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

“Did he get a transfer?” Beau studied his hands. They were obviously the hands of someone who’d done physical labor, and quite a bit of it. His nails were dirty, ragged, and had probably never actually been filed. The kind of guy who trimmed his nails with a pocketknife. Or chewed them to the quick. Vin shivered, aroused and not wanting to be. Not yet. Not quite yet.


“Yeah, but we had to stay roomies for the rest of the semester. As soon as break came, he was switched out with someone who was going for a semester abroad. I had a double to myself the rest of the year. Which wasn’t what I intended when I decided to live on campus, really. He wasn’t around much anyway, after that. I think he took to sleeping at one of his friend’s rooms. I’m not sure that wasn’t gayer; go from sharing a room with one guy to sharing a room with two? Whatever.”


Chapter 6