Perfection

by Clare London

Beware searching for the perfect Mr Right

An MM horror story
James is surprised when co-worker Vic disappears, but even more so when Vic shows up months later as James’s manager. As a single gay man with few responsibilities, James takes his fun wherever and whenever he can. He’d even played around with Vic a few times. But now something’s changed, something James can't quite put his finger on. In fact, almost everything about Vic is subtly different -- and maybe not so subtly, when it comes to them resuming their affair. James never used to think Vic was hot, but now Vic’s like a new man and he wants James. James should be flattered, shouldn’t he?

Unfortunately, things don’t develop quite the way James hopes. He’s just out for a good time, but Vic wants something more than mutually satisfactory sexual games. He’s obsessed with finding out James’s idea of a perfect man. And what’s more, Vic seems determined to do whatever’s necessary to become that person -- whether James is a willing participant or not.

Author This book is part of the After Midnight series of standalone stories, all with darker, bittersweet themes.

Genres: M M Romance, Horror, Fiction, Holiday, Short Stories, Halloween

36 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Clare took the pen name London from the city where she lives, loves, and writes. A lone, brave female in a frenetic, testosterone-fuelled family home, she juggles her writing with her other day job as an accountant. She’s written in many genres and across many settings, with award-winning novels and short stories published both online and in print. She says she likes variety in her writing while friends say she’s just fickle, but as long as both theories spawn good fiction, she’s happy. Most of her work features male/male romance and drama with a healthy serving of physical passion, as she enjoys both reading and writing about strong, sympathetic and sexy characters.

Clare currently has several novels sulking at that tricky chapter 3 stage and plenty of other projects in mind . . . she just has to find out where she left them in that frenetic, testosterone-fuelled family home.

All the details and free fiction are available at her website. Visit her today and say hello!

Clare also writes as Stella Shaw and launched a new series of rent boy romances in 2021.

Reviews

[Noah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, wow! This short story is a new take on the Frankenstein theme. Soooo... eerie and haunting!

[Mara Ismine · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a Halloween Sip and it is creepy - and it is one of those that won't get out of your head! No happy ending as such.

[Al · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a perfect spooky short Halloween story.
It's like a mixture of Frankenstein, Drac, and psycho.
It is the chilling tale of James and Vic. I don't know about you, but I've never known a Vic who wasn't involved in creepy stuff.
So, James is a flighty but sexy dude who has sluttish tendencies, and who can blame him for that? Not me.
He has lusty dealings with a colleague, Vic, but Vic becomes rather...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=...
However, Vic vanishes and James gets on with life.
It is only when the limb friendly Vic returns that James begins to notice that things have changed. Really changed - like Vic's lips. They're just not the same.
It ends in a rather fine gothic magnificence, where James is unable to move in an undertakers's chamber with a scalpel on his skin.
To be honest, my sympathies are with Vic. After all, nothing wrong with being assertive and ...physical

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=...

[Carly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess there has always been two monsters in Frankenstein.

And Clare meshed them into one person and wrote an eerie little story for Halloween.

It is very good for what it is. Except what it is, is not exactly my cup of tea. I don't like first person narratives. But James' tone was very readable. And I'm not a fan of spooky stories. But it was a good one. If you like either or both than give this a read. It's worth it.

[Justjulie2297]

I'm not much on the horror but if I get past that, it was a pretty good story. It ended well, but not HEA. I liked the changes he was making to become the perfect man, just not the way he went about it; which is why it was a horrow story. His ideas on how to achieve the results were horrably wrong.
But I trust this author & will read as much of hers as I can.

[Indigo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the writing, got into the story and the climax really is unexpected, but... horror is not for me, thus the rating.

[RBR]

Perfection is a goal to be striven for, but not one that is reachable. One can have guidelines in life and even come close to meeting them, but no one can achieve perfection. Vic of 'Perfection' by Clare London believes that if he can be perfect, he can win the object of his affection, James's, heart. What he doesn't realize is that James isn't interested in giving his heart to anyone. This premise sets up a series of misunderstandings on both of their parts about what their relationship entails and leads them both down a dark, destructive path.

James is a nice enough fellow. He's not oblivious to other people's feelings. When he and Vic become friends with benefits, he tries his best to accommodate Vic's needs while not giving him false hope. But Vic doesn't understand that it's not him personally that is being rejected; James isn't interested in a relationship with anyone at present. In a normal situation, this is where it ends. Yes, there might be hurt feelings and a period of discontent, but one doesn't continue to pursue the object of their affection regardless of what the other person says. One gives up.

Not, Vic though. He continues to pursue, becoming the man who he believes to be James's ideal man. At this point, James seriously begins to question the wisdom of associating with Vic and tries to draw away. That's when Vic, without any warning, disappears. James is completely baffled and wonders about his odd behavior. When Vic comes back, James, against his better judgment starts trysting with him again. Something is different now though and it nibbles at the corners of his mind. It's like seeing something out of the corner of your eye, but not quite being able to figure it out. James searches to ease these feelings, but instead of doing so, realizes that there are changes in Vic which are terribly close to those who after duress, James described as his 'perfect' man. To James, it was a game but for Vic, it was deadly serious. We begin to see that Vic's behavior and attitudes toward James are totally skewed. He can't perceive the difference between what's real and possible and what is not. His actions go far beyond persistence and come close to obsession. Part of James is flattered by his attention, but it's causing him to ignore what his mind is desperately trying to warn him about. Unfortunately it becomes too late to turn back.

'Perfection' is written in the sinister style of a gothic horror story, with hints and insinuations all the way through. There's always a feeling of foreboding, the feeling that things are not quite right, but even with all of these clues, the ending is a deliciously shocking surprise. It fits marvelously into the Halloween spirit. Although not my usual kind of story, Clare does an excellent job of building up the suspense, intrigue, and spookiness necessary to pull off a good old-fashioned horrifying tale with an appropriately frightful ending. I recommend this story to everyone who enjoys the pleasure of being tormented and scared by fearful things. Thanks, Clare, for shivers and shakes.


DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. The first edition of this book was provided by the publisher for the purpose of a review.

[Tony Farnden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfection is part of the After Midnight series of standalone stories with a dark side and a monster or two thrown in. Human monsters in the main that is and two in the case of Perfection. The perfection here relates to James’ jokey description of his perfect man to Vic, his fellow worker at the funeral home where they both work. Vic most definitely does not match that description. The two of them build some kind of relationship based around sex and convenience and when Vic vanishes only to return to a management position and as a changed man, James is far from happy. Vic on the other hand wants things to return to ‘normal’ between them.

This is the scene set as the workers prepare to attend a halloween party at the funeral home’s head office. Vic reveals what he has been up to and James gets to respond. It does not end well should we say. The characters were all a little unsavoury for me, other than Vic who seemed to go out of his way to do the right thing. Well, you’ll have to read this to see how wrong I was. A lovely dark ending to the proceedings.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vic is James' co-worker who disappeared for a while and returns. He was never James' favourite person, being a bit of an office suck-up, but they got on well enough other than that. Especially when Vic asks James about what he would find perfect in a partner. James doesn't mind telling him, either. James thinks it's a game between them, and nothing more. It's a surprise to the office when Vic returns as the manager, too. James just thought of Vic as another partner in fun, but Vic was a bit more into James than that. The odd thing about Vic on his return is how he looks different. Less nerdy, more similar to James' perfect man. Not him exactly of course, but with similarities. Let's just say this is a really interesting and scary variation on Frankenstein.

I received an advance copy from the author and this is my honest opinion of the story.

[Babara-Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

OH MY LORD THIS WAS EERILY FREAKY!💕😈

BECAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR….

“Beware searching for the perfect Mr Right”

Wow is all I can say regarding this short eerily, spooky and dark story of the After Midnight series regarding a flighty player James and his not so attractive inassuming co- worker Vic who both work in a funeral home…

A jokingly discussion on the bus regarding his perfect man between James and his co-worker Vic leads to sexy fun but then Vic got too keen… and then disappeared and returned a changed man… in looks and personality…

It’s the office halloween party weeks later and Vic shows his true colours down in the mortuary… where they go for some uninterrupted sexy fun….

Insert evil laugh 😈

I voluntarily received an ARC from Clare London for an honest non biased review.

[Belinda Zamora · Rating 4 out of 5]

James is young, carefree and doesn't want for male attention.
Vic is his coworker and while he's not James's usual type, they develop a friendship with benefits.
Vic is insistent on discovering James's idea of a perfect man and soon pushes for more
than James is willing to give so he breaks things off.
Vic disappears over the summer and comes back changed.
Slowly, James feel uneasy near him and begins to recognize physical changes in him as well.
The story ends the mortuary with James confessing to horrible things done in order to become perfect for James and finally demanding his price for devotion.

[Ellie Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This seriously spooky short from Clare London is all the more effective for having a contemporary setting as carefree, fun-loving James becomes unwittingly entangled with obsessive co-worker, Vic. The pacing is perfection as the story retreats from James' sane and daylight world and Vic's unnerving preoccupations start to dominate. Excellent Halloween fare!

[Lena Grey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfection is a goal to be striven for, but not one that is reachable. One can have guidelines in life and even come close to meeting them, but no one can achieve perfection. Vic of 'Perfection' by Clare London believes that if he can be perfect, he can win the object of his affection, James's, heart. What he doesn't realize is that James isn't interested in giving his heart to anyone. This premise sets up a series of misunderstandings on both of their parts about what their relationship entails and leads them both down a dark, destructive path.

James is a nice enough fellow. He's not oblivious to other people's feelings. When he and Vic become friends with benefits, he tries his best to accommodate Vic's needs while not giving him false hope. But Vic doesn't understand that it's not him personally that is being rejected; James isn't interested in a relationship with anyone at present. In a normal situation, this is where it ends. Yes, there might be hurt feelings and a period of discontent, but one doesn't continue to pursue the object of their affection regardless of what the other person says. One gives up.

Not, Vic though. He continues to pursue, becoming the man who he believes to be James's ideal man. At this point, James seriously begins to question the wisdom of associating with Vic and tries to draw away. That's when Vic, without any warning, disappears. James is completely baffled and wonders about his odd behavior. When Vic comes back, James, against his better judgment starts trysting with him again. Something is different now though and it nibbles at the corners of his mind. It's like seeing something out of the corner of your eye, but not quite being able to figure it out. James searches to ease these feelings, but instead of doing so, realizes that there are changes in Vic which are terribly close to those who after duress, James described as his 'perfect' man. To James, it was a game but for Vic, it was deadly serious. We begin to see that Vic's behavior and attitudes toward James are totally skewed. He can't perceive the difference between what's real and possible and what is not. His actions go far beyond persistence and come close to obsession. Part of James is flattered by his attention, but it's causing him to ignore what his mind is desperately trying to warn him about. Unfortunately it becomes too late to turn back.

'Perfection' is written in the sinister style of a gothic horror story, with hints and insinuations all the way through. There's always a feeling of foreboding, the feeling that things are not quite right, but even with all of these clues, the ending is a deliciously shocking surprise. It fits marvelously into the Halloween spirit. Although not my usual kind of story, Clare does an excellent job of building up the suspense, intrigue, and spookiness necessary to pull off a good old-fashioned horrifying tale with an appropriately frightful ending. I recommend this story to everyone who enjoys the pleasure of being tormented and scared by fearful things. Thanks, Clare, for shivers and shakes.

[Cole Riann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review posted at Brief Encounters Reviews.

I've been meaning to read and review this little short for a while now, but I was in the mood for horror this week, so it was perfect timing. And this is definitely horror, without romance and complete with a horrifying, non-HEA ending.

James is a bit full of himself, but he doesn't mince words and he knows what he wants. He's a fit guy who likes to have a lot of sex and doesn't care much who they are. He befriends a co-worker, Vic, who seems to have a bit of a crush on him. As they become friends, Vic's feelings seem to grow. Soon, James finds himself without a partner for the night, and though Vic is probably the last person he'd choose to have sex with, well, he isn't very picky. But the newfound intimacy seems to give Vic the wrong message, and after James is forced to tell him that he's only looking for a good time, Vic disappears.

It is now several months later, and Vic has shown up again. Only, things are different -- he carries himself differently, he looks different -- he's changed.

This is really a great story, and one of the best Halloween tales I've read because it really is spooky. It isn't blood and gore that are really scary, but sociopathic and obsessive characters that can really make you squirm, and what I think Clare does so well in this story is show the reader the changes in Vic through James' point of view. James is quite egocentric, and because of that he only really sees their "relationship" (whatever it is) from anyone's point of view but his own, nor does he really seem to care for others' feelings. At the same time, it makes us less caring of James' ultimate downfall, and it creates a natural suspense, where the reader can see the slow progression into madness and James cannot.

So, if you're looking for a short read of something a little different, make sure to check this one out!

[Kiki · Rating 1 out of 5]

yuk ... probably just the reaction being aimed for, but this I got zero enjoyment from this one

[Lexi Ander · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has a creep factor that really fits into the Halloween holiday. I enjoyed the change.