On a whim, Alex signs up to volunteer with an outreach program at a local youth shelter. When Father Nate calls him and asks him to work with Jamie as a big brother, Alex envisions a little kid he'll pal around with. What he doesn't expect is Jamie Owens, an 18 year old boy with a bad attitude who's only two years younger than Alex himself.<br><br>Jamie's hot. Very hot, and nervy, and precocious, and damn sexy, to boot. Even if he is eighteen, Alex feels guilty lusting after the kid. Alex sees himself as a mentor to Jamie, someone to look up to, someone to prove being a gay man doesn't mean casual sex in crowded clubs. He tries to keep his distance, both physically and emotionally, but Alex is sending some very mixed signals, and Jamie is getting pretty frustrated. As their friendship grows, Jamie becomes a part of Alex's life in a way neither expects.

Conflict of Interest

With a short laugh Jamie asked, “What the fuck do you know about


it? When’s the last time someone called youa fag?” When


Alex didn’t reply immediately, Jamie laughed again. “That’s what I


thought. You don’t get it. You don’t have to deal with shit like


this and you’re going to tell me what to do? Fuck that.”


Around them the traffic grew heavy, the city bus in front of


their car forcing Alex to drive with one foot on the brake. He


slowed down as the bus turned off, and then hit the brakes before


he could run a red light. Relaxing his grip on the steering wheel,


he looked over at Jamie and found his gaze wandering to the hard,


flat muscles in the guy’s stomach, exposed through the torn shirt.


Alex remembered the way they felt beneath his palms when he pulled


Jamie back from the fight. “Last week,” he whispered.


Finally Jamie turned to him, confusion written across his young


face. “I was at my parents’ house,” Alex explained, “and my dad


Chapter 9