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

Back at Alex’s apartment, Jamie sat on the floor in


the living room, a paper plate overflowing with lo mein and rice


juggled precariously in one hand as he shoveled food into his mouth


with the other. He sat back against the couch, gaze riveted to the


TV screen where Alex had turned on the latest Star Warsfilm


because Jamie told him he hadn’t seen it yet.


Alex sat on the couch beside him, watching Jamie watch TV and


wondering what it would feel like to touch the smooth skin along


Jamie’s neck, just below where his curls stopped. At some point


before dinner, he’d discarded the mesh T-shirt, and his tank top


hung low along his neck, exposing more skin that Alex ached to


touch. What if I just reached out and ran my thumb along the


back of his neck?he wondered as he ate. Just a little


touch. I could say I was brushing away a piece of lint, fuzz, a


hair, and then I’d know if he’s really as soft as he looks. And


Chapter 28