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

Beau brushed aside the first quiet murmurs and the eyes following him through the dorm’s hallway as a side effect of wearing a suit. The hush and ebb of conversation was unnerving, but he didn’t look around, smiled a brief greeting at one of his dormmates with whom he’d had several good conversations with before and was disconcerted to get a glare instead.


It wasn’t until a few of his fellow students started to follow him down the hall that he got really nervous.


Voices ahead, angry. Someone—an adult, said something sharp, as if giving an order. More students were gathered in the corner, peeking over each other’s shoulders, muttering, whispering. They parted like the Red Sea when they saw Beau in their midst.


Chapter 58