Winter Break

WINTER BREAK

Oliver – M. Tasia

Will doesn’t want to be tutored, even though he knows he needs it. He has to maintain his grades to keep his scholarship to USC. He’s so not feeling the condescension coming from his tutor, Oliver, but he has to admit, the dude’s into what he’s doing and he’s smart. What Will didn’t expect was to be into Oliver.

Family Ties – Emily Mims

Texas A&M is huge and the chance Brody would run into Lemar next semester are slim to none. They share burritos before Brody has to hit the road to get home for the holidays. Texts, phone calls, and family drama make being apart worse, especially since they barely know each other. But it seems what they started has more promise than either of them anticipated.

Slipping – Elle Wright

An unexpected matchmaking attempt by a member of his study group has Rad reeling. Sky is too handsome, too self-assured, and too much of a distraction. Their start holds promise, but dark twists and turns, and a fair amount of heartbreak, scuttles what Rad thought would be something with staying power.

Unplugged – Kitty Bardot

After an amazing kiss, Liam and Brady plan to spend a whole day together before they head home for winter break. But bad weather has Brady leaving sooner than expected, and when Liam gets home, he learns the fam is going to their cabin – no phone, no electronics. Brady’s sure one kiss isn’t enough to bridge the unexplained silence, but Liam surprises him in more ways than one.

Study Buddy – Michael Buzzelli

Ryan’s unrequited crush is the only reason he goes to film class. The dude looks like he’s the next cover model for Surf Magazine. He’s also a serious film maker, and Ryan’s worse than an amateur film buff. They seem to find common ground, but everything that could interfere does and days later Ry’s pining on the other side of the country while visiting his family for the holidays. Of all people, William Shakespeare gives Ry hope by making a serendipitous appearance in Kyle’s room.

WINTER BREAK

M. Tasia

Emily Mims

Elle Wright

Kitty Bardot

Michael Buzzelli

www.BOROUGHSPUBLISHINGGROUP.com

PUBLISHER’S NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, business establishments or persons, living or dead, is coincidental. Boroughs Publishing Group does not have any control over and does not assume responsibility for author or third-party websites, blogs or critiques or their content.

WINTER BREAK

Copyright © 2021 M. Tasia, Emily Mims, Elle Wright, Kitty Bardot, Michael Buzzelli

All rights reserved. Unless specifically noted, no part of this publication may be reproduced, scanned, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Boroughs Publishing Group. The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or by any other means without the permission of Boroughs Publishing Group is illegal and punishable by law. Participation in the piracy of copyrighted materials violates the author’s rights.

ISBN 978-1-953810-92-2

E-book formatting by Maureen Cutajar

www.gopublished.com

CONTENTS

Oliver

Family Ties

Slipping

Unplugged

Study Buddy

About the Authors

WINTER BREAK

OLIVER

M. Tasia

Chapter One

This is such a waste of time, Will grumbled as he entered the massive Leavey Library. Who cares about architecture in the Prehistoric Age, anyway?

You should if you intend to pass this class, Oliver whispered from several steps ahead of him. Besides, we’re going to begin examining the Ancient Egyptians forward, not Neolithic times.

Oliver was in his fourth year of a five-year Bachelor of Architecture program at USC’s School of Architecture while Will was on his second, but the differences didn’t stop there. Will stood at six-two, while Oliver barely broke five-six. But he made up for what he lacked in height in confidence. The guy was dressed like Billy Porter while Will had to be extra cautious to get another year out of his running shoes. Sure, they’d lost their cushion, but it didn’t bother him enough to make him shell out the money to replace them.

How does the way the pharaohs built their shrines and monuments affect my ability to design buildings today? He felt it was a legit question. He had enough to worry about. He didn’t need to focus on whether an ancient king or queen preferred stone or gold.

Haven’t you ever heard about learning from the past? Oliver asked in a low voice while giving him a look that told him what the man thought of Will’s opinion.

Sure, but the recent past. This millennium would be nice. Why was he defensive? Oh yeah, because he wasn’t supposed to be in this school in the first place.

Oliver shook his head as he led them toward one of the study rooms in the back of the library. It contained a table and six chairs, and once the door was closed, they could talk at a normal level.

Will set his backpack on the table, took a seat, and lifted his feet onto the table to lounge back in his chair. Okay, teach me why someone’s decisions thousands of years ago have anything to do with the location of the restrooms in a ten-story building full of condos with retail space on the street level?

It boggles the mind you’re in college without even bothering to want to learn the basics, Oliver said before using Will’s backpack to shove his feet off the table.

Will easily recovered and smiled wide. They call it raw talent.

Raw talent, Oliver groaned with a healthy dose of sarcasm in his tone. It takes years of hard work to get your bachelor’s degree. If you think you can skate by without having any real knowledge of architecture, you’ll find out you’re sorely mistaken.

Gee, tell me how you really feel, Will quipped to lessen the sting of Oliver’s rebuke. He knew he needed to get his shit together, but survival always came first. Why even agree to tutor me?

Some of us have worked hard to get here and want to share our knowledge.

Yeah, right. It doesn’t hurt it’ll look good on your resumé, either. Will grew up with both feet firmly set in reality. This might be California, but the fantasy was saved for the cameras.

Oliver grinned, but it was gone so quickly Will wasn’t sure he’d seen it.

Let’s get this over with, Oliver said before pulling a book as thick as his arm from his messenger bag along with a tablet. You’ll need your textbook.

I didn’t bring it. Shit.

You didn’t bring it? Oliver’s eyes scrunched together.

Nope.

Let me get this straight, Oliver growled. You came here today to be tutored but didn’t think to bring along the required reading?

I forgot it, chill out. You’re strung tighter than a bow, man. His tutor didn’t need to know the truth. If he did, he’d probably decide Will wasn’t worth being tutored.

Oliver got this bizarre look on his red face, a cross between frustration and exhaustion. Will was sure hellfire and brimstone was about to rain down on him when the guy let out a deep breath and sat without saying a word.

After over a minute of silence, he turned on his laptop and looked over at Will. Ready to begin?

What the hell?

You okay, man? Will asked, wondering what just happened.

Yes.

Okay, dude. Whatever you say, he grumbled before pulling his older model laptop from his backpack. It was covered in stickers as opposed to Oliver’s spotless computer, but some of those stickers were holding pieces in place.

He wasn’t looking forward to weeks of this, but he’d do it. Will had risked too much on this to let his chance slip away.

***

Oliver watched as Will answered the questions on the mini test he created. He tried to understand where the person was at the beginning of tutoring to customize his teaching plan.

He wanted to dislike Mr. Raw Talent, but for some unknown reason, he couldn’t. It might’ve been his damn grin or the desperation in his eyes he fought to hide. Then why not bring his textbook?

Oliver had seen students come and go over the years, and he had little doubt Will would wind up being a one-shot deal. Sure, talent was a great asset, but hard work was the only way to graduation. When would people figure this out?

They might’ve been a star in their former high schools, but here they were one in a crowded field of talent. At this early stage of Will’s education, he was little more than a student number. Sometimes that was hard for people to accept. As for him, Oliver had never been popular unless you considered his uber-successful actor parents. He kept that part of his life private as much as he could. He didn’t need friends who were friendly only for the power and prestige of his parents’ names. He’d had enough of those people in his life.

Five minutes left, Mr. Talent, he said, garnering a growl from Will.

Why am I antagonizing the guy?

It could’ve been his crappy attitude or when he clunked his old sneakers onto the tabletop in blatant disrespect of the library. Oliver doubted he’d see the guy back here tomorrow, considering winter break was only a couple of weeks away. The big exam Will was taking wasn’t scheduled until after their return, giving him over four weeks to prepare. The guy probably thought he had lots of time.

He’d managed to get a redo somehow. It must be all that raw talent. Oliver had hoped to get his latest student well on his way before leaving him to self-study during the break. At this point, Oliver doubted two weeks of prep together was going to be enough.

Oliver had never been blessed with elusive raw talent. His success came from hard work and perseverance. His designs were sometimes considered more experimental than the average person might like, but he knew there were people out there who would see his ideas as forward-thinking, beautiful, and perfect for them.

He hadn’t bothered to look through Will’s portfolio before meeting him because he’d been asked to tutor the guy in the history of architectural design, not Mr. Talent’s personal designs. Usually, he wasn’t interested in what was considered raw talent these days after working extremely long and hard on his own designs.

Will bit his lip when he was thinking, and Oliver chastised himself for bothering to notice. The guy probably viewed Oliver as nothing more than a do-good nerd, but he’d always been interested in design. The emotions and memories associated with the great feats of architecture were what he strived for. Like the Taj Mahal, Burj Khalifa, The Guggenheim Bilbao, The Gherkin, and The Shard.

Bold, memorable designs would outlive their creators. This was his dream, and nothing was going to stop him. He had to differentiate himself from his famous parents somehow.

The computer pinged. Times up.

Will looked up from his computer at Oliver in disbelief. That couldn’t have been thirty minutes.

He turned his laptop around to show Will the time clock on the screen. Yes, it was. Email it over, and I’ll have a look at this tonight. We can discuss your answers tomorrow, Oliver said as he turned his laptop back to face him.

Will snapped. I’m not done. I need a couple more minutes.

Are you used to negotiating with people to get your way? Oliver asked not expecting an answer. It doesn’t work that way with me. You knew this was a time test and time’s up.