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

“That’s it.” Jacob throws his books down. They hit the floor and fan out into the crowded hall, stopping the flow of students. A sudden hush falls like a shroud around them, silent. Jacob hears his own breath, ragged and loud in his ears. He hears the squeak of a shoe on the battered linoleum when Trevor steps back. He hears a locker slam far away.


Mike’s locker creaks as he picks at the metal handle. “Jacob, don’t.”


“What the fuckdid you just say?” Jacob demands. He’s looking past Mike at the freshman kid. He’s going to hurt someone for that comment.


For a long moment, he stares at the freshmen, Trevor and Erik and the boy whose name he doesn’t know. He dares them to say something else, anything at all. One word—that’s all he needs. One word and the fight begins.


Chapter 54