Calling Calling Calling Me
by Natasha Washington
Published by Natasha
Washington
Release Date: September 4,
2018
New Adult, Contemporary
Queer Romance
Patrick
Mahoney has one goal in mind: get out of his native Fresno and find freedom in
the rainbow and glitter-painted streets of San Francisco. As a college
freshman, he’s sure he’ll finally have the chance to be himself, away from the
judgmental eyes of his conservative hometown.
Josh Dirda’s never
wanted to be tied down before, preferring the emotional ease of the one night
stand. But when Patrick moves into the apartment that Josh shares with three
friends, Josh is caught up in Patrick’s sly wit and quietly creative spirit. As
Patrick’s self-appointed tour guide, Josh can be Patrick’s introduction to the
city he loves. But after a drunken Halloween hook-up crosses lines, Patrick and
Josh must reckon with their true feelings—and decide whether they can let go of
the ghosts that haunt them.
Teaser:
The
day Patrick drove up to move in, Kai opened the door for him with a finger
pressed to his lips.
“I—” Patrick started to say, but stopped when
he saw Kai’s face.
Kai stepped silently to the side, so Patrick
had a clear view into the hallway. Josh had his back turned to them both, and
he was writhing around in a way that Patrick imagined was supposed to be
dancing. He had huge headphones over his ears, and when he turned slightly,
Patrick could see he was mouthing the words only he could hear.
Laughter bubbled up in his throat. He felt
like a reporter on Animal Planet. A
wild Josh has been sighted—
Josh swung around in a particularly enthusiastic
approximation of a jazz square, saw them both and nearly fell over. His eyes
widened, his lips parted, and he pushed his earphones back onto his shoulders.
“Duuuuude,” Kai stated. “Epic.”
“What’s up, Patrick?” Josh said, his voice
sounding a bit high and breathless. “You here with your moving truck?”
“Oh God, right,” Kai said, slapping his
forehead with his hand. “I totally forgot you were moving in today.”
“Did you think he drove five hours up from
Fresno to visit?” Josh asked.
“Shut up,” Kai said. “We’re really awesome. Of
course he’d drive five hours just to see us. You got much stuff? Let’s do
this.”
“I’m going to wake up Mike,” Josh said.
It was nearly one p.m. on a Saturday, and yet
somehow Patrick was not surprised that Mike was still asleep.
“You want to jump on his bed,” Kai said.
“Dude, obviously,” Josh said, and disappeared
down the hallway.
Kai rolled his eyes, then followed Patrick out
to where he parked the truck. “Is your mom here?”
As if on cue, his mom hopped out of the
passenger seat, waving enthusiastically. Patrick was pretty sure his mom would
have wanted to marry Kai, if she were single and he wasn’t nearly twenty years
younger than her. Actually, he wasn’t so sure she cared about that last part.
“Kai, so good to see you,” she said, squeezing
his arm, and oh God, she was blushing.
Patrick’s dad appeared then, still disgruntled
from the traffic coming up, muttering something about this snotty city with no parking. When he saw Kai, he schooled his
features into a polite expression and held out his hand.
“You must be Mr. Maloney,” Kai said, smiling.
“So good to meet you, sir.”
His dad looked pleased at the greeting, and
they chatted a bit about the weather here and how different it was from the
blinding desert haze of Fresno.
“It’s those ocean breezes, sir, keeps the heat
off our backs,” Kai said, while Patrick rolled up the back door of the U-Haul
and tried to will all its contents inside the apartment with the power of his
mind.
Mike and Josh tumbled out a minute later, Mike
half-asleep and looking like a hot mess in a wrinkled T-shirt and a pair of
sweatpants. Josh had enough energy for all of them combined, though, as he
orchestrated the moving of furniture and boxes like someone who was either
extraordinarily good at strategic planning or had done this a lot.
About the author
Natasha
Washington lives in Philadelphia, where she writes queer love stories in both
YA (as Sonia Belasco) and romance. She has
spent much of her professional life working with young people as a mentor,
tutor, or therapist. When not writing, she is likely cooking, taking long,
meandering walks, or listening to dance music or 90s hip-hop.
Giveaway
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