Easy-going Sebastien divides his time between working as a cleaning technician, caring for his widowed father, and running off to the park for soccer practice. Coasting through his existence, he's convinced he doesn't have much going for him.<br><br>That isn’t what his best friend Jack thinks. Quick-witted and passionate, Jack is fascinated by art and history, but the greatest book or painting could never compare to how he feels when he's alone with Sebastien.<br><br>In the last five years, Seb and Jack have shared everything, sometimes even a bed. Yet though their chemistry is smoking hot, Sebastien keeps Jack at a safe distance. But when the two move in together to lower their living expenses, that distance gets smaller and smaller, until Sebastien and Jack are standing so close, they can't see what's right in front of their eyes ... the love of their life.

Auguries of Summer

But Sebastien cared. He searched the world and its history for meaning.


“Nero was a Roman emperor,” I explained, lying back against Seb’s broad chest. I adored the patch of soft hair between his pecs and all those little scars he’d earned on the soccer field. “Nero was the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty and history tells us Nero was a madman with a violent temper and an insatiable sexual appetite who lived in complete and abject debauchery.”


Sebastien chuckled and his chest shook against my cheek. “I see.”


“There’s this book called The Satyricon—”


“Wait a minute. You couldn’t smell like his underwear drawer. They didn’t wear underwear back then.”


I looked up and caught the pleasure on Seb’s face. “You’ve been paying attention, haven’t you?” I rested my head on his heart again, listening to its strong and steady beat.


Chapter 58