After being kicked out of the Chicago condo where he and his boyfriend have lived together for over three years, Scott Parsons is forced to move back to the suburbs with his widowed mother because he's too broke to pay for a place of his own. Angry and humiliated over being dumped and kicked out, Scott tries to make the best of a bad situation by vowing to save enough money from his low-paying job so he can leave his mother's house and get a place of his own. His mother welcomes Scott back with open arms, but reveals she was secretly married her boyfriend during a trip to Las Vegas a month prior. Scott is surprised by his mother's news and even more surprised when he meets his handsome new stepbrother, Alex. Alex, a Stanford grad, has been living and working in LA, but returns to Chicago to pursue an MBA at the University of Chicago while working for a high-powered accounting firm. Scott and Alex initially butt heads, but soon discover there's more to like than dislike about each other. The first time Alex makes a pass at Scott, he ignores it. But when Alex makes a second attempt, Scott decides to take his stepbrother up on his offer and the two start a relationship. Even though Scott knows getting intimately involved with Alex is a bad idea, he also knows that sometimes a bad idea is just too good to ignore.

Fluidity

I cursed myself for opening my mouth to Amy earlier, but I wasn’t angry with her for spreading my breakup all over the office. My small group of coworkers was bound to find out sooner or later. But, in spite of everything that had happened, I was still hopeful Chris would change his mind after a week or two and ask me to come back. I kept telling myself that he just needed a little time to reassess our relationship and before coming to the realization that he wasn’t better off without me. I fantasized about coming in to work and announcing that Chris and I had worked out our differences and were back together. I imagined the pats on the back and well-wishes on our quick and speedy relationship recovery.


Chapter 7