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 want to be my wingman? This weekend?”


No. “Absolutely, Beau. I’ll take you around.”


The music was a wet, smothering blanket, thrown out the door and into Vin’s face. The beat was so loud that the pavement vibrated underfoot. Some barely discernible guitar chords screamed somewhere in the mess of bass and tempo. DJs, Vin reflected, were convinced that louder was in some complicated algorithm better than comprehensible. Or conversation, but hellwazzamatter with you, you wanted to talk to someone? Really?


Vin rolled his eyes at his inner monologue and gestured grandly to Beau. “After you,” he said. The bouncer went through the routine and stamped his forearm with a blurry rendition of an eagle after inspecting his ID so closely that one might have supposed Vinyl Elvis Reyes was on some terrorist watch list somewhere. He was used to it. One of those things that happened when you had an unusual name.


Chapter 10