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

“It was in my pocket,” Jacob explains. “I forgot to take it off this morning, we were in such a rush. When I knelt down to pick up my books, it fell on the floor.” He throws Avery a hateful look. Avery can see why the boys backed down the first time, if Jacob looked at them like that.“That’s when the fight broke out.”


Avery smiles, hoping to dispel Jacob’s anger. “You mean, that’s when you kicked their asses.”


Jacob laughs. “Yeah.” He turns off the faucet and leads Johnny to the hand dryers. As he hits the button to turn on the air, he raises his voice. Johnny steps beneath the dryer, hands held high. The air blows his hair back and dries his hands. “Mike didn’t tell Darth Vader about the ring. He said I was afraid of the dark. That’s why I had you sleep over. I was like, what the fuck?”


Johnny turns the dryer onto Jacob. “What the fuck?” he mimics.


“Johnny, don’t.” Jacob turns the dryer back down, slapping his brother’s hands away. “Don’t say ‘fuck.’ Mom will kill me.”


Chapter 67