Bonus Content
Four Years Ago
The greatest thing about being gay is that moment when you walk down the street holding your boyfriend’s hand and you forget that you’re holding his hand. Gay becomes natural. You don’t think about it anymore, you don’t question it or celebrate it; it simply is who and what you are. That’s the way it was for me and Jack as we strolled down Sixth Avenue to do some Saturday afternoon shopping after a morning of kissing, fondling, and HGTV-watching while munching on bowls of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. At that time Jack DiRenza had been my boyfriend for three years, my live-in boyfriend for one
year, ten months, two weeks, and six days of that time. I’m not counting, I just have a really good memory.
“Hey, Stevie B.,” Jack asked in between sips of a Starbucks grande mocha Frappuccino. “Do we need a new butter warmer?”
“Does anyone need an old butter warmer?” I asked in between sips of my iced grande skim mocha, which is my summer Starbucks drink as opposed to my most favorite Starbucks drink, which is a Venti skim, extra-hot, light-whipped peppermint mocha that I drink from Labor Day to Memorial Day. All my friends know that I like my coffee to be like my boyfriend—consistent.
“Your birthday is coming up and I’m planning a surprise lobster dinner,” Jack said. “And what’s a lobster dinner without warm butter?”
“Sounds yummy,” I said. “But honey, the surprise lobster dinner is only a surprise if you don’t tell me about it.”
Jack smirked like a Catholic schoolboy on the verge of committing a venial sin and said, “I didn’t tell you what I’m going to do to you for dessert.”
Smiling like the happiest gay in the world I held on to my boyfriend’s perfectly calloused hand, sipped my Starbucks, and entered Bed, Bath & Behind to buy an unnecessary kitchen appliance. Because that’s what you do on a Saturday afternoon in Manhattan when you’re gay and in love. Who knew that exactly two weeks later my perfect boyfriend would kick me out of his apartment and his life with barely an explanation and
force me to take up residence in the mad, mad, mad, mad world of the single gay man.
On that terrible night, while the rest of the gay world went out clubbing or stayed in snuggling, I slept on my best friend Flynn’s pull-out Jennifer Convertible trying to figure out how I could shoot my ex-boyfriend without winding up on Rikers Island. When thoughts of homo-cide had left my brain, I wondered how I had gone from being deliriously happy to devastatingly miserable in less than twenty-four hours. Four years later I still don’t have an answer. All I know is my name is Steven Bartholomew Ferrante and I am still a single gay man living in Manhattan. Welcome to my world.
From BETWEEN BOYFRIENDS by Michael Salvatore. Copyright © 2010 by Michael Griffo. Published by arrangement with Kensington Pub. Corp. All rights reserved.
Between Boyfriends
In his dazzling debut novel, Michael Salvatore follows one man’s quest to find the perfect boyfriend in an imperfect world. Steven Bartholomew Ferrante is single and more than a little neurotic. He loves his catty (though loyal) friends, his high-powered job as producer for the lurid daytime soap If Tomorrow Never Comes and his bonkers Sicilian mother. Yet, at thirty-three years old, his life feels much like the morning peppermint mochas that are his favorite indulgence: fun, frothy, but only superficially satisfying.
Four years after his boyfriend dumped him, Steven’s still trying to find a replacement. While there’s been no shortage of casual couplings and one night stands (or less), his heart craves something more: someone to share sexy Sunday mornings with, and go on shopping sprees for unnecessary kitchen appliances.
And maybe he’s finally found it. If Steven’s learned anything from If Tomorrow Never Comes, it’s that every storyline has its twists—and the beauty of living spoiler-free is that you never know who’s waiting in the wings. Between Boyfriends is a wry, tender novel about a man who has it all—except the one thing he wants the most.
Hardcover : 336 pages
Publisher: Kensington Books ( June 01, 2010 )
Item #: 12-863321
ISBN: 9781616640491
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 8.25 x 0.76inches
Product Weight: 15.0 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
OMG! LOL! 
October 13, 2010
Seriously I laughed out loud nearly every page. This guys comic genious and timing is brilliant. I love how he sets up a scene, describes the characters, draws you in and tickles your funny bone. This is one of the best debuts in a long time. I look forward to many more by this guy!
Reviewer: Donc
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