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

Alex sighed. If I’m doing the right thing,


An awkward silence filled the car on the way back to


the shelter. Alex stared at the dark, half-empty streets and


wondered what he could possibly say to get Jamie to talk to him


again. Fine…the word echoed in his mind, and Jamie hadn’t


looked at him when he stood up, or when he helped Alex clean the


table, and he hadn’t said another word. Not I’m sorry,not


let’s forget about this,not look Alex, can’t we just be


Just fine,that was it, and Alex wanted to shout at him,


piss him off, get him angry enough to yell back because at least


then he wouldn’t be so quiet, and there wouldn’t be that


desperation in his eyes that Alex didn’t like one bit.


But what could he possibly say to get Jamie to talk to him


again, to see that sunshine smile light up the night and his life


once more? It would be so easy,he told himself as he drove,


Chapter 30