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Great Uncle Ned
by Joseph R.G. De Marco
He was dead, there was no doubt. He could see that from his vantage point high atop the dark armoire. Ned peered at his body thinking he looked older than his ninety-five years. Thin, white hair mussed and stringy; every wrinkle permanently carved into his face. Should have dyed my hair, he thought. And had that facelift. Could’ve looked ten years younger. He shook his head sadly, or what felt like his head. He wasn’t sure he still had a head in his present form, whatever that was; he had yet to see this new self.
* * *
Review for Quickies: “Quickies
collects stories from established writers like Lawrence
Schimel, Michael Thomas Ford, Michael Lassell, and Daniel
Curzon, alongside new work by emerging writers….several
pieces – particularly Alan Bell’s “Corduroy”
and J.R.G. DeMarco’s “Enthralled” –
are superb. Reviewed in Unzipped, March 31, 1998 by Tony
Palermo
Enthralled
by Joseph R.G. De Marco
Simon was enthralled. He never imagined that his computer
could bring him into contact with the type of men he desired.
Two weeks before, Adonis II, the man of his fantasies, the
man he had waited for these thirty five years, appeared
through the online service. Adonis II, whose real name was
Anthony, was an art-loving, poetry-quoting dream of a man.
Italian, short, only 27, and in decently average shape,
Adonis II was everything Simon longed for.
* * *
Arriverderci?
By Joseph R. G. DeMarco
Sebastian wandered around the ruins of the Roman Forum
aching with indecision. Leaving Rome after two years of
teaching was difficult, yet he could find no excuse to stay.
He had found neither love nor real friendship in the eternal
city. The sultry, dark, and sexy men he saw every day made
him crawl with desire, but few of them had ever graced his
bed. Those that did were either married or mamma’s
boys.
He didn’t want to leave
and admit defeat, but he had given himself a deadline and
it had arrived with no binding ties to keep him here. Stumbling,
he steadied himself against a ruined temple wall. He sighed,
wishing to be as permanent in this ancient place.
* * *
From Quickies 3
Model Behavior
by Joseph R.G. De Marco
Two more nights. Then I’d probably never see Nick again. We were both 17 but I was a year ahead of him and
would be graduating in June.
I’d had a crush on Nick since his freshman year; all dark hair, green eyes, and Greek features. He joined the frosh soccer squad and I got a chance to see him now and then in the locker room. What I saw made me crazy, but I could never make a move.
In my senior year, Nick joined the Model UN club and I followed right along. I was no fool; that group took week-long trips which meant we’d get to stay in hotels together. I wanted in.
I made myself useful by taking the clerical work off Mr. Walen’s shoulders and convinced him to take me along on the next trip. Walen asked me to make rooming assignments and I was only too glad. I put myself in Nick’s room. Duh.
Adventurous
Italian
by Joseph R.G. De Marco
I shivered as I walked; I kept
thinking I had to be crazy to meet a guy I didn’t
know. In his apartment. On his terms. He could be a serial
killer and my liver might be his next meal; the possibilities
frightened and excited me. I wondered if he’d be thinking
the same things since he only really had my ad to go on:
Adventurous Italian GWM seeking to explore new worlds
and try things I haven’t. Me: 5’6”,
br/br, 22, clean shaven, well endowed, eager. ISO someone
around my age, attractive and experienced, redheads a
plus, your own place a must. Write care of PGN Box…
It was honest, even if it was a little spare. We had also
talked on the phone; not that doing that guarantees anything.
So, I worried as I walked. The closer I got the less adventurous
I felt. Trudging through the slushy, snowy Philadelphia
streets, I kept asking myself why I was doing this. Why
this guy? Why not the accountant with a nine inch dick?
Why not the actor who said his favorite sexual thing was
sixty-nine? No, it had to be this one who claimed to be
a mechanic and had a voice which screamed “SEX!”
Why did I want a mechanic, even if he was a couple of years
older than me, blond, tall, muscular but not too much, and
enjoyed sex more than anything else?
* * *
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