Fourteen years ago, on the banks of Craving’s Creek, Ryde swore to his best friend Alistair he’d never be alone in the world. Though Alistair was destined for the priesthood, there was something beyond holy about the first kiss they shared. But a fun camping trip went horribly wrong when Alistair was involved in a horrific incident. Now, at age thirty-one, Ryde’s life is a mess of alcohol and the painful imprint of his last look into Alistair’s desperate eyes. Since the evil they encountered on that shore, his first love has been lost to him ... until he learns a friend’s wedding is to be officiated by a priest named Father Alistair Genet. Amid the rush of emotions, one thought crystallizes: Ryde’s love for Alistair has never died. It’s stronger than ever. But can it win over the repressed memories slowly tearing Alistair’s mind apart?

Craving's Creek

“Look, go to choir and then fake a migraine or something. I’ll come to your window.”


His eyes light up. “Okay, I’ll do that.” He takes a step back. “You promise you’ll come?”


He glances back at the truck and steps right up to me. “Will you kiss me again later?” he whispers. “On the mouth, like you did before?”


His words stop my heart. I can’t speak. I just nod and stare at his mouth.


He runs off to the truck, trailing his bike through the gravel parking lot, leaving me behind in the dust with another hard-on.


I wipe myself clean with the last of the Kleenex and stuff that mess at the bottom of the small garbage can at the side of my bed. I zip up and try to slow my breathing down. I promise myself not to do it again for another two days. Maybe not two days, but at least until tonight. I need a glass of water. I need Alistair’s body, mouth, skin. I need to stop jerking off three times a day.


Chapter 15