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

“Okay,” I told him. I figured even if he decided to bail once he saw where I lived, at least I’d have gotten a ride home.


Chris, true to his word, waited for me to get off duty and drove me home. He didn’t even hesitate when I told him where I lived, even though I figured it was out of his way. I assumed he lived downtown (or at least nowhere near Rogers Park) and I was right. He was living in the Lincoln Park condo into which I eventually moved. I gave him instructions how to get to my place, and during the drive, we asked and answered questions about each other. He was forthcoming about his life. He wasn’t involved with anyone at the time and told me his last relationship had ended about three months earlier. I wasn’t seeing anyone at that time either. My last boyfriend, Todd, and I had split several months earlier and I hadn’t exactly been on the prowl for anyone else.


Chapter 14