Jason Townsend has issues with the older men in his life. His current boyfriend Jared is also his boss and, while the two get along wonderfully in the bedroom, their relationship at the office is tense and uncomfortable. Jason’s relationship with his father is also strained -- they grew apart when Jason came out shortly after his parents divorced. The only person Jason has ever been able to rely on is his mother. So when she announces she’s met Mr. Right, Jason is skeptical. When he meets her new boyfriend, handsome professor Paul Everett, he quickly realizes he and Paul have more in common than their connection to his mother. The two men had slept together the previous summer. Paul refuses to break things off with Jill, claiming he enjoys being with women and telling Jason their hook-up was a one-time thing that didn’t mean much to him. Unwilling to tell his mother about his past with Paul, Jason stews in silence as he watches his mother and Paul grow closer. At the same time, he finds himself becoming more and more attracted to Paul. When he can’t stand it any longer, Jason makes a pass at his mother’s boyfriend and is surprised his affections aren’t spurned. Even though Jason finds himself falling in love with Paul, he knows he’s betraying his mother and he hates himself for it. She’s always been his staunchest ally, and sleeping with her boyfriend abuses the trust between them. Can Jason love a man who’s also deceiving his mother? When he’s forced to choose between Paul and his mother, the decision isn’t as easy as it seems.

Daddy Issues

“How’s your father?” she asked me.


“When’s the last time you talked to him?”


“He’s not comfortable with you being gay, right?” Jared asked.


“You came out to him when you were, what, fifteen or sixteen?” Carmen asked. “Hasn’t he gotten over it yet?”


When I came out to my father, I did it by accident. I hadn’t planned on telling him I was gay that hot July day, three weeks before my sixteenth birthday, but felt I had to when he accused me of doing something awful. I was spending the weekend with him at his house in Bucks County and while he and I were in the garage pulling stuff out for the bulk garbage pickup Monday, he suddenly turned to me and asked, “What’s going on with you and Carmen?”


I looked at him. “What are you talking about?”


He sighed and shot me a frustrated look before asking, “Are you screwing her?”


Chapter 12