Tuesday Tales – SUNNY

It’s time for Tuesday Tales.

Today we have an excerpt from The Christmas Pundit, Laurel Holidays #2. 

Do bear in mind that these snippets are unedited so please be kind if you find any mistakes. 

This story may have gay erotic scenes, strong social issues addressed and mature language. If those things offend now is the time to move onto another Tuesday Tales blog. Thanks for stopping by! 

I shook my head as a smile pulled at the corners of my mouth. He was right. It did feel like months. I couldn’t tell him that I’d purposely been keeping a professional distance because I was still floundering around with the realization that I was attracted to him. No matter how I approached the problem I could find no way out aside from distance. Which works fine until he strolls up and begins talking to me while looking so damned fine and sporting that sinful, sunny smile. 

“What was it?” I asked as we ambled up Valencia. 

“What? Sorry. I was thinking about kissing you.”

Thank God the sidewalk here wasn’t a wreck like it was in other parts of the town. “The tally for the fundraising drive. What was it?”

“Oh, right. I like how you pick things to ignore and things to react to. Parking and sidewalks, taxes, the minimum wage—”

“What is your issue with raising the minimum wage?” I asked, my breath a cloud lingering in front of me then disappearing. 

“It would be too much of a strain on small businesses. Most would be pinched and pass the cost along to the customer. It will end up costing jobs as the small businesses close due to inflated salaries paid to teenagers.”

“No, see, that’s where your thinking it antiquated. Minimum wage jobs aren’t the domain of teenagers anymore. Lots of people work for minimum wage, many adults are working two minimum wage jobs just to make ends meet. If we give everyone a living wage, one that’s kept up with inflation, then that will boost the economy as more people have cash to spend as well as lifting low income families out of poverty, perhaps for the first time. I cannot understand why you and your ilk are locked into the fifties and such backward thinking when it comes to—” He chuckled. Chuckled. Right in the middle of a rather good speech. “What?” 

“Ilk. You used the word ilk. My God you are so damned cute and homespun.”

“Get bent.”

He continued to snigger at my expense for a few hundred feet.

*~*~*

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