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

One person I did contact was Chris. We spoke shortly after I ran out on him and I did my best to explain why I’d left so abruptly and fled to Leah’s house. I also tried to assure him that he wasn’t to blame for my hasty departure. And even though he claimed to understand my need to get away, I could hear the hurt in his voice.


“I’m sorry I drove you away,” he said.


My heart sank. “You didn’t drive me away. I’m just going through a lot of shit and I couldn’t handle being with you on top of everything else.”


“How long do you think you’ll stay at Leah’s?”


“As long as she’ll have me, I guess, or until I get my shit sorted out.”


“And going back to your mom’s is out of the question?”


“Yes.” I didn’t elaborate and Chris, thankfully, didn’t ask me to.


“Well, I’m here for you if you need me.”


Chapter 39