Garner working as a waiter at an upscale restaurant with a growing attraction to a man named Alonzo, who always asks to be put in his section for dinner. One night after work, the man is assaulted while trailing Garner. Garner goes to his aid, but is shot for his trouble.<br><br>Taking time off from work to recover, Garner is resting on a park bench when Alonzo suddenly appears at the other end of the bench. Garner never saw him approach. He asks why Alonzo is trailing him.<br><br>After some hesitation, Alonzo explains he wants to recruit Garner to help fight against others who systematically hunt people like himself. Garner isn’t inclined to get involved in anything dangerous, but he does finds Alonzo more and more attractive, so he agrees to consider the idea. As he learns more about Alonzo’s bizarre and dangerous subculture, what Garner really wants to know is whether Alonzo is romantically interested in him at all.

Call to Love

And he had deliberately sought out Garner—or Garner’s section, anyway. That must mean something. He felt a sudden rush of excited hope, and realized that it was the regular who was the real motivation. He wanted to lose weight so he would be not just available and willing, but attractive as well.


It seemed almost the definition of a snowball’s chance in hell, but still.


When he had finished “breakfast,” Garner still felt restless. Vera hadn’t replied to his message, so he decided to go for a walk, a long, circuitous walk that would end with him arriving at the restaurant in time to start his shift. He would keep to the residential streets, so he could appreciate the burgeoning of spring that was occurring throughout the city.


Chapter 15