Mountains to Climb
Totally Bound
M/M Contemporary
[Ebook]
Sometimes the past can be the biggest mountain to climb.
Toby Schwartzel has never forgotten Jensen Brockhoff, the man he loved and the one who disappeared six years ago. He thinks he’s moved on, but when Jensen appears again and wants to explain what happened, Toby realizes he hasn’t gotten over Jensen. He’d only built up walls to keep from being hurt again.
Jensen Brockhoff left New York City and Toby Schwartzel for several reasons. All of them had to do with drugs and alcohol. He’s clean now and the only thing he’s addicted to is mountain climbing. His passion for the sport has got him through the last six years. But after a particularly harrowing fall on Denali, Jensen knows he has to go back to tell Toby the truth.
Will Toby and Jensen discover they’d never moved past the love they had for each other all those years ago? Or are the mountains between them too high to climb?
Excerpt:
Stepping in the bar was almost like getting hit by a car from the noise. Not that Toby Schwartzel had ever been struck by any kind of moving vehicle. He didn’t think a bicycle counted. He paused in the entrance to give himself a chance to adjust to the sound level and to scan the crowd, searching for any of the guys from the firm.
“Hey, Toby. We’re over here,” Simpson called from one of the back corners.
After acknowledging him with a wave, Toby wound his way to the bar where he ordered one of his favourite microbrews. While he waited for the bartender to pour it, he glanced around, checking out the possible hook-ups. It was Friday night and Toby didn’t have to work during the weekend, so he was looking for a little fun.
“Here you go, Toby.” Gray slid his mug across the wooden surface.
“Thanks, Gray. This is for you.” He slipped a five-dollar bill in the tip jar before taking a sip.
“I see your friend finally dragged himself out from whatever rock he’d been hiding under.” Gray jerked his head over toward the corner where Toby’s gang hung out.
“What friend?” He frowned as he tried to figure out whom Gray was talking about. All his friends were accounted for. Well, that he knew of anyway. He’d been so busy working on closing a big deal for a client during the last three months that he lost touch with a few of them that he didn’t see all the time at the office.
“Brockhoff. Saw him come in with Simpson.”
Someone yelled for Gray at the other end of the bar, so he shot Toby a quick smile before walking away.
Toby was frozen to the floor. What the fuck is Jensen Brockhoff doing back in town? Why the fuck hasn’t he called me in six years? The bastard couldn’t be bothered to tell me he was leaving. All I got was some ridiculous email about needing to get clean. Now he didn’t worry about letting me know he’s back. I should just leave.
His phone vibrated in his pocket and he pulled it out to see he had a text from Simpson.
Get your ass back here, fuckhead.
He should’ve known Simpson wasn’t going to let him leave.
I think I’m heading home.
Sighing, he pouted as he sent that reply. He’d been eager to relax, drink and take some stranger home to fuck him into his mattress. It’d been a while since he’d had sex with someone else. Lately, it had been his hand and his dildo.
Fuck no! Brockhoff isn’t here to see any of us. He wants you.
There was a winking smiley face at the end of Simpson’s text.
Toby rolled his eyes, still not convinced it was the best idea for him to go over there. He wasn’t sure he could control his need to punch Jensen in the mouth for leaving like that. Get a fucking grip! It’s not like you were partners or anything. Just friends with benefits. It wasn’t like he owed you anything. Yet he did think that Jensen at least owed him the respect of telling him that he was leaving town, instead of just disappearing. Maybe he shouldn’t feel so bad since Jensen hadn’t informed anyone else either.
Tough. You deal with him, Simpson. I’m going home. I’ll see you in the morning.
He finished his beer then set the mug on the bar, turning to push his way through the growing crowd to get to the door. Just as he was about to make his escape, Simpson stepped in front of him.
