Brief Encounters

Title: Making Camp
Author: Clare London
Length: 3,032 words (10 pdf pages)
Publisher: JMS Books (FREE)
Genre: m/m contemporary humour
Rating: A

Blurb: 

Nick’s a dedicated city boy, Max is from the West Country: the chance of a compatible date seems unlikely until Max invites Nick to spend a weekend with him. It’s the chance Nick’s been waiting for, the opportunity to get to know the guy he’s been mooning over at work, up close and personal. Nick just has to cope with the fact it’s got to happen outdoors.

Through various disasters and culture shocks, Nick tries to impress. But finding himself a fish out of water, albeit on a camping site, Nick demonstrates far too well the fact he doesn’t do canvas. Can town meet country, and he and Max find more common ground?

This story originally appeared in Tea and Crumpet.

Review:

Plain and simple, I am giving this story an A because it made me laugh, out loud. Nick is definitely a city boy and his way of describing his love of diesel fumes and the smell of the hot pavement in the city was chuckle-worthy. Really, those things are appealing? Why yes they are, to Nick. It’s only his sheer lust for IT guy Max that induces him to agree to go camping with the man, in the country no less.

I do like camping, at least I used to, but Nick’s disorientation as he awoke to the sound of crows, not the traffic, and the utter collapse of his tent, well, the descriptions the author brings forth had me laughing out loud. I have to confess, I am one of those people who will laugh at other’s misfortunes (if they aren’t injury inducing – and maybe even then if the injury is mild) and I laughed at poor Nick and his sad tent.

After that, Nick rather settles down to enjoy his day in the country with Max, much to his surprise, leading to that moment when they finally acknowledge their simmering attraction and their agreed sharing of a tent since Nick’s is pretty much buggered up do to the collapse. It was just funny and sweet and you know these two guys are going to have fun, being two rather opposite souls, but perhaps able to appreciate the world they each find appealing. So when you are in the mood to come away smiling, snap up this freebie and take a few minutes to lighten your day, at poor Nick’s expense.