Carey Thornton is tired of couples. All his friends have someone special and he feels like the odd man out. Painfully single, Carey cruises the nightclubs and gay party scene, flirting with any hot guy who looks his way, but he always seems to be the one to go home alone.<br><br>It's comic convention weekend at the Omni Hotel where Carey works, and somehow he got roped into working the registration desk in the dealer room. While checking in the vendors before the crowds arrive, he meets the sexy Pat Dix, setting up the booth for Kryptonite Comics.<br><br>Painfully shy, Patrick has never dreamt an outgoing, fun-loving guy like Carey would ever find him attractive. He's surprised when Carey asks him to hang out after the convention hall closes, and he surprises himself by saying yes. A late night in the hotel pool with Carey's rowdy friends might just be what Patrick needs to break him out of his shell. But it isn't until the friends leave them alone that Patrick gets "Carey'd away."

Carey'd Away

“But the claws stayed,”Wolverine pointed out.“They ripped the skeleton out and they stayed.That’s some heavy shit.He’s a badass,I’m telling you.”


Carey drifted away from them,pretending to look over the comics wrapped in their protective bags that littered the booth.He spotted a familiar cover heknew all too well and kept moving before he could catch the price.Bill knewhe wasn’t into comics—he’d only bought a copy of the first issue of Vic andMatt because he’d heard it was about a gay man who got powers whenever his lover fucked him up the ass.How could a story like that not be good?Then Billhad seen it lying on Carey’s kitchen counter and casually offered him a twenty for it.What was Carey going to do,say no?Twenty bucks for a comic he’d spent what,four dollars on?If that.Only he forgot to tell me the bitch is worth a hundred and twenty,or two twenty,or whatever the hell it’sgoing for now.Sometimes he wondered how he managed to get stuck with such asshole friends.


Chapter 7