Marcus in Retrograde by S.A. Sommers

Dating while demi was a form of damnation.
Chase Garcia was sure of it. From people in the LGBTQ+ community who didn’t know what ‘demi’ meant, to the perfect-on-paper dates that sparked nothing, he was just getting tired. He wanted a good night’s sleep.
But the neighbor’s dog would.not.shut.up. Leaving a note for the man sparked a message board war, and still–the dog kept barking.

Creating a new life was not easy.
Marcus Romano decided it wasn’t something he’d recommend to friends–if he had any. From working to afford the insanely expensive Greenwich Village apartment to sussing out if his coworkers even liked him, he was just worn down. He just wanted to be a good neighbor.
But Pollux had decided the neighbor’s wall was a bark target, and the first notes arrived soon after.

When a neighbor is nearly mugged and Pollux does his real duty to help, Chase and Marcus call a truce. A poorly timed peek at Chase’s audio book collection, scratching in the walls, and a manic dog throw them together–literally.

Chase finds his demi-dud dating life suddenly broken, and Marcus has finally started to settle into his new life as well.

Good luck has a half-life, though: Chase is faced with his past and Marcus finds himself in retrograde…