Monday, December 3, 2012

Christmas Coda 1


Perry and Nick from THE GHOST WORE YELLOW SOCKS

 

 

 

“You’ll like California.” Nick turned his head on the pillow and caught the shine of Perry’s eyes in the muted light, the gleam of his smile.

“I think so.” Perry sounded content. “I want to paint the beach.”

“There’s plenty of beach in California.”

“Yeah.”

They had dug the sheets out of the box Nick had packed a couple of hours earlier and made up the bed. Nick’s sleeping bag was unzipped spread out over them like a quilt. It was comfortable. Probably the most comfortable bed Nick could remember, though that had more to do with Perry lying next to him than clean sheets and a good mattress.

The snow, which had started falling while they were otherwise occupied, made a soothing shushing sound against the bedroom window.

“It’ll be good for you. California, I mean. The climate and everything.”

“Yep.” Perry still sounded supremely untroubled. Untroubled and young.

“You…don’t think you’ll be homesick?”

Perry chuckled. “Nope.” He wrapped his good arm around Nick’s waist and settled his head more comfortably on Nick’s shoulder. “It’s like my mom used to say. Home is where the heart is.”

Nick’s own heart seemed to swell with another surge of that unfamiliar emotion. He bent his head, his mouth seeking Perry’s, and Perry responded with that easy enthusiasm.

When their lips reluctantly parted he said astonishingly, “Don’t worry, Nick. I’ll be fine. We’ll be fine.”

“I know that,” Nick said gruffly.

“And I promise I won’t get in the way or disrupt your work.”

 “The hell you won’t.” Nick was smiling as his mouth found Perry’s once more.

62 comments:

  1. Thank you - that's one of my favourite books so lovely to have a little follow on :)

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  2. Awww I really enjoyed that Thank You

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  3. OMG! Is that all? We want more of those, please!!! *jumps ups and downs* :D

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  4. Oh my! What a wonderful little snippet. You have certainly set the bar high. Looking forward to the next one. Thank you!

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  5. What a nice surprise! They are an uncomplicated but oh so engaging pair. Would be nice to see bit more of them.

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  6. Thanks for starting off with these two... I loved that you'd ended Socks with the limitless potential for them, which of course left me wanting more. Nice to have them back...

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  7. I heartily join the general ''aww''s ;-). Thank you for writing this.

    Antonella

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  8. I cant tell, this is going to make me eternally happy.

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  9. I'm so pleased you're happy with your first little stocking stuffer! ;-D

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  10. I loved that book, think I need to read it again :)

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  11. Contented sigh ^_^ Thank you for this Josh. Two of my favorite characters.What a lovely way to start the week.

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  12. Already loving the Codas, Josh. It's just so easy to sink into them, that it's a shock when each is finished. But I suppose I can get used to it.:)

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  13. Lovely reminder of how things can be...
    Unfortunately: sleet, cold wind, no comforter and no bloke to comfort me.
    But an inviting fourposter and a snifter of brandy make up for a lot, and of course 'The ghost wore yellow socks'. Must be at least 4 months since I read it for the last time...

    Ruud
    Mmm, I must set up an profile apparently...

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  14. Lovely...and makes me want to snug up under my own blankets.

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  15. These are like little holiday petit fours. Thanks, Josh for all the sweet! I'll happily start my diet after the first of the year. ;)

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  16. Yes! Perfect weather for snuggling up with a warm quilt, a snifter of something jolly, and a good book -- assuming a warm body is unavailable for use. :-)

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  17. Aww — lovely. The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks was my very first Josh Lanyon book! I do hope that this is as exiting for you as it is for us readers! Because this Advent calendar is beyond wonderful! :)

    Thank you, Josh.

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  18. Oh, and I forgot to say that I love the snow globe picture! :)

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    1. That was the closest to what I had imagined! ;-)

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    2. That's right! The snowglobe Perry gave Nick at the end to "remember" him by!
      Perfect!
      Rdafan7

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  19. Loved seeing them again, Thank-you! And I love that Nick KNOWS Perry will be trouble :) ...now for that sequel... :) Rdafan7

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    1. Yes. Absolutely. Perry's middle name is TROUBLE. ;-)

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  20. Oh, but they will miss the snow surely! :-)

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  21. Thank you so much for this glimpse of Nick and Perry!
    Nick is so concerned about Perry's decision and Perry is so young and optimistic and unperturbed...
    The two of them are my first Josh-couple, so it's a very special gift. :)

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  22. Lovely! Thanks, Josh :)

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  23. The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks was the first of your books that I ever read. How fitting that it should be the first of your Christmas Codas. What a lovely pre-Christmas gift!

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  24. I've always loved this book. Thanks for brightening my Monday. BTW the snow globe is almost exactly as I imagined it.

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  25. Very sweet. I love how Nick is under no illusions at all about Perry's ability to stay out of trouble. *g* I'm with Perry though, Nick's worrying for nothing. They'll be totally fine.

    Great start to the codas!

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  26. Off to a great start! I enjoyed this. It's always nice to visit old friends at the holidays. Looking forward to meeting up with a few more. :D

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  27. What a delightful little treat! Thank you! I always thought these two were adorable, so it was nice checking in on them again. :-)

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  28. Lovely. I like the snowball and the palm trees. Thank you!

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  29. Thank you for the treat

    AMI

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  30. *sigh* I'm warm and happy after the visit with Nick and Perry...thanks, Josh!

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  31. Cute. Love that it's Perry reassuring Nick and how Nick KNOWS what he's in for.

    Josh-Claus has been very kind :)

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  32. One of my favorites... Thanks so much!
    Laura

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  33. A great start! It's so good to read about old friends.
    Thanks so much for the Christmas gift :)

    Roby

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  34. Loved this :)

    Thank you!

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  35. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! This made me so happy.

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  36. Oh, that's lovely! So full of warmth and togetherness. And you know, Yellow Socks would have been my second choice after the one we won't mention! :)

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  37. How lovely to see them again! A real December treat!

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  38. Thank you for the kind words!

    Happy to have made everyone's Monday a little warmer and brighter. ;-)

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  39. Thank you so much!!! This was the very first of your books I read and it's still one of my all time favorites! And of course a sequel would be greatly appreciated, in case the muse strikes again!

    Happy Holidays!

    StormyMonday

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    1. Ah good. I wanted to take the chill off Monday.

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  40. Thank you thank you thank you.
    Please sir may [we] have some more?

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  41. Thank you so much for this Josh. I've missed these guys-they're one of my ultra favorite couples! :D

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  42. WOW O.O
    Thank you for this! Love "The Ghost..." and it's wonderful to hear from both boys again!
    Your writing is amazing - the snippet is so short, yet so satisfying!

    @.@ Er... that kinda come out funny, but I'll leave it be :D

    Mammarella

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  43. Thank you for this, it was just linked to me, since I just finished it today and I'm already missing them, I might even want to start it over again.

    "Probably the most comfortable bed Nick could remember, though that had more to do with Perry lying next to him than clean sheets and a good mattress." is my favorite line, even my bf who hasn't read the book loved it too.

    Like I said, I want more... ;-)

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    1. Thanks, Joe. I have to revisit these two again. I love the dynamic between them.

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  44. Just re read a ghost wore yellow socks and then found this on your blog, love your characterisation of Nick & Perry they are so different yet they fit together so well, thx for giving us the coda, of course they are so lovely would always like more glimpses of their life together!

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  45. Hi, will you continue the perry and nick stories? They are my favorite characters so far.

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  46. Hi, will you continue the Nick and Perry series? They are my favorite characters. Have a nice day!

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  47. I am really loving these codas! Thank you.

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