Liberated
The perfect boyfriend, a lead role on a Netflix show, a too energetic dog who won’t leave his side… Joshua can’t be happier. He has it all, every little thing a Broadway actor can dream with. He’s even going to be an uncle in a couple of months.
Or not.
Because Rob, the perfect boyfriend whose sister is about to give birth, has to leave. He finds out his sister had lost her job, and when the baby is born, he can’t leave her alone. He’s the only family she has, and Joshua isn’t about to make him choose. Even if it leaves a void in his chest he’s not so sure how to deal with.
He still wraps up the season, because he’s professional if anything. But he can’t stay in New York, pretending nothing is wrong. Something is wrong. And so going to LA and spending the summer with his best friend seems like a good idea.
But then he has to go on tour to promote season two. He doesn’t even consider he can meet Rob. Although they have a panel in Austin, it is a big city.
It’s been months, but it might’ve as well been years. The good thing about being a single parent was Rob didn’t have much time to think about anything else. About Joshua or the life in New York City he’d given up and wasn’t trying to get back to.
But Joshua is back in his life now. It seems he’s back to stay. Intellectually, he knows Joshua isn’t the kind of person to back away. He’s loyal, and he always pours his heart into everything he does.
If only it wasn’t so difficult, to get rid of the uncalled for guilt. To balance his role as Jules’ parent and the one he wanted but couldn’t be for Joshua.
Starstruck
This short story picks up where Liberated left things. It does so because Joshua and Rob’s journey is far from over.
After all, we never know what happens the morning after. Are there sweet confessions? Do they make it awkward?
The future holds a lot in store for these two. What happens when Joshua gets nominated for a Tony? How does he deal with the nerves? How does Jules feel about it? Does he even win? Whatever happens, it’s going to be an interesting night, in more ways than one.
Jules’ journey is far from over, too. The girl who wants to dance ballet and play baseball at the same time, she’ll have to struggle with peer pressure when they find out Rob is technically not her dad. She’s a good kid, though. Spoiled, but good. Even when she makes Joshua shed a few tears.
No more tears than he’ll shed when and if he hears the bells. People pour lots of expectations on weddings. Rob and Joshua only want to enjoy their little family. Joshua leaves most people starstruck—which Julia takes full advantage of—but they hold nothing on the way Rob’s gaze pierces into his every time they’re in the same room.