Once You Are Mine

by Gabriella West

In this pandemic love story set in the tense summer of 2020, 21-year-old Alex Martinez gets out of San Quentin after serving three years for a nonviolent crime. He's hardened by his time inside and has virtually no money, or family, but a long, dusty hike takes him to a tiny West Marin town called Woodacre where he expects to find an old friend. Instead, he meets Terry Black, who offers the young man a place to stay during a time of Covid. Terry, who married early and recently separated from his ex-wife, owns a small bar, and the two young men quickly forge a relationship, despite Alex's difficulty with trust and Terry possibly being *too* trusting. Will their unconventional pairing be a recipe for heartbreak, or end up being the best thing both of them have ever had? Keywords: Insta-love, Coronavirus, pandemic, MM romance, bisexual romance, Gabriella West, California, San Quentin, stress, trust, intimacy, gay romance, LGBT, contemporary, multiracial