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

“So, how are things on the dating scene?” he asked. “Have you met anyone yet?”


“No, but I haven’t exactly been trying either.”


“Why not? Don’t tell me you’re still pining for your old boyfriend.”


“I’m not.” That wasn’t actually true. I wasstill pining for Chris, but the feeling was fading daily. I didn’t fixate on him or depress myself thinking about our breakup as often as I used to. But I still held onto a flicker of hope that we’d get back together, although that flame was growing dimmer with each passing day.


“Can I ask you a personal question?” Alex said, bringing me back to the conversation.


“Sure, but I can’t guarantee I’ll answer it.”


He took a sip from his drink before looking at me. “What do you like to do with another man?”


The bluntness of his response surprised me. Did he really expect me to tell him what I liked to do in bed? And why did he want to know in the first place? Was he preparing to make me an offer?


Chapter 16