Acting Out

It's not been that long since I first heard of gay-for-pay. A few years, maybe. I know, I know, I'm naive. It had never occurred to me that straight men would, or could, do gay porn. Having a strong military kink, myself, the description for 'Acting Out', by Scotty Cade instantly appealed. When I got into it, and saw the closeness this 'family' had for one another, it was easy to see that for a number of these men, the camaraderie was much like what they had while serving. It was comfort and family, and they were all doing it for the same reason. Money. Each of these guys was doing gay porn in order to support themselves, or family, or both, and thus they all made sure to treat one another with respect, and no shame.
Eli just got honorably discharged after an eight year stint in Afghanistan as a Marine, only to come stateside and discover every ounce of money he'd socked away was used by his parents to fund their alcohol addiction. As bad as he wanted to get away from them and life in his small hometown, it never occurred to Eli that they'd actually steal from their only child. Twelve weeks he's been living in a crappy motel, spending every day trying to look for a job in his field, or, anything, actually, that he can do, but money is running out. That's when he meets Royce who tells him about his online hotmilitaryguys.com site, and invites Eli to come check them out. There, Eli meets guys just like himself, including Hamish, and once Eli sees the pay scale, he really has no other choice. The next day he moves into the mansion, and begins to work.
Eli starts off very, very slowly, in front of the cameras. In fact, he's not even sure he'll ever be able to do blow jobs, anal, or rimming. He and Hamish become friends, and Hamish answers all the questions Eli has, and some he didn't even know he had. And when Eli decides it's time, he asks Hamish to take his anal virginity, on camera, of course. Their first time together is skyrocketing hot, and even Royce has never seen the like in his ten years of owning an online gay porn site. What happens, though, when the feelings go beyond just friends? And will they get a chance to explore those feelings, or will Hamish's stalker have the last word?
I really enjoyed this book. The author didn't take the easy route, and, instead, allowed the main characters to struggle with their choices, and really agonize over how loving another man could change them. It was a refreshing change of pace because none of it was easy, and it came across as very real. I can easily recommend this as a very good book.
NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.

I just finished reading Scotty Cade’s Acting Out last night and it really resonated with me. I was in the Air Force and experienced the kind of solidarity he writes about among the former members of the military in this novel. What made my experience different was that mine crossed gender lines. Being in the military often provides the common background for friendships and more, so I did not find the fast close connection between Eli and Hamish unusual. I believe that most people are not all straight or all gay, so the bisexuality of the MCs was comfortable to me. I enjoyed how their relationship needed to move at Eli’s pace, as the whole gay-for-pay world is new to him. It made sense that Eli would at first reject what he feels for Hamish, but I’m glad the pair got their HEA.