by
Darius Adams is at the pharmacy for his fall vaccines when he meets Rafael Balam. He’s instantly attracted to the cute, nonbinary costume designer. Over drinks at a nearby café, they discover a lot of things in common, from recently losing parents and moving house to people Rafael knows at Darius’ new teaching job.
It doesn’t take long to decide they want to see a lot more of each other. Neither was on the hunt for a new relationship, but when it seems a good one has opened up in front of them, they walk right in.
During the next few months, Darius and Rafael learn how to be boyfriends, then lovers. Then they open up the living-together conversation. At midlife, are they too set in their ways, or do they love each other enough to make it work?
Publisher: JMS Books, LLC
Genres:
Pairings: M-NB
Heat Level: 3
Romantic Content: 5
Ending: Click here to reveal
Character Identities: Gay, Non Binary
Protagonist 1 Age: 36-45
Protagonist 2 Age: 36-45
Tropes: Meet Cute
Word Count: 18,500
Setting: Los Angeles
Languages Available: English
“You don’t hit people.” Rafael blinked, then added, “At least, I don’t.”
“I used to,” Darius admitted. “Growing up, I was so little. Kind of fem. Got bullied a lot. My folks put me in a karate class and then I was like, try me.”
Rafael laughed. “I was little and fem too, but I went the other way. I made friends with the girls and stayed with them all the time I could. There was a real bad year when I had to be escorted to the restroom, then thank God I went to an arts magnet high school and left that behind. What’s it like at your new school?”
Darius accepted the change of subject. “The people who send their kids there come from all over the world and they want their kids to succeed in diverse environments. It’s a zero-tolerance zone for bullying. They have three counselors, a mediation program, talk circles in every grade.”
READ MORE“That sounds familiar. What school is it?” Darius told them. Rafael nodded. “I know some other people who teach there. Asterio Flores in music and Taran Kimura in math.”
“I know Asterio! I mean, we’ve met. By the end of the year I hope I can say I know him.”
“What’s your focus now for teaching?”
“Social sciences, sixth through ninth grade.” Darius sipped his nice cold latte, wondering how long he could stretch this date. He had nothing planned for the rest of his Saturday. Rafael wasn’t making any restless moves, so maybe they weren’t in any kind of hurry either. And Darius was curious. “Can I ask how you went from a history degree to being a designer?”
“Sure.” Rafael smiled at him over the cup of iced mint tea, then set it down. “About ten years ago, I was making a living as a legal assistant, which I didn’t love. Trying to figure myself out, going through some phases. Tried drag for a while, which was interesting, except I’m not a performer. I’m a hard-core introvert, and loud crowded clubs stress me out. So the costume and makeup part was fun, and the rest of it was kind of not. But one person told me their gown came from a certain couture and dancewear designer. I obsessed over that guy’s website for a few months, made a few things, and went to knock on his door. Started doing embellishment for him. It wasn’t the same kind of money as working in a law office, and of course there were no benefits as a freelancer, so it didn’t even occur to me that might be a full-time gig.”
“But it turned into one?”
“Yeah, pretty fast. The head guy is married to a professional ballroom dancer. She and her partner won a world championship two years in a row, a couple years after I rolled up on him. The partner retired from competition then, but he owns a studio in West Hollywood, and they have a few other champions. So there was a ton of business going to this guy, Kenji Matsumoto. They brought on some extra hands on the cutting and construction side of things, and the volume of work got to be so much that they offered me a full-time job doing surface design.”
“Only dancewear?”
“Oh, no. Wedding dresses, custom men’s wear, movie costumes, skating costumes, you name it. A whole bunch of people in that dance studio do stage performances and there was always stuff to make for them. So I ran away from the law firm and when I have a spare minute I make stuff to sell on Etsy. I go thrifting around LA and sometimes there’s these amazing things that need, like, a stitch or two. During the pandemic when so many people started doing creative things online, you’d see these really talented people who live in the ass end of nowhere saying they couldn’t find such and so. I started sourcing things for them.”
Darius gazed at Rafael admiringly. “That is so fucking cool.”
“You think so?”
“Definitely! I wish I could turn you loose on my closet. Everything’s so basic, but it’s so hard to find clothes that fit, and I don’t have any style anyway. I love what you’re wearing. At the in-service assembly before school started, Asterio showed up in this incredible suit. I wanted it, for real.”
Rafael laughed. “Asterio has style, for real. He does a lot of his own stuff, but we’ve worked together here and there.” They tipped their head, considering Darius. “You could totally wear his looks.”
“Even the shoes?”
“Good gravy, yes. I’d love to see you in some heels.”
COLLAPSEDarius and Rafael are brand-new characters, but they live in the same world as some others of mine, including Taran and Lachlan from OUR REVELS NOW. Darius and Taran are new co-workers when the story opens. Like many of my stories, IT’S IN THE HEEL deals with loss and reinvention, where finding the right partner sets someone at a turning point on the path to a happy future.
