#MFRWHook – Is This Really Goodbye?

Book Hooks is a weekly meme hosted by Marketing for Romance Writers as part of the MFRW Authors Blog. Readers have the chance to jump from one author to another who share hooks from their current WIP (work in progress) or any previously published books.

For this week’s edition of Book Hooks, I give you a teaser from Knight Moves, book four in the When We Were Young series, a m/m young adult contemporary romance.

Although they’re torn apart, they still hold a piece of each other’s heart.

Blurb: After receiving his grade twelve diploma and marking his eighteenth birthday, René Oshawee cannot fight the temptation seventeen-year-old high school junior Billy Redsky blatantly offers now that what they share has become taboo.

When their secret romance is blown into the open, Billy’s foster parents send René to Toronto to complete the last of his schooling under the supervision of a family friend, leaving Billy behind at their Ojibway community.

Now Billy and René must make the biggest decision of their lives—fight for the true love they know they’ll never find with anyone else or go their separate ways.

Genre(s): Multicultural, m/m contemporary romance, LGBT, young adult, new adult.
Heat Rating: Level 2
Publication Date: April 16, 2021
Publisher: eXtasy Books

PURCHASE A COPY AT EXTASY BOOKS

When the sign appeared, stating Thunder Bay Airport was just up ahead, Billy stiffened and sat straighter.

The truck made a left from the highway. A plane lifted off from behind the two-story airport and climbed high in the sky. Mr. O drove them down Princess Street. They went under the direction sign, indicating they’d reached the airport. He never steered them to the parking area but kept following the road until they came to the terminal.

From the reserve and to the airport, they’d taken all of ten minutes.

Mr. and Mrs. O vacated the vehicle. A hint of wind swept inside, but the heat on Billy’s skin kept him from shivering. A buzzing sounded, followed by a ding ding.

Already, he knew the drill—take the truck home, park the vehicle in the garage, and leave the keys in the master bedroom on the chest of drawers.

René continued to stare straight ahead.

With his tongue too big for his mouth, Billy stumbled through “I’ll…well, I’ll…I guess we’ll talk sometime soon…” Fuck, what was he supposed to say? “I mean, I guess this is…” This can’t be goodbye. “Take it easy—”

René reached across the seat. Billy jumped slightly. Gooseflesh poked up on his skin. René’s palms melted on Billy’s cheeks, and his mouth was claimed by the silkiest lips he’d ever caressed. A surge of shock blasted through Billy’s veins. The kiss was gentle, barely a whisper but enough to capture him in a moment of time that stood still.

The silky mouth that he gently explored vanished, leaving him puckering the air. He cracked his lids open to René’s tormented gaze. Billy was engulfed in an embrace constricting enough to break his ribs. René’s cheek feathered Billy’s. Cozy. A true fire on a cold night. He was about ready to melt all over René’s chest.

“I love you.” Moist steam peppered René’s crackling whisper. “You take care of yourself. Okay? If you need me, call. Promise?”

“I…I…I will.” Billy kept his cheek on René’s. His thundering heart galloped madly to catch up to his shaky breaths.

“Remember what we talked about? You’re gonna own the school and make the best of this, right?” They still remained locked in their embrace.

Billy’s stiff neck could use a good oiling because he couldn’t get his head to nod.

“Renny!” The General’s deep baritone pretty much smacked the truck’s interior.

“I gotta go.” René untangled his arms from Billy’s death grip. His deep stare cut through the chill on Billy’s skin and wrapped him with warm comfort. “I’ll be waving when we take off. Okay?” He slid from the truck.

Even though the back door gently closed, René’s familiar crisp, clean scent lingered in the cab. Billy scrambled to his side of the vehicle and pressed his face to the window.

René was helping Mr. Oshawee with the mounds of luggage. Mrs. O came out of the airport, pushing a baggage cart. René loaded the first suitcase onto the contraption. Once the last piece of luggage was plopped on the cart, he wheeled off for the entrance doors, never looking back.

Shaking, Billy wormed his way from the back seat and into the front. Under any other circumstance, he’d be excited about driving Mr. O’s boss vehicle. Not today.

He wriggled his fingers into his shirt and withdrew the locket. People passed in front of the windshield. Some were laughing, others talking. He snapped open the dog tag to a picture of friendship and love, their eyes full of delight, big smiles, cheeks brushing, and René’s slightly broad chin on Billy’s shoulder.

The lump in Billy’s throat was a boulder threatening to careen down a steep hill. Somehow, René had predicted their future by giving Billy the most precious gift possible that summed up what they’d shared for over a year and a half. Maybe René had known the time they’d borrowed was coming to an end.