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

With the door shut, Jacob says, “I’m not Greg.” Avery doesn’t speak. “I’m not fucking around on you, Avery.”


“What’s going on here, then?” Avery wants to know. “You’re not in church, you don’t call or stop by to tell me why not. I manage to slip away and come over here, worried to death about you, and you’re just sitting here. With him.”


Jacob rubs his forehead. He tells himself Avery is just being cautious. He’s been fucked over before and has somehow jumped to the conclusion that Jacob’s fooling around on him. But Jacob thought there was more trust between them. He thought Avery knew he was different. He bites back the dull anger that chokes his throat and says softly, “His grandfather died last night.” He suspects he wouldn’t feel so shitty if he had gotten more sleep.


Chapter 47