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

Those words festered inside him, unspoken. Alex forced an easy


shrug and hoped his voice sounded unaffected when he replied,


In a quiet voice Jamie asked, “Why can’t you like me?”


“I dolike you,” Alex said, keeping his gaze on the


table. He wouldn’t look at Jamie and see that pout, he


But Jamie sighed. “I know you do. I see it in your eyes. In your


hands when you touch me, and in your voice when you speak. But


there’s something in you that doesn’t like me very much at


“Then why can’t you likeme?” Jamie persisted. “You


look at me like I’ve always dreamed of being looked at, like


somehow you’re seeing insideme, but you won’t…”


He sighed again, and Alex blinked to clear the tears from his


eyes. How perceptive wasthis kid? Or were his emotions that


“I’ve tried everything I know, Alex, every way I can


imagine to get you to touch me like I know you want to, like we


Chapter 29