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

Avery ignores him. He’s good at that. He’s found that bullies tend to lose interest if he doesn’t fight back. That’s part of Jacob’s problem, he thinks. Jacob can’t tune others out. If someone says something to him, he has to talk back. If they shove him, he pushes back harder. Avery wonders if the boys snickering behind him say anything to Jacob. He hasn’t gotten in a fight since the first week of classes and Avery thinks his notoriety is beginning to wear thin.


Avery almost jumps at the shout, which comes from the bathroom, echoing off the tiles and out into the hall. He feels the words weigh him down, feels the stares, hears the laughter. For a second he falters. His foot, in mid-step, forgets where the floor is. These are sophomores, he tells himself. He’s a goddamn senior…


Chapter 35