Part 23 (2/2)
But for most people, most of the time, Los Angeles just s.h.i.+ts all over you.
Still, if I've learned anything from my time spent in this a.s.shole of a city, it's that you don't necessarily need to play by its rules. Sometimes you can take the pieces of your broken dreams and turn them into something else, something unexpected. I'd like to think Zoe will do that.
And at any point, you can give up the game completely. You can just get up and walk away, like Regina and Gina. I used to think there was some kind of shame in quitting, especially after working so hard and so long, but now I know that's not necessarily true. a.s.shole Los Angeles can break your dreams, but it sure as h.e.l.l can't break you, not unless you let it.
Love is the other thing that a.s.shole Los Angeles can't break. You have to be stupid enough to do that yourself.
Talk about your Hollywood endings! This one's the oldest in the book: like Dorothy and her ruby slippers, I had the thing I most needed right with me all along, I just didn't know it yet. I don't care if this particular ending has been done before, or if it's not cynical enough for modern audiences, or if the whole idea really is too cheesy. It's still the truth.
As I put the ring on Kevin's finger, he said, ”When do you wanna do it?”
”Get married?” I said, and he nodded. ”Why not this summer? We can rent out a bed and breakfast on Vashon Island for the weekend and invite all our friends.”
”I love it,” he said.
I'd bought a ring for myself, and Kevin saw it and put it on my finger too. The gold on our fingers blazed in the sun, leaving light trails like in some cool photograph.
Finally, we both turned and stood facing the back of the Hollywood sign and the endless city spread out before us. I was thinking about Kevin, and all that had happened to me in Los Angeles, and I'm totally realizing the irony even as I'm telling you this, but I can honestly say that in my entire life, I had never felt so f.u.c.king alive.
Coming in March 2016:.
The Road to Amazing, the story of Russel and Kevin's crazy weekend wedding.
BOOKS BY BRENT HARTINGER.
Russel Middlebrook: The Futon Years.
(Adult Books).
* The Thing I Didn't Know I Didn't Know (Book 1).
* Barefoot in the City of Broken Dreams (Book 2) * The Road to Amazing (Book 3, March 2016).
The Russel Middlebrook Series.
(Young Adult Books).
* Geography Club (Book 1).
* The Order of the Poison Oak (Book 2) * Double Feature: Attack of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies/Bride of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies (Book 3) * The Elephant of Surprise (Book 4).
Other Books.
* Three Truths and a Lie (2016).
* The Divide (2017) * Shadow Walkers.
* Project Sweet Life.
* Grand & Humble * The Last Chance Texaco.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR.
Brent Hartinger is an author, playwright, and screenwriter. Geography Club, the book in which Russel Middlebrook first appears (as a teenager), is also a successful stage play and a feature film co-starring Scott Bakula and Nikki Blonsky. Brent's other books include the forthcoming gay teen thriller Three Truths and a Lie, and the forthcoming supernatural thriller The Divide (co-written with Michael Jensen). He also has a number of film projects in active development.
In 1990, Brent helped found one of the world's first LGBT teen support groups, in his hometown of Tacoma, Was.h.i.+ngton. In 2005, he co-founded the entertainment website AfterElton.com, which was sold to MTV/Viacom in 2006. He currently co-hosts a podcast called Media Carnivores from his home in Seattle, where he lives with his husband, writer Michael Jensen. Read more by and about Brent, or contact him at brenthartinger.com.
If you enjoyed this book, please consider posting a review wherever you typically share your opinions about books. Also, sign up for the author's newsletter (and receive a free ebook), like him on Facebook, or follow him on Twitter.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.
Thanks, as always, to the holy trinity: my husband Michael Jensen, my editor Stephen Fraser, and my agent Jennifer De Chiara.
Thanks also to Philip Malaczewski for creating great book jackets, and Samuel Sebasti Holden Bramah for his terrific Spanish translations.
Early readers who generously contributed their time and extremely helpful opinions include Dori Butler, Allison Ca.s.satta, Louis Flint Ceci, Ulysses Dietz, Nathan Edmonds, Neil Jackson, Crystal King, Bill Konigsberg, Darren LaFrance, Nate Leslie, Austin McCray, Kevin Miller, Peter Monn, Kevin Moser, Joel Mosqueira, Tim O'Leary, Nate Leslie, Megan Opperman, Robin Reardon, R.J. Seeley, Tristan Shout, Bret Tiderman, Gregory Taylor, Peter Wright, and Perie Wolford.
And yet another cheer for my a.s.sortment of creative genius friends: Tom Baer, Tim Cathersal, Lori Grant, Erik Hanberg, Marcy Rodenborn, James Venturini, and Sarah Warn.
Copyright 2015 Brent Hartinger.
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