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

“I’m mad at me. He’s my ex,” Mitch growled.


“Oh, uh, damn. How long’s he been your ex?”


“A few years now.” He stopped talking for a second. “I don’t know why he showed up tonight. He never did like this place. He thinks the name Billie Jean is stupid. Besides, he runs from neighborhoods and families.”


We rode in silence for a while, the city traffic building around us the farther we got from the detached homes. We were creeping up on the Marina District, near Cow Hollow. A grade-school friend who’d moved to the city had taken me on a tour of the area once when I was in town. He laughingly drove me around the Cow Hollow area of upscale shops and restaurants and told me I should feel right at home here since herds of cattle had roamed this area back in the day, before the big fire.


Chapter 15