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A Lesson in Truth

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David's a graduate student about to finish his thesis. Michael's his advisor and former instructor. The two shouldn't have feelings for each other, but after two years of friendship and longing, David can no longer deny what he's feeling. Is Michael ready to accept being more than a teacher to a man fifteen years younger? And if they give into their desires, is it only a way for them to say good-bye?

16 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Sloan Parker

17 books658 followers
Award-winning author Sloan Parker writes passionate, dramatic stories about two men (or more) falling in love. She enjoys writing in the fictional world because in fiction you can be anything, do anything—even fall in love for the first time over and over again. Sloan lives in Ohio with her partner and their neurotic cats. Her greatest moments in life are spent with her family, her friends, and her characters.

To contact Sloan, find out about her books that are available for purchase, and read free stories, visit: www.sloanparker.com. If you'd like to be notified of new releases and get exclusive sneak peeks, be sure to sign up to receive Sloan Parker's newsletter via her website.

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5 stars
86 (15%)
4 stars
191 (34%)
3 stars
207 (36%)
2 stars
55 (9%)
1 star
21 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 96 reviews
Profile Image for BevS.
2,811 reviews2 followers
May 4, 2013


Sloan Parker freebie from ARe. This is the story of David, a student, and Michael, his instructor. David has been in love with Michael for the two years that he's been studying, and is under the impression that Michael no longer even wants to be friends with him as he is arranging for another instructor/tutor to take over David's thesis...but he couldn't be further from the truth!! Recommended.
Profile Image for Macky.
1,949 reviews230 followers
June 7, 2013
3.5*

Enjoyable free short. Sexy and romantic this is a sweet read with some hot loving, a misunderstanding and a sigh worthy HEA all wrapped up in a bite size package that fills a corner very nicely.

And its from Sloan Parker. Nuff said.
Profile Image for CrabbyPatty.
1,674 reviews181 followers
November 1, 2017
Sloan Parker - wow. Love how she can encapsulate a complete story in just a few pages and make us feel that we understand the characters, their feelings, their love. Plus hot sex on a professor's desk ... 4 stars.
Profile Image for Kaseka.
Author 2 books16 followers
September 22, 2010
Not nearly as good as Parker's More Than Just A Good Book, which I loved.

The Plot: "A Lesson In Truth" is a first-time sex scene between an advisor and the advisee he informs he has voluntarily transferred to another advisor. The advisee, who has a huge crush on his advisor and thought it was mutual, is devastated. Then...the two have sex, which the advisee assumes is break-up sex for the relationship they didn't officially have. But his advisor clears everything up, proposes to him, and all is well.

The Reason for my Rating: The story could've had more build-up to the sex; the advisor's proposal at the end seemed to come from nowhere, as despite their closeness, he and the student hadn't actually dated before this scene; and the main character's perpetual confusion when it was clear to me that his advisor wasn't breaking up with him, merely transferring him to avoid ethical conflict between them and the school, was really frustrating. I feel like the premise for this story was a cliched plot device meant to yank the reader's heartstrings even through the sex, then fix it with a proposal and the revelation that all was a misunderstanding. Unfortunately, as it was clear to me from the beginning that all was a misunderstanding, the story couldn't work for me the way it should.

My Conclusion: The writing itself was fine, but because of the above issues, I couldn't enjoy this story. I'll still try more by Parker, though. Despite the problems with this story's premise, her writing mechanics and style are good, and I'm curious about what she can do with a story that plays to her writing strengths.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Katherine.
Author 2 books82 followers
May 13, 2011
Sloan Parker does it again!

A short story full with love, fun, companionship & hot sex.

David and Michael have a unique relationship as professor and student.
David is a graduated working in his thesis, and have Michael as his advisor.
Knowing each other for two years, one night their friendship is put to risk with a single kiss.
Michael decides that he cannot help David with his thesis anymore, and pass him to other professor.

When David thought that everything was lost, Michael surprised him again. (And me)
That's such a sweet short-history.
Also is a freebie from Sloan's Parker site ;)


Profile Image for Sloan Parker.
Author 17 books658 followers
Shelved as 'm-m'
April 14, 2017
A free one-scene short available on my website.

David’s a graduate student about to finish his thesis. Michael’s his advisor and former instructor. The two shouldn’t have feelings for each other, but after two years of friendship and longing, David can no longer deny what he’s feeling. Is Michael ready to accept being more than a teacher to a man fifteen years younger? And if they give into their desires, is it only a way for them to say goodbye?
Profile Image for Serena Yates.
Author 97 books769 followers
April 30, 2013
This is a sweet, very passionate piece about a longing for love finally fulfilled. Even though it is more of a long scene, the characters and their emotions pulled me in from the start, and it was quite clear who they are and how much they mean to each other.

The threat of losing everything loomed large for David, who immediately assumes the worst when Michael, his student adviser, passes his thesis to another professor. Even though they never had a relationship, due to their status as student and adviser, the friendship they have built always felt like more to David.

Michael is doing the right thing, the only thing he can ethically do, by handing over the professional part of their relationship, David's thesis, to someone else. While he is older, and waited long enough to be sure about his love for David, he is no less passionate when they finally do come together. He's just been hiding it better.

If you like short, hot reads, give this one a try. It's free and a god sample of Sloan's writing style.
Profile Image for Ami.
6,041 reviews491 followers
November 19, 2010
This is the second FREE short story from Sloan Parker that I read, after More Than Just a Good Book .... She does have one released novel, but it's an MMM and I a bit leary to try books that state upfront that it will be an MMM.

Well, back to this one, I think it's a lovely and sweet short story. While myself, as a reader, already know the real reason why Michael tells David that he does not want to be his advisor anymore -- but since the story is written from David's point of view (using 1st person narrative), I can still enjoy his misunderstanding and feel the sympathy for him. Because I know how much David loves Michael and that it breaks his heart when he thinks Michael is cutting off ties after they shared a kiss ... the ending might feel like it comes out of nowhere, but not really a big niggle for me.
Profile Image for Christy.
4,000 reviews119 followers
March 4, 2017
A very sweet, sexy, read that was far too short. I would have loved learning a little more about David and Michael, but in the end, nothing mattered but what they learned.
Profile Image for Donna.
3,069 reviews40 followers
September 20, 2017
Sometimes it is like men speak a different language when they are talking to each other! Communication should be taught in school... *grin*
Profile Image for Leo01.
21 reviews7 followers
February 9, 2021
I didn't expect the story will get stright to the point. And you will get a lot of the main character's thoughts and feelings, but not too deep. Overall, the book was good. It was a quick read.
Profile Image for Alex is The Romance Fox.
1,461 reviews1,193 followers
October 8, 2012
This author is new to me and this is the only second book I have read...More being the 1st.

I liked the story despite it being a bit far-fetched, of Michael, the professor and older man and David, his much younger student. It was rather sweet and cute with a hot sex scene. I would have liked for it to be a bit longer...I finished the 10 pages in something like 15 minutes....it flashed before my eyes..and then...THE END.
David seemed very young and somehow a bit immature to me....all that misunderstanding....talk about crossed communication!!!

The ending was like.....okay, let's get married.....what...after first time lovemaking....oh...maybe they know each other...or maybe...it's fantasy and these things HAPPEN!!!!

I do like the writing style and I definitely want to read more of her books. In fact I am about to start on Breathe, which I believe is amazing.
Profile Image for Lolita.
100 reviews1 follower
January 29, 2014
I love this story more than "swept away" and "the break in."
it is a sexy relationship between a student and a teacher.
the character of the professor is well painted, actually great painted..
and the love story is great, and it really moved me..
"And because I’m just a college kid he has a hard-on for. Nothing special. Nothing to take a chance on" i loved these sentence very much..
"Even if I was done taking his classes, I was still a student in his department."
which David said ..
they remind us all the time about the difference between them.
Profile Image for Marissa.
600 reviews110 followers
February 13, 2013
2.5-3.0 stars
Very, very, very short, but ended kinda sweet. Though, it could have used a bit more backstory to their relationship and the sudden 180 it seemed to take from the first page.
864 reviews1 follower
September 26, 2012
A nice sex scene... but I think the continual doubting by David was overwrought and poorly handled.

The plot part of the story was not believable, which makes the sex less enjoyable, even in a short story that is mainly about sex. The characters... are interesting, but not quite realistic because they're too... extreme in their emotions.
Profile Image for Bookbee.
1,419 reviews23 followers
October 9, 2011
3.5 STARS rounded up to 4 because I like Sloan Parker's work so much!

In this instance the story would have benefitted from a few more pages. The 'finale' sort of just popped out there much too suddenly not allowing me to glory in the HEA.
Profile Image for Tabatha.
688 reviews79 followers
March 6, 2014
I really enjoyed this short story, and I think there is something to be said for not over complicating things. It had plenty of emotion going on, and it was just an overall sweet story. :) It definitely left me wanting more with these two, but I'm very happy with the way it was written.
Profile Image for Shelley Chastagner.
2,583 reviews37 followers
August 1, 2015
This was a very short story with about 16 pages. The author does a great job of really conveying the emotions of the characters. I liked that they had been building their relationship for the last two years. Sweet ending.
Adult read
Profile Image for Meggie.
5,106 reviews
January 27, 2011
This short story is really interesting glimpse into story which could be more developed. It was enjoyable.
Profile Image for Kat.
598 reviews107 followers
August 11, 2011
This is such a romantic and sweet story, I really liked it.

...and I do want to have some Cap’n Crunch now!!!! :)
Profile Image for Janis Guerrero.
227 reviews2 followers
August 16, 2019
Gorgeously written!

This is a beautiful love story between two people, going beyond gender, age, and status. Unrequited love has a sweet desperation that speaks to everyone. We all know that pain. Thank you for writing a beautiful story!
Profile Image for Felix Esquite.
9 reviews
May 9, 2020
I was a good read, I always loved the happily ever after stories, this one was one of them. I enjoyed how the characters were explained the situations in a short amount of time (pages). The hot scene was good, but like a said I like the happy ever after, this is the best here.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 96 reviews

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