Panhandler Tales: Short Stories

By Wake Cruise

"Panhandler Tales" is a collection of five contemporary gay adventure short stories involving male panhandlers and men who desire them. The stories are set in Chicago neighborhoods, including Little Village, Pilsen, Lawndale, North Halsted, River North, and Chicago's Loop. The lifelike characters include panhandling men as well as men who want to get to know them. In this most recent edition, the 4th edition of "Panhandler Tales," a story called "A Sunset to Sunrise Panhandler" has been added. The story is about Billy, who sees Santi selling bottled water along Cicero Avenue one afternoon. He is immediately attracted to the handsome man. In time, he discovers Santi also panhandles after dark, which Billy considers a great time to take him out for dinner and more. In the recently-added short story titled "Wheelchaired Panhandler," a handicapped panhandler and an admiring street cruiser, who are from very different worlds, meet. They develop a friendship and a potential romance. The wheelchaired street panhandler lives in a dangerous neighborhood in Chicago's Little Village with his gangster brother and his father while the cruiser is a waiter in Pilsen who lives alone in a nearby western Chicago suburb. There are many adventurous challenges to them having a relationship. Another short story, "Diego: The Handsome Panhandler," involves a growing friendship complicated by physical attraction when Diego, a homeless man transplanted from California, unknowingly captivates a young businessman who sees him on the street regularly when driving to work in the city. Another short story, "The Panhandler and the Cruiser," involves a compulsive street cruiser's infatuation with a handsome Mexican named Pablo, who had recently taken to the streets after catching his wife cheating on him. Becoming a fixture in front of a taco diner where he begins panhandling regularly, the admiring cruiser's dedicated efforts to spend time privately with Pablo ignites salacious adventures. "The Liquor Store Panhandlers" is the story of two panhandlers who are regular beggars in front of liquor stores on 26th Street in Chicago's Little Village. They are Crim, who is a Two-Six gangbanger wannabe, and Alejandro, who is a hardcore Two-Sixer. Shark, a street cruiser for men, has picked Crim up regularly for quick dates. When Shark meets Alejandro, who is a younger, more attractive, and much more exciting and accommodating pickup, he loses interest in Crim. The story includes Crim's unscrupulous efforts to keep Shark away from Alejandro. All five of the short stories involve the street life adventures of the cruisers and the cruised, which include sexual attraction, strong desires, and the downtrodden panhandlers' varied reactions to being desired by men with money. Every story in "Panhandler Tales: Short Stories" is categorized as contemporary gay adventures.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B08L6F1WZ5
• ISBN13: 9798698821311
• Release Date: October 2020
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 260 Pages
• Weight: 0.57 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.0" x 8.0"