works a
rewarding day job and wrangles two children.
Represented by Saritza Hernandez of the Corvisiero Literary Agency
Where to find the author:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annabethalbert
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/annabethalbertauthor
Twitter: www.twitter.com/AnnabethAlbert
Tumblr: www.annabethalbert.tumblr.com
NEWSLETTER: http://eepurl.com/Nb9yv
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