MARS - A GAY NOVEL

CHAPTER ONE - BIRTHDAY BOY

SUNDAY

An auto-tuned German person yells 'Psycho Teddy' with full distortion. The sleeping omega male is shirtless under a black duvet. His hair is matted from tossing and turning throughout the night. A blue ring wraps around his brown iris, eyes opening to a French Bulldog snoring loudly by his side. The male flips over, dragging his stark black, straight hair across the pillow. Groggily, he sits up, blanket sliding off his bare pecks. His sights fall on the four year old in a miniature pink bed before jetting to singing phone.

"Hello?"

"Hello! This is Shannon Strong from Cherryhill Records. Is this Vehren Voegeli?"

My body jolts. I stumbled on my words, "Y-yes, this is Vehren." My eyes lock on my awaking daughter.

"Hi, Vehren! We've reviewed your application and portfolio. We think you'd be a great ghostwriter for our team."

My jaw drops. "Really?"

"Yes. If it's okay with you, we just need you to sign some paperwork before getting you started. Can you come in tomorrow around one or two?"

"That's actually perfect. I'll be there tomorrow."

"Great! See you tomorrow, Vehren. And have a nice birthday!"

"Thank you! Take care, Shannon." I hang up. When I look forwards, my daughter hikes up my bed. She crawls up to me with a moaning frown. I take her small body and bring her to my bare chest. "What is it, Eris?"

Eris rubs her big eyes, green with a brown ring. She stretches her mouth to yawn, answering once she settles on my bicep. "I'm hungry."

"You're hungry?" I held under her thighs and stood up. "I'm hungry, too." She rests her head on my shoulder as I snatch my phone and leave my bedroom. My dog, Lucci, springs out of bed and follows. Down the narrow hall, I pass the bathroom and enter my messy living room scattered with toys, clothes, and junk. To my left, I have to squeeze between the tall, metal chair and half wall to go into my small kitchen. I toss my phone on the counter. At the end, across from the fridge, is the cabinet I open. I point to the pancakes, asking her if that's what she wanted.

Eris shakes her head. "Waffles!" She shouts in my ear.

I close the cabinet, turning three-sixty degrees to pop open the freezer. My free hand snatches the waffle mix and drops the box on the cluttered counter. "Did you have fun with daddy this weekend?"

"Yeah." Eris holds her lip as she stares at the box.

I take her to her high chair in the corner behind the high and round glass table. As I lock her in, I flick on the light and tell her, "Next weekend, we can go to the zoo. See the giraffes and penguins. How does that sound?"

"I wanna see penguins!" Eris dances in her seat.

"I do too, kiddo." I go over to the flat screen, picking the remote off the coffee table. Lucci hops on the couch, carrying his favorite plastic bone in his mouth. He rests to chew as I turn on Cocomelon, cringing to myself. Returning to the kitchen, I ask "What was your favorite part of the weekend?"

Eris takes a second to answer. "Um..." As she hesitates, I plug in the waffle maker. "I like making dresses."

"You did?" I smile, dropping low to grab the mixing bowl and measuring cup from the bottom cupboard. "You want to sew more often?" I rise up, going above for two large bowls.

"Yes. Our dress is pretty."

"You can wear it when we drop you off at Mommy's." I gather the rest of the ingredients. Flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar, all into the bowl and mixed together with a big spoon. I stir in milk and vanilla, going to another bowl to batter eggs. As I turn to the waffle iron, I glance at Eris, who stared at the pink and yellow colors on the TV screen.