Forever Young — Jeff Erno

In less than a summer, shy and introverted Robbie Myers goes from eighteen and never been kissed to the passionate intensity of first love that could last forever. Literally…

Eighteen-year-old Robbie Myers has difficulty talking to people. Not only is he shy, but he seems to say the wrong thing every time he opens his mouth, especially to the mysterious, handsome stranger who shows up at his supermarket job, defends him from an aggressive colleague and then asks him on a date. He can't believe a hot, worldly badboy like seventeen-year-old Colt Abernathy is actually interested. Yet he can't deny that the ardor burning in Colt's dark eyes is just for him. In the space of one breath, Robbie is launched from his plan to attend community college while living at home with his mom and saving up for a car to the tender yet passionate exploration of intense first love. Little does Robbie know…

Brought across during the height of the Civil War, Colt has remained trapped in the body of a lonely seventeen year old. When he spots the slim, blond-haired, blue eyed young man, pushing a line of shopping carts across a parking lot, Colt knows instantly they're destined for each other. There's just one major problem: if he survives the impending battle between vampires and the Matarians - an army of brutal vampire slayers - he's going to live forever. Robbie isn't…



Excerpt:

As Robbie stepped outside, he decided to wait around a couple minutes to see what happened with Jerry. If he actually were to be fired, Robbie would see him come out. He stood by the entrance where he still had a clear view of the check stands through the window. About three minutes later, he saw Jerry return to his work area. He began scurrying about, replenishing the bag supply at each check lane. Robbie was relieved. Apparently Jerry hadn't been canned. He probably just got a lecture and a stern warning from Wandrie.

Most of the other kids who worked at the store didn't like Mr. Wandrie all that much. They all made fun of him behind his back, probably just because he was the boss. As far as Robbie was concerned, Mr. Wandrie was a pretty decent guy. There were days when the man seemed kind of grouchy, but that was true of everyone.

Robbie wondered for a moment if Mr. Wandrie had heard Jerry call him a faggot. Well, he must have heard. It made Robbie embarrassed, and he hoped Mr. Wandrie didn't get the wrong idea about him. That's what guys like Jerry called other people, especially when they were mad. It didn't really mean anything. It was like when people said something was “gay” just because they didn't like it. It was like a figure of speech or something.

To be honest, it kind of hurt his feelings. He didn't understand why Jerry would say something like that to him. Was it that obvious that he was…
“You haven't left yet?”

Robbie jumped, startled by the voice behind him. He turned to face the kid he saw earlier, the one with the leather jacket. “Oh gosh, you scared me.”

“Sorry, dude.” Leather jacket boy laughed. “Didn't mean to sneak up on ya.”

“I thought Jerry was getting fired,” Robbie said. “He got called into the manager's office.”

The kid nodded. “Good. It's about time.”

“Oh. Um, I didn't want him to get in trouble or anything. I definitely didn't want him to, ya know, lose his job.”

“Why not? He's lazy.”

Robbie shrugged. “He said he wasn't feeling well.”

Leather jacket boy again laughed. “You're a pretty…how should I say it…trusting person. Aren't you?”

“Uh, I don't know. I guess so.”

“Well, Robbie, I think you should be careful. Some people aren't all that trustworthy.”
Robbie looked at him. His eyes were darker than before, now almost black. Perhaps it was due to the dim lighting. “How'd you know my name?”

“You were wearing a name badge. I read it before, when you were out here pushing the carts.”

“Oh.”

“My name's Colt, by the way.”