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Don't Name the Puppy
Dear Author,
I woke up one day to find a half-naked kid with a goofy hat in my kitchen eating my cereal, but that was just the beginning. He’s my roommate’s fuck buddy, so why can’t my roommate entertain the kid? Instead, he’s imprinted on me like some overgrown duckling and now I can’t get rid of him or the litter of kittens he’s pawned off on me. The worst part is, suddenly I can’t imagine my life without him and his stupid hat.
Photo Description:
Two young men holding kittens in their arms stand next to each other. One is shirtless and wearing a silly beanie with a pom-pom on top. They both hold the kittens gently and affectionately.
This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love’s Landscapes" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story.
This story may contain sexually explicit content and is intended for adult readers. It may contain content that is disagreeable or distressing to some readers. The M/M Romance Group strongly recommends that each reader review the General Information section before each story for story tags as well as for content warnings.
I woke up one day to find a half-naked kid with a goofy hat in my kitchen eating my cereal, but that was just the beginning. He’s my roommate’s fuck buddy, so why can’t my roommate entertain the kid? Instead, he’s imprinted on me like some overgrown duckling and now I can’t get rid of him or the litter of kittens he’s pawned off on me. The worst part is, suddenly I can’t imagine my life without him and his stupid hat.
Photo Description:
Two young men holding kittens in their arms stand next to each other. One is shirtless and wearing a silly beanie with a pom-pom on top. They both hold the kittens gently and affectionately.
This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love’s Landscapes" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story.
This story may contain sexually explicit content and is intended for adult readers. It may contain content that is disagreeable or distressing to some readers. The M/M Romance Group strongly recommends that each reader review the General Information section before each story for story tags as well as for content warnings.
38 pages, ebook
First published June 30, 2014
1 person is currently reading
109 people want to read
About the author
R.D. Hero
10 books115 followersR.D. Hero bombed out of art school. After that, she admitted writing might be the best course of action, and hopped to it. She likes writing about people who shouldn't fall in love, which she's been doing for about eight years. Starting with online serial fiction, R.D. developed her favorite tropes and dynamics, writing what she wanted to read.
Aside from that, she loves spicy food, boxer dogs, camping, and photography.
Aside from that, she loves spicy food, boxer dogs, camping, and photography.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews
July 29, 2014
Here's the thing about kittens....They're cute, I just want to smoosh there little faces in, but I'm allergic. Like, stick me in a carpeted room with 15 kittens and I'll be dead from suffocation in....3 hours, maybe. There, now you know how to murder me. Congrats.
But in spite of the fact that just the thought of having 3 kittens in my college digs has me palming my inhaler...this is a pretty cute story. And the romance is pretty cute as well.
June 30, 2014
Deceptively simple, neatly written, sweet but not cloying, this unpretentious little story really sucked me in. Maybe it was the good writing or the engaging characters or it's sheer honesty. Also, there were kittens (who could resist kittens?), which is sort of cheating, although they were pivotal to the plot. Whatever the reason, I really enjoyed this offering and think it was well worth four stars.
August 27, 2016
College boys and kittens; this is exactly what you'd expect: a cute, easy read with a HFN and a bit of steam.
July 1, 2014
Liked it even though it had cats.
No feline friend here. But the story is a cute college tale with a morning after kitchen meet-up that turns into more. Slow burn with an enthusiastic near virgin and the grad student fool who lets him learn on his ass. Entertaining and enough disjointed trajectory of thoughts and actions to give a true young adult feel. Probably a higher score for kittens lovers.
No feline friend here. But the story is a cute college tale with a morning after kitchen meet-up that turns into more. Slow burn with an enthusiastic near virgin and the grad student fool who lets him learn on his ass. Entertaining and enough disjointed trajectory of thoughts and actions to give a true young adult feel. Probably a higher score for kittens lovers.
July 8, 2014
It's sweet and cute and funny, and you should all read it.
That is all.
That is all.
July 3, 2014
Now this was adorable. Authentic seeming college kids meet cute with kittens! I like that. No ridiculous back story needed, just a realistic-ish slice of life type deal that flipped some m/m romance tropes in their heads. I like that even more. I'd definitely like to read more from this author.
July 5, 2014
Love the prompt, LOL. . . .
Well wasn't Travis just like a playful kitten! I loved how he could be so shy and cute and playful and adventurous, I thought his character mirrored the theme of kittens so nicely. Ha! I just really enjoyed this. Had a smile on my face and everything.
I love those stories when the other person just doesn't get what's right in front of them, LOL. And I loved how they met at breakfast, the tension in the story was there what with Paul the Jerk-One-Night-Stand.
hehe. <3
Well wasn't Travis just like a playful kitten! I loved how he could be so shy and cute and playful and adventurous, I thought his character mirrored the theme of kittens so nicely. Ha! I just really enjoyed this. Had a smile on my face and everything.
I love those stories when the other person just doesn't get what's right in front of them, LOL. And I loved how they met at breakfast, the tension in the story was there what with Paul the Jerk-One-Night-Stand.
hehe. <3
December 21, 2014
Super cute short story with college boys and kittens. I loved Scott and Travis together!
November 7, 2014
3.5
Okay, that was adorable! Sweet, funny, sexy...I'll read this again when I need a fluffy pick me up :)
Okay, that was adorable! Sweet, funny, sexy...I'll read this again when I need a fluffy pick me up :)
June 26, 2015
The Kittens were cute.
The relationship was minimum.
They seemed to spend a lot of time together without it being shown so I didn't get a feel for either character. Travis never stopped being a cute, scrawny, fairly annonymous kid and Scott was very jaded for someone only a few years older.
When attention moved from the kittens to the club and couple it felt strangely seperate to the rest of the story. Then time seemed to have passed.
But kittens are cute.
The relationship was minimum.
They seemed to spend a lot of time together without it being shown so I didn't get a feel for either character. Travis never stopped being a cute, scrawny, fairly annonymous kid and Scott was very jaded for someone only a few years older.
When attention moved from the kittens to the club and couple it felt strangely seperate to the rest of the story. Then time seemed to have passed.
But kittens are cute.
August 10, 2014
FREE Read!
A short and cute read about a college freshman pinning for an older guy he met the morning after a hook-up. What I like best about this free story is the slow burn and tangible relationship development between the two characters with the added bonus of adorable kittens!
I had to scratch my head about why the story's title says "Puppy" though. Is it some sort of pun? IDK.
Still a very enjoyable read.
July 13, 2014
I almost didn't even click on this one because I don't like dogs. And I'm not a huge fan of dogs in stories.
So, finding out that there are adorable kittens in it was the pleasant surprise that had me choosing to read this.
The kittens were absolutely my favorite characters. The humans just were either too clueless or too determined to be stubborn.
So, finding out that there are adorable kittens in it was the pleasant surprise that had me choosing to read this.
The kittens were absolutely my favorite characters. The humans just were either too clueless or too determined to be stubborn.
June 30, 2014
This was soooo good! So much fun to read, Scott and Travis were wonderful :) Thank you !
March 25, 2016
Don’t Name the Puppy was written for the Goodreads M/M Romance Group’s 2014 Love’s Landscapes event. It is told in third person through the eyes of Scott, a grad student.
The story starts with Scott walking down to breakfast at the house he shares with other roommates to find eighteen-year-old Travis sitting at the table eating Scott’s cereal. Scott has a roommate Paul, and Travis was Paul’s one-night-stand that Paul is no longer interested in after popping his ass cherry. Travis strikes me as naive and friendly like a lost puppy (hence the title), possibly hoping for a relationship with Paul. It’s implied that Travis was a virgin when he met Paul. Travis was f***ed, but hasn’t f***ed.
After Paul gives Travis the brush-off, Scott finds Travis outside, his eyes red like he's been crying, and he's watching some feral kittens. Travis enlists Scott’s help to rescue them. From this point the kittens are a reason for Travis to visit Scott. However, Scott still thinks that Travis is interested in Paul.
It turns out one of the reasons Travis’s hints of interest weren’t working on Scott, was because Scott likes to bottom and he likes aggressive men. It takes a while for Travis to figure this out but Scott and Travis go their separate ways before they meet again.
I didn't understand why Paul wanted to hook up with Scott after Travis left. Paul encourages Scott to go to the club and appears to be making a move on Scott. Why? Because Scott is emotionally vulnerable right now? Then all of a sudden Travis is at the club going after Scott. How did he know Scott was at the club? Was Travis hanging out at the club during the last two weeks? This whole sequence of events confused me.
The thing I didn’t like about this story was that Travis had to change a large part of his self in order to be with Scott, and that Scott didn’t seem to be all that keen on being with Travis other than as a friend. I never quite bought the turnaround with Travis’ actions at the end, nor Scott’s change of heart. However, this is a cute story with kitties and a silly hat. I give this 3 stars
The story starts with Scott walking down to breakfast at the house he shares with other roommates to find eighteen-year-old Travis sitting at the table eating Scott’s cereal. Scott has a roommate Paul, and Travis was Paul’s one-night-stand that Paul is no longer interested in after popping his ass cherry. Travis strikes me as naive and friendly like a lost puppy (hence the title), possibly hoping for a relationship with Paul. It’s implied that Travis was a virgin when he met Paul. Travis was f***ed, but hasn’t f***ed.
After Paul gives Travis the brush-off, Scott finds Travis outside, his eyes red like he's been crying, and he's watching some feral kittens. Travis enlists Scott’s help to rescue them. From this point the kittens are a reason for Travis to visit Scott. However, Scott still thinks that Travis is interested in Paul.
It turns out one of the reasons Travis’s hints of interest weren’t working on Scott, was because Scott likes to bottom and he likes aggressive men. It takes a while for Travis to figure this out but Scott and Travis go their separate ways before they meet again.
I didn't understand why Paul wanted to hook up with Scott after Travis left. Paul encourages Scott to go to the club and appears to be making a move on Scott. Why? Because Scott is emotionally vulnerable right now? Then all of a sudden Travis is at the club going after Scott. How did he know Scott was at the club? Was Travis hanging out at the club during the last two weeks? This whole sequence of events confused me.
The thing I didn’t like about this story was that Travis had to change a large part of his self in order to be with Scott, and that Scott didn’t seem to be all that keen on being with Travis other than as a friend. I never quite bought the turnaround with Travis’ actions at the end, nor Scott’s change of heart. However, this is a cute story with kitties and a silly hat. I give this 3 stars
July 4, 2014
Adorable read. The author really matched the story to the picture. An upper class-man and a 18-year old twink bond over three kittens the young one found right after he left the apartment crying after being dumped by the older boy's roommate. The cute kid was like a puppy and of course, he fell in love with the older college boy. Sweet story that gave these two enough time to get to know and adore each other. Cotton candy sweet.
May 24, 2017
Really cute NA story about a graduate student Scott who, through a twist of circumstances, ends up raising some kittens with his roommate's one night stand, Travis. It ended pretty abruptly, but had a lot of promise.
June 30, 2014
Very cute story. Would love to see more of these two later on.
June 30, 2014
:-D
I enjoyed this.
I enjoyed this.
July 6, 2014
An enjoyably cute read that I would have liked to have been longer. Thank you for this feel good read. :)
July 31, 2016
3.5ish.
A super cute read with a nice dash of sweetness. Enjoyable and you've gotta love the kittens!
A super cute read with a nice dash of sweetness. Enjoyable and you've gotta love the kittens!
June 30, 2014
Thank you R.D. Hero for this free story and thanks to all the other authors who participated in this event.
Cute premiss, just kind of missed the mark for me.
Cute premiss, just kind of missed the mark for me.
September 30, 2017
3.5 stars
July 29, 2014
Now this was a very plesant surprise! I've read this really late at night, already tired, just wanted five minutes before switching of the lights. I didn't ...no, I've read this in one go, tired and all and loved it.
This is a playful story. Travis is just adorable, playful, cute, funny, determined, stubborn, curious, strong...oh, well, I think I have a readers crush on a freshman :D No, seriously, the author did an amazing job in creating Travis, the boy who still needs to find out what he likes but knows he likes Scott a lot.
And Scott is a really nice guy.
A free short story of the LL-event, that makes me defintely look our for more of this author. Highly recommended if you are searching for a shortstory that makes you smile.
This is a playful story. Travis is just adorable, playful, cute, funny, determined, stubborn, curious, strong...oh, well, I think I have a readers crush on a freshman :D No, seriously, the author did an amazing job in creating Travis, the boy who still needs to find out what he likes but knows he likes Scott a lot.
And Scott is a really nice guy.
A free short story of the LL-event, that makes me defintely look our for more of this author. Highly recommended if you are searching for a shortstory that makes you smile.
June 30, 2014
2.5 stars
This was well written and cute.
I wanted to like it more but I really didn't like Travis, how he and Scott eventually hooked up or how indifferent everyone was towards each other. These are my issues and have nothing to do with the author's writing ability. I feel that if the story were fleshed out with more interactions on page between Scott and Travis I may have been more endeared towards him .
Thank you to R.D. Hero for their time and participation in the Loves Landscapes event. I will be watchful for their work in the future, this one just wasn't for me.
This was well written and cute.
I wanted to like it more but I really didn't like Travis, how he and Scott eventually hooked up or how indifferent everyone was towards each other. These are my issues and have nothing to do with the author's writing ability. I feel that if the story were fleshed out with more interactions on page between Scott and Travis I may have been more endeared towards him .
Thank you to R.D. Hero for their time and participation in the Loves Landscapes event. I will be watchful for their work in the future, this one just wasn't for me.
July 7, 2014
2.5 stars rounded up.
The concept was good - a deflowered freshman meets his hook-up's roommate after one-night stand disappointment. The kittens gave a reason for further contact, the misconception of sexual roles gave them a reason not to get together....but the actual finale felt like it needed a little more smoothing out
The concept was good - a deflowered freshman meets his hook-up's roommate after one-night stand disappointment. The kittens gave a reason for further contact, the misconception of sexual roles gave them a reason not to get together....but the actual finale felt like it needed a little more smoothing out
July 4, 2014
The author really nailed the prompt and the pic on this one. I loved the meet-cute of these two. The only thing I would have liked more of, is a little deeper exploration of their dynamics once they got together. I really liked where it was heading and would love to read more about them.
June 16, 2015
Cute, though Scott needed more of a clue, I liked the slow approach. I also liked that it challenged perceptions; Scott dismissed Travis as not being what he needed, when really he just needed a chance.
September 28, 2014
This is one of the cutest sweetest read ever.A guy loving pets and taking care of it always worth swooning.It was filled with cute moments...just like
August 7, 2015
A great story that really captures college dorm life and young first lovelust. Light and fun and fluffy (of course, because kittens!) with great dialogue and a realistic storyline. I like that there was no insta-love. Will definitely read more by this author.
August 18, 2014
4.5. Loved this story and I don't even like cats! Kittens are cute though. Love the characters. Kept a goofy smile on my face the whole time. Travis made me laugh with the outrageous stuff that would come out of his mouth. 4.5 because I wish it had been a teeny bit longer.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews