Straight To the Heart

Straight To the Heart Lynn Van Dorn Copyright Copyright © 2023 by Lynn Van Dorn All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. Edited by Jood Singer Cover art by AMAI Designs Contents Also By Lynn Van Dorn As Virginia Kelly Author's Note Dedication 1. Ben’s Life of Quiet Desperation 2. Simon Retires Before Work Can Kill Him 3. Ben’s Terrible Very Bad No-Good Day 4. Simon Rescues an Adorable Stranger 5. Ben Meets His Prince 6. Simon Has Justifications 7. Ben Is Rescued Again 8. Simon Is Appalled 9. Ben Is Overwhelmed 10. Simon Is a Safe Harbor 11. Ben Wants What He Can’t Have 12. Simon Is Cringeworthy 13. Ben Shows Simon His Sketches 14. Simon Sits for Ben with His Clothes Still On 15. Ben Wants to Be Caught 16. Simon’s Big Potentially Gay Freak Out 17. Ben Meets Roberta-Not-Bobbi 18. Simon Is Not Crusty 19. Ben Is Okay Being Simon’s Queer Training Wheels 20. Simon Goes on a Date 21. Ben Is Not a Tchotchke on a Shelf 22. Simon Bares His Heart 23. Ben Is Blown Away 24. Simon Learns Something New 25. Ben Gets French Toast and a Fitting 26. Simon Is Deeply in Smit 27. Ben Breaks Simon In 28. Simon’s Bath Is Interrupted 29. Ben Is Fine 30. Simon Fights with His Mother 31. Ben Tries to Look on the Bright Side 32. Simon Searches for Ben 33. Ben’s Secret Is Revealed 34. Simon Is There When Ben Wakes Up 35. Ben Comes Home 36. Simon Gets an Explanation 37. Ben Sees Fireworks 38. Epilogue About the Author Other Works By Lynn Van Dorn As Virginia Kelly Acknowledgments Also By Lynn Van Dorn North Shore Stories Be My Mistake Damage Control Daddy Issues Out Of Control Misconduct (coming 2023) The Oleander Chronicles Reunion Rebound Refuge (coming 2023) Misconduct (coming 2023) Novels Wild By Nature Now You See Me Royally Screwed Shorts Rule 47 Meet Me At Midnight As Virginia Kelly Forbidden Desires (with Piper Scott) Clutch Bond Mate Forbidden Desires Spin-off Series (with Piper Scott) Swallow Magpie Finch Peregrine Raven (coming 2023) Author's Note This book takes place almost entirely within the city of Chicago so the locations are labeled as city neighborhoods. Dedication This one is for Savannah and Sam. Thank you so much for being the best alphas I've ever had. I love you guys. 1 Ben’s Life of Quiet Desperation Monday, December 11 A cold and leaky garden apartmentChinatownBen woke before his alarm to cold drops of water falling onto his head. With a sigh he got up, moved his bed out of the way of the leak in the ceiling, and put a bucket down to catch the drips. Kyle’s dishwasher was leaking. Again.He tried to go back to sleep, but the plink plink plink of water droplets kept him awake. Giving up and knowing he’d have to overcompensate with caffeine to get through his morning shift, Ben turned on his light and got ready to start the day.The basement bathroom was basic and cramped, but nobody else ever used it, so Ben counted that as a positive. It wasn’t his bathroom exclusively—anyone doing laundry could use it—but no one in the building seemed to use it much, if ever. The shower had terrible pressure due to mineral deposits from the Lake Michigan water but at least it was generally hot, as he was close to the water heater. He was disappointed, however, that there seemed to be no hot water at all. Maybe the water heater was on the fritz again. He’d have to tell Kyle about it. That and the leak coming through from the kitchen.He cleaned himself quickly with cold water and shaved, then dried himself off and dressed in layers. First long underwear, then his work pants and shirt, then over that a hoodie and sweatpants. He put on two pairs of socks and headed upstairs to the kitchen.Kyle, his landlord, was awake in the living room playing some video game. Ben suspected he wasn’t up early. Rather, he’d never gone to bed.“Morning,” Ben said.Kyle grunted.“Um. There’s no hot water.”“Yeah, I know,” Kyle said. “I’ll take a look at the water heater later. Pilot light might be out. I dunno.”“And I’m sorry but the dishwasher is leaking again and coming through the ceiling downstairs.”“I said I’d take a look at it!” Kyle snapped.“Um… thanks?” Ben backed out of the living room and into the kitchen.He went to his shelf in the fridge and saw his milk was gone. So much for having cereal. With a sigh he took one of the granola bars he stored in his kitchen cabinet. He thought there were fewer in there than there should’ve been but that, like the milk, was a battle he wasn’t up to waging that morning. He’d have to go back to hiding food in his room. Maybe he could find a metal box so mice wouldn’t chew through the cardboard containers.He put on a hat, his parka, gloves, and boots then stepped into what the weathermen were calling the snowiest December on record for Chicago.He walked five blocks to the Red Line station. That he took to work, spending just enough time on the train to partially thaw before getting off at his stop and trudging four more blocks to the building where he worked.It wasn’t the tallest or prettiest building in the Loop, but the Prince building was fairly impressive just the same. Ben used his work badge to get past security then headed for the elevators, only instead of going up dizzying heights into the clouds, Ben chose basement level two. He went down into the bowels of the building to work, hidden from view like most unpleasant things are. Shedding his outer layers, he stowed his things in his locker then clocked in.His supervisor, Candida, pursed her lips. “You’re on