Saturday Sips Captain of his Heart

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Welcome to Michael's.

Today I'm happy to share my WIP I finished and submitted. Hopefully they'll consider it. A May December romance where my main characters are the victims of breakups and looking to start anew.

Anderson Cooper is my model for Cooper Delaney

Here is the blurb

Mario Dagosta has just broken up with his high school sweetheart and hasn’t dated since. Downtrodden and not able to cope, he spends many of his days at home. A very eclectic young man who prefers Tom Clancy to gay or m/m romances.

Cooper Delaney is a retired general who watched his forty something lover walk out on him. Always upbeat and confident, he knows he will find someone suitable to be his man.

The two meet in a bookstore in the WWII fiction aisle, finding their mutual affection for Clancy, will it carry on into something more?

I just don’t want to be in this relationship anymore.

The voice of Cooper Delaney’s former boyfriend rang in his head while he sat in his living room alone for the first time in almost ten years. Brian started seeing a man more around his age claiming that Cooper got too old for him.

“I’m afraid of you kicking the bucket before I turn forty,” Brian replied frankly while packing up his clothes.

Cooper only nodded, not answering any of his ex’s stupid comments.

As much as it hurt to let Brian go, he knew, deep down that this relationship had been close to being done anyway.

My feelings have run out too

The retired general reasoned to himself, knowing he’d come out of this minor setback okay.

Cooper’s attitude towards the separation shouldn’t have been a surprise. He’d always been a survivor, serving in Europe during the eighties and then again during the Gulf War in Kuwait right before he’d decided he’d had enough of military life.

Right after his tour of duty ended, he came out the closet and found Brian. The couple had been dating ever since and now their shaky romance had ended.  

Despite the breakup certified him a loner once again he let the man go without much protest. He didn’t want to be involved with anyone that didn’t take a full interest in him and vice versa. In truth, they never really had much more of a connection other than sex and because of the newness of it and the fact Cooper wasn’t into the club scene they stayed together even though their companionship remained very flawed.

I need someone who loves me for me; the retired general, the war enthusiast, the golfer, and health nut.

That summed up Cooper perfectly. He wasn’t an old slouch like a lot of people in their late forties. Fifty lurked right around the corner and unlike most in his age group he looked forward to it.

The former officer stretched out his legs atop the ottoman and continued to read the latest novel by Tom Clancy. Earlier, his good friend, Derek, who attended college and served the first four years of army life with him, had called, offering to take him to a leather bar just so he could get out the house. Cooper declined, reminding Derek that wasn’t his thing. The last time he’d attended a place like that was during their tour of the Netherlands and even then he didn’t really like it. He just wasn’t the type of guy. Cooper frequented bookstores, libraries, coffee shops, and the gym when he wasn’t doing his part time gig at a consultants firm. To him those were the perfect places to meet men despite not knowing if they were gay or straight. Going to meat markets meant trouble and not the kind he wanted to get into.

His dog, Bernie jumped up in his lap, with his leash in his mouth wanting to go for a walk. Bernie whimpered and dropped it before giving Cooper a lick on the face.

“Okay,” he laughed and closed the book, setting it on the nearby table. He hopped up, patting his furry friend on the head. “Yep, it’s just you and me for now, boy.”

“Woof,” Bernie yelped.

Cooper chuckled, “Yes, I know, you never really liked him anyway.”

The dog had good reason since Brian only stayed over on weekends and even when they were at the high point of their relationship, he refused to move in. Right then Cooper realized Brian’s heart might never be in it but he went along for the ride.

Just so I wouldn’t be alone.

Now, however, Cooper wasn’t all that concerned. He just knew someone might want to date the outgoing older man to put some more excitement in his life.

He’d always said to himself to be patient and wait for the one to come to him.

Cooper remained confident his mate hung out at a coffee shop or bookstore reading a novel he’d like to talk about. They just needed to meet.

Hopefully, a lot sooner than later.

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