Andy Howard dropped out of college to get away from his abusive father. When his longtime boyfriend reveals similar tendencies, Andy refuses to endure another moment of it, running away with nothing more than the cash in his pockets. He makes it to Virginia, where he's taken in by Scooter Stahl, a restaurant owner looking for an extra hand who's willing to be paid cash under the table.<br><br>Scooter's been struggling for years: to keep the beachside restaurant he inherited from his parents above water (both financially and literally); to live down the fact that he's gay in a small southern town; to get over the man who's owned his heart since he was fourteen. But he's never had to struggle as hard as he is now, to keep his hands off Andy.

Nights in Sandbridge

Scooter loaded the bags into the bed of a rather beat-up Dodge Ram. “Harry-Rex’ll feel better, if he sees you’re doin’ okay in a few days. An’ I might as well get this out of the way: I am gay an’ prettymuch all the locals know it. If that’s gonna be a problem for you, best we part ways now, no hard feelings.” There was something hesitantly belligerent in Scooter’s stance, like the Deliverance joke Harry-Rex had made earlier had rubbed him a little raw.


Andy held up his hands in surrender. “I’m bisexual myself,” he offered. “So unless you’re going tojump down my throat for not being gold-star gay, we’re good.”


Scooter studied him for a moment, those piercing gray-blue eyes seeming to see right through him. “A’ight, then. I don’t fuck customers and I don’t fuck employees. Those’re rules I don’t break—learned ‘em the hard way. So long as we’re clear, hop in and I’ll show you what passes for home for this neck of the woods.”


Chapter 6