WIP - The Personal Ad - New

Colton Bethany and Zachary Stiles had been together for almost seven years. They loved each other, were comfortable. But lately, both had been feeling restless and bored. Their relationship was becoming predictable and stale.

Late one night, Colton was reading the paper, like he always did before bed and turned to the personal ads, ostensibly to seek out a piece of furniture for sale. An ad caught his eye, making his heart stutter like it hadn’t in years. Not since he and Zachary had first met. Someone looking for a companion and the letters, GWM were all Colton needed to know what the stranger was who had placed it.

Guiltily, he read the ad, then to his horror, answered it. But he and Zachary were stuck, living day in and day out without the passion they once had. Colton could see that his lover was as distracted as he was, he just didn’t know what to do about it. Answering a personal ad didn’t make sense, but Colton did it anyway.

“Wary Z” captivated Colton from the beginning and as they got closer and closer, Colton was finding himself falling for someone he’d never met. The closer he got to Wary Z, the more distance came between him and Zachary. He still loved Zachary, but it had become more of a habit, than a passionate feeling.

There came a night that Zachary didn’t come home until late and Colton was finally ready to meet the man that made him laugh and cry and feel happier than he had in years.

*******

Zachary was spending more and more time at his office instead of at home. He was feeling trapped and unsettled, even after all the years he and Colton had been lovers. It wasn’t as if he’d fallen out of love with Colton, he still loved him deeply, but he didn’t feel the connection they once had.

What drove Zachary to place a personal ad in the local paper isn’t clear. It was a risk. He could lose Colton over this, but he’d done it anyway. And he’d gotten a response. That response set off a long series of ads back and forth, drawing Zachary closer and closer to his mysterious correspondent.

Then the ads changed to emails. Zachary made every effort to keep the communication with “CB” from Colton, but knowing his lover so well, he could tell Colton was getting suspicious. He’d set up an email address Colton didn’t know about, hoping it would help keep his life with Colton separate from his fantasy with CB. Then…his personal ad man requested they meet in person.