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

“If you want a broken jaw to go with that dislocated shoulder, you just keep on flapping it!” Enough and enough and enough was too much.


Joanna’s fingers tightened on each other, her hands clasped rigidly together. Her fingernails dug into her pale, weathered skin.


“Lee,” she said, “you go on out, now. I expect Beau and I need to have us a talk.”


Lee glared, not quite looking at Beau. “I won’t have him as my best man, Momma. Best man! Ha! As if.”


“That’s your right to decide, Lee, but get you gone right now.”


There was a long silence, painful. Things broke beyond repair in that silence. Beau was almost positive that he was one of those things. Nothing would ever be the same. Words that couldn’t be taken back were shouted silently across the emptiness.


Beau stayed there, half-kneeling on the floor, the dishrag still caught up in his cold, numb fingers.


Chapter 64