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

Andy went still, his eyes going round which was pretty typical. Then he took half a step back, and his eyes flickered around the room like he was checking the exits, which usually only happened on the rare occasions when Jason was angry. Scooter wondered if that fresh shiner on Andy’s face was covering up an older one, and growled inwardly. Andy stopped himself, though, caught a breath and huffed it out hard before standing straighter and squaring his shoulders. “Christ, you’re a big guy,” he said as Jason came closer.


“Jason, this is Andy. Andy, Jason Anderson. Head cook and not the bottle washer, at his own very loud insistence. Jase, can you get Andy a—burger and fries okay with you?—while I show him the apartment?”


Jason offered Andy a hand to shake. “Nice to meet you,” he said, his voice low and rumbling. He raised an eyebrow at Scooter, jaw tightening a little.


Chapter 7