Stars Fall; Updated Cover and Excerpt
book by: Louis J. Harris
HI friends, remember when we brought you this awesome cover and summary to Stars Fall, by Louis J. Harris? Well he has tweaked the cover a little, and it looks amazing, so we wanted to bring it to you again along with the excerpt he has been so gracious to provide us! We Will start with the summary again, and then the updated cover and excerpt, we know you will enjoy as much as we did!
Keegan Mansfield is the star of the track and field team and he's destined for Rio 2016. But there are problems; he's lost, lonely and a social outcast. You see, Keegan Mansfield is a bilateral amputee. A T44 Paralympian whose life is filled with false friends and dysfunctional parents. What will it take to change his world? Love? Honour? Trust?
Conrad Smith is a fine able bodied athlete, he runs for the same team and saves Keegan from a potentially violent incident. Conrad believes in Keegan. Falls in love with him. Then breaks his heart. Keegan switches to survival mode, but will he ever forgive Conrad? And when tragedy strikes like a lightning bolt from heaven, will Keegan continue his Olympic dream? Only Keegan can change his world for the better, and he knows that if he doesn't do so soon, his Olympic dream will be in vain.
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Runup to Excerpt:
Earlier on during the day, after a track event, Keegan is bullied and beaten by his nemesis, a guy called Marx. Marx won the race, and Keegan came in second place. According to Marx, athletics has no room for losers and queers. Keegan has yet to understand that he is gay. He has never slept with a man, nor a woman. He looks at men, loves their hardness, but being a bilateral amputee, he can never hold onto a relationship, or so he thinks. Conrad saves Keegan from being beaten to a pulp by Marx and he invites Keegan for dinner.
Excerpt:
Not
many people invited Keegan out. There was the time that Patrick
invited him to play ten pin bowling and the time that he and Jean
went to movies at Sandton City. It was difficult for him to get
around. Not having a car inhibited his movements. He would dearly
love to go out more often but it was no fault of his that he did not
have transport. He couldn’t afford it on his bursary. Having to
rely on others for transport meant that he would have to schedule
lifts to and from varsity, to and from practice, to and from
competitions. It wasn’t easy. It felt as if he owed the whole
world favours.
The
first thing that surprised him was that Conrad opened the car door
for him. Nice touch. Gentlemanly. From that moment Keegan held a
new respect for him. It felt like he was being courted.
‘Hey
handsome, you're looking good. How’s the elbow?’ Conrad said.
‘I
washed it properly in the bath and applied more disinfectant. Hurts
a little but otherwise it’s just fine. You look different.’
‘Must
be the hair.’
'Actually,
brush-cut suits you. Brings out your brown eyes. You look like an
American Marine.’
‘My
hairdresser was surprised when I told her I wanted a brush cut. You
know what she said?’
‘Tell
me.’
‘She
said that such a change means that something drastic had happened in
my life.’
‘She
said that?’
‘Yup.
I told her I don’t really think the word is drastic as much as
fantastic.’
‘You
said that? So what did you mean?’
‘I
meant you. I never once thought you and I would be friends. I think
that’s fantastic.’
Keegan’s
face burned from the compliment. ‘Well, that’s…that’s…thank
you. The feeling is mutual,’ he said.
Conrad
shut the passenger door and climbed into the driver's side of the
vehicle. ‘Your chest still hurting?’
“A
little. Not much.’
‘I
wish it was me that Marx beat on.’
That
statement was enough to send Keegan’s mind into overdrive. Guy
friends didn’t say that to each other. Well, they did, especially
if there’s caring involved. And then Conrad said something even
stranger.
‘It
hurts me to see you in pain, bro.’
‘Believe
me, you don’t want to be on the receiving end of Marx’s punches.
Not cool. So where are we going? What do you have in mind?’
‘A
quiet supper. Just the two of us.’
‘Sounds
cool.’
‘You
don’t mind me taking you out for supper?’
‘It’s
not like we’re on a date, right? I mean, we’re just two guys
enjoying supper, right?’
‘Yes.
On both counts. Just two guys enjoying good food. Guy bonding.
Bronding. Nothing more.’ Conrad laughed at the word he had just
coined.
‘Then
why would you ask if I mind?’
Keegan
found out very quickly why Conrad had asked him that question
The
restaurant, settled in a neat suburb just off the main highway, was
dressed in warmth and the smell of Italian cooking from the kitchen.
Their small booth had been set with a candle lit table and a
violinist played Moonriver for them as they entered. Keegan smiled
at the maître d’ as he invited them to be seated.
'I’ll
leave you for a moments, Conrad,’ the maître d’ said.
‘Thank
you, Simon.’
As
Keegan sat down, he said, ‘You’ve been here before?’
‘My
favourite restaurant would you guess?’
‘Never
have guessed.’ Keegan laughed.
‘Simon
is my aunt's husband. They own this place.’
‘I
guess it’s always better to have a connection in the restaurant
business. This is nice, Conrad. Too nice. I can’t afford to eat
in a place like this.’
‘Who
said anything about paying?’
‘I
can’t expect you to pay for this, bro.’
‘I
asked you out. It’s on me. All I want is for you to enjoy.’
Keegan
smiled at him with a softness in his eyes. An appreciation. ‘Next
time it’s on me.’
‘Yup.
And I don’t mind KFC.’
Both
of them laughed and from that moment the evening turned into one
filled with music, wine and good Italian cuisine.
Getting
to know a person is always like finding a new product. That may
sound beaten and clichéd but it’s true. As the evening wore on,
they spoke about life and the universe, and special friends and what
friendship meant to them.
‘Do
you have a special lady?’ Keegan asked.
‘A
special lady, you mean as in girlfriend?’
‘Yes.”
‘No.
Nothing like that. I can’t afford a girl. That’s not to say that
I haven’t ever had a girlfriend. I have. Didn’t turn out well
at all.’
‘Sorry.
I’m prying here.’
‘Not
at all. We had a so-so relationship right from the start. My
brother asked us to babysit for him once. That night we had sex.
Embarrassing for me, but not for her apparently. I was a virgin. Had
no idea what to do. I know I didn’t cum inside her. So when she
told my family that she was pregnant, I almost married her. She
didn’t tell me first. She ran to my mom and told her instead and
before I knew it I was hauled over the coals by everyone. But my mom
insisted that she be tested before I committed. Thankfully the test
came back negative. I wasn’t ready for a family. Damn, at 18, who
is? Anyway, we went on a last date. It was then I told her that we
weren’t ready for each other. She asked why and I told her the
truth.’
‘What
did you tell her?’
‘I
told her I had feelings for guys. I simply wanted to sleep with her
to see if I could sleep with a woman.’
‘You
said that? Selfish, don’t you think.’
‘No.
I knew I would never marry her. But at the same time I felt as
though she tried to trap me.’
‘What
did she say when you told her you're gay?’
‘She
cried, she said all of her boyfriends had told her that they were
gay.’
‘You’re
not serious.’
‘In
a way it was so funny. In another it was damned sad, but that ended
our relationship. Now, what about you? Tell me about Jean.’
‘She
looks after me, there’s no doubt about that. Helps me whenever she
can. Transport that kind of thing.’
'You
have any special feelings for her?'
'You
mean is she my girlfriend?'
'I
could have asked if you sleep with her.'
'I
do not sleep with Jean. We don't have that kind of relationship.
It's platonic. All platonic.'
'Maybe
from your side, but from what I've seen, I think she wants more than
just a friendship.'
'It's
not going to happen.'
‘And
what do you think of me?’
Keegan
sipped at his wine. ‘I think you’re amazing. And this….all
this…is very special. You care. You’re a fine guy, Mr Smith, and
I’m happy that you and I are friends.’
Conrad
responded by turning away from Keegan's gaze. The sadness in his face
caught in the light.
‘Wanna
tell me about what you’re thinking?’ Keegan asked.
‘I…I
was kind of hoping that….I don’t know, I’m being very
unreasonable…’
‘Hoping
what?’
‘That
you…that you were attracted to me in some way. I’ve watched you
since you were a freshman and always been too scared to approach you.
Now that we’re finally friends, I’ve gone and fucked it up.’
Keegan
held his glass to his lips for a moment while Conrad's brown eyes
searched for an honest answer. Keegan had observed his directness
earlier that day; he had displayed humility, subtlety and tact.
Coming to Keegan's rescue earlier required an impulsive, positive and
self-confident nature. Keegan was attracted to that.
Keegan
reached for Conrad's hand and held it gently. ‘No…no… don’t
think like that Conrad. I just have to discover what it is that’s
stopping me from having a relationship. It’s bugged me for years.’
Conrad
held his hand tighter. ‘I'm hitting on you and I don't want to
scare you and if you think I'm coming on too strong, just say so and
I'll back off. Can I be perfectly honest with you?'
'I
wouldn't expect it any other way.'
'I
looked at you today in the locker room when I helped you fit your
prosthetics, and I noticed that…'
'What
did you notice?'
'I
could have sworn you had a semi hard-on.'
A
moment of silence followed.
'I
did?' Keegan knew he had had a semi hard on. He played it coy.
'I
would like to think that I can make you feel that way again.'
'I
need time for this to register, I had no idea you felt this way about
me.'
'Then
time I will give you. But, I'm not going to stop thinking about you,
and I'm not going to stop touching you.' Conrad said, his hand slid
over Keegan's gently, and when Simon approached to take their order,
he didn't remove it.
'I
think I can handle that.' Keegan said breathlessly, his heart
throbbing. The fullness of his cock wanting escape.
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