J. Tomas

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,” Jacob sighs. His hands run down Avery’s arms and he slides off the bench to the floor. Avery catches him in a rough embrace. “Oh, Jesus, Avery. I’m so dead. I’m so—”


“Shh.” Avery sits on the floor and leans back against the wall, Jacob huddled between his legs. Avery holds him as if he wants to sear this press of their bodies into Jacob’s memory forever. “It’s okay, Jacob. It’s going to be all right, do you hear me? Everything’s going to be fine.”


Then, because he’s been dying to say it and because he thinks Jacob needs to hear it, he whispers, “I love you. Oh, God, I love you. I’m not letting them take you from me, do you hear? I’m not letting you go.”


Chapter 63