Biography, LGBTQ, Romance
Date Published: August 3, 2022
Publisher: Gatekeeper Press
The Final Chapter is a true story about a romance between a man, Brandon,
who falls in love with a Brazilian social media influencer, Junior. The
story begins on the first day they meet and follows them through the next
eight months of their relationship. It ends with their final tragic day
together.
Each month shows the progress of their journey and the role social media
plays in their love. It outlines the current fashion of LGBTQ dating
involving apps, open relationships, and the evolving meaning of exclusivity.
Witness their passionate sexual experience, their romance, explosive
outbreaks, and multiple vacations.
In their final months together, feel their love before a tragic accident destroys it.
Excerpt
Day 1
I wish I could
say I met Junior at a store or a restaurant or we had some amazing
occurrence where we locked eyes and had a cute awkward encounter, but
that was not the case. I met Junior on an app that many of us know
all too well in the gay world, “Grindr”. One night, I got a
message from a very attractive Brazilian man and our sexual
preferences seemed to be a good match. We began talking that night
for a little bit, but unfortunately I had plans that evening and told
this guy to please save me as a favorite and we would circle back. I
went to sleep early that night once I got home and moved on to the
next day as normal. I worked my normal 8-5 and messaged a few other
guys throughout the day on this app. As the evening approached, I had
a friend’s birthday dinner to celebrate. I never knew that evening,
I would be meeting someone who I would fall desperately in love with.
However, I would have to go through a few twists and turns before
this encounter occurred.
I wrapped up my
day at 5:00 o’clock and was planning to celebrate somewhat of a new
friend’s birthday. The event was occurring around 8:00 that
evening. I went to the gym as normal after work and then took a
shower and began getting dressed for the evening. I decided to check
Grindr again and remembered the attractive Brazilian I was chatting
with the night before. I reached out and asked how he was doing. He
gave me a quick response. He would be in the Orlando area that
evening but would have to go back home that night, which was about an
hour away. I responded that I would like to see him tonight, but had
a birthday party to attend first, but I would reach out to him that
evening. He gave me a thumbs up or some type of quick response to let
me know he understood.
I went to attend
the birthday party that night. I began driving downtown, which is
about 30 minutes away from me. About half way to the event, I
realized I had forgotten my driver’s license at the gym and had to
turn around and travel to the gym first. You will realize throughout
this story, I am a bit forgetful and I stress myself out pretty
routinely. I would love to say Junior helped me with this, but he was
just as forgetful as me and lived his life without much organization
or structure.
But anyways back
to the birthday event. I finally made it to the club downtown that
evening. I provided my ID that I finally had to the staff and entered
the party. The party was a great time. I was able to meet a few
people and have a few drinks. I posted a picture while at the event
and tagged the location. Over the next hour, 2 or 3 guys that lived
downtown had reached out to me from that photo asking if I wanted to
link up that evening after my party. One was a prior fling that had
lasted about 2 months. The other was a guy that I had experimented
with prior as well. I know this does not put me in the best light and
it makes me seem that I had hooked up with many people. However, the
truth was I had been single for almost 2 years and I had met many
guys in the Orlando area. As I went to the bathroom, I checked our
favorite app and realized another gentleman that I had been talking
to prior wanted to see what I was doing that night. I checked to see
if the Brazilian had responded or sent any further messages, but he
did not.
I ordered one
final drink at the event. As you get to know me in this story more,
you will not be surprised that I ordered the drink and then ended up
spilling it a few minutes later when attempting to take a photo with
some friends. At this time, I decided it was probably time for me to
leave. I made my way to my car and continued entertaining messages
from my social media and Grindr. As I got into my car, I decided to
send another message to the cute Brazilian. If you have ever used
these apps, you will realize, you typically do not send multiple
messages in a row or you come off as that annoying person and you
will quickly be blocked or deleted. I wrote a simple message “what
are you up to”. I received a response pretty quick that he was in
the area but pretty tired. I continued responding to some of the
other guys, but something inside of me really wanted to meet this
one. Physically, he was very much my type and I think that I liked
that I had to chase him a bit. As I was heading home, we were
chatting back and forth and he advised he would want to see me and I
thought for sure he would be coming over. I finally made it home and
took a shower and prepped for the event that he would be stopping by.
I do think it’s
time to explain in the gay world, that it is typical we sometimes
will hook up upon meeting each other on this app and typically we are
using this app for sexual needs. I had put on a pair of gym shorts
and something that was comfortable in order to meet this guy that I
was excited to see. As I finished getting ready, I received a message
that he was very tired and would need to go home. I was frustrated at
this point and ended up sending one final current picture in hopes
that he would come over. Needless to say, it was a bit of a sexual
photo. He quickly responded that he was tired, but he now wanted to
come over. He said he would be there in 20 minutes or so. I was
excited, but I myself was getting a little bit tired as I had drank
and also had work in the morning.
About 30 minutes
later, I received a knock on the door. I opened the door and it was
this man who had a very aggressive demeanor. I attempted to give him
a hug, but it was a bit awkward. We both entered my room and
immediately began connecting. I was shocked at our physical
connection and his aggression in a way. He was very direct with what
he wanted, but it was one of the most sensual experiences I had
encountered in a long time. We were physical for almost an hour. He
was so dominant and aggressive and that was something I found very
attractive. He told me exactly what he wanted done to him and advised
what positions he wanted me in for both his pleasure and mine. He was
so giving sexually and did many things that were directed at pleasing
me which I had not had someone do in a while. Most of the time, guys
are more concerned at what is pleasurable to them, but do not focus
on the other person involved. However, that was not the case this
time. During this sexual encounter, he began kissing my neck and even
my face. He would whisper things in my ear that we were very good
sexual partners together and that he had not felt this good in a long
time.
Before our
encounter, we had described things that turned each other on. During
this hour, we both continued doing these things to each other and it
made the experience so sensual. Upon both of us climaxing, we laid
together for about 15 minutes. We both cleaned up in the bathroom and
made small talk that this was very fun and that it felt extremely
good for the both of us. Unfortunately, again, in the gay world this
is somewhat common. We normally will discuss how it was good and that
we should meet again, but most of the time we move on with our lives
with little response or communication.
As we exited the
room, we walked through my living room and we were approaching the
front door. I was planning to give him a small hug and let him know
to reach out soon, but he stopped me and said, I want to know more
about you. I was a little bit surprised and asked what he wanted to
know. He said he just wants to talk and to get to know me more. At
that time, it was almost midnight and I still had to work early in
the morning. I advised him I was pretty tired and maybe we could
catch up another day. He said he just wanted to talk for 10-15
minutes and then he would leave. I had never had a guy be so direct
and was a bit surprised. We were nearing my kitchen and I said we
could talk a little bit if that is what he would like to do. Trying
to be clever and ensure this would not be an awkward situation, I
advised him we could each ask 10 questions and we both had to answer
the questions. I told him he could start. He first asked “What do
you do for work?” I provided my answer to him and then asked him
what he does. He smiled a little and said, I kind of have a weird
profession, but I am trying to become a comedian. I made a joke that
it sounded like he does not have a real job. He began laughing so
hard and said he had never had anyone be so direct with him before. I
smiled and said you were the one who wanted to talk and get to know
me.
I then asked him
“Where are you from?” He had told me he was from Brazil and then
advised that he would take me soon since we have a pretty good
connection. I made a joke that he was pretty cocky, but I liked it. I
told him about being from the small town of Inverness, Florida. He
laughed and told me he had never heard of that before, but since he
was going to take me to Brazil, he would take a trip with me to
Inverness. He could not pronounce it, and I had to explain how to say
it several times. I then told him that the small town of Inverness
hosts a pretty spectacular “Cooter Festival.” I had to explain to
him it was a festival about turtles. Honestly, you just need to
Google it to see for yourself. We could not stop laughing through
these few minutes.
His next question
was very direct. He asked about my past relationships. I was not
prepared to go into my major heartbreak that I had, but did tell him
about my prior marriage, which was significant in my life as well. I
was with a man for 7 years and we were married for one. I told him I
was a 26 year old divorced man. He said he was happy I had told him.
It became pretty serious at that time and truthfully I was a bit
surprised I was explaining this to a man I had just met a little over
an hour ago. There were times I hid that information for weeks or
months when talking with guys.
We then discussed
our favorite foods, favorite color, favorite vacations, and continued
talking for an hour I quickly forgot which question we were on and I
was loving just talking to you and seeing your passion and smile as
you told me things about you. As time progressed, it was almost 2:00
in the morning. We had not moved from my kitchen, where I was sitting
on the countertop and you were still standing.
I had told you
that I really liked talking with you, but I think it was time that
you left because I had to be up soon for work. I went to give you a
hug and say goodbye, but you told me that I needed to walk you to the
door and give you a proper goodbye because that would mean I plan to
see you again. I followed your direction and walked you to the door.
I gave you a hug goodbye and you kissed me on the cheek and said that
you would wait to see me again. As I went to sleep that night, I
could not stop but ponder how unique this evening was.
Ornery Owl's Review
Four out of Five Stars
I enjoyed this heartfelt memoir about Brandon's connection with Junior. There was a passionate bond between them and they learned a lot from each other. Sadly, their time together was cut short when Junior was killed in a tragic accident.
This book is forthright and powerful. Because of discussions of sex and a few instances of drug use, it is only appropriate for adult readers. The story takes the form of a series of letters to Junior as Brandon recalls their time together.
There is an unpolished feel to the text. This seems appropriate for the way the story is told because who would go through and meticulously edit a heartfelt letter to someone they wished they could speak to one more time? I appreciated the author's honesty in revealing a beautiful and painful connection that changed his life.
If you enjoy reading memoirs that don't hold back, you will appreciate this book.
About the Author
Brandon McKinney is a twenty-seven-year-old currently pursuing his master's
degree in global strategic communications. He obtained his bachelor's degree
in marketing from the University of Florida. He is a Florida native. He
loves traveling, animals, and hopes to one day have a big family. In his
spare time, he is active in many sports leagues in the Orlando area. This is
his debut novel.
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