Anniversary Shenanigans: Author Visit & Giveaway - Suki Fleet

We just love keeping the party going here at BMB Reviews. No sleep for unicorns! And today we're joined by the lovely Suki Fleet who has delicious treats for your...eyes. Come gather round the stable doors and see what she has up her sleeves. We promise you're going to enjoy it.

Brighter Than Any Dark
by 
Suki Fleet

One day last summer we saw two boys kissing in Central Park. You ran your hand through your neatly shorn hair, looking shy as you pointed out how bold they were, how brightly their love burned. I glanced away, pretending I couldn’t look—too afraid to tell you how I felt. 

A few months later I hurt you again. We were walking home one night after you worked late, you gripped my hand because the darkness scared you, and I never wanted to let you go. But instead, when some kids came by and looked at us too closely, I stepped away, making you feel what we were doing wasn’t right. 

Now I know you’re falling in love with someone else. 

I sent you a text tonight saying I was in Times Square thinking about you and what might have been. You haven’t replied. I know it’s too late. 

You light up my dark and I lost you. Ironic that losing you is what finally made me unafraid. 

“Ben?” 

Your voice—at first I think I’m imagining it but then I look up and see you, hardly daring to believe it—my Alexander.

“What are you doing sitting on the curb? It’s so busy tonight,” you say. 

You’re so lit up. I wonder if she’s with you.

“Watching people’s feet. Waiting…” I say, glancing at the cigarette butts and rubbish strewn across the ground.

You hold out your hand. I take it, your skin warm against mine, and let you pull me to my feet. 

“Waiting for me?” you ask, dipping your head in the unsure way that you do, but keeping your gaze holding mine like it’s important, like you can’t let it go. 

You bite your lip and that’s when I know you’re every bit as scared as me right now. I don’t want you to ever be scared.

I nod. “It’s too late though, isn’t it?” I don’t let go of your hand. In fact I hold it tighter. 

If I can’t have you, I’ll have this—this one moment where I held out my heart. It’s yours, anyway. It always was.  

“I’m sorry,” I say.

You shake your head. I don’t know what that means, but you’re smiling.

Stepping closer, you take my other hand. You pull our arms into the warm space between our bodies. We’re so close I can feel the wet heat of your breath on my cheek.

My heart is pounding. My only thought is—I want to kiss you—I want to try to catch a hold of this desire swirling around us, as delicate and ephemeral as tendrils of smoke. I’m terrified this isn’t real.

“I’ve wanted this for so long,” you whisper, your lips brushing against mine. 

I tilt my head. I feel like I’m falling, but if I am, I no longer think I’m falling alone. I’m falling into place, falling into you. 

Closing my eyes, I kiss you again, and we are illuminated. Brighter than the electric lights of Times Square. Brighter than distant stars. As bright as those boys in Central Park.

No longer afraid of the light inside us, we burn brighter than any dark.

OMG so good, right?! Let Suki Fleet know what you thought in the comments! BMBR humbly thank her for sharing her talent for all to enjoy. Oh and also for the extra bits below!

Author Bio: 

Suki Fleet grew up on a boat and as a small child spent a lot of time travelling at sea with her family. She has always wanted to be a writer. As a kid she told ghost stories to scare people, but stories about romance were the ones that inspired her to sit down and write. She doesn’t think she’ll ever stop writing them.

Her novel This is Not a Love Story won Best Gay Debut in the 2014 Rainbow Awards and is currently a finalist in the 2015 Lambda Awards.

You can contact Suki at sukifleet@gmail.com she’d love to hear from you.

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To enter to win one ebook of the winner's choice from Suki Fleet's backlist, please leave a comment on this blog post and let us know your name and a means of contacting you (e.g., email, Twitter handle, link to Goodreads account, etc.)

The giveaway is open until 10:00PM (Pacific time) on 11/25/15. Shortly thereafter, we will contact a winner whom we will select using a highly scientific "names in a hat" method (or, you know, an internet randomizer). Please respond to the winning notification within 48 hours or we will choose another winner.