Boca Dreams

by Scudder James Jr.

A Story from the Warmest Dreamspinner Press 2018 Advent Calendar

You can’t correct the past.

Or can you?

Stephen’s not proud of who he was back in boarding school—spoiled and a player. Now, at the holiday reunion ten years later, he has a chance to show his former classmates who he really out and proud, devoted to helping others, and partnered with Victor.

Stephen understands why Victor, who grew up in a poor and abusive household, hates the rich kids at the reunion, but his attitude is ruining everything. Luckily Stephen bumps into Aaron, a former grunge rocker who has also changed. Stephen never forgot their one steamy night together.

With the help of three very unusual personifications of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, can Stephen revisit his mistakes and find the happiness that’s eluded him?

Genres: Holiday, M M Romance, Christmas, Contemporary, Short Stories

42 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2018

About the author

Scudder James Jr believes happily ever after begins today. Junior high was terrible, boarding school better, and college the place he met the boyfriend he married (despite a pit stop in a fraternity). He started in finance because he thought he had to, but instead became a counselor for refugees, a fundraiser, and a teacher of sex and spirituality classes. After Chicago, Seattle, London, and Japan, he’s back in Boston where it all started. His favorite place to write has a harbor view of two colonial ships.

Scudder loves telling stories in print and on film. He’s thrilled that his short LGBTQ films have shown around the world in places as unexpected as Alabama and East Africa. Twenty years ago, he was diagnosed with a debilitating neurological disease that doctors are bewildered has disappeared. Scudder is an avid meditator and passionate about appreciating every moment.

One of his favorite mornings has been waking up on a boat in Patagonia with his perfectly imperfect partner and hiking an island of 130,000 penguins.

Reviews

[☆ Todd · Rating 2 out of 5]

Uh, wow. I don't even know where to begin with this story.

At 28, Stephen had been dating Victor for a year and talked him into accompanying him to a holiday fete' at the high school where he'd graduated 10 years prior.

I had problems with Victor right from his very first words. Victor was a bitter asshole with a chip on his shoulder, always sniping derogatory comments at Stephen and generally treating him like crap. Or a sex toy. Or his personal servant.

Then to make matters worse, shortly after arriving, Victor cheated on Stephen *TWICE*. And yes, contrary to what Steven said, fucking someone else twice while in a previously-monogamous relationship IS fucking "grounds, per se, for breaking up".

I liked Stephen okay before that point, but a fan of mousey doormats I am not, so if this hadn't been an ARC for the Dreamspinner Advent stories that our blog reviews every year, I would've definitely DNF'd the story right then and there. Sorry, I don't do cheaters or morons

Stephen was said to have considered proposing to Victor, then cheating and, although he's stunned and somewhat numb, within a few hours he's all gaga over Aaron, with whom he had an 'almost' moment a decade prior. This felt rushed, not overly believable and pretty darn premature.

And lastly, the single sex scene with its talk of 'packages' and 'gifts', Lord. So not my thing.

2 stars at best.

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[Sushi (寿司) · Rating 1 out of 5]

OMG!! After 6% of this book I hate Victor. To be fair I started hating him from the 1st sentence. He is so vulgar. How fucking can Stephen tollerate (and have sex) with him? 🤔
I am at 31% and my hate for Victor has increased. Usually, since this short is from 2018, I see the Christmas as an happy holiday. What fucking is Victor? Something like a killjoy.
Victor is disgusting. 🤮
50% I thought Stephen saw who Victor really was "Why is Victor an ass?" although he needed to catch Victor with another man. However, Stephen must have his head in the sand 'cause after he says "But he's never been this much of an ass before" .... OMG!! 🤦‍♀️
When in the same page, always 50%, you read "Maybe it was his fault, anyway, making Victor feel bad for all the stuff he'd never had growing up. Why had he insisted on bringing Victor and rubbing his face on it? Of course he'd feel like lashing out." then you know Stephen is as idiot as Victor. 🤦‍♀️

I was about to give 2☆ but I changed idea. I give 1☆ to this book. I am not a native English speaker but really some action when Stephen and Aaron are together in Stephen's room are strange. 🤔
The author could use less words in the part about rub, sniff, lick etc on the fabric and more about when Stephen took the lube and the condom. We went from Stephen who gives a blowjob to Aaron to Stephen who straddles Aaron with a lube and a condom that comes out from nowhere. 🤔
This is the worst short I read from this AD calendar.
The Christmas thing was a smidgen in the story. 🤔😑

Sorry 👎👎👎👎👎

[CrabbyPatty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Returning to his boarding school for a tenth reunion Holiday Fete, Stephen brings his sexy boyfriend of two years, Victor, who is a complete jerk with a massive chip on his shoulder for "pampered rich shits congratulating themselves for being superior."

Stephen reconnects with Aaron Perez, the sexy rocker who had figured prominently in Stephen's fantasties since the night they spent talking together the night before graduation. But while Stephen is reconnecting with Aaron, Victor is planning a threesome with one of Stephen's classmates and after Stephen finds Victor and said classmate Caleb in flagrante delicto, Stephen wonders if "Maybe it was his fault anyway, making Victor feel bad for all the stuff he'd never had growing up. What had he insisted on bringing Victor and rubbing his face in it? Of course he'd feel like lashing out." Huh? At this point, I should have DNFed this story.

The book ends with a HFN for Aaron and Stephen, but otherwise this story did NOT work for me at all. I like Scudder James' writing style and think he has some interesting characters, but unfortunately very few of them are likable. 2.5 stars.

I received an ARC from Dreamspinner Press in exchange for an honest review.

Visit my blog, Sinfully Good Gay Book Reviews

[Lelyana's Reviews · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have to agree with Todd here. A doormat hero and a cheating boyfriend is so not my thing. Especially when he saw the said boyfriend fucked by someone else in their room, and all he can say is "Why you never wanted me to fuck you?"
And the bf have no guilty feeling of cheating on him, invited to 'join' them, and doing a 're-cheating'. And Stephen was just 'sad'.


Then of course, the universe gave the 'sign' that the bf was not good for him, he'd better with Aaron anyway, because they had a story. A sitting on the bench without even kissing' kind of story.
And Aaron and Stephen hit it off and got their HEA.
The cheating Victor (the bf) can go to hell, which I agreed very much. That's why the 2 stars.
Not my cuppa. Sorry.

[Sara]

I am an easy reader.
It takes a lot for me to not love a romance.
But this?
Um...
It's all sorts of nope for me.
Nope.
Nope.
Nope.

[True Loveislovereview · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahhh this was a sweet one. Even with a bud head Victor... if you zipp him out, there is just a kind, friendly and sweet read.

Stephen will show off and come out as gay with his partner Victor at the reunion.
But... at the reunion everything turns out else than expected.
Stephen has the reputation being a rich guy with a bad attitude, nobody really know him who he is now. The same is with Aaron...
When Aaron sees Stephen he knows his feelings are still the same..
They had a one night thing...long ago... but not really. Both are still attracted to each other.

I loved Aaron he was kind, considerate and sweet. Stephen was adorable innocent and thank goodness he was into Aaron.
Really nice written, super short holiday read. Nice engaging characters and the environments well done.
When you love short ones with a lovely plot this one. Dreams come true.

Read and reviewed for Open Skye Book review

[Becca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not too crazy about this one. Boyfriend's living together for a year. One bf is hateful to the other most of the time because of their backgrounds. They go to a school 'reunion', where said bf constantly is rude and starting stuff and ends up cheating twice. Then leaves other stranded while he decides to break up over a text. Then decides later to apologize and take it all back over the phone. Other bf decides to sleep with guy he's dreamed of in school, all the while other male classmates are trying to get in on the action. Yeah, no.

[Suze · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was quick though a bit mixed up.
Probably 2.5* really for me.
Fulfilled the Warmest Wishes by being in Chile.
The well used reunion theme - liked the girls in the Past Present and Future roles though they were a bit presumptuous.
Victor obviously weighed down by the massive chip on his shoulder! And he was just a super dirt bag all through - and definitely needed kicking out after what he did twice!
Stephen then didn’t take much persuading by Aaron - think he’ll always be lead astray by people.

[Serena Yates · Rating 3 out of 5]

Correcting the past with no consequences may not be possible, but fixing mistakes made in the past can be possible with lots of luck and some help from people who see things more clearly than you do. And that is exactly what Stephen needs. I have absolutely no idea what he sees in Victor, the boyfriend from hell who seems to be more emotionally abusive than anything else. Stephen either doesn’t see it or doesn’t want to admit it – until he goes to a holiday reunion at his boarding school and figures out a few things.


Please find my full review on Rainbow Book Reviews.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Victor, you are a dick and I hate you. There, got that out of the way. I would have given this story another heart easily if it weren’t for Victor’s existence and if the time spent on him could have gone to the relationship development between Stephen and Aaron. Stephen could have gone to the fete after a breakup with Victor, leaving Victor to be an unfortunate footnote. In order for Stephen and Aaron to work (and I really wanted them to work) Victor had to be a caricature-type villain which really only made me question Stephen’s life choices. Basically I liked Aaron a lot and would have loved more page time with his character, and then he and Stephen together. I loved how they thought of one another after their one night “together”, even after all the years apart and I loved wallowing in their reconnection. Removing the bitter BS of Victor would have given me more wallowing time, and I would have appreciated that muchly.



**a copy of this story was provided for an honest review**

[Angela Goodrich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to be posted.

[Katy Beth Mckee · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fun to see how this reunion turns Stephens life upside and requires him to rethink everything. You really wish them the best.

[Lila Hunter]

Unrated

Review at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words.

ARC provided by Dreamspinner Press in exchange for an honest review.