Sixteen year old Jacob Smithson has quite a temper. He’s picked on by other kids because he likes boys, and recent fighting has kicked him out of public school. As a last resort, his parents have placed him in the St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Boarding School for Boys.<br><br>It’s at his first mass at St. Thomas where he sees Avery Dendritch, a senior who serves as altar boy during the service. When they meet, the attraction between them is hard to deny. The two become fast friends, and as the school year progresses, their friendship deepens into something more. For the first time, Jacob has found a place where he belongs ... and someone with whom he’s falling in love.<br><br>But the other students gossip about their growing relationship, and while Avery can ignore them, Jacob cannot. As the rumors and slurs start up again, can he curb his temper, or will his penchant for fighting get him expelled from St. Thomas, as well?

Without Sin

Tyrone laughs. “Marie?” With a quick glance over his shoulder at the crowd, he asks, “Which one is she?”


With his other hand, Tyrone tugs at one of Jacob’s curls. “You don’t know.” He grins like that’s the cutest thing he’s ever heard.


Jacob holds up his empty cup of beer in both hands like a shield. He wishes it were full. He wants something to drink.


Leaning his head against the wall beside Jacob’s, Tyrone asks, “So you’re here by yourself?”


Jacob shakes his head. “I’m with Avery,” he whispers. Because he likes the sound of that, he says it again, louder. “Avery.”


“Avery?” Tyrone asks. He frowns at the name. “You mean—”


Jacob looks past Tyrone’s shoulder and sees Avery there, his light eyes shiny with drink. “Hands off, Ty. Find your own boy. This one’s mine.”


Tyrone’s hand drops away. He steps back, suddenly apologetic. “You’re from Aquinas,” he says bitterly, as if Jacob lied to him. “Avery, I didn’t know. I swear…”


Chapter 13