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

When Jamie spoke again, his breath tickled along Alex’s neck,


and Alex had to swallow hard against the desire raging through him


at these simple touches. “I’d never go anywhere without you,” Jamie


was saying, “and I’d give you the world, the sun, anything you


wanted, anything at all. At the clubs I’d tell them I have a man, I


don’t need to fuck around anymore. If I had someone like you.”


Alex felt the faintest press of lips against the back of his


neck. Hadn’t Jamie said he was saving those kisses? For whoever


it is I’m going to fall in love with…hadn’t he said that? To


only him.“Jamie,” he warned, but his voice was weak and held


Jamie sighed as he walked away. “That’s what’s on my mind,” he


Alex waited until he heard the TV click on in


the other room before he remembered how to breathe again.


After dinner, Alex sat on the sofa as Jamie thumbed


through his DVD collection. “I want to watch this,” Jamie would


Chapter 20