When he sees entrepreneur Mitch O'Shea whirling around an empty building, contractor Ben Behr is enchanted. Even though his two brothers are gay, Ben always thought he was a ladies' man until he met Mitch. Despite his feelings, Ben knows San Francisco native Mitch is totally out of his league. What could Ben possibly do to get out-and-proud Mitch to notice him? Turns out Mitch is just as attracted to Ben. As they compete in car rallies, camp in the Sierra Nevada foothills, and tour the bars Mitch owns in the city, they realize how stifled they've been their entire lives. Maybe looking over the fence and jumping it to explore what's on the other side are good ideas. When these two seemingly opposites get together, will Ben and Mitch find out they have the world at their feet and might even have love in their hearts?

Waking the Behr

We’d gotten out of Rita, after having grabbed the last parking space in the mall’s tiny lot. I took a deep breath. Nothing to worry about. This was gonna be fun, right?


I straightened my shoulders and walked to where Mitch was waiting for me.  6


Before we went inside, Mitch stopped me.


“Look. I rarely go in the front door at this club, so I don’t know what to expect. I usually hit the office, talk to the manager, and maybe stick my head in to see the house.”


He was looking expectantly at me, but I didn’t really understand why. Was he ashamed of me or something? Whatever the reason, I tried to reassure him anyway.


“Hey, I get it, man. It’s not like we’re dating or anything.”


Why did that feel like a lie? We’d been doing a lot of stuff together in Stone Acres during the last few months.


He gave me a weird, almost disappointed look.


Chapter 13