Tuning Up Matt: A Wild Possession Romance

By E. A. Gosling

Matt DeWitt has never forgiven Bruce Tedesco, his high school boyfriend and band mate, for leaving him behind in favor of pursuing a solo career. He left home, trying to escape a broken heart, but after years of trying, he ended up right back where he started. Still, he has his music, a job at the café and lives life on his own terms. As for relationships, he’s done with them. He’s better off alone. And then, Bruce Tedesco comes back home.

Bruce wants to make amends. He knows he broke Matt’s heart when he left, and he’s desperate to start over. But Matt isn’t interested in the past or trying again. The hurt runs too deep, and Bruce doesn’t know how to breach the wall around Matt’s heart, except to be persistent. And stubborn. He’d good at that.

Learning to trust again is hard, especially for Matt. What Bruce did in their teens forever changed his outlook. But one action by Bruce in the present might make all the difference, and it could be their path to a new beginning. They’re definitely attracted to each other, but it’s going to take more than lust to overcome the hurdles between them. It’s about trust, and in the end, love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: E. A. Gosling
• Release date: Feb 26, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463899502

E. A. Gosling

E.A. Gosling is an accountant by day and author by night. Raised by a single mother and a gay uncle from a slum area at the outskirt of the city. Since his teenage days, E.A. Gosling has been obsessed with storytelling from flawed and abused women and gay characters as his heroes.“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending” – C.S. LewisHe enjoys daydreaming during weekend, while having a cup of his favorite coffee. He has a lovely daughter and married to an English literature teacher whom he thinks is his walking dictionary. He stays up late most of the night, reading novels and tell the story to his wife as a topic on the following day.

Book preview

Tuning Up Matt

By

E.A. GOSLING

TABLE OF CONTENTS

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

CHAPTER ONE MATT

CHAPTER TWO BRUCE

CHAPTER THREE MATT

CHAPTER FOUR BRUCE

CHAPTER FIVE MATT

CHAPTER SIX BRUCE

CHAPTER SEVEN MATT

CHAPTER EIGHT BRUCE

EPILOGUE MATT

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COPYRIGHT NOTICE

This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, businesses and events are either product of the author’s imagination or used in fictitious manner. Any similarities to actual events and persons, living or dead, are coincidental. Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if any, of these terms are used. Except for review purposes, reproduction of this book in whole or in part, electronically or mechanically constitutes a copyright violation.

CHAPTER ONE

Matt

Home.

I wasn’t sure what that meant anymore. It used to mean love, loyalty and trust. And once, it had meant Bruce Tedesco, my high school boyfriend and the lead singer of our popular garage band in our senior year—I had played a variety of instruments and provided additional vocals—before he left us all behind the summer after graduation to chase his solo dreams of stardom. That he had succeeded wasn’t the point. He’d broken his promise to me, that we would make music together, be everything to each other, no matter what. He’d lied when he said it wasn’t about fame or money. Apparently for him, though, it was.

So, I tried to move on. I left home, moved to another town and worked day jobs that paid the bills while doing music gigs on the side because that was my true love. Nothing else mattered when I had music. All the disappointments and pain faded when I was singing or playing an instrument.

I did my best to ignore Bruce’s ridiculously handsome face on social media, when I had the time to check it, though the man was everywhere. He’d even been nominated for a Grammy or two. I tried relationships, but the last time anything had even come close to the forever kind of love I wanted, I was still involved with Landry Evans.

We had been good together, in the beginning, Landry and I, it hadn’t seemed to matter that we’d had different backgrounds. He was a successful entertainment lawyer, I did studio work on occasion, which was how we’d met. But after seven months together, his eye began to wander. When I caught him the first time, we’d argued, he’d apologized, and we’d worked through it. After the third time, however, I had stopped trying. Eighteen months ago, I had grown tired of his cheating ways and finally left after being with him for five years.

Now, I was back in my hometown, starting over in my thirties, with nothing left to lose. I had come full circle, and I still wasn’t sure what to think about that. The only reason I’d even returned here was because of a letter I received from my late grandmother’s attorney, saying she left me her two-bedroom house on the edge of town. She’d raised me, but when I’d left town back then, I’d left her behind, too. I regretted not going to her funeral.

There were newer stores now, historic landmarks, festivals and tourists. Many of the people I had grown up with had left, as far as I could tell. Those who’d remained were busy raising families and living their lives. I tried to do the same. These days, I was practically a wooly mammoth, with my bushy brown hair and beard that I hadn’t bothered to cut in months. Maybe I would shave it all off, at some point. I wasn’t trying to impress anyone.

But I still had music. It was the one thing that had never let me down. So, I hosted open mic nights, helped out local bands who needed a last-minute fill-in, nurtured talent and recorded music. And for the past ten months, I had been working as the manager at a local café that was part coffeehouse, part date night or hookup spot—take your pick. I booked acts for the weekends, hosted open mic nights, served coffee and sandwiches, then went home to my grandmother’s house and strummed my guitar until I fell asleep.

These thoughts were on my mind when I arrived at the café on my bicycle, since the streets were dry enough after the snowmelt to make the ten-mile ride from home safely. I locked up the bike, grabbed my backpack and headed to where Morris, Donna and Chester were waiting outside, moving from foot to foot, trying to stay warm. It was six o’clock in the morning.

Good morning, I said as I walked past them to unlock the front door. They all muttered something in reply, lips likely numb with cold.

Man, I don’t know how you ride in thirty-degree weather, Morris said as I pushed the door open and all three of them rushed by me into the warmth of the café.

You get used to it, I replied as I shut the door behind me. And you dress for it, too, I added, indicating the thermal clothing I wore.

There isn’t enough money in the world to get me to ride a bicycle in this weather, Donna said as they all headed to the employee kitchen in the back to turn on the Keurig and brew coffee.

I rolled my eyes as I took off my helmet and adjusted the multicolored bandana, I wore to keep the hair off my face. It’s not that bad.

His brain is frozen. That’s gotta be the reason, Chester said as he practically inhaled eight ounces of coffee.

I scratched my beard, which was a little damp from the bike ride. There’s nothing wrong with my brain. I walked over and took the coffee