| Title | : | Twenty-Five Years |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1634764102 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781634764100 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | ebook |
| Number of Pages | : | 19 |
| Publication | : | First published May 31, 2015 |
A twenty-five-year high school reunion is Conrad’s chance to finally come face-to-face with his unrequited love, Todd. Instead, he discovers he himself was an unrequited love for Gary, his friend from the chess club. When the two return to their old gym locker room, long-lost friends at last become found loves. As for Todd, well, let’s just say that karma can be quite the bitch.
A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2015 Daily Dose package "Never Too Late."
Twenty-Five Years Reviews
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Me encantan los pwp, pero no sé, he encontrado éste muy poco erótico, no cumple su función y lo siento porque la idea tenía sus posibilidades.
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High school reunions usually evoke one of three reactions in people: total dread followed by a determination not to go, total enthusiasm and a "can't wait to go" frenzy of preparation, or disbelief it can have been that long and a memory of a particularly loved or hated person. Conrad the hilariously snarky narrator of this story, belongs to group number three. From the first sentence his memories, comments, and thoughts on "what to do" pulled me in, and I loved he unusual turn of events once he was at the reunion. Oh, and the man-on-man action? Totally hot!!!
If you like reunuion stories and prefer them with a twist, if you enjoy a snarky narrator, and if you're looking for a read that is as short, funny, and hot, then you will probably like this short story as much as I did. It's one of the best takes on a high school reunion I have ever read.
NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review. -
This was the first story I read from this year's Daily Dose and it was a very good start. I liked Conrad's voice very much, the way the story was told was fun and it left me with a smile.
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The twenty-five years in Rob Rosen’s delightfully snarky Twenty-Five Years are those between eighteen-year-old high school seniors and the forty-three-year-old graduates they become, attending a hopeless twenty-fifth reunion in the school gym. (The years in this story fall between 1989 and 2014.)
Conrad decides to attend the reunion only to see what’s become of the man he fell in love with in high school and still can’t get out of his mind: president-of-the-class Todd Smith with his “runner’s calves, swimmer’s ass, and Adonis’s face.” Conrad and Todd shared one mutually satisfactory moment of mutual masturbation. After that, though, Todd abruptly cut Conrad out of his life.
The reunion at least brings Conrad some sweet revenge. He has kept his body youthful. “I still have all my hair, a narrow waist, few wrinkles, and a healthy bank account.” The years haven’t been so kind to his former classmates. “I grinned at their misfortune.” As for Todd, “There was aging badly and then there was this.” No wonder Conrad, despite his endless searches, hasn’t found any photos of Todd on the Internet. Conrad is admirably honest about these matters: “Call me shallow, but it’s much easier to tread in that end of the pool.”
The reunion brings another revelation. Gary, a member of the chess club Conrad presided over, shows up. “I was happy to see him. Happier still that the years had been kind to him too.” Gary admits he also had a crush on Todd, but he wanted another classmate even more. And the locker room where the long-ago tryst with Todd took place is just down a darkened hallway from the gym.
What a lovely story! -
Sweet quick read.
I enjoyed this story. 25 years seemed not too far away for two guys from chess club to 'rejoined' and have some hot steamy encounter at the reunion.
I can see, they're going to meet again soon, and HFN is quite good. -
Conrad and Gary were perfect. I enjoy Mr. Rosen's wry sense of humor and justice. Poor Todd.
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3.5 STARS
Oh man, I swear I’ve chosen the shortest stories in this anthology! However, despite the fact that this story was only nineteen pages, I did really like it.
When Conrad receives the invitation to his twenty-five year school reunion, his first response is to screw it up. Nope, he’s not interested in revisiting his high school days. But then he notices that the invitation has been sent from their class president – Todd Smith. And that is one part of his past that he would be more than happy to reconnect with. But when Conrad finds himself sitting beside his old friend Gary, he realizes that he may have spent the last twenty-five years fantasizing about the wrong man.
It takes a better person than me to fail to find delight in realizing life has been better to you than to your old high school bullies. Call me shallow if you will (actually I think Conrad says the very same thing) but I feel so much satisfaction when I discover that the “beautiful people” now have outsides that reflect their nasty insides. And I adored Conrad for feeling exactly the same way. I was already a fan of Rob Rosen’s biting humor, but I just read this short story and thought – yep, this guy’s snark speaks to me.
As for the plot, honestly it reads like a porno. And I liked that too. Two men meet up at a school reunion, head to the locker rooms together and proceed to get down and dirty, bent over at the lockers and in the showers. It ends with some hope and a promise.
Despite its short length this short is one of my favourite stories in the anthology so far.
Reviewed for Love Bytes Reviews
http://lovebytesreviews.com/2015/06/0...
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A high school crush is not an easy thing to let go of, particularly when the person you were hungering after seemed to disappear after graduation. For Conrad, this dilemma was magnified due to the fact that he had just one memory of mutual masturbation in the high school locker room to feed his twenty-five year old crush on the class president, Todd Smith. Now a class reunion loomed and Todd would be there—would Conrad get a second chance?
Sweet, short and very funny, Twenty-Five Years by Rob Rosen hits us all where we live. Who didn’t have a crush on the most popular boy or girl in school? And who doesn’t remember to this day that one moment said fixation spoke to us—or looked at us—or breathed in our direction? Mr. Rosen cleverly takes us back to a time we all remember and wraps it up in humor and a happy ending. No, Conrad does not get his crush on—he gets way better! Check out this delightful romp, Twenty-Five Years by Rob Rosen, it’s guaranteed to make you smile! -
Okay, so I don’t have a lot to say about this story. It’s simple. Man goes to 25 year reunion with the thought of seeing his secret crush again, only to find there’s someone so much better. Great premise. The problem was, the lead character consistently sounded like a twenty year old boy, not a 40-something man. It took a lot away from the story for me. I liked who he ended up with, but his love attraction/interest came across as juvenile as well.
3 stars
Reviewed by a-nony-mouse for Crystal’s Many Reviewers
*Copy provided for review* -
A high school reunions brings two men together who seemed to have shared the same crush in high school. But when confronted with the reality they are both over it. But it seems that maybe they might just be ready to explore a whole new relationship path.
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So this story is about conrad and 25 years gone past he had a one time thing with todd who he loved. But this story is not like that you think it goes one way but then it turns to an twist sweet and long time coming. So now its high school reunion time.
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Adorable short story.
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3.5 stars
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Too cute and I don't believe in coincidences either. Go Conrad and Gary!!!
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3.25 stars
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More of an erotic encounter than romance.
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So short.
