Quiet and imaginative, Derek O'Reilly spends a lot of time watching a movie in his head. His fiancé Nathan wonders why Derek hasn't taken any interest in their wedding planning, and Aunt Fran -- his spiritual guru -- would like to know when her guilt-tripping nephew became a kept boy. When she drops Derek's childhood journal on his lap, he's forced to remember the name he's been trying to forget since he was twelve years old. Nicolai Lund. Nick was Derek's neighbor ... and first love. Weeks before Derek's engagement party, a chance meeting with Nick catapults Derek into the past. But Nick isn't that seventeen-year-old rebel anymore. He's a man hardened by invisible scars. A man struggling with grief. As Derek reads through his childhood diary, he realizes what Nick was to him, still is today, and yet might be ... NOTE: This edition has been expanded and substantially edited.

Split

But it would be easier to sit down with Indiana Jones than Nicolai Lund.


We were discussing the presentation over a bowl of tapioca, in Boone’s basement.


“We could ask your aunt some questions.” Boone flicked a crumb off the coffee table. “Make it look like she’s some big shot.”


“Because I don’t—don’t wa—wanna ask my aunt p—personal questions.”


I puzzled over his question for a moment. “Because then she’ll a—ask them all ri—right back.”


Boone skimmed his tapioca. He always carefully removes the first layer because he doesn’t like the cinnamon Mrs. Lund sprinkles on top. “We could ask Coach Angelos. He’s in the Club Optimist. They do charity work and stuff.”


Boone sighed impatiently. “You keep saying no to everything. What’s wrong with you anyway? You’re acting like a prissy boy.”


Chapter 36