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 sighed, held up his phone, and flipped off the camera. He took a picture of his outstretched finger, texting it back just as Andy came out. “Swear to Christ,” he muttered. “At least if you do murder me in my sleep, Jason will stop nagging me.” He tucked his phone away.


Andy’s mouth twisted into something that wasn’t quite a smile. “Wondered if I was imagining the dirty looks,” he said.


“Jason…” Scooter pondered it as he headed down the stairs. How to explain Jason in fifty words or less? Like explicating poetry. “Jason’s a little overprotective. He says I trust too easy and he makes up for it by starting two strikes down with everyone he meets. We’ve known each other since we were in second grade, so…He’ll come around. You’ll grow on him. Like moss.”


Chapter 13