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

“And nothing I can say will change it,” the priest


Alex shook his head. “He doesn’t need someone like me. He needs


someone who can look at him without wondering what he tastes like,


or smells like, or feels like in my arms. You said he needed


someone to show him there was more to life than sex, right? And


I’ve tried but God, I just can’t. I haven’t touched him, I swear


it, but I’m afraid I can’t hold out much longer.”


“I meant the clubs,” Father Nate said gently. “I meant the


casual sex, Alex, not something born of love, not with someone who


“I can’t,” Alex said stubbornly. “Jesus, can’t you see? I


can’t do it, Nate. I just can’t.”


He waited, sure the priest would argue with him. Part of him


wanted to hear those arguments, wanted them to wear through his own


reasoning and crush his defenses and prove to him that it was okay


to love Jamie, it was right and it would work out, all of it would,


Chapter 32