Chapter 1

1

Shay Rogers hummed merrily as he made his way up the steps to the front door of his brownstone. It was a beautiful summer day. Maybe he’d go to the beach later and catch some late afternoon rays. And who knows, he might meet someone interesting.

He stopped at the mailboxes in the entry hall. As he was taking out his key, his neighbor and good friend, Melissa, came in.

“Hey,” she said in greeting. “You look like you’re in a pretty good mood. You win the lotto or something?”

“I wish. No, I’m just feeling good. Nice day. Thinking of goin’ to the beach and gettin’ some sun.” Shay opened his mailbox, took out the mail, and began looking through it. “I’ll take Jasper. He’s had his midday walk with Nick, the dog walker, but it’s been awhile since he’s had a chance to run.”

Melissa laughed. “Jasper—run? The only time I’ve seen him move anywhere near quick is when he’s getting to his food.”

Shay smiled. “Well, he’s an old southern gentleman. Bloodhounds are known for their refinement and laid-back approach to life.”

Shay’s eyes fell on a letter. The return address showed it was from Tom Itrich. Shay’s smile faded.

“Something wrong?” Melissa asked.

“No. It’s from the guy who was president of our senior class. Probably an announcement of another class reunion.”

“Sounds like fun.”

Shay shrugged.

“What? You’ve told me you loved high school.”

“Most of it, yeah.”

“But not all?”

Shay sighed. “There were some things I did I’m not very proud of.”

“Enough to keep you from going to your reunion? But you said you were pretty popular and into all sorts of activities.”

“I was. And that’s the problem.”

“So, you’ve never gone to any of your reunions?”

Shay shook his head.

“Why not?” Melissa looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

Shay sighed. “I wasn’t out in high school.”

Melissa gave him a puzzled look. “Well, how many guys are out at that age? You are now though.”

“I am—here in Boston. But not in sweet home Alabama. It’s okay to be gay up here. It’s a whole different world back there, especially in the smaller communities like the one I grew up in. When I go home, and I don’t do that very often, I walk back in the closet, close and lock the door behind me—tight. Even my family doesn’t know. They think I have a girlfriend.”

Melissa frowned. “You invented a girlfriend just to keep them from knowing?”

“Yeah. Pretty lame, huh?”

Melissa chuckled. “I’ll say. How do you pull that one off?”

Shay looked sheepish. “I send pictures and talk about the stuff we do together. But when they suggest I bring her home with me, I say we’re not serious enough for her to meet the family.”

“Wait—you send pictures?”

Shay grimaced.

“What? Just random pictures of some girl?”

“No. I send pictures of you…us. They think you’re my girlfriend.”

Melissa stared at him. “I don’t know whether to feel used or amused.”

“I’m sorry. It’s just…to come out to my family and friends from home is just too hard. That’s one of the reasons I went to college up here and stayed. I kind of live in two different worlds.”

“You might’ve let me know I was your beard.”

“Are you mad at me for doing it?” Shay asked.

“No…well…no. I kind of understand. We’re friends, and I guess good enough friends for me to be okay with it. So tell me, how long have we been an item?”

“A couple of years.”

“Well, as long as we’ve been together that long, and since you’ve already set me up as your girlfriend, I think you should go to your reunion, and I could go with you. Then you’d have a cover if it’s that important to you to keep your secret.”

“Uh…I don’t know.”

“Just think about it, okay? I think you’d have a good time seeing all your old friends.”

* * * *

Shay went to his apartment and unlocked the door. When he went in, Jasper was asleep on the couch. He raised his head as Shay closed the door. His tail thumped the sofa, but he made no move to get up.

“Come on you lazy hound, give me a proper welcome,” Shay said. There was no response other than the continued thumping of Jasper’s long tail.

Shay tried another tack. “You want to go to the beach?”

Jasper raised his head, got up, stretched, and yawned. Then he circled and laid back down.

“Okay, you lazy cur, you win—no beach for you today.”

Jasper yawned again.