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

Suddenly the room around him was gray, the world drained of


color. He didn’t think it was just the darkness trapped behind the


curtains that cast such a pall on everything around him. Maybe I


can forget this happened and when I wake up my life will be like it


was before I met him, before I ever stepped foot into that shelter


and found out someone like him even existed.


But what hadlife been like before he met Jamie? Alex


couldn’t remember. Was it always this dull, this gray pressing


against him, cloying and hungry and sapping his energy away? How


had he managed to get out of bed in the morning without the promise


of seeing those bright blue eyes sparkle back at him?


He’s right, he thought in the stillness of his room. There’s


something between you two, something you can’t explain and


something you’ll never forget, and now that it’s gone how can you


Alex didn’t know. He didn’t think he wanted to know.


Chapter 34