Lima Oscar Victor Echo and The Truth About Everything

by Suki Fleet

Growing up in a small village in Wales with a domineering homophobic father, Oscar has always believed he has to hide his real feelings.
He's hidden his heart from everyone, but most of all from his best friend, Jamie--who also happens to be the boy he's in love with.
But when a film Oscar makes about love and acceptance is chosen to be in the finals of a national competition, everything he's hidden about himself threatens to be revealed.
Now Oscar thinks he must make the choice between the life he knows and the people he loves, and the life he wishes he had.
But life holds far more secrets and promises than Oscar expects.


Dear Author,
I saw this picture and would love to know their story.
These two are either long-term friends or lovers, not sure which. They should be happy but for some reason they feel sad to me, maybe they have lost someone close or even a beloved pet. I don’t really know. One of them could be ill or going away. Could you please write their story?

Photo Description:
Two young men sit on a wooden bench overlooking the countryside. The men sit with their backs to us. They have their arms around one another, and their bowed heads are touching. They look to be lovers.

This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love is an Open Road" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story.

This story may contain sexually explicit content and is intended for adult readers. It may contain content that is disagreeable or distressing to some readers. The M/M Romance Group strongly recommends that each reader review the General Information section before each story for story tags as well as for content warnings.

Genres: M M Romance, Contemporary, Friends To Lovers, Romance, New Adult, College, Short Stories

83 pages, ebook

First published June 7, 2015

About the author

About the author:
Suki Fleet is an award winning author, a prolific Reader (though less prolific than they'd like), and a lover of angst, romance and unexpected love stories.
They write lyrical stories about memorable characters and believe everyone should have a chance at a happy ending.
Their first novel This is Not a Love Story won Best Gay Debut in the 2014 Rainbow Awards, and was a finalist in the 2015 Lambda Awards. Their novel Foxes won Best Gay Young Adult in the 2016 Rainbow Awards.

If you’d like to offer your support and buy Suki Fleet a coffee you can do that here: https://ko-fi.com/sukifleet

If you would like info on upcoming releases and the occasional free story, please sign up to Suki’s newsletter: https://sukifleet.wordpress.com/newsl...

If you’re interested in reading first drafts of Suki’s new stories, or reading stories that are no longer available or cuts that can’t be published on Amazon, and other extras, please consider signing up to Suki’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sukifleet

Reviews

[~✡~Dαni(ela) ♥ ♂♂ love & semi-colons~✡~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

~SERIOUS FEELS ALERT~



I was not prepared for the emotional impact of this story. I was expecting a sweet best-friends-to-lovers tale.

Lima Oscar Victor Echo and The Truth About Everything is that and more. It's a tale of young love, first love, ONLY love. It's a tale of finding yourself and daring to live your life honestly.

He wanted it all, and he wanted only this. He wanted to come, and he wanted to remain on the precipice. It was living and dying. It was everything.

Fleet writes beautifully and captures the feeling of uncertainty that accompanies most of us at the brink of adulthood.

Oscar is fearful: of his cruel father, of coming out, of not being enough, of being the one gay man in his small Valley village in South Wales.

Oscar's constant is secretly being in love with his best friend, Jamie, who has only ever gone for girls.

He hadn't meant to fall in love with Jamie, but trying not to fall in love was a little like trying to stay awake forever—sometimes your body took over, dragged you under, and you woke up with someone's name carved in your heart like a secret you never wanted to know.

But Jamie has secrets of his own. He keeps the pain of his mum's death shut up so tight. Jamie doesn't want to disappoint anyone; he cries only when he's sleeping.

This story is poignant, tender, sweet, and lyrical.



Pure POETRY.

Even though the HEA is perfection, my heart won't recover anytime soon.

[Snjez · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

This was my third read by this author and I don't think I click with their writing style. The story is quite emotional and sweet, but I didn't feel what I was supposed to feel. More often than not it made me cringe.

I had the same problem as with the first book I've read by them, Everybody in the Place . The writing is very poetic and it doesn't work for me when you mix it with intimate scenes, or just mentions of intimate body parts out of the blue. Even though it's a short story, it dragged for me a bit, and I couldn't distinguish between the two POVs.

I did like the meaning behind the title of the book. I've never been a fan of the title, but now that I know what it stands for, I think it's really sweet. At least the story ended on a good note for me.

[Sheziss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hermoso.

“In this treacherous world: nothing is either truth or lie; everything depends on the color of the crystal that one looks through.”

Ramón de Campoamor

Do you know what my problem is?

I see life with pink glasses every time I read something written by Suki Fleet. But not because they are idyllic and perfect, but because she knows how to grab your heart and squeeze. She knows how to trap your heart and not let go.

She is the perfect balance: angsty and powerful, but captivating and tender. She manages to mantain me on the edge of the precipice and avoid me falling to either side.

[Elsa Bravante · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bonita, tierna, dulce, emotiva, esperanzadora, bien escrita...
Todo lo que escribe Suki Fleet es especial, una de mis favoritas sin duda.
Es gratuita, yo no esperaría a empezarla...

[* A Reader Obsessed * · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

*sniff*

Man, that was a proverbial kick in the emotional guts.

Are all the author's works like this???

A touching, tender story about two friends - one knowing himself but too scared to rock the boat. The other confused but can no longer deny what he feels.

Gawd this had so much longing - longing in what is known and can't be changed. Longing in knowing what feels right and ready to fight for it.

This beautifully captures the power of love and the rewards it can bring when one overcomes the uncertainty and fear of making it a reality.

Impressive, uplifting. I'm floating on a cloud of happiness.

[Sheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This...this is why I heart Suki Fleet sooo hard.
She has a direct line to the Feelz button in my heart...
and she pushes it every time.
If you haven't read her words yet...you are missing out.

*4.5 EVERYthing stars*

[Vivian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Totally sweet and lovely story of young love set in the wilds of Wales.

[MaDoReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una de las cosas más románticas que he leído últimamente.
Jamie es.... <3<3<3<3<3

[Dalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet and little angsty friends to lovers story. The ending made me shed a tear.

Sometimes you don’t know the truth, and sometimes you aren’t ready for it, but that is okay as long as you never close yourself off from it, because the truth is a lot like love.

[Drache.... (Angelika) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars.
My first book by this author, and I liked it.
Oscar and Jamie were lovely characters. How both MMC's were oblivious to the other's feelings was told in a realistic way. The story felt a bit rushed towards the end, I would have liked more time for them coming to terms with everything that had happened.
Overall this was a short and uplifting novella.
Topics: mm ya, coming out, value of friends.
TW: verbal abuse/bullying in the family.

[Eugenia · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED IT!! This was a delicious and tension-filled friends to lovers short by the oh-so-talented Suki Fleet. This is one of my favorite tropes, and it felt new and fresh in her hands. Add a little bit of OFY from one of the characters-ya, sometimes it does take awhile to figure out you’re not heteronormative—and this story set in the Welsh Valleys was pure gold. I cried, I laughed, and my heart got all sorts of warm and tingly reading this.

[Amina · Rating 3 out of 5]

✰ 3.5 stars ✰

“He hadn’t meant to fall in love with Jamie, but trying not to fall in love was a little like trying to stay awake forever— sometimes your body took over, dragged you under, and you woke up with someone’s name carved on your heart like a secret you never wanted to know.”

Oh, my heart did such a little flutter when the true meaning behind the title Lima Oscar Victor Echo and The Truth About Everything was revealed! The premise to this short story is nothing but if not a cliché, but gosh, Suki Fleet has such a talent of conveying so much emotion - in ways both gentle and captivating that you can't help but be engrossed in the characters that are brought to life in their lyrical prose. 👌🏻

I liked how Oscar and Jamie's friendship was portrayed - so loyal and supportive and protective of one another. Oscar was gay and Jamie was straight, but it didn't stop Oscar from secretly being in love with him all this time. They were so very different from one another, yet it was in each other's presence, they were the most comfortable - the happiest. And all of Oscar's emotions for Jamie - 'these feelings. This nebulous happiness. Jamie. He didn’t think he could bear to lose this, even if things weren’t exactly the way he wished they were' - the writing is so vivid in capturing the longing for love that my heart ached for him. 🤍🤍

“I might have to leave early, though,” Oscar added.

“It’ll be worth it. I’ll make it worth it,” Jamie said, sounding as if he was smiling.

You always do, Oscar thought helplessly.”

Ah, give me all the pining and the yearning and you will have my heart. 🤌🏻🤌🏻 Oscar felt so worthless in his own eyes - so resigned to his fate of not only being bullied and abused by his father, but knowing that he could only pine for his best friend from afar, because nothing could ever come of it. 😢 There is so much love and want in his heart for Jamie - aching to have him, watching him light up the music stage with his performances, that even when the spotlight wasn't shining on him - he was all that Oscar could see - 'Jamie was the only reason he was here. Nobody else mattered.' ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹

That they both sense something is shifting in the fabric of their friendship - they just don't know what it is until an unexpected turn of events forces them to re-examine their relationship - was so very palpable. It makes for some delicious angst that I ate up - hopelessly smitten in the words. Jamie's own confusion over what he was feeling for Oscar - my heart was rooting for him to realize what was up - what could it mean! 🥺 And just what follows is this downpour of longing and wanting to reach out but too afraid - ' where no one hid all the secrets in their hearts and straight or gay just didn’t matter. Where all the lonely people got their happy endings' - that is both heart-wrenching and touching that I was urging the story to move along so I could get to the happily ever after! 😟😟

I loved the ending - it was so gorgeously depicted, so sweet and wholesome - so worthy of their love for each other, and yet not at all what I was expected! It made my heart pitter-patter so, and I just about melted at the softness of it! 🫠🫠 'Jamie was still Jamie, and Oscar was still Oscar, and they fit together like the stars fit the sky.' It was so well-done - creatively and beautifully expressive that I really was very much impressed. I've always admired this author's writing style, and once again, it was proven at how their words overwhelm you with such warmth that your heart belongs to the characters you've just read. 🥹🥹

[Karla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another wonderful read by Suki fleet. My second book by her and I'm definitely loving her writing, and characters. Another great addition to the "love is an open road" part of the M/M romance group's.

"Lima Oscar victor echo and the truth about everything" is the story about two best friends (Oscar) who is gay but not out and (Jaime) who is straight. Oscar has been in love with Jaime for while and doesn't know how to tell him. Both Oscar and Jaime were amazing guys that were fiercely loyal to each other, they were each other's strength and weaknesses as well. But I gotta say my favorite was Oscar, he was bullied at school and the saddest part by his own father. That man was a horrible human being the way he treated Oscar was heartbreaking.
But it made even more wonderful to see Oscar rise up!!






The love between this two guys was so sweet but oh so angsty! I couldn't get enough of them, it definitely had me on an emotional rollercoaster. But my favorite part was their declaration of love, freaking loved it! Got me all teary in the most happiest of ways. Definitely Lima Oscar Victor Echo this book!

[Linda ~ they got the mustard out! ~ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

I decided to start using my lunch breaks to try to get through some of these DRitC stories I've had sitting on my Kindle for the past two+ years. This was the first one. And might be the last one.

It had it's cute moments, don't get me wrong. The few short scenes that Oscar and Jamie actually spend on page together, it was easy to see why they're such good friends, and why they would be great as something more. They just don't get to spend a lot of time together - even though they're best friends and work in the same record store four days out of the week. *shrug*

But in the end it didn't really hold my interest. If you've read even a handful of friends-to-lovers or GFY stories (though this isn't GFY but teases at it for most of the story) then you can predict every single step the plot takes from beginning to end. It has ALL the tropes, including but not limited to:

~Dudes who don't talk about feelings.
~Dudes who angst about not being able to talk about feelings.
~Dudes who are so terrible with feelings that they're not even sure what feelings they're feeling and they don't know how to feel about that. :(
~The female bestie who likes to meddle. Because someone's gotta move this plot forward.
~The ex-girlfriend who conveniently shows up to throw a wrench in the clockwork, though really the guys not talking to each other does that just fine on its own.

If you like those tropes, then you'll enjoy this story a lot more than I did.

On top of that, there are several dropped plot lines that really didn't need to be crammed into this novella. There are inconsistencies as well. Jamie and Oscar seem to have been besties since forever, but Oscar never met Jamie's mom even though she only died a year before, and Jamie only met Oscar's dad once. At one point, it's mentioned that Jamie opens the shop - but then later on, he doesn't have the keys to close it. Huh?

And then it just ends in the middle of a scene. What?!

[Meep]

Thanks to the author for participating and offering this freebie, regardless of rating that's appreciated.
Removed 2* rating. This bugged at me.

DNF @ 67%

The story is straight-forward Y.A. complete with spin-the-bottle.
But really not for me; I struggled - partly because I can't mesh with Fleet's writing style (it happens) but then add overwrought angsting and other niggles.

WARNING - The story references the death of a parent. But, I did NOT see mention of that pre-reading, nor was it in the tags. It's not something I'm comfortable stumbling upon and I'd have appreciated the option to avoid that.

The story is set not far from where I live; what various reviewers have call the gritty, realistic, wilds of Wales - I call home. It's the reason I decided to read it.

One character never thinks of the other boy when he can think of the 'valley boy'. Personally I don't look out the window at the 'Welsh mountains' - though right now I am looking up at the mountains, that happen to be Welsh. Hair-splitting - but it made setting feel forced, flag waving to remind us where they supposedly were.
Welsh people have a lot of sayings; phrases/word choices that don't necessarily translate - it's a constant source of amusement/bewilderment (sometimes mockery) to non-Welsh - there wasn't one Welshism in the story.

For most this wont be an issue - but to me it didn't feel local, I got caught on little details finding myself debating for example if I'd ever heard anyone say 'lads' maybe 10/15 miles down the road they do - here it's 'guys' or 'boys'.

Oh and relations with a lecturerer (side-character) IS an issue, same as it is in school.

There's starry-eyed music apprecaition, spunky girls with bright pink hair or tight short dresses and navel-gazing galore - If you like YA then you may enjoy this.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Things I've learned from this story:

*Suki Fleet "lite" is similar to Amy Lane "lite". They are both like a kick in the nads. The ache in the pit of your stomach is debilitating and seems to go on forever. Yeah, that's a bit dramatic but oh well.

*Suki Fleet is one very talented storyteller. This story grabbed me on the first page and didn't let up until it was over. The writing is superb. I loved the characters, the setting and the outcome of the story.

*Unfortunately, I've also learned that Suki Fleet, though an amazing author, is not someone I can read often. My heart just can't take it anymore. I used to thrive on this kind of stuff (hello, Jay Bell groupie here) but now I'm too much of a wuss and prefer the lighter reads.

Still a 4+ star read and a "definitely recommend" from me.

Thank you Suki Fleet and all of the volunteers who give of their time and talent to make this kick-ass event possible!!!

Thanks for the rec., Lori! *hugs*

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's being pasted as I type. I'm soooo looking forward to this. Hallo Sunday afternoon...



Every single star ever gets thrown at this story. There is a reason Suki Fleet is one of my favourite authors, and that reason is everything about this story.

The characters, the love. That first kiss - OH MY GOD, THAT FIRST KISS! There is not a word out of place in this story. Not one. Friends falling in love, yep, my favourite theme. Friends with a welsh accent (my favourite accent) - could it get any better? Pretty much no. I will read and re-read this story forever. I love Oscar & Jamie. I would adore more from this world. *bats lashes*

Thank you so much for your entry Suki, it's perfect. (Oh & get out from behind that rock!)

[Heather C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oscar Mike Golf!! I ♥ this story so much!! It was beautifully romantic and I had lots of happy tears by the end!!

[Rosalinda *KRASNORADA* · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

The writing was Golf Romeo Echo Alpha Tango ;

[Meags · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

This story was all sparks and sweetness!

Oscar spends his days secretly longing for his (straight) best friend, Jamie. He’s terrified of the negative repercussions he is certain will invade his world if his true feelings are discovered. In an effort to limit the potential fallout, Oscar tries to hide the truth from Jamie as best he can, because he knows the last thing he can survive is rejection from the one he loves and the possibility of losing his best friend in the process.

..everything else was background noise. Jamie was the song that filled his head.

Meanwhile, Jamie knows something is going on with Oscar; he’s acting distant and Jamie can’t quite work out why Oscar keeps blushing all the time. Jamie is willing to do anything in his power to make sure Oscar is ok and that he knows that Jamie is there for him, unequivocally. While Jamie is busy trying to work out what’s troubling Oscar, he’s also (unconsciously) coming to terms with his own changing feelings for Oscar. He knows Oscar is more than his best friend—he’s the most important person in his entire world! Regardless of this truth, Jamie spends the majority of the story blissfully unaware of what he’s really feeling….so what if he could write a whole dissertation on the topic of Oscar’s eyes?

The boys’ both have it bad and the subsequent dance they play while working it all out, was a joy to read. There’s a smidgen of angst, but it’s good angst, I promise!

I liked both characters immensely, but I absolutely adored Jamie, with his kazoos and his slowly expanding “emotional repertoire”. But mostly, I adored how unconditionally Jamie loved Oscar (even before he realised what those feelings truly meant).

The emotion of this story definitely snuck up on me. I was even waylaid by an unexpected attack of tears. I’m not really sure what I was expecting going in, but it wasn’t this little gem of a story, that’s for sure.

And the title! It’s seemingly obscure (at least to me, because clearly I’m an idiot), but once it was explained in the context of the story—MORE ATTACK TEARS!



Basically, this one just made me happy and I can't ask much more than that! So, a big thank-you to Suki Fleet for her contribution to this years DRitC event. You have a new fan! ;)

[Finnegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oscar is a talented young man, at uni learning the art of animation, he lives in fear of his bullying father, and is desperate in love with his best (straight?) friend Jamie. Oscar can't be gay in the homophobic valley where he has lived all his life, but leaving the valley also means leaving Jamie.

This story was just so well written, and angsty enough without being depressing. I just loved Oscar. He was a great character, who just takes things in his stride, even though he sometimes suffers through it. We also get Jamie's POV, and and could read about his affection(love?) for Oscar, and his confusion about his feelings.

I also liked the secondary characters, Leah especially was a gem! And the HEA ending almost had me in tears. Another awesome story for LOR!

[Yolanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maravillosa relectura

Qué maravilloso relato.
Qué historia la de Oscar y Jamie!! Es tremendamente especial.
Qué manera de hacerte sentir tiene Suki Fleet.
Sientes tristeza, incomprensión,desesperanza, punzada en el corazón, esperanza y felicidad. Qué grandioso es sentir que un autor te hace sentir todo eso, sobretodo, cuando lo hace con tan pocas páginas. No pierdes de vista la realidad en ningún momentos porque son personajes tremendamente reales.
Es lo primero que leo de Suki Fleet y qué bonito ha sido, qué especial.
Gracias Elsa por darme el "empujoncito" sin decirme nada, sin saberlo. Fue por tu review de Foxes (querida, no le doy solo al "like" me leo todas tus reviews atentamente XDD). Mado no tardes en leerlo :)

[Elena]

DNF At somewhere, someplace... 50%-ish?

So, basically, this is your basic friends-to-lovers. Like, it is the freaking epitome of it. If there was an established template to make a gay friends-to-lovers book, this would be it.

We got the insecure, gay main guy, yeah? And the supposedly straight BFF that he is crushing on. There is the sassy female best friend, of course, aware of the MC's crush and that seems to be the only thing those two can ever discuss.

There aren't that many problems with this book, it just, sadly, like every other book like this seems to be. I get serious Vietnam-flashbacks of Wattpad/Quotev BxB's reading it, so that's why I'm DNF:ing it. It just brings zero new thoughts to this trope.

[Pjm12 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved all the details, all the emotion and the two narrative voices. Oscar's animations allow him to come to terms with his identity, and Jamie has music to help him deal with the grief of his mother's death.

But mostly they have each other.

It's lovely writing, it's sweet and full of longing, and it's a satisfying resolution.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A favorite author of mine, I was ecstatic to find out Suki Fleet wrote a story for Love is an Open Road. As expected, I loved it! A heartfelt story about Oscar and Jamie, best friends overcoming their fears and falling in love. All the stars for this one!!

[Suki Fleet]

So this one is waaay lighter than my normal writes--maybe a teeny tiny bit of angst lurking--and I've always had a thing for the phonetic alphabet ;)

[Anyta Sunday]

Read in one sitting. Very sweet! A lovely Suki Fleet read. :D

[Tara♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Trying not to fall in love was a little like trying to stay awake forever - sometimes your body took over, dragged you under, and you woke up with someone's name carved on your heart like a secret you never wanted to know."



Very sweet and a little bit melancholy. I got a tiny bit frustrated with Oscar for not communicating with Jamie. I get why he felt he couldn't but we get to see things from Jamie's POV as well as Oscars so we know how awesome he really is, it made me want to shake Oscar. Still, it was very lovely.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

**Free on Amazon at time of review*** (10/24/19)

This one was a little longer than the last book I read by this author (Which was last night. 😂), but still a short read. Novella length. I again really loved their writing style. Dreamy and addicting, I couldn’t put it down and read in one sitting. I now have to step away from my iPad so I don’t get sucked into a third book by them. I’ve got some adulting to do.

[Izengabe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cara de boba y pupilas en forma de corazón.
Precioso.
No podría haberme llegado en mejor momento, lo recordaré con mucho cariño.
(Además me sé el alfabeto fonético de memoria, una de mis rarezas ;)