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When Charlie Mercer meets a cute guy at a party during summer break, sparks fly. But Tanner never calls him. Typical. At least he has his sophomore year at Lassiter and his fraternity brothers at Alpha Tau to distract him—and maybe this will be the year he finally meets someone.
College is meant to be a new chapter in Tanner North's life, except he's still stuck in the shadow of his older brother, Colt. Not only is Tanner going to Lassiter like Colt did, he's also pledging to Kappa Beta Rho because Colt was chapter president there. Whatever. Tanner's not interested in getting involved in the dumb frat rivalry that Kappa Beta Rho has going on with Alpha Tau. He's just going to keep his head down and his grades up until he graduates. It's a solid plan, right up until Tanner realizes that Charlie is a member of Alpha Tau. And it turns out that keeping their hands off each other is harder than they thought. The Amazing Alpha Tau Romeo and Juliet Project is a lighthearted contemporary m/m romance containing a ruined phone, two melodramatic frat boys, and a romance that spans the width of an entire street. Or something. |
"I was so pulling for these two. The book has some slightly angsty moments but generally, it is funny and made me smile."
- Love Bytes Reviews
- Love Bytes Reviews
An excerpt from The Amazing Alpha Tau Romeo and Juliet Project:
I just grabbed Charlie’s hand and pulled him down the hallway, away from the crowd heading for the pool, away from Kennedy, and away from everyone. And I could only figure that Charlie was so surprised he let it happen.
I pulled us into a sitting room and closed the door behind us.
The noise from the party was deadened a little. The doof, doof, doof beat of the music didn’t rattle my bones like it had out there. The sitting room was done in like six hundred different shades of beige. It was probably supposed to be fancy, but it just looked kind of sterile and weird to me.
Not only was I never going to be a sassy gay, but I was also never going to be a Queer Eye gay.
Charlie’s bright red hair was a flash of color in the otherwise boring as shit room. And his eyes were so blue as he blinked at me with his head on an angle.
“Um,” I said and shuffled my shoes on the thick carpet. “Uh.”
And he smiled, his cheeks turning pink. “Tanner, you said, right?”
I gulped. “That’s right.”
“I don’t really like loud parties either,” he said. “Or, um, people in general? I mean, loud people.”
“What—what do you like?” I asked.
He bit his lip and wrinkled his nose. “I like books and studying. That sounds pretty lame, huh?”
“No!” I said too quickly. Like, maybe a little bit? But in a super cute way. “I’m not real good with studying.”
We stared awkwardly at each other and then the carpet and then each other again. Charlie fiddled with the hem of his shirt, and his long sleeve rode up just far enough that I caught another glimpse of color, this time around his narrow wrist.
“Is that a—” I gestured.
Charlie froze and then tugged his sleeve up to show me the beaded bracelet. “Oh. Yeah. My brother made it for me. It’s a rainbow.”
That word hung between us for a moment. Like, did it mean what I thought it meant, or was Charlie the most oblivious Noah’s Ark fan in the world?
No.
That was stupid.
Of course it meant what I thought it meant.
“That’s cool,” I said, hardly able to hear my own words over the rush of blood in my skull. “That you have a brother who made that. I guess little kids love crafts, right?”
I was super proud of getting a whole sentence out.
“Oh,” Charlie said again. “No. He’s twenty-one. And he’s my fraternity brother. And my roommate. He does have little sisters though. Maybe that’s where he got the beads.”
“Oh,” I said. “You’re at college?”
“Yeah.”
There was probably room for a follow-up question there, or a whole bunch of them, but I made the strategic choice to stare at the carpet again.
Charlie cleared his throat. “So, please don’t punch me in the face for asking or anything, but why did you drag me in here?”
“I like your face!” I blurted, like a fucking idiot.
Charlie was as wide-eyed as a raccoon by now. “Are you—are you flirting with me? Was that flirting? I might be wrong. I’m probably wrong. Again, please don’t punch me.”
“I wouldn’t punch you! I...” It was my turn to go red, if the heat rising to my face was any indication. There were probably a hundred different ways to tell a guy you thought he was cute, but I finished up lamely, again, with, “I like your face.”
But Charlie didn’t laugh. He smiled, and dimples appeared on his cheeks, making him three million percent cuter. I didn’t think that was a real number, but we’d moved into the real theoretical universe-bending stuff here. “I, um... I like your face too.”
I just grabbed Charlie’s hand and pulled him down the hallway, away from the crowd heading for the pool, away from Kennedy, and away from everyone. And I could only figure that Charlie was so surprised he let it happen.
I pulled us into a sitting room and closed the door behind us.
The noise from the party was deadened a little. The doof, doof, doof beat of the music didn’t rattle my bones like it had out there. The sitting room was done in like six hundred different shades of beige. It was probably supposed to be fancy, but it just looked kind of sterile and weird to me.
Not only was I never going to be a sassy gay, but I was also never going to be a Queer Eye gay.
Charlie’s bright red hair was a flash of color in the otherwise boring as shit room. And his eyes were so blue as he blinked at me with his head on an angle.
“Um,” I said and shuffled my shoes on the thick carpet. “Uh.”
And he smiled, his cheeks turning pink. “Tanner, you said, right?”
I gulped. “That’s right.”
“I don’t really like loud parties either,” he said. “Or, um, people in general? I mean, loud people.”
“What—what do you like?” I asked.
He bit his lip and wrinkled his nose. “I like books and studying. That sounds pretty lame, huh?”
“No!” I said too quickly. Like, maybe a little bit? But in a super cute way. “I’m not real good with studying.”
We stared awkwardly at each other and then the carpet and then each other again. Charlie fiddled with the hem of his shirt, and his long sleeve rode up just far enough that I caught another glimpse of color, this time around his narrow wrist.
“Is that a—” I gestured.
Charlie froze and then tugged his sleeve up to show me the beaded bracelet. “Oh. Yeah. My brother made it for me. It’s a rainbow.”
That word hung between us for a moment. Like, did it mean what I thought it meant, or was Charlie the most oblivious Noah’s Ark fan in the world?
No.
That was stupid.
Of course it meant what I thought it meant.
“That’s cool,” I said, hardly able to hear my own words over the rush of blood in my skull. “That you have a brother who made that. I guess little kids love crafts, right?”
I was super proud of getting a whole sentence out.
“Oh,” Charlie said again. “No. He’s twenty-one. And he’s my fraternity brother. And my roommate. He does have little sisters though. Maybe that’s where he got the beads.”
“Oh,” I said. “You’re at college?”
“Yeah.”
There was probably room for a follow-up question there, or a whole bunch of them, but I made the strategic choice to stare at the carpet again.
Charlie cleared his throat. “So, please don’t punch me in the face for asking or anything, but why did you drag me in here?”
“I like your face!” I blurted, like a fucking idiot.
Charlie was as wide-eyed as a raccoon by now. “Are you—are you flirting with me? Was that flirting? I might be wrong. I’m probably wrong. Again, please don’t punch me.”
“I wouldn’t punch you! I...” It was my turn to go red, if the heat rising to my face was any indication. There were probably a hundred different ways to tell a guy you thought he was cute, but I finished up lamely, again, with, “I like your face.”
But Charlie didn’t laugh. He smiled, and dimples appeared on his cheeks, making him three million percent cuter. I didn’t think that was a real number, but we’d moved into the real theoretical universe-bending stuff here. “I, um... I like your face too.”