From the farms of Tennessee, Beau Watkins had it all in high school: the cute girl, the popular jock lifestyle, a loving family. As a rising freshman at an out-of-state college, he's determined to find out who he really is behind the fake it 'til you make it attitude. He joins Rainbow Connection, the gay student alliance, hoping to find himself. Instead, he meets Vin Reyes. Raised by his grandparents and the heir to a prosperous company, Vin has been out of the closet since he figured out what that meant. He has it all: fashionable clothing, fancy cars, huge houses, and a real party lifestyle, even a bodyguard. Most of all, he has a secret. Uncomfortable with Vin's generosity, Beau fights his growing attraction for the president of Rainbow Connection, instead chasing a series of shallow affairs. Vin's never been denied anything he wants, though, and now he wants Beau. But it isn’t until an old rival puts Beau in the hospital that Vin realizes Beau means more to him than a simple affair. Can the two of them bridge the gap between their worlds and roll with the all the punches life throws at them?

On a Roll

“You’re dead meat, fag.” Chris was trying for intimidating, but his voice cracked in the middle. Like a spider, Chris was just as frightened of Beau as Beau was of him.


Beau stepped up, nose to nose with him. “Yes, I’m sure you’ll try. Know this: if your friends jump me, I will make it a point to hurt you. Not them. Just you. Do you think I can do that, bro? Just you?” Menacing. Quiet. Confident.


Vin was staring, eyes wide. “Do you even lift?”


“We should get out of here,” Beau suggested.


“That was the most awesome thing I have ever seen! My hero! You are one dangerous man!” Vin was laughing, high on adrenaline and amazement.


“I’m going to be one dead man, and so are you, if we hang around here much longer.”


Chapter 5