Two men trapped in an elevator are about to discover they have more in common than the inconvenience of lost time. Dr. Mason Grant recognizes Parker Collins, whom he had loved during their senior year in high school, but Parker does not immediately recognize Mason. Maybe it’s the passage of time that has dulled his memory ... or maybe it’s the wheelchair in which Mason is confined. As the two wait to be rescued, Mason recalls their six month love affair -- its uncertain beginning, its athletic highs both on and off the field, its romantic peacefulness spent at the Grant’s remote lake cabin, as well as its painful lows and horrific conclusion. The teenage Mason realized there were two sides to his lover -- the confident Parker, an athletic hero popular with both teammates and female students, and the private Parker, who is unsure, sexually submissive, and needs to be cuddled and petted. All Mason wanted then was for Parker to love him, and not diminish what they shared by giving in to the social pressures that demanded he play out the role of football jock and studly lady killer. Now that they’re grown men, what happens when Parker sees past Mason’s wheelchair and realizes who’s trapped in the elevator with him?

Trapped Nerves

“Uh, yeah. Congratulations, I guess.”


“Wow,” Mason eventually said. Never did he


imagine that Parker, paranoid, scared-to-be-labeled-as-gay, Parker


would ever make such a declaration, and in such a public way,


“I know it doesn’t…can’t mean anything now,


but…I’d promised myself that if ever I met you again I’d do what I


“Thank you.” Mason didn’t know what else to


The two went quiet, Mason in his chair,


“So, uh,” Mason said to break the silence.


“You said you lost your job. I assume you found another, what with


“This,” Parker said, brushing at his pants,


“was one of the things I managed to salvage from the house before


Sue sent everything to Goodwill.” He sighed. “Her kicking me out of


the house and me losing my job was just the start. I soon realized


the word had gone out and no law firm in the Pacific north-west


Chapter 35