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Second Chances #1.5
Running in Circles
Dear Author,
I left my house this morning for my morning run & ended up at the one place that will change my life….
Photo Description:
Two men embrace in a passionate kiss. The larger man firmly grasps the other man’s rear, while the smaller of the two removes the other’s earbuds.
This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love is an Open Road" 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 left my house this morning for my morning run & ended up at the one place that will change my life….
Photo Description:
Two men embrace in a passionate kiss. The larger man firmly grasps the other man’s rear, while the smaller of the two removes the other’s earbuds.
This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love is an Open Road" 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.
30 pages, ebook
First published July 14, 2015
8 people are currently reading
68 people want to read
About the author
Jess Buffett
46 books208 followersJess Buffett was born and raised in New South Wales, Australia. Jess is a mum of two, married to her high school sweetheart. She is a hopeless romantic who is a huge fan of M/M and M/F romance with a happy ending—anything with hunky men in all their glory, whether they be Shifters, Vampires, Cowboys, or the boy next door. A caffeine addict who shamefully can’t make a decent cup of coffee to save her life, Jess believes in soul mates, happily ever afters, and in love at first sight, but that sometimes people need a second or a third for the brain to catch up.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
July 14, 2015
This story has almost no character development and way too much telling.
Even the dirty talk is summarized!
The MCs are interchangeable, and I gave up on figuring out who was talking or doing.
There's no real plot, and the men's actions smack of teen angst.
I also wanted more buildup before the sex.
Plenty of steam and a HEA included; even so, the story didn't work for me.
Even the dirty talk is summarized!
The MCs are interchangeable, and I gave up on figuring out who was talking or doing.
There's no real plot, and the men's actions smack of teen angst.
I also wanted more buildup before the sex.
Plenty of steam and a HEA included; even so, the story didn't work for me.
July 15, 2015
3.5 Stars--You add student-teacher tags, you pretty much guaranteed I'm reading
And read I did. ;)
Brody returns home to work temporarily at a law firm. He has some regrets about returning home. The biggest being his former high school teacher, Nate. Nate pushed the then 18 year-old away, even though they both wanted each other. Then and now. A jog ends up changing both men's lives.
The prompt was pretty open if you overlook the joggers whose lives change in a moment. I think the author chose a cool route to make it former teacher/student finally getting another chance at the tension between them.
The elements of the story was pretty solid...the last bit. *groans* What is it with IQ points dropping when dicks are whipped out? Two seemingly normal adults who could communicate their needs effectively, but once they came...they get a little dumb.
I think it might've worked better for me if:
- we got a flashback of Nate and Brody back then. It would have helped to believe their present day tension. Telling us about it doesn't help the believability for me.
- Panic attack? But he moved on during the interim years...maybe would have worked better if he didn't have it or he remained faithful while Brody was away.
-I think it should have been longer for trying to attempt the feels it tried to give. The characters could have been kept as superficial as they were but the emotions could have been played up. :)
Overall, I was entertained. I got hot sweaty sex. Wished the minor meltdown toward the end didn't happen but it did...so I can't round up.
My thanks to the author and the team behind the event.
And read I did. ;)
Brody returns home to work temporarily at a law firm. He has some regrets about returning home. The biggest being his former high school teacher, Nate. Nate pushed the then 18 year-old away, even though they both wanted each other. Then and now. A jog ends up changing both men's lives.
The prompt was pretty open if you overlook the joggers whose lives change in a moment. I think the author chose a cool route to make it former teacher/student finally getting another chance at the tension between them.
The elements of the story was pretty solid...the last bit. *groans* What is it with IQ points dropping when dicks are whipped out? Two seemingly normal adults who could communicate their needs effectively, but once they came...they get a little dumb.
I think it might've worked better for me if:
- we got a flashback of Nate and Brody back then. It would have helped to believe their present day tension. Telling us about it doesn't help the believability for me.
- Panic attack? But he moved on during the interim years...maybe would have worked better if he didn't have it or he remained faithful while Brody was away.
-I think it should have been longer for trying to attempt the feels it tried to give. The characters could have been kept as superficial as they were but the emotions could have been played up. :)
Overall, I was entertained. I got hot sweaty sex. Wished the minor meltdown toward the end didn't happen but it did...so I can't round up.
My thanks to the author and the team behind the event.
August 21, 2015
All I could say was this story had so much potential. Second chance, the one who got away, age-gap and past student/teacher relationships. Alas, this felt too rushed and I didn't feel the banked flame this pair harboured all these years. Too bad...
July 14, 2015
A story about second chances. It is very low on angst and plot and it feels somehow mechanical. Luckily it is a short read, and not completely without merit, so it would be the ideal story to recover from that deep, dark, angsty heartbreakers
Read
July 26, 2015Thank you so much to the author who have participated in this event
I am just going to borrow Dani's and Didi's reviews for this one. I don't like the quick rumble on the bed on the first day of their reunion -- not like I could feel the tension and the yearning that they kept all these years. The age-gap didn't feel like so, it felt like two men of the same age.
AND, this is my biggest issue of all -- . My principle of course, not yours ...
Note:
Per my own policy, any story from this year's event that I can't give 3* rating to, will be left unrated
I am just going to borrow Dani's and Didi's reviews for this one. I don't like the quick rumble on the bed on the first day of their reunion -- not like I could feel the tension and the yearning that they kept all these years. The age-gap didn't feel like so, it felt like two men of the same age.
AND, this is my biggest issue of all -- . My principle of course, not yours ...
Note:
Per my own policy, any story from this year's event that I can't give 3* rating to, will be left unrated
July 24, 2015
3.5 stars
A sweet and spicy second chance story
Nate and Brody fell for each other years ago, but Nate was Brody's teacher, and age difference aside, knew he had to let Brody go else he hold Brody back. Now, years later, Brody's back in his home town after graduating Law School, and ends up literally running back into Nate's life.
After a scorching, sexy, sweaty encounter, and an almost near screwup, Nate finally seizes his opportunity to have a future with Brody.
The author did an excellent job fulfilling the prompt. It was a quick, sexy, read. I just wish there was a bit more character development.
My thanks to the author for their effort and participation in the Love is an Open Road event.
A sweet and spicy second chance story
Nate and Brody fell for each other years ago, but Nate was Brody's teacher, and age difference aside, knew he had to let Brody go else he hold Brody back. Now, years later, Brody's back in his home town after graduating Law School, and ends up literally running back into Nate's life.
After a scorching, sexy, sweaty encounter, and an almost near screwup, Nate finally seizes his opportunity to have a future with Brody.
The author did an excellent job fulfilling the prompt. It was a quick, sexy, read. I just wish there was a bit more character development.
My thanks to the author for their effort and participation in the Love is an Open Road event.
July 27, 2015
Don't waste your time on that one.
When I realized that this was a romance between now-reunited high school math teacher and his former student who used to be in love with him, I was all but rubbing my hands expecting some delicious pining for a forbidden man, at least in the retrospect.
Instead, what followed is a generic sex scene around page 10 that was as intimate as a one-night stand between two random guys who met in a club. Not even a single moment of "oh God, I'm finger-fucking my math teacher". Why even make them teacher and (former) student, if you are not going to play it in any way?
And then, as a cherry on top, it all ends with a truly soap-operish misunderstanding, promptly resolved, since this story is not a long one. Who would've thought that a laywer and a mathematician would be such drama queens?
Zero anticipation, not a bit of tension. The guys are even on a first-name basis from the start (did any of you ever called any of your teachers by their first name without batting an eye? Because I didn't). Disappointing.
When I realized that this was a romance between now-reunited high school math teacher and his former student who used to be in love with him, I was all but rubbing my hands expecting some delicious pining for a forbidden man, at least in the retrospect.
Instead, what followed is a generic sex scene around page 10 that was as intimate as a one-night stand between two random guys who met in a club. Not even a single moment of "oh God, I'm finger-fucking my math teacher". Why even make them teacher and (former) student, if you are not going to play it in any way?
And then, as a cherry on top, it all ends with a truly soap-operish misunderstanding, promptly resolved, since this story is not a long one. Who would've thought that a laywer and a mathematician would be such drama queens?
Zero anticipation, not a bit of tension. The guys are even on a first-name basis from the start (did any of you ever called any of your teachers by their first name without batting an eye? Because I didn't). Disappointing.
July 14, 2015
What can I say? I'm a total sucker for teacher-student stories. These two had awesome chemistry, and the sex was hot. My only complaint is that I wish we got a bit more of Nate and Brody's past.
August 26, 2015
3.5....
August 15, 2025
I read the short version of Running in Circles, which is still available for free from mmromance.com. It was originally written in 2015 for the m/m romance group, the prompt gif (see below) is gorgeous, but this is an unexpected direction to take it. This is a reunited teacher/student romance set 5 years after their original relationship, when Brody Jameson was 18 and Nate McCallister was 26. I hate that Brody was Nate's student, not just A student, HIS student, of age or not, and everyone is apparently okay with that. It really isn’t that is a massive power imbalance. The student can’t consent in a real way.Essentially, Running in Circles is just Brody and Nate coming back to each other, an explosion of passion and making a choice about their future. It's poorly written smut and an incomplete plot that doesn't work brilliantly for the characters. But I've read worse. I do really like Nate's panic and reaction to Brady's original plans. I do find Nate relatable in his reaction on instinct.This was released with expanded content in 2018. While I won’t be reading it after reading this version. The only thing that appeals to me about it is to see how the wider town, but especially Brody’s mom and brothers and Nate’s best friend, Isaac, deal with Brody and Nate’s relationship. If Jess chose to add some from high school senior Brody’s perspective, it would be useful to the story, and it would give perspective.
Source: The prompt and first chapter image provided by admin DRitC
August 25, 2018
2,5 Sterne
Ich liebe Jess Buffetts Bücher und freu mich immer, wenn mal was Neues rauskommt, aber das war jetzt nicht so prickelnd.
Der Plot ist wirklich cool. Im letzten Schuljahr verlieben sich Schüler und Lehrer ineinander, natürlich geht diese Beziehung nicht, aber nach der Abschlussfeier soll es endlich ein Happy-End geben, nur kommt es dazu nicht. 8 Jahre später treffen sie wieder aufeinander - die Liebe ist nach wie vor da, doch einer der beiden hat große Angst. So kommt es zu Missverständnissen und Herzschmerz.
Viel zu kurz und vertauschte Vor-und Nachnamen haben nicht wirklich Freude aufkommen lassen.
Ich liebe Jess Buffetts Bücher und freu mich immer, wenn mal was Neues rauskommt, aber das war jetzt nicht so prickelnd.
Der Plot ist wirklich cool. Im letzten Schuljahr verlieben sich Schüler und Lehrer ineinander, natürlich geht diese Beziehung nicht, aber nach der Abschlussfeier soll es endlich ein Happy-End geben, nur kommt es dazu nicht. 8 Jahre später treffen sie wieder aufeinander - die Liebe ist nach wie vor da, doch einer der beiden hat große Angst. So kommt es zu Missverständnissen und Herzschmerz.
Viel zu kurz und vertauschte Vor-und Nachnamen haben nicht wirklich Freude aufkommen lassen.
September 1, 2018
A lovely follow-up to Always Been You. A bit more of a novella, this one is considered book 1.5 in the Second Chances series. Nate and Brody have chemistry, but the timing is wrong so Nate pushes Brody away. Upon returning to town the two meet again and sparks fly. There's a bit of back and forth as they find their way. In the end it seems that its Brody who's more mature and self assured. I loved seeing the guys from the first book. There's a bit a of editing that needs to be done but nothing too distracting.
Ault read
Ault read
September 25, 2018
Love Jesse's books
Her second chances books are fantastic first read always been you when it first came out. then she did an extended version of the book i Knew that running in circles was in the pipe line and she did a version for good reads which I didn't want to read
I'm glad that I waited as it was well worth the wait it was like meeting up with old friends Thank you jess for a lovely read
Looking forward to the next in the series please don't let it be to long
Her second chances books are fantastic first read always been you when it first came out. then she did an extended version of the book i Knew that running in circles was in the pipe line and she did a version for good reads which I didn't want to read
I'm glad that I waited as it was well worth the wait it was like meeting up with old friends Thank you jess for a lovely read
Looking forward to the next in the series please don't let it be to long
April 17, 2020
Super straightforward fast read, minor angst would have liked a longer more stories for a these characters.
July 15, 2015
Just stretching to 3.5 stars
Contemporary short story.
Brody has returned to his home after qualifying with a law degree, to spend six months while he waits for his dream job in New York. While on his morning run he meets Nate, his former teacher and old flame who he'd left seven years before to go to college/university. They wind up back at Nate's house and in bed, after which Nate more or less throws him out when he discovers he's only home for six months. While this is a cute story, and their pair do get their act together, it involves two huge tropey things - the men not communicating and the misunderstanding... nice story, but a little underdone.
Contemporary short story.
Brody has returned to his home after qualifying with a law degree, to spend six months while he waits for his dream job in New York. While on his morning run he meets Nate, his former teacher and old flame who he'd left seven years before to go to college/university. They wind up back at Nate's house and in bed, after which Nate more or less throws him out when he discovers he's only home for six months. While this is a cute story, and their pair do get their act together, it involves two huge tropey things - the men not communicating and the misunderstanding... nice story, but a little underdone.
July 20, 2015
It’s a (ex) student/teacher relationship! story. Nate was a twenty-six year old teacher when Brody, eighteen, was his student. It’s five years later and Brody has come home.
Back then, Nate pushed Brody away, it was for the best. Now, Brody is back home, with a temporary job with a local law firm. Brody runs into Nate and the chemistry is still crackling between the two of them.
Communication is a two-way door and Nate needs to be able to speak clearly if he doesn’t want a repeat of all those years ago.
July 26, 2015
This is a short story that has so much potential but fell short on delivery. I needed so more of both MC's, you just get snippets and I struggled to get my head round their relationship - the angst rivals that of a teenager.....hadn't they moved on from that? The ending was sweet and I just wished the chapters prior to this had been fuller to appreciate it.
September 8, 2015
Wow, this book prompt had so much potential, but for me unfortunately the author let the ball drop on this one. The characters didn't have enough build up. I would have liked more of a backstory and then a better build up to them meeting again after so many years.
July 21, 2015
Thank you Jess Buffett for donating your story, your time and your talent.
July 20, 2015
For me there was not enough build up for anything. Felt like i was reading a section of a story and wondered what happened to the rest.
October 11, 2015
Did not finish. The story stopped making sense in the first few pages.
July 23, 2015
Reunion between teacher and student. I liked the start but sadly it lost its drive and then it got a bit too dramatic and too fluffy.
August 1, 2015
3.5 *
August 10, 2015
2.5 stars.
Not bad, but I expected way more.. I love age-gap, teacher-student stories, but this one was too rushed and lacked the certain ambiance.
Not bad, but I expected way more.. I love age-gap, teacher-student stories, but this one was too rushed and lacked the certain ambiance.
August 23, 2015
Old lovers meet up and they have six months to see if it last. Thats about it. I still liked it. would have liked more.
October 2, 2015
If I only had more...,,
November 12, 2015
2.5 stars
The story had potential, but unfortunately it didn't live up to it.
The story had potential, but unfortunately it didn't live up to it.
July 22, 2015
3.5 Stars rounded up.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews