Sean Nickell
Travis Hagge prefers not to think of himself as a selfish coward. After all, he’s a gay and gorgeous early-thirty-something with a good job and the comfortable life in Kansas City his partner's career as a doctor offers. That is, until Travis' hidden truths surface leaving him no alternative but to leave the love of his life and three best friends he affectionately calls, The Girls.
Instead of running to hide in San Francisco to take a great job he told everyone he couldn’t turn down, he relocates to a place closer to home where he figures no one would ever look. A conservative Kansas City suburb that time and culture avoid: Independence, Missouri. A place where, he thinks, no gay man in his right mind would ever live. Travis starts a new "reduced" life there while his partner and three best friends deal with Travis' past and how to live life without him. Until…
Independence Day will give you a bird’s-eye view of the day-to-day, emotionally bumped and bruised, juicy, blackmailed and uncertain lives Travis touched and left and those he becomes a part of.
Sean Nickell and his partner of eight years live with their two cats in Kansas City, Missouri, where Sean spends many hours a week working as a marketing manager for a world-wide test prep company.
Sunday, February 25
Travis Hagge opened his eyes after he heard the blaring alarm notify him that 6:45 had come. Neither he, nor his partner of three years, Elliott Denio, M.D., slept well. They did not make love like both had hoped. Elliott was just too upset. Travis was too nervous. They did get a little sleep with Elliott's arm securing Travis. Elliott's hand rested on Travis' tummy.
Travis rolled over and gave his love a nice morning smooch. He looked deep in his eyes and said, "We'll see each other in no time." He looked directly into the sleepy and worried eyes of the man he’d spent the last three years with. He adored those deep brown eyes that told Travis he was loved. Travis raised his hand to cup his cheek and then ran his fingertips down Elliott’s neck to the very spot that always made Elliott even harder when he was kissed there by Travis. Travis allowed his hand to brush through the manscaped hair on his chest and farther down to his lean, but not sculpted, abs. Travis thought Elliott was attractive the first time he saw him, with his dark hair and eyes and that smile that many times took his breath away. Elliott’s career didn’t afford him the opportunity to spend a lot of time in the gym, but Elliott’s body was similar to Travis’ from when they worked out together. Travis also helped Elliott maintain a healthy diet with the cooking he did for the both of them.
"San Francisco is so far away," Elliott whispered. "Two hours time difference. I'll be in bed just as you're finishing supper."
"I'm sure you can stay up 'til 10:30 some nights." And with that Travis made a mad dash to the shower.
Travis looked at himself in the bathroom mirror. He pulled his shoulder-length brown hair into a pony tail and looked at his late-February pale body in the mirror. As he studied himself, Travis felt he had a pretty good body considering how much time he put into his job. Many with similar jobs that he knew from the Kansas City Marketing Club meetings had let themselves go and had always-expanding waist lines as a result. Although Travis didn’t have washboard abs or the pecs that were earned by those who spent two hours a day in the gym, he was proud of his thirty-two inch waist. His three workouts a week at the gym made his chest nicely toned. His arms were big enough that the cuffs of his short sleeves stretched to accommodate his resting and developed biceps and triceps. He gave his goatee a once over and ran a hand over his chest to see if it was time to shave again. Satisfied that he wouldn’t need a touch up today, he grabbed his toothbrush, topped it with toothpaste, dropped his boxers and stepped into the shower. Twenty minutes later he found Elliott with his favorite coffee mug in hand sitting at the kitchen table looking out into space. Travis whistled at him to get his attention. Elliott gave him the best smile he could muster given the time of day and the day itself. A moment later, Elliott approached Travis from behind and slid his arms underneath Travis’ while Travis was pouring himself a cup of coffee. Travis felt Elliott lean on him in the familiar way he had leaned on him countless times in the past. “God, I love you,” Elliott whispered in his right ear. “I don’t want to let you go,” he said before Travis turned around while still in Elliott’s arms.
Travis returned the hug and gave him a kiss. “I love you, too, honey. We’ll see each other soon.” Elliott looked like he was about to starting crying again. “You better go get in the shower.” As Elliott made his way upstairs, Travis found his cell phone, with his new San Francisco phone number, on the kitchen counter where he'd left it and pressed #3 until he heard it ringing on the other side.
