plik

ORE

HAN

NOUGH

… Bart was vaguely aware of Evan yanking his jeans and briefs

down enough to expose his cock before feeling a large hand jerking
him. With expert strokes, Evan had him desperate and shaking in
seconds. Hell, it never felt so good when he jerked himself off.

Evan‟s lips strayed away from his already swollen lips to nip at the

pulse of Bart‟s throat. He leaned his head back as the wave of a
powerful orgasm hit him, cum covering Evan‟s long fingers. His
whole body shook with the force of coming.

Once more Evan‟s mouth was on his and it was all just a bit

overwhelming. He  hadn‟t ever come with anyone else. It had always
been  with  only  his  own  hand  and  only  rarely  given  his  living
arrangements.  His  one  disastrous  night  with  Parker  he‟d  not  had  an
orgasm.

Evan broke the kiss and pushed him toward his private bathroom.

He had a brief thought about how cool it must be to be rich, but then it
flew from his mind when Evan reached inside the enormous glass
shower to turn on the shower spray.

Bart titled his head to look at Evan. “Are we going to take a

shower?”

“Yes, we‟re going to have shower sex. Trust me, Bart. You‟ll like

it.”

And before he could stop him, or think to stop him, Evan had

pulled Bart‟s T-shirt off over his head. Evan froze, his previously
grinning, lecherous expression slipping from his face to be replaced
with horror.

“Who did that to you?” he whispered…

LSO

HAWN

ANE

At Long Last

The Beach House

The Best Gift

Car Wash

Galaxy’s Heart

The “His” Series

His One And Only

Hitting It Big

The Impersonator

Jake’s Regret

Lawyers In Love

Lost Between

Manfred’s Curse

More Than Anything

Most Likely To Succeed

The “Only” Series

The Other Side

Pieces

Pulling Apart
Pulling Away

Sorcerer’s Lover, I & II

The Squire

Still The One

Sweet Reunion

Ticket To Ride

Twice In A Lifetime

Until The End Of Time

MORE THAN ENOUGH

SHAWN LANE

MBER

UILL

RESS

LLC

http://www.AmberQuill.com

ORE

HAN

NOUGH

MBER

UILL

RESS

OOK

This book is a work of fiction.

All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the

author‟s imagination, or have been used fictitiously.

Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales,

or events is entirely coincidental.

Amber Quill Press, LLC

http://www.AmberQuill.com

No portion of this book may be transmitted or

reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in

writing from the publisher, with the exception of brief

excerpts used for the purposes of review.

ISBN 978-1-61124-213-3

PUBLISHED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

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CHAPTER 1

Bart Smith put another dish in the drying rack and grimaced at

the several plates and cups still left in the soapy water in the sink.
What he wouldn‟t give for the luxury of a dishwasher.

His younger sister, Julie, sat at the dinette set in the small faded

yellow kitchen doing her homework. She was in the last year of
high school. She twirled one finger around several strands of her
long red hair. That was something all the Smiths had in common,
crimson red hair.

The front door of their apartment slammed so hard it rattled the

dishes in the drying rack. Julie looked up, her cornflower blue eyes
wide with dread. Bart‟s stomach clenched as he listened. He held
his breath

“I‟m home, you lazy brats,” Ronnie Smith yelled from the

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living room. He stomped toward the bathroom in the hallway.

“Go spend the night at Desiree‟s,” Bart told his sister. “Go now

while he‟s taking a leak.”

Julie didn‟t have to be told twice. She scooped up her books

and dashed from the kitchen. Seconds later he heard the front door
close once more. They‟d made something of a routine of this. Julie
kept clothes at her best friend‟s house so she could flee at a
moment‟s notice.

The toilet flushed and then his father appeared in the kitchen

doorway. His red hair stood on end, his T-shirt was stained with
yellow and green spots, and his belly stuck out at the end of the too
short shirt. His work pants were also stained, with oil and car
grease since Ronnie made his living as a mechanic.

Bart tossed down the dishrag. “I have to go to work.”
“You ain‟t finished the dishes.”
“I‟ll be late for work.”
Ronnie belched and walked into the kitchen and headed for the

fridge. “Too bad. Wash faster. Finish them up.”

Knowing it would be pointless, and likely painful to argue, he

turned back to the sink, watching Ronnie grab a can of beer from
the freezer. Judging by the stench coming off the man, he‟d
already stopped at the bar on his way home.

“Where‟s your sister?”
“Staying at Desiree‟s.”
“She spends so much time over there, they should just adopt

her,” Ronnie said, then snorted. “Lucky me having two daughters.”

Bart kept the wince off his face with practiced effort. He was

used to Ronnie‟s jibes. They used to hurt. Okay, maybe they still
did. He was just better at hiding it. He worked through the
remainder of the dishes quickly, aware the old man watched him

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the whole time.

“What‟s to eat?”
Bart glanced over at him as he dried the dishes and put them

away. “I made you a cheese sandwich.”

“Cheese? What the hell happened to meat around here?”
“I need to go to the store. I‟ll go tomorrow.”
“Get some ice cream and cookies, too,” Ronnie ordered. “And

beer.”

“I‟m not old enough.”
“Fucking useless,” Ronnie said, then belched again. “I have to

do everything around here. Get the fuck out of here and earn some
money. Leave those.” He cuffed Bart on the ear with the palm of
his hand.

Bart ducked away, ignoring the pain in his ear, and grabbed his

uniform shirt he‟d left on one of the dinette chairs. When he was
out the door, he reached into the pocket of his pants and took out
the diamond studs he wore in his left ear and put them in.

He ran to the opposite side of the parking lot of the apartment

building where he‟d left his old Nissan Sentra he‟d paid five
hundred for and got in. For the next few hours, anyway, he was
free.

* * *

Bart pushed a heavy lock of his hair out of his eyes and pushed

the picture of a hamburger on the cash register. He adjusted the
headset earpiece.

“Will there be anything else?”
“That‟s it,” the customer‟s voice crackled over the loudspeaker.
“Seven twenty-five at the first window,” Bart said, massaging

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his temples.

“You look like hell, sweetie,” his co-worker, Annie, said.

“Rough day?”

“Not like you think.”
She gave him a look. “What do I think?”
“I wasn‟t partying or anything like that.” Far from it in fact.
Annie smiled. “Studying?”
“Yeah.” Bart preferred to lie rather than to get into his father‟s

abuse.

Annie handed him the bag of food just as the customer pulled

up to the fast food window. Bart turned to the customer and stared,
his heart nearly stalled in his chest.

“Hi. Bart, right?”
He said nothing. Just stared at the beautiful blond athletic man

in the Honda sedan. The man was gorgeous. Muscular and
chiseled. The classic boy next door look. Just Bart‟s type. Or
would be if he didn‟t try desperately to repress it.

“I‟m Desmond Stratton‟s cousin. Remember? I saw you with

your friend, Shayne. Evan Caruthers.”

“Uh, sure.” He handed the bag of food to Evan since he would

have paid at the window before Bart‟s. “Have a nice day.”

“Wait, Bart.” Evan didn‟t drive away. “When do you get a

break?”

He opened his mouth to say never. Because he didn‟t know

what Evan wanted, but it couldn‟t be good. It never was.

Annie leaned over him and glanced at Evan. “In half an hour.”
Bart wanted to throttle her.
Evan smiled. “Can you come outside? I‟ll be waiting with my

car over to the right. Will you come?”

“Why?” Bart asked.

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“I‟d like to talk to you.” The smile dimmed a bit.
He bit his lip. People in the cars behind Evan started honking

their horns. “All right.”

“Great, see you soon.” Evan pulled away from the drive-

through window.

Annie nudged him. “Nice going, Bart. That guy is so hot.”
Bart nodded. He rested his hand on his queasy stomach. How

could he get out of this?

Thirty minutes later, Bart stood at the double doors leading

outside and peered out. He could see Evan‟s car parked to the side.
Why was he here? What did he want? It had been Bart‟s
admittedly limited experience guys like Evan were up to no good
with guys like him. This wouldn‟t be any different.

“Go outside and meet him, Bart,” Annie said, coming to stand

beside him. “It‟s fine. No one cares.”

But I care.
She pushed open the doors and then him outside. Bart

whooshed out a breath. Might as well get it over with while there
were at least witnesses around. He felt for his cell phone in the
back pocket of his uniform pants. Maybe he should call Shayne for
back up.

Evan‟s car door opened and he got out. “Bart, come here.” He

waved Bart over.

He didn‟t see a band of thugs with Evan, but he supposed they

could be lurking in the backseat of the car. Maybe he was
cowardly, but he had come across thugs before. Making his legs
move toward Evan took a bit of effort, but he eventually had them
going at a normal pace. He stopped several feet away so he could
run back into the restaurant if needed.

“Hi,” he said in a too squeaky voice. He felt his face burn.

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Probably matched his damn red hair.

“Hi.” Evan smiled. “I was starting to think you weren‟t going

to come over here.”

Bart glanced past Evan toward the sedan, trying to peer inside.

“Is there some reason I shouldn‟t have?”

Evan glanced behind him uncertainly. “Um, no. What are you

looking for?”

“Just wanted to see if you were alone.”
“I am. It‟s just me.” Evan bridged the distance between them

with just a couple of long steps. “The truth is, I knew you worked
here so I came here on purpose.”

Bart frowned. “How did you know that?”
“I asked a friend of a friend.”
“Why would you do that?”
“I didn‟t know where you lived or your phone number.” Evan

shrugged. “You ran out of Henri‟s Diner the other day when you
and Shayne were there so I didn‟t have a chance to ask you.”

“Ask me?” He realized he was asking too many questions,

sounding too stupid, probably. But questions were all he had.

“Out. I wanted to ask you to go out with me, Bart.”
And the smile was back. Dazzling and white, like Evan‟s

parents had paid a fortune for braces for their golden prince of a
son. Evan did look like a prince out of a fairytale. Which made
Bart, what? The frog?

He sank his teeth into his bottom lip. “That‟s probably not a

good idea.”

The dazzling smile wavered but didn‟t wink out. “Why? Don‟t

you like me?”

He‟d have to be blind not to be attracted to Evan. He was pretty

sure Evan had to know how stunningly gorgeous he was. No doubt

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Evan could have anyone he wanted, male or female, just by
smiling at them. So, why in the hell would he be interested in Bart?

“Are you even gay?” he blurted.
Evan laughed at that. “Um, duh. Why would I ask you out if I

didn‟t like guys, Bart?”

“As a joke,” Bart replied without hesitation. Back in high

school a jock even went so far as to fuck Bart just so he could
make fun of him.

Evan‟s laughter faded and he looked suddenly very serious.

Even the merriment in his silvery blue eyes had disappeared. He
grabbed Bart‟s hands before Bart could react. Evan‟s hands were
warm and soft, like he‟d never had to do tough work.

“It‟s no joke. I‟m not like that. I‟m asking you out because I

think you are incredibly hot and I want to get to know you. We can
go see a movie or something. What time do you get off work
tonight?”

“Ten,” Bart said, without thinking.
“I can pick you up and we can see a late showing.”
“I have a car here.” Such as it was.
Evan smiled. “I can drop you back here after the movie‟s

over.”

He blinked. “Wouldn‟t it be easier to meet at the movie

theater?”

“It might be, but it also would give you the opportunity to stand

me up, Bart. And I have a feeling if I left it up to you, you would.”

“Well… ”
“I‟ll come back here a little before ten.”
“I didn‟t say yes.”
That smile flashed again, trying to beat down his barriers. “You

didn‟t say no either.”

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Bart thought about it. It‟s not like he wanted to rush home to

Ronnie. Hell, by ten Ronnie would be passed out on the couch with
the television left on. And his sister was safely out of the apartment
for the night. Did he dare go with Evan?‟

“You want to, don‟t you?” Evan squeezed his hands. Bart

looked down at them and realized they were still holding onto each
other. He tried to tug his hands out of Evan‟s grasp, but Evan
didn‟t let go. “Come on, Bart. Please?”

“I have to go back inside,” he whispered.
“Not until you say you‟ll go with me.”
He exhaled slowly. “Okay.”
Evan let go of his hands. “Great, I‟ll see you at ten.”

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CHAPTER 2

Evan pulled into the parking lot of the fast food place where

Bart worked at nine forty-five that night. He didn‟t want to give
Bart the chance to slip out early before Evan arrived to pick him
up. The guy was that skittish.

He had an idea Bart‟d had some pretty bad experiences in the

past, which accounted for his near panic when Evan had asked him
out. It was okay, though. Evan prided himself on being very
patient.

He got out of his car and leaned against it to wait. It was a

balmy night in Southern California with a bit of a light wind. Not
quite the infamous Santa Ana winds, but it could always take a
turn for the worse. Evan remembered plenty of fires in autumn.

The side doors of the restaurant opened just a couple minutes

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after ten and Evan spotted Bart‟s bright red head under the
fluorescent lights. His heart sped up. Damn the little redhead was
just his type.

“Bart,” he called out, and then waved.
Bart seemed to jump a little, but then he made his way toward

Evan. His chin length red hair looked vaguely messy and his
plump lips looked very pink, almost as though he wore lipstick, but
he didn‟t. Twinkling in Bart‟s left ear were two diamond studs. He
carried a small backpack.

“I decided we‟d go for coffee instead of a movie.”
“Oh?”
Evan nodded. “Yeah, since I want to get to know you. It

seemed kind of stupid to sit in a movie where we couldn‟t talk.
Don‟t you think?”

“I guess so.”
Evan smiled and opened his car door. “See, no one‟s here but

us.”

Bart licked his lips. “Good.”
He went around to the passenger side and opened the door for

Bart, who got in, albeit hesitantly.

“Actually,” he said as he got into the driver‟s side, “Henri‟s is

open twenty-four hours so I thought we‟d just go there. If you‟re
hungry, we can get something to eat.”

Bart didn‟t say anything just fidgeted and then fastened his

seatbelt. Evan stared at his profile for a minute, liking the angular
lines.

“All set?” He started his car and left the parking lot. “How was

work?”

Bart shrugged. “It was all right. Busy.”
“I bet. Back in high school I worked at Taco Bell. Crazy.”

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“Where do you work now?”
“A pool and spa supply place. During the summer I worked

there full-time. Right now I‟m just working a few hours on the
weekend. My dad owns the place so I help out when needed, but
he employs a regular staff so I don‟t see too many hours.”

“It must be nice to concentrate on school.”
Evan glanced at him briefly. “You work a lot?”
“Yes. I live with my father and sister and Ronnie doesn‟t bring

in a lot of money.”

“Ronnie?”
“My father. I call him by his name,” Bart said stiffly. “My

sister is still in high school. She doesn‟t work.”

He gripped the steering wheel tight. He didn‟t like hearing Bart

having to work so much. He had a feeling things weren‟t good for
Bart at home. Or maybe anywhere.

After parking his car right in front of the entrance to Henri‟s,

Evan secured them a booth and let Bart choose his seat. But rather
than sitting across from Bart, Evan slid in next to him.

“Um, you don‟t want to sit on the other side?” Bart asked, his

gorgeous sky blue eyes wide. Man, they were beautiful. He
realized that now sitting so close.

“I want to be close to you.”
“Well, uh, won‟t people think it strange?”
Evan shrugged. “First, who cares? I‟m on a date with a hot guy.

Second, look around, Bart. The place isn‟t exactly filled with tons
of people.”

Bart did glance around. “So, you‟re okay with people knowing

you‟re gay?”

“It‟s no one‟s business but mine and whoever I‟m with. But

there are those who know. My family does. Some of my friends.”

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“But you play football.”
Evan smiled. “I actually warm the bench mostly. And, to be

honest, this is going to be my final year. I‟m not interested in
professional sports. I‟ve always liked swimming much more than
football anyway.”

A waitress, maybe forty-five with platinum blond hair, came to

their booth. “What‟ll it be?”

“Coffee for me. You want coffee, Bart?”
Bart nodded.
“Two coffees and an order of chili cheese fries.”
When she walked away, Evan touched Bart‟s hair. “I love your

hair. It‟s gorgeous.”

Bart blushed. “Most people don‟t like red hair on a guy.”
“Most people are fools. I don‟t care about most people. To me

it‟s stunning.”

“You say the strangest things.”
“Why do you say that?” Evan asked.
“Well. Stunning and gorgeous? About me.” Bart shook his

head.

“I hate to break it to your insecurity there, Bart, but you‟re just

my type. Short, slim, red hair, blue eyes. You‟re the cutest damn
guy I‟ve seen in a long time. Believe me.”

Bart rolled his eyes and snorted. “Please. A guy like you. You

could have any guy you wanted. And you know it. You look like a
fairytale prince.”

Evan grabbed Bart‟s hand and threaded their fingers. “As you

can see, I‟m real. And I really like you.”

The waitress set down their coffee without even really looking

at them and then hurried off toward the front of the restaurant.

Bart tugged his hand away and reached for the packets of

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cream. “I don‟t, you know, I haven‟t done a lot of dating.”

Evan poured cream into his own coffee and added one sugar.

“How many dates have you been on?”

Bart shrugged. “Well, none really.”
“None? You aren‟t a—”
Bart was beet red. “No. But o-only once. And it was a

disaster.”

Evan frowned. He grabbed Bart‟s hand again and held it firmly.

“You didn‟t like it?”

Bart looked away. “I can‟t believe we‟re talking about this.”
“No one can hear. It‟s just you and me. Was the guy a clod?”
“Yeah. Look, I don‟t want to spend a lot of time talking about

this, but basically, I had this crush on this jock at school. I thought
he  liked  me.  He  talked  me  into  sex,  which  I  liked  somewhat,
though, honestly, it was over pretty fast. The next day I found out
he only did it so he could  make fun of  me  with his friends. I was
the laughingstock of the school. Everyone talked about how I was
this easy little twink who‟d be stupid enough to think this guy liked
me.  He  told  everyone  he  had  to  think  of  screwing  someone  else
just to get it up for me.” Bart‟s bottom lip trembled. “Then he and
his friends followed me home from school and beat the crap out of
me.  My  friends  came  along  and  stopped  them  from  doing  more
damage than they did.”

His stomach in knots, Evan just stared, knowing he wasn‟t

doing a very good job of keeping the horror off his face. “Oh, my
God.”

Bart sighed. “Yeah, I ended up in the hospital, but Ronnie

wouldn‟t press charges because he figured his sissy son deserved
what he got. Saved him the trouble of doing it himself, I guess.”

His jaw tightening, Evan asked, “Who was this dick?”

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“It doesn‟t matter.”
“Yes, it does matter, Bart. I want to tear his heart out through

his fucking throat.”

“It‟s in the past. I don‟t intend to see him or any of his friends

again. I just want to forget it.”

He didn‟t like it, but he could hardly force Bart to tell him if he

didn‟t want to tell. But damn it, Evan wanted to cream the guy who
hurt Bart. He squeezed Bart‟s hand. “I‟m not like him.”

Bart nodded but didn‟t reply.
“I‟m not. I really like you,” he said again. Maybe it would

eventually sink into Bart‟s double thick skull.

Bart looked at him and seemed to be thinking about saying

something.  He  wasn‟t  sure  what.  Finally  Bart  said,  “I  remember
you  from  high  school.  You  used  to  hang  around  your  cousin,
Desmond,  and  you  both  played  on  the  school  team.  You  were
seniors when Shayne and I were sophomores.”

“Yes, that‟s right. Des told me that. I don‟t remember you

though. I‟m sorry.”

“I‟m not surprised. You were seeing a cheerleader.”
Bart said it like an accusation and Evan figured that‟s pretty

much how he meant it, too.

“Sandy. Yes, I was.” No sense denying it.
“So, um, Evan, don‟t take this the wrong way or anything, but,

considering that, now you‟re gay?”

He sighed. “I‟ve always been gay, Bart. Not just now. In high

school, well, I was trying to be like everyone else. I didn‟t want to
like guys. No one in my family had ever been gay. Or at least
admitted it. I didn‟t know how anyone would take it and I was
scared.”

“I can understand that.”

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“Sandy was sweet and pretty and I really tried with her. I

thought, maybe, I was just confused.” He shrugged. “I wasn‟t. I
don‟t really share this with anyone, but, I couldn‟t, you know, with
Sandy. And I tried.”

Bart‟s blue eyes widened. “But you were always kissing.”
“Yeah. Sandy was the first person I came out to. We‟re still

friends. I wanted to change, but eventually I just realized I
wouldn‟t.”

Bart nodded. “And… you told your family?”
“I did. They‟ve been pretty cool about it. Some members of my

mom‟s family not so much.” Like Des‟s father, who was Evan‟s
uncle. “But my mom has been very supportive. My dad and sisters,
too. I‟m lucky.”

“Yes,” Bart said softly. “My sister is, too. Ronnie… isn‟t. He

says stuff like he has two daughters and things like that.”

Evan squeezed Bart‟s hand again. “I‟m sorry you have to put

up with that.”

“It‟s okay. I‟m used to it.”
The waitress came by with their chili fries, refilled their coffees

and then moved on again.

“You shouldn‟t have to be used to it, Bart,” Evan said after a

while. “Do you work tomorrow?”

“Yes. I‟m off Wednesday though.”
“Can I see you again? We could have a nice dinner or see that

movie. Or whatever you want.”

Bart bit his lip. “Well, okay.”
He tried not to let Bart‟s lack of enthusiasm get him down. He

reminded himself he was patient. “I can pick you up so you don‟t
have to worry about leaving your car someplace.”

“Okay, but, um, call me and then I‟ll just run downstairs when

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you get there.”

Bart grabbed a fry and then reached into the small backpack he

carried with him. He held a pen and wrote a number on a scrap of
paper. “Here‟s my address. And here‟s my number, too.”

“Cell?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I‟ll give you mine, too.” He took the pen from Bart.

“Have you got more paper?”

Bart handed him a piece no bigger than a Post-It. He scribbled

his number. “In fact, if you have your cell I can just program it in.”
When Bart handed him a simple, non-smart phone type phone, he
added his number to it. Then he added Bart‟s to his iPhone.

After they finished the fries, Evan reluctantly got up to leave

when he noticed Bart start to fidget.

At Bart‟s car, back at the fast food place, Evan smiled as Bart

got out of the car. “I‟ll see you Wednesday about six?”

Bart nodded. “All right. See you then.”
He‟d wanted to kiss Bart, but he had a feeling that wouldn‟t

have gone over well, so he restrained himself. Evan waited for Bart
to start his car and leave before he went home. Wednesday
definitely couldn‟t come fast enough.

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CHAPTER 3

Bart stood talking to his next-door neighbor on the landing

separating  their  upstairs  apartments  Wednesday  evening  as  he
waited  for  Evan  to  call  him.  He  expected  Evan  to  call  him  and
cancel.  He  wasn‟t  sure,  exactly,  but  part  of  him  even  hoped  he
would.  It  wasn‟t  that  he  didn‟t  like  Evan.  He  definitely  did.  But,
well, things were complicated enough in his life.

They‟d lived at the apartment ever since Bart‟s mother had died

of cancer, several years ago now, and they‟d lost their house due to
Ronnie‟s drinking. The neighbor across the landing from them,
Pam, had lived there nearly as long as they had. She had an adult
daughter living with her and that daughter had a son.

“Your sister go off again?” Pam asked him, blowing smoke

from her cigarette away from him. She leaned against her closed

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door.

“Yeah, I sent her away half an hour ago. Ronnie should be

home any second.”

As though mentioning his name had somehow conjured him

up, the sound of squealing tires reached Bart‟s ears and then
Ronnie‟s old Camaro came into view, flying at a ridiculous speed
toward his covered carport parking space.

“Asshole,” he muttered. “He‟s going to cream a kid one of

these days.”

Ronnie turned off his blaring music and then slammed the

driver side door hard enough to rattle the car.

His stomach twisting with dread, Bart watched Ronnie stomp

up the metal stairs toward him. The smell of gin wafted up.

“Well, isn‟t this nice?” Ronnie said with a sneer. “My own

welcoming committee.” He glared at Pam. “What‟re you looking
at?”

“A drunken prick,” Pam answered calmly. She tossed her

cigarette on the landing and squished it beneath her sneaker. “See
you later, Bart. Have fun.” She opened her apartment door and
stepped inside.

Ronnie rolled his eyes and opened the door of their own

apartment. He walked inside and Bart followed. “Where‟s Julie?”

“She‟s gone to her friend‟s.”
“That bitch ain‟t never here,” Ronnie said.
“Don‟t call her that. She‟s your daughter.”
Ronnie went straight to the kitchen and into the fridge for a can

of beer. “My lot in life. I got a bitch and a fairy as kids.”

Bart gritted his teeth to keep from saying more. All it would get

him was a pop in the face anyhow. “I‟m going out, too.”

His father opened the can and took a swig. “You? Where you

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going? I thought you didn‟t work Wednesdays.”

“I don‟t. I‟ve got a date.”
“A date?” Ronnie stared. “With a girl?”
Bart held back a sigh. “No, a guy.”
Ronnie snorted. “They don‟t call it a date when two guys get

together to fuck.”

He opened his mouth to respond, but closed it. Bart knew any

argument would only lead to him getting hurt. The last thing he
needed when he hoped to have a nice night with Evan.

“Thought you were going to be here for when the guys get here

for poker.”

Ronnie had a group of friends he‟d known just about all his life

come over one Wednesday a month for a poker game. The
Wednesdays they didn‟t come to the apartment, Ronnie went to
one of their houses.

“Nope, I have plans. But I got a deli sandwich for you in the

fridge. And there‟s chips and dip, too. There‟s also bowls of nuts
you can put out on the table to munch on. Kenny called and said
he‟d bring beer. I put the cards and poker chips on the table there
for you, too.” He had to think of everything so he couldn‟t give
Ronnie a reason to lose it.

“Well.” Ronnie grimaced, then shrugged. “Okay, then.”
And then his phone rang, saving him from further discussion.

“Hello?”

“Hi, I‟m down in the parking lot waiting,” Evan said,

cheerfully.

“I‟ll be right down. Bye.”
Ronnie was looking at him. “You‟re not going to have him

come up and meet your daddy?”

Bart snorted. He couldn‟t help it. “Would you?”

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His father actually laughed. “No, I don‟t suppose so.”
He nodded and went to the front door. “See you.” And then he

was out the door and to freedom, at least for a few hours. He
dashed down the stairs like his ass was on fire, wanting to get out
of there before Ronnie thought up some reason for him to stay.

Evan‟s car waited at the bottom of the stairs. Evan waved and

smiled and Bart couldn‟t help himself. He smiled back.

“Hey, you look great,” Evan said.
Bart doubted he did, he‟d only worn jeans and an olive green

long-sleeved T-shirt, but he got into the passenger side and said,
“Thank you.”

Evan pulled away from Bart‟s apartment building and Bart

sighed inwardly in relief.

“Where are we going?”
“Actually, I‟ve decided to take you to see a play.”
“A play?”
Evan nodded. “A musical actually. A local community theater

near my house is doing Hair. I thought it might be fun.”

“Okay, that sounds fine,” Bart agreed. The only live

performances he‟d ever seen were things kids put on in school
auditoriums. It might be fun at that.

“How was your day yesterday?” Evan asked.
Bart shrugged. “It was okay. School was kind of boring and

work sucked.”

Evan laughed. “I forgot to ask you what you were studying in

school.”

“Well, right now I‟m an undeclared major. I‟m taking

requirement classes. I thought about focusing on business and
economics, but now I‟m not sure. To be honest I really don‟t know
what I want to do. I also thought about art, because I did some in

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high school, but really, what can you do with an art major? I don‟t
want to be a teacher.” Bart sighed. “I‟ve thought about going into
trade.”

“Trade?”
“Yeah, like an electrician or something like that. Or maybe

crime scene investigation.”

“Ah, got it. That doesn‟t sound so bad.”
“What about you? What‟s your major?”
“Political Science,” Evan said, as he pulled his car into a

parking lot with a big brick building that appeared to be rather old,
like maybe built in the fifties or something. On the outside of the
building was a plaque which stated, Valley Community Theater.

“Going to be a lawyer? Politics?”
Evan nodded. “I don‟t know about politics, but lawyer, yes,

that‟s the plan. I want to get into Loyola for law school. I‟ve
already applied even though I have another year before I
graduate.”

He smiled. “Wow, that‟s impressive.” And he meant it, too.

Bart had always been attracted to jocks, but those he generally had
come across hadn‟t been the smartest guys. Maybe that hadn‟t
been a fair assessment. He wasn‟t sure. But clearly Evan had looks,
athleticism, and brains. A pretty sexy combination now that Bart
thought about it.

Evan chose a parking space and turned off the car. He turned to

Bart with a smile. “Thanks. We‟ll see if I can get in.” He reached
out to touch Bart‟s ear where metal and crystal dangled. “I love
your earring. What is it?”

Bart swallowed, the gentle touch of Evan‟s hand doing funny

things to his insides. “Um, actually it‟s an ear cuff and it has suns,
moons, and fairies on it.”

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“It‟s adorable. It‟s very you. To me anyway.”
“Yeah?”
Evan‟s finger caressed Bart‟s jaw all too briefly. “Yeah.

Ready?”

Bart blinked, trying to remember what he should be ready for.
Oh, yeah, play.
“Yes. How much do I need for the ticket?”
Evan flashed one of his devastating smiles. “Nothing. I‟m

taking you out, Bart. Come on. The tickets are at will call.”

They got out of the car and walked up to the ticket booth that

declared itself Will Call and waited behind a handful of people.

“How‟d you know about this?” Bart shoved his hands into the

pockets of his jeans.

“A guy I used to see sometimes acted in the plays here.”
Bart bit his lip. “Oh, is he in the play?”
Evan smiled and shook his head. “No. He moved away. And

anyway, even if he had been, there‟s nothing between us anymore.
There wasn‟t much between us at the time.”

He wondered just how much experience Evan had. A guy like

him probably had been with a ton of guys. He wanted to ask, but
figured here in line with other people would not be a good idea.
Not that it really mattered, but Bart had to admit he was curious.

They reached the ticket booth.
“Hi,” Evan said to the woman behind the glass. “Picking up

tickets for Caruthers.”

“Two, right?” the woman asked.
“Right.”
She slipped a small white envelope into the small opening in

the glass. “Thanks. Enjoy the show.”

Bart followed Evan out of line and Evan handed him one of the

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tickets. They were seated in Row E of the orchestra section. But
from the looks of it the theater was fairly small, so he doubted any
of the seats were terrible.

“Are you hungry? I didn‟t even think about getting something

to eat.”

“A little.”
“Damn. Sorry. The show doesn‟t start for forty-five minutes.

There‟s a fast food place just half a block down. We could grab
something quick. Or do you just hate fast food having to work at
one?”

Bart smiled. “No, that‟s fine.”
“Great. We can walk.”
And to Bart‟s surprise, Evan grabbed his hand. Did Evan really

plan to walk to the restaurant holding Bart‟s hand? In public?

Evan looked at him quizzically. “What‟s the matter?”
Bart glanced at their linked hands. “Are we… I mean, like

this?”

“You don‟t like holding hands?”
“Well, I don‟t know. But, well, we‟re two guys. I‟ve never

walked down the street holding another guy‟s hand before.”

“Now‟s a good time to start then.” Evan tugged him gently

toward the sidewalk that would lead down to the fast food place.

“But, Evan.”
“What?”
“You—you‟re a football player.”
Evan laughed. “So? And I‟m an almost ex-football player.

Besides, what does it matter?”

“Aren‟t you in Omega Sigma Tau?” Bart asked, thinking of the

fraternity he knew most of the football team had joined.

“So?”

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“Aren‟t they all a bunch of homophobic jerks?”
Evan sighed. “I don‟t know, Bart. Probably some of them are.

I‟m not afraid of being who I am. And right now I‟m on a date
with a really cute guy.”

He couldn‟t help but think that if Evan weren‟t tall and

muscular he might think differently. It was all well and good to be
out and proud when you could take on your attackers. Not so much
when you were a pipsqueak like him. But before he knew it, they
were at the entrance to the restaurant. And no one had even looked
their way as they drove by them. Still, as Evan held the door open
for him, Bart tugged his hand out of Evan‟s grasp.

“I won‟t let anyone hurt you, you know,” Evan said softly.
“Maybe, but we shouldn‟t have to worry about it.”
They went to order a couple of hamburgers and fries and Evan

paid, over Bart‟s protests. Then they took their food to a small
plastic booth in the back when Evan declared they had about
fifteen minutes to eat before they‟d have to return to the theater.

Bart looked around to make sure no one was listening, and

when he saw no one, he said, “I have a question.”

“Go for it.” Evan popped a fry in his mouth.
“Just wondering, you know, how many.”
“How many?”
He felt himself blush to the roots of his damn red hair. “Guys.

Have there been a lot?”

Evan shrugged. “What‟s your definition of a lot?”
“M-more than five.”
Evan reached for his soda and took a long swallow through the

straw. “It‟s more than five.”

He nodded.
“Bart, I‟m almost twenty-one. I‟ve been sexually active for

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several years now, so yeah, I guess by your definition I‟ve been
with a lot.” He grabbed Bart‟s hand. “It doesn‟t mean anything. Or
even matter. Who cares what happened before we met?”

“I know. It‟s just—”
“Just what?”
“It just makes me wonder even more why you‟re bothering

with me,” Bart admitted.

“I get where you‟re coming from with your insecurities, but

really, we need to get past this, Bart. I don‟t want to have to keep
explaining that I like you.”

He lowered his gaze. “I‟m sorry.”
“Don‟t be. Okay? Just believe me. I like you. A lot. I‟m very

attracted to you. I‟m not playing you. I‟m not playing any games.
It‟s just you and me, trying to get to know each other. All right?”

He made himself nod, though his stomach was twisted in knots

and he wasn‟t sure he could eat the hamburger sitting in front of
him. “All right.”

Evan, who had once again insisted on sitting next to him in the

booth, leaned over and pressed his lips to Bart‟s so quickly he was
almost positive he imagined it. Except he could taste the salt from
Evan‟s fries. He ran his tongue across his bottom lip.

“Now, hurry and eat. We have a show to see.”

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CHAPTER 4

“That was really good,” Bart said as they exited the theater two

hours later.

Evan smiled. “I‟m glad you thought so. I liked it, too.”
“You spent most of the show staring at me so I‟m not sure how

you knew.” Bart laughed.

“It true. I loved watching you. Your face was so animated,”

Evan said. “You were adorable.”

Bart turned a dark shade of red. “Well, I thought everyone was

very good. And how can you not look when everyone gets naked?”

“Even I looked then,” he admitted as they walked to his car. He

wasn‟t ready for the night to end. Not at all. “Do you want to go
back to my house? It‟s not that far from here.”

Opening the passenger door, Bart slid a glance at him. “I—”

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Evan held up a hand. He was pretty sure it was going to be too

soon for Bart to have sex with him. “Before you refuse, I just
meant, we have a Jacuzzi and we could sit and talk in there for a
bit. I‟m not really ready to take you back home.”

“I don‟t have a bathing suit.”
“I have a spare I‟m sure would fit you.” They got into the car

and Evan started it up. “No pressure, Bart, but I‟d really like it if
you‟d come over.”

Bart nodded. “Okay.”
He tried not to let his relief show too much. But Evan couldn‟t

help but be happy Bart had agreed. It was a step in the right
direction. Evan had to admit he was in somewhat new territory.
He‟d never really had to woo anyone before.

“You weren‟t kidding when you said you lived close,” Bart

said. Evan had just pulled into a wide driveway with two other cars
parked ahead of him.

“Told you.” Evan had grown up in the two-story colonial-style

house and he loved it. He‟d spent nearly every day growing up
swimming in their pool.

“This is a nice place.”
“Thanks.” Evan opened the front door with his key. He doubted

everyone was asleep, but his family had always locked the doors at
night. It was a good neighborhood, but there was no point taking
chances of just anyone getting inside.

“If you want to wait down here, I‟ll run up and get the suits.

There‟s a bathroom just before you go outside so we can change
there,” Evan said.

He ran up the stairs to his bedroom as fast as he could and

opened the dresser drawer where he kept his suits. He chose one in
red and one in blue and hurried back downstairs to where he left

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Bart. A glance toward the living room confirmed his dad was still
up watching television.

“Come on, I want you to meet my dad.” He sensed Bart‟s

immediate hesitation, but he smiled. “It‟s okay. Promise.”

Bart nodded and followed him into the living room.
Evan‟s father sat in a big plush easy chair with only one lamp

lit. He was watching a rerun of Cheers. He‟d always been told by
everyone who knew the Carutherses that Evan looked just like his
dad did at the same age. So, he supposed, looking at his somewhat
balding but still good-looking father, he could figure out what he‟d
look like someday. Kind of strange.

“Hey, Dad, wanted you to meet Bart.”
His father smiled and held out his hand for Bart. “Hi, Bart.”
“Good evening, sir. Nice to meet you,” Bart said shyly.
“I thought we‟d sit in the spa for a bit. Mom go to bed?”
“Yeah, about half an hour ago. Have fun. Nice to meet you,

too, Bart. Evan‟s told us about you.”

“He has?” Bart glanced at Evan.
“All good things,” his dad said. “Nonstop.”
Which was true. Evan had been talking about Bart a lot,

actually. But leave it to his family to go and tell the guy he was
crushing on that he talked about him all the time.

Hoping his blush wasn‟t too obvious, Evan laughed. “My dad,

always joking. Come on, let‟s go and change for the spa.”

He led Bart out of the living room and showed him the small

bathroom near the sliding glass doors to the backyard.

“You go ahead and change and I‟ll grab some drinks. Dr.

Pepper okay?” He handed the blue suit to Bart.

Bart nodded. “Yes, that‟s fine.”
A few minutes later, they both sank down into the warm bubbly

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water, cans of soda resting on the cement beside them.

His face tilted up to look at the stars, Bart smiled. “This is nice.

I‟ve never been in a Jacuzzi before.”

“Never?”
“Nope. They don‟t have one at the apartment building. There‟s

a pool there, but I don‟t really go in there. I burn like a lobster in
the sun,” Bart said, laughing. “Plus usually there are little kids
everywhere. Our old house just had a plain backyard.”

Evan sighed. “I grew up in this place. They only put the Jacuzzi

in about five years ago though. The pool‟s been here the whole
time. I‟m practically a fish.”

“You did swimming in high school, too. I remember.” Bart

lowered his gaze from the stars and met Evan‟s. “You always did
really well.”

“I did. I thought about trying out for the Olympic swim team at

one point.”

“Why didn‟t you? I bet you would have made it.”
“Maybe. Mostly just lazy, to be honest. I like to swim for

recreation. I like to play football for fun, too. When I have to do it,
it becomes a chore for me.” He shrugged. “Like I said lazy.”

Bart snorted. “You got great grades all through high school and

you‟re going to be a lawyer. I doubt you‟re lazy at all.”

Evan reached for his soda and took a swig. “How do you know

what my grades were in high school?”

Bart‟s gaze dropped from his and his cheeks pinked. “I just

assumed.”

Evan laughed. “Come on, that‟s not true. You‟re a terrible liar,

Bart. How did you know what my grades were?”

“Well, they were good, weren‟t they?”
“Four point oh.”

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Bart bit his lip. “I used to work in the office at school for one of

my classes. I might have looked.”

“Might have?” he asked, amused.
“Okay, I did.” Bart sighed. “I, um, I had a bit of a crush on you

when I was a sophomore and you were a senior. Of course, you
didn‟t know I was alive.”

He couldn‟t deny that, so he didn‟t even try. Besides he already

admitted that he hadn‟t remembered Bart from high school.

“I definitely know who you are now.” He scooted closer to Bart

so that their bodies touched. He snagged Bart‟s hand and held it.
“Was this all before the asshole that hurt you?”

“Yeah.”
He rubbed his thumb over Bart‟s palm. “Who was that asshole,

Bart?”

“Evan.”
“Bart.”
Bart sighed, but smiled slightly. “You aren‟t going to drop this

until I tell you, huh?”

“Nope. If you won‟t tell me, I‟ll ask your friend, Shayne. He‟s

seeing my cousin, Des.”

“He told me.”
“So, who was he?”
“I doubt you know him.”
He huffed out a breath. “I‟m about to tickle it out of you.”
“Okay, okay. If you‟re going to threaten me. Parker

Hennessey.”

“Hennessey? Does he have an older sister?”
“Piper. Yeah.”
“Cheerleader.” Evan nodded. “I remember her. She was a

senior same year I was. Bitch, too.”

MORE THAN ENOUGH

Bart laughed. “Yeah, that about sums up the whole family, I

think.”

“I kind of remember seeing him around. He played basketball.”
“Right.” Bart‟s voice had dropped to a soft, sorrowful whisper.
Evan grasped Bart‟s chin and turned his head so they were

looking straight at each other‟s eyes. “Listen. I don‟t care what that
idiot told you, Bart. He was attracted to you. I think he had some
hang-ups about being gay, hated that he wanted you, and took it
out on you.”

“I don‟t know.”
“I do. You are gorgeous. Didn‟t I tell you I‟m really attracted to

you?”

“Well, I don‟t remember the word „really‟ being said.”
He chuckled. “I didn‟t know you were a brat.”
“Evan?”
“Hmm?”
“Are you going to kiss me or just look at me?”
Well, hell, he didn‟t need any other invitation to taste those

plump limps. The brief kiss he‟d stolen at dinner hadn‟t done much
to quench his desire for Bart. Ratcheted it up was more like it.

He tiled his head and slanted his lips over Bart‟s. They were

soft and warm and fucking addicting. His fingers tightened on
Bart‟s jaw as he pressed their mouths together. When he probed
the seam of Bart‟s lips, Evan slipped his tongue inside.

Bart scooted closer and, with a moan, linked his arms around

Evan‟s neck.

Oh, God.
Slipping one hand around Bart‟s waist, Evan‟s other hand

roamed to Bart‟s lap, his fingers fluttering to the growing bulge in
the blue swim trunks. When his hand closed over the crotch,

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squeezing ever so slightly, Bart tensed.

“Shh, it‟s all right, Bart. We don‟t have to anything you don‟t

want,” Evan said against Bart‟s mouth. He returned to kissing Bart,
deepening the kiss. He slid his hand across Bart‟s inner thigh,
causing the younger man to shiver.

Evan wouldn‟t go all the way. He knew Bart wasn‟t ready for

that. He could tell. And anyway, he doubted his parents would
thank him for having sex in the spa.

Bart whimpered and practically crawled into Evan‟s lap as the

kissing continued. He smoothed his hand along Bart‟s bare back
and the other one over Bart‟s thigh.

A light blinked on from a room upstairs and Bart broke the

kiss. His pretty blue eyes were hazy and dazed with lust.

“Evan,” he whispered.
He rubbed his thumb over Bart‟s swollen lips. “Let‟s get out of

the spa.”

Bart nodded. “I should probably go home.”
“Okay.”
Evan climbed out of the spa and then reached down to help

Bart step out. When they were standing on the cement he pulled
Bart into his arms. “Are you absolutely sure you want to go home?
We can go up to my room and spend some, um, quality time
together.”

Bart gave him a sweet smile. “I like that idea, Evan. I do.

But—”

“It‟s too soon.” He sighed. “I know. I just… I really want this,

Bart.”

That earned him another kiss and Bart‟s tongue slipping into

his mouth. Evan‟s erection, which had started to flag, now perked
up to full arousal. God, he was in for a bad case of blue balls. Or

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CHAPTER 5

Bart opened the door to the quiet, dark apartment and flicked

on the light switch just inside. Light flooded the living room.
Ronnie lay sprawled out on the couch, passed out. A line of vomit
trailed from his mouth, down his chin, and to his shirt, which was
vomit covered.

Gritting his teeth, he surveyed the empty beer bottles littering

the room, as well as bits of sandwich, half eaten cookies, and
crushed chips on the carpet.

He closed his eyes briefly but when he opened them the sight

greeting him hadn‟t changed.

Sighing heavily, Bart picked up the bottles first and took them

to the kitchen trash. The kitchen looked as bad as the living room,
with food-hardened plates stacked in the sink. After picking up the

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rest of the trash in the living room, he did the dishes. What he
wouldn‟t do for a damn dishwasher, he thought for the hundredth
time.

Finally, he knew he had to deal with cleaning up Ronnie. Bart

went to the bathroom and got a wet  washcloth, then  went back to
the  living  room.  Ronnie  hadn‟t  moved.  Which  was  fairly  typical
after  an  at-home  drinking  binge.  Grimacing,  he  got  the  shirt  off
Ronnie  and  set  it  aside.  Then  he  wiped  Ronnie‟s  faced  and  neck
and his chest where the vomit had soaked through his shirt.

Just as he turned to take the soiled shirt and towel to the

hamper, Ronnie woke up, spewing enough swear words to
embarrass a sailor, and before Bart could back away, Ronnie
seized him by the collar of his T-shirt.

“What are you doing, boy? You trying to rob me of my

winnings?”

“No.” Bart shook his head. “You threw up—”
“Don‟t fucking lie to me.” The skin of Ronnie‟s face had

turned an angry, blotchy red. He held up his hand as though to slap
Bart across the face, but then seemed to recall himself. Ronnie
rarely left marks on a part of the body that could be seen. “Damn
fag,” he shouted, spittle hitting Bart‟s cheek.

Bart tried to wrench out of Ronnie‟s grasp, but Ronnie had

already balled up his fist. He braced himself for the contact of his
father‟s fist in his stomach. But even knowing it was coming, it
winded him, pulling a gasp of pain from him. Ronnie released his
shirt, and then threw another punch very close to where the first
landed. Bart dropped to knees.

“Oh, you‟re just a damn princess, aren‟t you, boy?” Ronnie

laughed and wiped his mouth with his hand. He sank back onto the
couch. “That‟ll teach you to try and steal my money.”

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“I didn‟t.”
He didn‟t get a response. After a few minutes, Bart struggled to

his feet and looked at the sofa to see Ronnie once more seemed
unconscious. He lifted up his shirt and felt his abdomen. He didn‟t
think the bastard had broken any ribs this time. But damn that hurt.
The spots he‟d punched were ugly and red and Bart knew before
morning he‟d have bruising.

After that, he went to get a blanket and pillow for Ronnie. Not

for the first time, Bart wondered why he bothered. Why did he
always feel like he should clean up Ronnie‟s messes? Why the hell
did he still even care? All he ever got for his trouble was the crap
beaten out of him.

Sure he stayed there because of Julie. His sister was still a

minor and wouldn‟t graduate high school until late spring. He
couldn‟t leave her to deal with Ronnie on her own. But that didn‟t
mean he also had to take care of Ronnie. Yet he did.

And this is what he came home for? He left Evan to get hit and

to clean up Ronnie? Right now he could be having sex with the
hottest guy he‟d ever been with.

Bart bit his lip and went down the hall to his bedroom. Was it

too late to call Evan? Maybe. But he could possibly leave a
message anyway. He hit the speed dial for Evan and waited
through three rings.

“Bart?”
“Did I wake you?” He paced nervously in his room.
“No, I was actually having trouble sleeping. You okay?”
He let out a breath. “No. I mean, yes, I just, I was wondering

if—” His voice trailed off. How the hell did he say he wanted to go
back to Evan‟s house without sounding like a desperate fool?

“What is it?”

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“I‟m just wondering if I could see you.”
Lame.
“Now?”
He was being stupid, wasn‟t he? But God, the idea of staying

here with Ronnie right now was torture.

“You want me to come back and get you?” Evan asked before

Bart had a chance to answer. “I can be there in less than ten
minutes.”

His heart racing, Bart shook his head. “No. I‟ll drive myself. I

remember how to get there. Will it be all right? Me coming over
like this?”

“Yes, of course.”
“Your parents won‟t care?”
“They‟ve gone to bed. And anyway, they wouldn‟t mind. Are

you leaving now?” Evan asked.

Was he? If he went to Evan‟s house he had no doubt they‟d end

up having sex. And was Bart ready for that?

“Yes,” he said, making up his mind for sure. He couldn‟t go on

forever feeling like an idiot for Parker‟s betrayal. “I‟ll be there as
quick as I can.”

“Good. See you soon.”
He ended the call and then quickly stuffed a change of clothes

into his backpack. He wouldn‟t be coming back here until after his
classes to check on Julie. It was kind of late to call her, he didn‟t
want to wake her, but he‟d try to remember to leave her a message
tomorrow during school.

Going through the living room, he checked to make sure

Ronnie still lay in a drunken stupor. Totally out. He didn‟t want to
be there when Ronnie awakened again. More reason to get the hell
out of the apartment before that happened.

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* * *

Bart made it back to Evan‟s house in just over five minutes and

decided it was a small miracle he hadn‟t gotten pulled over for a
speeding ticket. At first, he‟d just wanted to get out of the house
and away from Ronnie, but the closer he got to Evan, the more he
wanted to be with the blond god.

He pulled up to the curb in front of Evan‟s home and the front

door opened. Evan stepped outside to greet him. He wore only a
pair of sweats and Bart could make out the smattering of gold chest
hairs under the dim streetlights.

Bart walked around the car to where Evan stood and without

overthinking things, threw his arms around Evan and kissed him,
right there on the street. Or the sidewalk really.

Evan‟s lips were unyielding at first, but after only a few

seconds of Bart crushing his lips over Evan‟s, they softened and
took over the kiss. Evan‟s arms circled Bart‟s waist. When he was
pretty close to crawling up Evan‟s body, he drew back.

“Sorry, got a little carried away.”
Evan touched his forehead to Bart‟s and smiled. “You can get

carried away anytime.” And then he was kissing Bart again. Over
and over. Tongues twisted, tasting, exploring. Bart‟s cock strained
painfully against the crotch of his jeans. Good God, pretty soon
he‟d be coming just from the kissing.

Breaking the kiss once more, Evan gasped. “Fuck. We‟d better

move this inside, babe, or the neighbors will be calling the cops on
us.”

Bart just nodded and allowed Evan to grab his hand and pull

him into the house. The house was quiet and dark except for a hall
light just inside the front door and an overhead light that lit the

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stairs  leading  up  to  the  second  floor.  Evan  flicked  off  the  light  in
the  hall  without  pausing  and  tugged  Bart  up  the  stairs.  Out  of
breath  already  from  the  all-consuming  kisses,  Bart  did  his  best  to
keep up with the athletic man.

When they were inside Evan‟s bedroom, Evan closed the door

and  twisted  the  lock  before  crushing  Bart  to  the  closest  wall,  his
mouth  overtaking  Bart‟s  once  more.  He  clutched  Evan‟s  bare
shoulders  as  Evan  ground  his  erection  into  Bart‟s.  He  was  so
fucking hard, he was nearly light-headed from it.

He was vaguely aware of Evan yanking his jeans and briefs

down  enough  to  expose  his  cock  before  feeling  a  large  hand
jerking  him.  With  expert  strokes,  Evan  had  him  desperate  and
shaking  in  seconds.  Hell,  it  never  felt  so  good  when  he  jerked
himself off.

Evan‟s lips strayed away from his already swollen lips to nip at

the pulse of Bart‟s throat. He leaned his head back as the wave of a
powerful orgasm hit him, cum covering Evan‟s long fingers. His
whole body shook with the force of coming.

Once more Evan‟s mouth was on his and it was all just a bit

overwhelming. He hadn‟t ever come with anyone else. It had
always been with only his own hand and only rarely given his
living arrangements. His one disastrous night with Parker he‟d not
had an orgasm.

Evan broke the kiss and pushed him toward his private

bathroom. He had a brief thought about how cool it must be to be
rich, but then it flew from his mind when Evan reached inside the
enormous glass shower to turn on the shower spray.

Bart titled his head to look at Evan. “Are we going to take a

shower?”

“Yes, we‟re going to have shower sex. Trust me, Bart. You‟ll

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like it.”

And before he could stop him, or think to stop him, Evan had

pulled Bart‟s T-shirt off over his head. Evan froze, his previously
grinning, lecherous expression slipping from his face to be
replaced with horror.

“Who did that to you?” he whispered.
He swallowed. “I… Are you angry?”
“Not at you, Bart.” Evan‟s eyes were serious as his gaze rose to

Bart‟s. “Who hit you, babe?”

“Ronnie.”
Evan pulled him into his embrace. “Does he hit you a lot?”
He hiccupped. “Yeah. Ever since my mom died. He never did

before she died. After, he wouldn‟t stop drinking. Still hasn‟t.”

“Is that when he hits you? When he‟s drunk?”
He nodded. “He‟s always drunk, though. I don‟t know how he

still has a job. I mostly manage to avoid it now. I‟m at work or
school. Wednesdays he has poker games though and it seems to get
worse. Especially since I‟m often home then.”

He hated telling Evan all this. It made him seem like a

weakling who let his father beat him up.

Evan kissed the top of his head. “I can see why you had to stay

before. But what about now? You‟re over eighteen now.”

“My sister. She‟s still a minor until the spring. Julie‟s a senior

in high school.” He bit his lip. “If I wasn‟t there I don‟t know what
he would do to her. I do my best to get her away from him.”

Evan lifted his chin with a thumb. “Do you get in the way of

him hitting her? So he‟ll hit you instead?”

“Yes.”
“I want you out of there, Bart.” Evan blew out a breath. “I can‟t

stand the idea of him hurting you. Touching you ever again.”

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“I can‟t leave her.”
“Isn‟t there some other relative she can stay with?”
“My mother‟s sister. But I sent an email to the last email

address I had for her and she never responded.”

Evan squeezed him. “We‟ll figure something out.” He blew out

a breath, then cupped Bart‟s face in his hands. “I‟m going to tell
you something. And I know you don‟t trust me yet but hopefully
you will soon.”

“Okay.”
Evan kissed him very gently. “I won‟t ever hit you. Not in

anger or any other reason. I don‟t think it‟s okay because we‟re
both guys. I don‟t think it‟s sexy or acceptable in any way. It‟s
abuse. Not going to happen ever.”

Bart nodded, swallowing the lump that had formed in his

throat.

“And also, as far as sex is concerned, I won‟t ever do anything

you aren‟t ready for. Ever,” Evan said fiercely. “All right?”

“All right.”
Evan smiled and kissed him. “We‟re steaming up the

bathroom.” And they were. The windows had fogged over. “Are
you ready for that shower?”

“Yes. I‟m ready for it all,” he assured him. He stepped back

from  Evan  and  pushed  his  pants  down  the  rest  of  the  way  to  his
feet. He  kicked off  his flip-flops and stepped out of the jeans and
briefs. He stood nude in front of Evan, but he wasn‟t embarrassed.
How  could  he  be  with  the  tender  look  in  Evan‟s  eyes?  Not  to
mention lustful.

“God, Bart, other than those marks that bastard made you are

fucking beautiful.” Evan caressed his upper chest with one arm and
his ass with the other. “Jesus.”

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During their talk about his injuries, Bart‟s cock hadn‟t shown

any interest in perking back up after Evan‟s hand job, but now with
a few words and the look in Evan‟s eyes, Bart‟s dick rose, nearly
fully erect.

“Now you,” he whispered against Evan‟s mouth just before he

sealed their lips together.

Evan moaned, deepening the kiss. Both of his hands moved

over Bart‟s ass to draw them closer. “You get in the shower. I‟ll
find what we need,” Evan said, ending the kiss and gently pushing
him toward the open shower.

Bart stood under the showerhead, letting the water massage his

tense shoulders. He was always tense, he realized. Always ready
for what he was sure would befall him. He hated living that way.
He flung his wet hair out of his face just in time to see Evan step
into the shower in all his naked glory.

Evan was not a hairy guy, just a few golden hairs adorned his

sculpted pecs dipping down to even less hair covering his muscular
abdomen. He had those perfect narrow hips Bart had seen on male
models. And instead of the ridiculously white skin Bart saw when
he looked in the mirror, Evan‟s skin was lightly tanned. All over.

His mouth watering, Bart just stared. Evan really did look like

a fairytale prince. One that held lube in one hand and a condom
packet in the other. He smiled that sexy as sin smile of his and Bart
thought maybe he‟d just melt into a pile of goo and he‟d get
washed down the drain.

“You look amazing,” Evan said, as though Bart were the

stunningly beautiful one. “Turn around, Bart. Brace your hands
against the tile.”

Licking his lips, Bart nodded and turned to do as Evan said.

The tile was a mottled beige, probably expensive. He splayed his

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hands out and waited to see what Evan would do next.

“Spread your legs just a little more, babe.”
Bart parted his legs, bracing for what was to come. And then

Evan was behind him, squirting out lube. He craned his neck to see
what Evan was doing.

“Face forward,” Evan said, his voice whisper soft.
Swallowing, Bart turned back to look at the tile. Evan‟s fingers,

slick with lube, grazed over the crease between his cheeks and he
gasped.

“Easy, babe,” Evan soothed. “Relax.”
He nodded, but kept silent, wondering what Evan would do.

His time with Parker hadn‟t been pleasant. He‟d been hard to start
off with, but when Parker had shoved himself between Bart‟s
buttocks without so much as spit to ease the way, Bart had lost his
erection while clueless Parker continued to pay little heed to Bart‟s
protests.

Evan slipped a long finger inside him, slowly and gently. The

intrusion felt a little weird but not really painful. Evan moved it
inside him several times, then added another slick finger next to it.

“Ahh.”
The fingers inside him stilled. “Bart?”
“Uh-huh?”
“Is it all right? Doesn‟t hurt?” Evan kissed the back of his neck.
He shook his head rapidly. “No.”
“Continue?”
“P-please.” And then the two fingers moved within him,

pulling out and then pushing in, spreading him. He closed his eyes
and hung his head as another moan tore from his lips. Nothing he
had experienced before felt this good.

Evan‟s other hand smoothed across Bart‟s hip, to Bart‟s cock,

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the fist closing around the tip.

“God, Evan!”
Soft laughter tickled his ear as Evan‟s lips hovered nearby.

“Yeah, babe. You‟re driving me crazy, too.”

When a third finger entered him just as Evan‟s thumb stroked

across the head of his dick, Bart shook. “I‟m going to come again.”

“That‟s the idea. But first, wait for me.” Evan‟s fingers slipped

out and his hand moved off Bart‟s cock. He whimpered in protest
as he heard the tear of the foil wrapper. “Just a second.”

He heard the sound of more lube being squeezed out and then

the blunt tip of Evan‟s erection pressed against his hole. Bart bit
his lip hard, dreading the pain he knew would come when Evan
shoved in to him.

Evan‟s hand brushed his face. “Relax, Bart. I won‟t hurt you.

I‟ll never hurt you.”

He nodded and waited as Evan‟s long, thick cock pushed inside

him. It burned, stung, but just a little. Nothing compared to what
happened before. Then Evan‟s arm encircled his waist, being extra
careful to avoid the sore spots caused from Ronnie‟s punches, and
he slipped past the ring of muscle and all the way in. And stilled.
Both of them seemed to breathe as one.

“All right?”
“Yes.”
Evan‟s hand reached for Bart‟s dick once more as he began to

thrust inside Bart‟s ass. Bart closed his eyes, his head leaning back
as Evan‟s mouth latched onto his pulse, sucking there. He vaguely
realized  Evan  was  probably  giving  him  a  hickey,  but  he  didn‟t
care.  The  pulsing  in  his  cock,  the  feel  of  the  man  pounding  into
him,  arm  wrapped  tight  around  him,  more  than  made  up  for  any
embarrassment a mark would cause.

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Though technically he hadn‟t been a virgin, it still seemed the

first time to him, the first time he actually felt pleasure instead of
pain. He couldn‟t stop the cries pouring from his lips as Evan
fucked him deep and thoroughly, thrusting over and over into him
while his hand pleasured his cock.

This is what he‟d dreamed of, but hadn‟t had. This ecstasy, this

connection.

“Evan, please, so good.”
His only answer was a groan before Evan turned his face so

that he could cover Bart‟s lips with his own. He was close, so
damn close. He felt a tingle up his spine, the tightening of his balls,
just before Evan‟s cock stroked a particular spot inside him that
caused him to see stars.

“Ah!” Bart screamed, though, he tried desperately to muffle it

against his own arm, so he didn‟t wake up Evan‟s entire
household. Cum shot from his dick, splattering against the tile and
Evan‟s still moving hand.

“Fuck, Bart.” Evan‟s thrust sped up, and the sound of flesh

slapping flesh seemed very loud. He stiffened and with a roar to
match Bart‟s found his own release.

Breathing heavily, Bart leaned against the shower wall as Evan

eased out of him. He sank to his knees and watched Evan removed
the condom and walk to the shower opening to discard it. He was
amazed that Evan had the strength to walk. He certainly didn‟t.

And then Evan was back, wrapping his arms around him and

pulling him to his feet, hugging him under the water spray.

“That was amazing, babe.”
He nodded, not sure he had the strength to form words just yet.

He leaned his head against Evan‟s shoulder.

“Are you all right? I didn‟t hurt you?”

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“No, no. It was perfect.”
Evan tilted his chin up with a thumb and kissed him. “It was.

Now, I‟m going to wash us, and then we‟ll go to bed.”

Bart waited as Evan pulled back just enough to reach for

shower gel on the shelf. He hesitated between two bottles.

“Peach or hibiscus?”
He smiled. “Hibiscus.”
“Great choice.” Evan lathered them both up, then rinsed them,

then also washed their hair with coconut shampoo and conditioner.

As they dried off with one big towel that covered them both,

Bart had to laugh. “I feel like we‟re in Hawaii or something with
all these scents.”

Evan grinned. “I like to smell good. “
“Well, you do. You smell good, you look good, and you taste

good,” Bart said, stealing another kiss. He felt almost like he was
floating on a cloud he was so damn happy at that moment. A far
cry from a few hours ago when he was being pummeled by
Ronnie.

“You want pajamas, babe, or to sleep naked next to me?”
“How are you sleeping?”
“Naked.”
Bart bit his lip. “Your parents or sisters don‟t just burst into

your room in the morning do they?”

“My parents, no. My sisters, if they want to live, no.”
Bart laughed. “Naked it is then.”
“Great choice,” Evan said again, and drew them into the

bedroom toward the bed.

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CHAPTER 6

It made sense, to Evan anyway, for him and Bart to go to

school together the next morning since they had a similar schedule
of classes. Why take two cars?

“I have to work tonight,” Bart had protested.
But Evan had assured him he could take him to his job.
“I‟ve got to go home first anyway because I have to get my

uniform and make sure Julie got home and is safe from Ronnie,”
Bart explained, biting his lip as he stood on the street outside
Evan‟s house.

Evan nodded. “I can take you to the apartment and then to your

job.”

“You aren‟t going to want to pick me up from work, too.”
“Want to bet? You may as well pack some clothes, too,

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because you‟re staying with me tonight.”

Bart frowned. “Why?”
“First of all, because I want to have you with me. Second, there

is no way I‟m going to have you playing punching bag to Ronnie. I
don‟t want you there, Bart. I don‟t like the idea of him hurting
you.”

“He doesn‟t do it every day.”
His jaw tightening, Evan sighed. “If I have it my way neither

you nor your sister will spend another damn day in that apartment
with him.”

“You think I can‟t take care of myself,” Bart said woodenly.
It was on the tip of his tongue to point out that Bart couldn‟t.

He‟d clearly been taking shit from Ronnie for years. He knew that
wouldn‟t be the way to get Bart to agree not to go back to the
apartment alone. “I just want you out of harm‟s way.”

Bart exhaled. “Okay, but I can‟t just stay with you every night

and avoid it all forever.”

As far as Evan was concerned, he could, but he didn‟t say so.

He‟d cross that bridge, so to speak, when he came to it. For now,
he was content that Bart had agreed to let him keep him out of
Ronnie‟s hair for another night.

Smiling, he opened the passenger door of his car for Bart. As

Bart  got  inside,  Evan  wondered  just  how  he  would  deal  with  the
situation.  His  intention  was  to  get  Bart  and  his  sister  away  from
Ronnie  and  preferably  Ronnie  in  jail.  He  had  an  hour  between
classes,  so  he  decided  he‟d  spend  it  on  the  library  computers
looking  up  ways  to  help  victims  of  abuse  and  also  to  see  if  there
was a solution to Julie being a minor without her having to go into
foster care.

When they reached the campus, he parked and the two of them

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made their way onto the lawn that would take them toward the
building their classes were in. Bart had sociology first and Evan
had Logic. They happened to be in the same building.

Bart was chattering away to him about the crazy teacher in his

sociology class when Bart suddenly froze and stopped walking and
talking.  Frowning,  Evan  stopped,  too.  Straight  ahead  a  couple
hundred  feet  away  but  coming  in  their  direction  was  a  tall,  dark
haired  guy  dressed  in  jeans  and  a  polo  shirt.  He  looked  pretty
average to Evan.

“What‟s wrong?” he asked.
“That‟s Parker Hennessey.”
“So?”
Bart sighed. “I try to avoid him when I see him.”
“You see him a lot on campus?”
Bart shrugged. “A few times. Not a lot.”
Evan took hold of Bart‟s hand. “Come on.”
There was no way he was going to avoid the prick that hurt

Bart. Fuck that. In fact, he intended to take perverse pleasure in
rubbing his relationship with Bart in the dickhead‟s face. Bart cast
a glance at him sideways, but walked next to Evan, clutching his
hand.

At first, it looked like Hennessey intended to walk right past

them, without any sort of acknowledgement at all, but then at the
last moment he stopped short and stared.

“Bart? Bart Smith?” The guy‟s gaze strayed immediately to the

visible hickey on Bart‟s neck, then over to Evan, before sliding
back to Bart.

“Hennessey, right?” Evan asked coolly.
“Do I know you?”
“Evan Caruthers. Bart‟s boyfriend.” Okay, but that was a bit

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early in their relationship to declare himself Bart‟s boyfriend, but
hell, who cared? Evan intended it to be so, why not say it?

Hennessey‟s eyes widened. “Boyfriend?”
When he looked to Bart as though for confirmation, Evan‟s

annoyance went up a notch. He wasn‟t jealous. There was no
reason to be jealous of this clown. Bart wasn‟t into the guy, though
he was once, but this guy had hurt Bart. It bugged him that he‟d
even talk to Bart. He had no right to bother Bart in any way as far
as Evan was concerned.

“Yes, boyfriend,” Bart spoke up.
“Well.” Hennessey didn‟t seem to know what to say, which

suited Evan fine. He looked away from Evan and back to focus on
Bart. “Bart, I wanted to say, about what happened back in high
school—”

Evan stepped slightly in front of Bart. “Yes?”
Hennessey backed up a step.
“Evan.”
He heard the slight touch of censure in Bart‟s voice and knew

he was probably being overprotective and overbearing. At least
Bart viewed it that way. He tried to relax his combative stance.

“I just wanted to say that I‟m sorry. Things got a little out of

hand. Out of my control. I didn‟t mean for you to get beat up like
that,” Hennessey said, looking very uneasy.

“Look, Parker, I don‟t want to dwell on what happened. It was

rotten and it sucked and I frankly doubt it got out of your control at
all,” Bart said. “But I want to forget about it. I don‟t want to keep
thinking about it.”

“Um, okay.” Hennessey looked like he wanted to say more but

he clearly didn‟t find any encouragement to say anything else from
either Bart or Evan. Instead, he straightened and went around

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them. “See you.”

Evan turned and watched him walk away in the other direction.

He hoped neither of them saw the weasel again, really.

“I‟m sorry. I was being a bit of a caveman, wasn‟t I?”
Bart smiled. “A bit, yeah. But I don‟t entirely blame you. I was

acting like I was afraid of him. Avoiding him and all.”

“Ever thought of taking some self-defense classes? Or

something like karate? I‟m betting you don‟t like feeling like I‟m
trying to protect you, like you need protecting. Right?”

“It does make me feel like I‟m weak or something,” Bart

admitted.

“It‟s something to think about then. Come on, we‟d better get

to class.”

* * *

“You don‟t have to come up with me,” Bart said, as Evan

pulled his car into a visitor parking space right in front of the stairs
to Bart‟s apartment later that afternoon. “You can wait down here.
I won‟t be long.”

Evan could guess why Bart didn‟t want him to go up with him.

His bet was that Bart knew Ronnie was home or about to be and
didn‟t want any confrontations involving Ronnie and Evan.

“I want to meet your sister,” Evan said, smiling as sweetly as

he could manage. And that much was true. He did want to meet
Julie.

Bart bit his lip. “Okay.”
He turned off the engine, locked the car, and followed Bart up

the rickety stairs. As they approached the front door, he spotted a
cockroach scurrying toward the apartment nearest to Bart‟s. He

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kept his expression blank, not wanting Bart to feel any worse about
his living situation than he probably already did.

Evan felt like an ass. Here he lived in big house with his own

room and bathroom. It wasn‟t his money, obviously, it belonged to
his parents, but still. He‟d never been turned down for much, and
never anything he really wanted. Bart lived here with a drunk who
beat him. Life wasn‟t fucking fair.

Bart opened the door and cautiously stepped inside. “Julie?”
A young teenaged red-haired girl came out from the direction

of the hallway. She had a backpack slung over her shoulder.

“Bart! There you are. I—it looked like you hadn‟t been home.”

She walked over to Bart and squeezed him tight.

“Sorry, I spent the night at Evan‟s house. I left you a voice

mail.”

“I need to charge my phone.” She looked past him to Evan.

“Hello.”

“Hi.” He smiled. “I‟m Evan.”
“I figured.” She smiled back, tentatively. “Dad made an awful

mess, but I cleaned it when I got home.”

“You should have left it. I would have cleaned it,” Bart said.
“I can do things around here to help, Bart.” She eyed Evan.

“You‟re pretty cute. Are you seeing Bart?”

He saw Bart blush, but he nodded. “Yes. Do you have

somewhere to stay tonight? Bart‟s coming home with me again
tonight. And the whole weekend, too, if you have some place to
stay.”

“Tonight and tomorrow night for sure.” Julie gestured to her

backpack. “I‟ve got some clothes in here. But Saturday night,
Desiree‟s going somewhere with her parents.”

“Okay, we‟ll come get you from here or Desiree‟s on Saturday

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and you can stay at my house, too.”

“Evan, no,” Bart immediately protested.
“Bart, come on. It‟s no big deal. My sisters would love to meet

Julie. They‟re around her age. We can take them all to the mall or
something.” He frowned. “What‟s your work schedule?”

Bart sighed. “I don‟t have classes on Friday so I work earlier.

I‟m done by two in the afternoon. Saturday I work the six to noon
shift. And Sunday I don‟t work.”

He smiled. “See, it‟s perfect. You don‟t mind meeting my

sisters, do you, Julie?”

She shook her head. “No, I don‟t mind.”
“Great. We‟ll call you Saturday with the plans,” Evan said.
Julie smiled a little and then embraced her brother. “Have fun.

Don‟t do anything I wouldn‟t.”

Bart snorted. “Just go before he gets home. He‟s going to be

here any second.”

As soon as Julie walked out the door, Bart turned to look at

Evan and his expression was cool. “We need to talk about
something.”

Evan sighed. “I‟ve overstepped, haven‟t I?”
“Yes. I know you think I‟m a weakling and you need to fight

my battles for me—”

“It‟s not about battles, Bart. I just want you to be safe. I‟m not

trying to take over, but I saw what he did to you and you admitted
to me he‟s done it before. I know you‟re afraid for your sister, too.
If you won‟t move out, then I at least want to be sure you‟re safe as
often as I can.”

“I get that, but I get a say. If you wanted to invite Julie, you

should talk to me about it first. And not just decide everything like
you‟re in charge. You aren‟t.”

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Evan swallowed. “I know. I‟m sorry.”
Bart gave him a soft smile and touched his arm. “Okay. I know

you mean well, but I‟ve lived the last several years with people
thinking they need to take care of me and it‟s getting pretty old.”

Before Evan could say anything else the front door opened with

a loud bang as it slammed against the nearest wall. Evan could see
the plaster on the wall had been damaged already, probably from
taking such abuse before. Standing in the short front hall was a
man somewhere in his fifties wearing a soiled and torn T-shirt and
ratty looking work pants. His eyes were wild and his still red hair
rather mussed.

“Who the fuck is he?” the man demanded, glaring toward Bart.
Evan could only assume this charmer was Bart‟s father,

Ronnie. He could smell the booze from across the room.

“Evan Caruthers,” Bart said.
“Bart‟s boyfriend,” Evan added.
“His what?” Ronnie stumbled into the living room, his lips

twisted in a sneer. “He don‟t have no boyfriend.”

“Well, yes, he does. I‟m him.” He moved just a little to stand

very slightly in front of Bart. He only hoped Bart wouldn‟t get all
prickly over that, too. Evan was determined to keep himself
between Bart‟s father and Bart just the same.

Ronnie didn‟t seem to know what to say to that because he just

stared at the two of them.

“I‟m actually here just to pick up some things,” Bart spoke up.
“What do you mean?” Ronnie asked.
“I‟m going to be gone tonight and all weekend. Julie, too.” Bart

was doing his best to sound confident and casual, but Evan
detected a slight tremor in his voice. “There‟s food in the fridge for
you. You just have to fix it.”

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“Fix it? I don‟t cook,” Ronnie snarled.
“It‟s all food you can just heat up. You don‟t have to know

what you are doing.”

“Well, that‟s gratitude for you. I put a roof over your damn

heads and you thank me by skipping out on me. And for what? So
you let this guy use you for unnatural things?”

Bart shifted but didn‟t immediately say anything. And if Evan

had anything to say about it, he wouldn‟t. It was pretty clear to
Evan, Ronnie was the type to want to get a rise out of people.

“Come on, Bart, let‟s get your things so I can take you to

work,” Evan said.

Bart nodded and turned to go down the hall. When Evan

noticed Ronnie taking a step to follow, he decided Bart could pack
up his own clothes.

“I‟ll wait here with your father.”
Ronnie scowled. “You think you‟re so smart.”
“Smarter than you, that‟s for sure,” Evan acknowledged. He

crossed his arms and stood in front of the doorway that led to the
bedrooms. Yeah, yeah, so he was overbearing. He‟d work on it.
But there was no way this dick was getting anywhere near Bart
while Evan had anything to say about it.

“Asshole,” Ronnie muttered. “I‟m getting a beer.”
Evan nodded. “Good idea.” He had no doubt Ronnie was well

on his way to drinking himself to death and he didn‟t wish that
slow death on anyone. But the guy who hit Bart… well, he was
having trouble being charitable toward him.

Bart came out with a duffle bag a few minutes later. They

could hear Ronnie cursing and throwing things around in the
kitchen. Bart winced.

He forced a smile. “Ready?”

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“Yeah. Maybe I should fix him his dinner first,” Bart said,

sinking his teeth into his lip.

He wanted to shout no, but that wouldn‟t get him anywhere and

Bart would be mad. So he shook his head. “It‟s okay, Bart. He can
manage. He survived before you were born. I‟m sure he can fix a
sandwich.”

Bart sighed, but still looked reluctant. “All right, yes.”
They made it to the apartment door and still Bart hesitated.
“Bart.” He drew him into his arms and hugged him. “If you

really want to go and help him, I‟ll go in with you.”

“No, I-I know you‟re right. I‟m just used to doing stuff for

him.” Bart exhaled. “I‟m pathetic, huh?”

“Not at all. You‟re just an incredibly wonderful man who cares

about an asshole.” He opened the front door and they stepped out
onto the landing. Bart visibly relaxed and grabbed Evan‟s hand as
they walked down the stairs.

“Thanks for being there with me.”
“No problem.” He grinned. “And when you get off work I will

swoop in with my chariot and carry you off to my bed where I‟ll
have my wicked way with you.”

Bart laughed. “You‟re such a dork.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“I don‟t know about carrying me off to bed like some he-man,

but you can definitely fuck me into the mattress.”

He blinked. Hearing those dirty words from Bart‟s lips, with

him looking almost angelic was quite something. A huge turn-on.

Damn.
And Bart had to go to work. For the next few hours he was

going to have a case of blue balls.

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CHAPTER 7

Bart walked out of the fast food restaurant where he worked at

three minutes after ten and he wasn‟t a bit surprised to see Evan‟s
car waiting for him.

It was funny. He‟d never known anyone he could rely on to do

exactly as they said. To be punctual. To put Bart first. Any of that.
Even Shayne, his best friend, as much as he loved him, was often
flakey and late.

He smiled as he opened the passenger door and got into the car

and smiled even wider when Evan leaned over and gave him a
quick kiss. “Hi.”

“Hi, beautiful. Have a good night at work?”
“A bit crazy, actually. This family came in and they had like

seven kids and they were all screaming at the top of their lungs

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about wanting a toy.” Bart grimaced at the memory. “I think they
burst my eardrums.”

Evan laughed as he pulled out of the parking lot. “Well, I‟ll

have you feeling all cozy and relaxed in no time. Oh, hey, my
cousin called and he wants to meet us for dinner tomorrow night at
Henri‟s. He‟s going to ask Shayne. I told him we would. If that‟s
okay?”

Bart hadn‟t gotten around to telling Shayne who exactly he‟d

been seeing even though he had admitted to his friend he was
dating someone. He supposed if they met Shayne and Desmond for
dinner it would be fairly obvious. That was one way to tell Shayne,
anyway.

“Sure, sounds fine.”
All he could think about as they approached the neighborhood

where Evan lived was soon he‟d be kissing and touching Evan. He
could even picture a gloriously naked Evan feeding his cock into
Bart‟s ass and the image went straight to his dick, hardening it
painfully against his uniform pants.

“What are you thinking?” Evan asked as he turned a corner.
Blushing, Bart said, “Actually, I was thinking about sex with

you.”

“Yeah? What about it?”
“About how I can hardly wait for you to fuck me.”
“Ah, damn it. You‟re going to have me wishing I could pull

over.”

He chuckled. “We‟re only a couple blocks from your house.”
“Thank God for that. With you talking like that I want it now.”
Bart laid a hand on Evan‟s thigh and squeezed a little. He was

rewarded by a low moan. “Don‟t get a speeding ticket or it will
take even longer to get what you want.”

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“You‟re a tease.” Evan grinned.
He shook his head. “Nah, I‟ll put out.”
“The sooner the better,” Evan agreed, as he maneuvered his car

into the spot directly in front of his house. “I hope nobody stops us
from going straight to my room.”

They made it inside the house in seconds flat or it seemed so to

Bart. Barely pausing, Evan yanked him up the staircase to his
room. Bart would have laughed but he could barely catch his
breath.

Once inside Evan‟s room, Bart threw himself at Evan, pressing

their mouths together and latching his arms around Evan‟s neck.
Groaning, Evan maneuvered them to the bed, crushing Bart
underneath him.

When they came up for air, Evan framed Bart‟s face in his

large hands. “Have I told you just how beautiful you are?”

He rolled his eyes. “I‟m not beautiful.”
Evan grinned and kissed the tip of Bart‟s nose. “Yeah, you are.

I love your red hair, your dangly earrings, your high cheekbones.”

“Ah, geez. You‟re killing me here,” Bart joked.
“Everything about you is stunning.”
“Stunning and beautiful? I don‟t want to be either of those. I

want to be hot.”

Evan rubbed his thumb over Bart‟s swollen lips. “That you

are.”

His stomach fluttering and his heart pounding with emotions he

couldn‟t quite place, or didn‟t want to anyway, Bart pushed his
pelvis up to rub against Evan. “Prove it. Fuck me.”

And Evan‟s lips were once more on his, consuming them,

nibbling them, taking every last breath from Bart, over and over
again. Long fingers threaded through his hair, tugging the strands,

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pulling his head closer still. Bart whimpered.

He didn‟t know how long they just kissed. And kissed. And

kissed. It felt like hours, but not long enough. Just as he began to
think he would die from lack of oxygen, but who cared, Evan
broke away and stood.

Bart watched through half closed lids as Evan pulled his shirt

off, revealing his rippling abs. His breath hitched as Evan‟s fingers
undid the snap of his jeans, his gaze never leaving Bart. He read
lust in Evan‟s eyes but also a deeper, more potent emotion that
rocked his very soul.

Even as he watched Evan lowering his jeans, slowly, like he

wanted to give Bart a show, Bart toed off his sneakers, then
reached down to scoot his uniform pants and underwear down his
hips. They were just big enough he didn‟t even have to undo them.
His cock sprang free and Bart grasped it, stroking as he continued
to watch Evan divest himself of his own clothes.

“I‟ll be right back with the condom and lube,” Evan said,

leaning down to kiss Bart deeply. “Get rid of your shirt.”

Bart leaned up on his elbows to watch Evan‟s backside as he

made his way to the bathroom. His mouth watering, Bart yanked
off his shirt and let it drop to the floor with his shoes and pants. He
closed his fist over his dick, pumping it.

Evan returned holding a small bottle of lube and a strip of

several condoms.

Bart raised eyebrow. “Just how many times do you think we‟re

going to have sex?”

Evan grinned. “Hopefully as many condoms as I have here.”
Bart laughed. “I don‟t think so.”
Handing the bottle of lube to Bart, Evan looked down at Bart‟s

bruised stomach. “God, babe, does it hurt?”

MORE THAN ENOUGH

“Not much.” Which wasn‟t exactly true, but Bart wasn‟t about

to admit otherwise to Evan. He didn‟t want his lover to decide he
was too injured or anything. And the truth was, it was just tender.

“I want to kill him,” Evan whispered.
He shook his head. “No, you don‟t.”
“I do.”
“You aren‟t a violent guy.”
Evan blew out a breath. “Yeah. I think I could make an

exception where Ronnie is concerned.”

“Let‟s not talk about him.” Bart opened the lube and squirted

some out all over his fingers. He moved his hand down between
his legs and to his entrance. With slow precision, he slipped a
finger inside.

“Oh, fuck.” Evan groaned. He knelt one knee on the bed and

watched Bart, his eyes glazed.

Encouraged by the look of rapture on Evan‟s face, Bart slipped

a second slicked finger inside himself. It felt just a little strange to
be doing this. He never had before, and, admittedly, it was
embarrassing enough he doubted he could do it with anyone other
Evan. For some reason, it was okay with Evan.

Better than okay, actually. Bart gasped and lifted his ass

enough to insert his fingers deeper.

Evan tore one of the foil wrappers and rolled the condom on his

hard  cock  without  ever  looking  away  from  Bart.  Shaking  with
need, Bart licked his lips, imagining the feel of Evan‟s cock inside
him in place of his probing  fingers. His own dick leaked pre-cum
and  with his other  hand  he brushed his thumb across the tip, then
sucked his thumb into his mouth.

“God.” Evan visibly swallowed and positioned himself

between Bart‟s legs. “I can‟t wait to fuck you.”

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Bart moaned and withdrew his fingers. He linked his arms

under his legs to lift up, allowing Evan perfect access to enter him.
Holding Bart‟s gaze, Evan pushed in, quickly moving past the ring
of muscle.

“All right?” Evan asked.
“Uh-huh. Better than all right.” He pushed up, taking all of

Evan‟s cock deep inside.

And then Evan grasped Bart‟s legs, hoisting them high in the

air as he began to thrust hard and fast. His lids threatened to close,
but Bart forced them open, not wanting to miss anything. He
closed his fingers around his length and stroked in rhythm to the
pounding in his ass.

Bart knew he wouldn‟t last, he was so turned on, every part of

his  body  feeling  electrified.  Each  time  Evan‟s  cock  brushed  his
prostate  it  tore  a  moan  from  his  lips  and  he  tried  to  muffle  it  by
turning  his  head  to  the  side  and  burying  his  face  in  the  pillow  on
the bed, conscious of the fact they were fucking in Evan‟s parents‟
house. The bedsprings creaked a little as Evan drove into him and
he couldn‟t help but think of a bad porno. It surprised a giggle out
of him.

Evan raised an eyebrow, even as his thrusts sped up. “What‟s

funny?”

He shook his head, grinning. “You just need a quieter bed.”
The only answer he got was a loud groan from Evan.
“Shh, do you want your parents knowing what‟s going on in

here?”

“I‟m sure they‟d figure it out even without sound effects,

babe.” Even smiled. “Less talking, more fucking.”

He clamped his muscles on Evan‟s cock and was rewarded

with the widening of his lover‟s eyes. Oh, yeah, he needed to do

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that again. And again.

He stopped the movement of his hand on his dick, wanting to

draw out his orgasm, waiting until Evan was closer. Moving his
hands up his abs, he slid them over his nipples, stroking and
pinching them.

Over and over, Evan slammed into him, seeming to go

impossibly deeper every time, pushing him to experience tingles
all over, electrifying him.

“Evan!”
Once more he stroked his cock, working it fast, pulling it, as a

white globs erupted, splattering across his belly.

“Ah, fuck,” Evan yelled, finding his own release after two

more powerful thrusts.

* * *

Bart became aware some time later and realized he must have

dozed  off  immediately  after  sex.  He  blinked  into  the  darkness.
Evan lay next to him, on his side, his arm latched around Bart. He
shook  his  head  at  himself.  He  sort  of  remembered  Evan
withdrawing  and  getting  up  to  discard  the  condom,  but  that  was
about it.

“You awake?” he whispered when Evan moved ever so

slightly.

“Mmm. Yeah. You all right?”
“Uh-huh. Sorry, I must have conked out on you.”
Evan chuckled. “I got up to get rid of the condom and when I

got back to bed you were out like a light.”

“I guess I was more tired than I realized.”
“It‟s not uncommon to fall asleep right after, babe. It‟s fine. I

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didn‟t expect us to have a conversation about the meaning of life or
anything.” Evan smoothed his hand over Bart‟s bare stomach.
“How do your bruises feel?”

“Sore,” Bart admitted. “Not intolerable though.”
“‟S‟good.” Evan kissed the back of Bart‟s head. “I like having

you here.”

Bart nodded. “It‟s definitely different. I‟m not used to sleeping

with other people. Even as a kid I didn‟t really have sleepovers.”

“Not even when your mom was alive?”
“Nope. She didn‟t think it was necessary. I asked a couple of

times, but she always said no, I could see my friends in the
morning and she didn‟t want any kids up yakking all night.” Bart
shrugged. “I stopped asking.”

“That sucks. I used to love those when I was a kid. Des and I

used to even camp out in a tent in the backyard.”

“I‟ve never been interested in camping,” Bart said. “Too many

bugs.”

“Yeah,” Evan said with a laugh. “I can‟t see you out in the

wilderness. Or even in the backyard. Not a Scout, huh?”

“Never. It was okay, we never had much money growing up

even before she got sick, and stuff like Scouts and camping and
sports, they all cost money.”

“Still it doesn‟t sound like you had much of a childhood.”
He smiled sadly in the darkness. “We were definitely not the

perfect great American family that‟s for sure.”

Evan leaned over his shoulder. “Did Ronnie ever hit you when

your mom was alive?”

“No. Like I told you before, that came with the drinking. But

he was never a very involved dad. My mom got pregnant with me
so they got married. Mom said anything else had never been an

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option. It was just the way it was.”

“Well, I‟m glad you‟re here with me now, Bart. Get some

sleep. You have to get up early for work.”

He yawned. “You reminded me.”
“And there‟s dinner tomorrow at Henri‟s don‟t forget.”
He nodded as he closed his eyes. “I won‟t.”

* * *

Bart twisted his fingers nervously as he sat in the booth with

Evan waiting for Shayne to arrive with Evan‟s cousin, Desmond.
He should have told Shayne. Should have called him. Would
Shayne be mad?

Really, since going out with Evan, Bart had barely seen

Shayne. He‟d called him  from school the  night after  his  first real
date  with  Evan,  but  the  conversation  had  been  brief  and  Bart
hadn‟t revealed any details. He didn‟t want to be the kind of friend
who  stopped  hanging  out  with  his  friends  just  because  he  got  a
boyfriend, but so far that had been exactly what he had done. Not
that Shayne didn‟t seem to be spending a lot of time with Des, too.

“Hey,” Evan said, nudging his shoulder. “You look like you‟re

a million miles away.”

Evan, of course, had insisted on sitting next to him in the

booth, leaving the bench across from them for Des and Shayne
when they arrived.

“Just thinking about how fast things are going.”
“Things?” Evan asked. “Or us?”
He nodded. “Us.”
“That scaring you?”
“Maybe. I don‟t know.”

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“Hi.” Desmond Stratton, Evan‟s big beefy cousin, stood next to

their table. Bart craned his neck. The guy was really tall, like most
quarterbacks, he guessed, and very muscular. He was cute, but not
as gorgeous as Evan was. At least not to Bart.

“Ah, you made it,” Evan said, smiling. “Sit down.”
And then Shayne was there. Shayne with his messy dark curls

and soulful poet‟s eyes starting at Bart accusingly.

“Just a minute. Bart, is this the guy you‟ve been seeing?”

Shayne demanded, looking rather incensed.

“Um.” Well, he hadn‟t expected quite that reaction. He nodded.
“I don‟t believe this.” Shayne scowled.
Des eyed Bart and Evan, then touched Shayne‟s arm. “Uh,

Shayne.”

Shayne looked at Des. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
“Shayne, please.” Bart‟s stomach twisted. Okay, so he should

have told Shayne he was seeing Des‟s cousin, but really, talk about
dramatics.

“It‟s okay, Bart. I just want to talk to Des real quick. Be right

back.” Shayne headed for the front doors of the restaurant.

“What‟s that all about?” Evan asked Des.
Des sighed. “Not sure. Uh, order me a Coke and Shayne an

iced tea.”

When Des had followed after Shayne, Evan turned to look at

Bart. “You haven‟t told him about me, have you?”

“Er, no. Not exactly. I was going to, but, well, we‟ve not really

talked a lot in the last few days. I‟ve spent most of that time at
school, work, or with you.”

The waitress picked that moment to stop at their table and put

down Evan and Bart‟s coffees they had ordered. “Ready to order?”

“Not quite. But a Coke and an iced tea for those two,” Evan

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said, gesturing to the empty space across from them.

“Be right back,” the waitress said, scribbling on a pad, then

walking to another table with a party of three.

Evan looked at the menu and didn‟t say anything else about

Shayne not knowing. “All the burgers here are huge. Want to split
something?”

“Okay, sure.” Bart glanced at the menu Evan held. “The patty

melt?”

Evan nodded. “Perfect.”
Des and Shayne approached the booth once more and Shayne

slid into the bench across from them, then Des sat beside him.

“Everything all right?” Bart bit his lip.
Shayne smiled, but it was a decidedly unfriendly smile. “Oh,

sure. Just thought of something I wanted to ask Des about. Sorry.”
He looked at Evan. “How are you, Evan?”

“I‟m good. Looks like things are going well for you two.”
“Us two? Oh, no. I get it. Des and I are just friends.”
“Shayne,” Des said, sighing.
Evan picked up his coffee cup with one hand and laid his other

overtop Bart‟s. He welcomed the warmth and comfort of it.

Des picked up his menu. “Shayne, what are you having?”
“I don‟t know,” Shayne said. “But we should probably ask the

waitress for separate checks.”

He sighed and glanced at Shayne. “Why?”
“Just being friends.”
“Will you please stop?”
Shayne went back to looking at the menu and Bart started

feeling sorry for Des. Shayne was being very strange, even for
Shayne.

Evan cleared his throat. “Bart and I are going to split the patty

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melt. It‟s huge so it‟s plenty for the two of us.”

Des nodded. “Sounds good. Maybe we should share, too. What

do you think, babe?”

“What?”
“Do you want to share something?”
“I think I‟m going to just have the soup and salad combo.”
“Okay, I‟ll get something else then.”
The waitress came by with Des and Shayne‟s drinks and they

all placed their orders. Des ended up ordering the Reuben
sandwich.

“So, Evan… ” Shayne broke the silence that had lapsed over

the four of them at the table. “Have you introduced Bart to your
family yet?”

Rolling his eyes, Bart kicked Shayne under the table.
“Ouch. What the hell was that for?”
“Stop being an ass, Shayne,” Bart said, annoyed. “We‟ve only

gone out a few times.”

“But—”
“But nothing. Take a chill pill. I don‟t need a keeper.”
Evan cleared his throat again. “Actually Bart met my dad the

other night. He‟ll meet the rest this weekend, since Bart‟s staying
over.”

Shayne nodded, then looked at his glass of iced tea. “This was

a bad idea.”

“Shay,” Des said softly.
Without looking at any of them, Shayne shook his head. “Can I

just go?”

Des smiled apologetically at them. “Sorry guys. I‟m going to

take Shayne home.” He took his wallet out and put money on the
table. “You guys can eat our food or take it home with you.

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Whatever.”

Bart opened his mouth to say something, but then Evan

squeezed his hand.

Des and Shayne got out of the booth.
“I‟m sorry,” Shayne whispered before moving toward the door.
“Is he all right?” Evan asked.
“Yeah. It‟s my fault. I fucked up. I‟ll talk to you later.”
Bart lowered his gaze and picked up his own coffee. “That was

probably my fault.”

“Yours? Why?”
“He seemed pretty upset I hadn‟t told him about you.”
Evan shook his head. “No, honey, I think it was something else

that was going on. You heard what Des said.”

“Yeah.”
“Are you still hungry?” Evan asked.
He thought about it and nodded. “Actually I‟m starving.”
Evan laughed. “Me, too. And we will certainly have plenty to

eat.”

“I‟m sorry I didn‟t tell Shayne about us,” Bart said.
“It‟s all right. I know it‟s just been a few days. And you

probably have your doubts.”

“Doubts?”
“About me. About us lasting. I totally get that. And I come on

strong. Already calling myself your boyfriend.”

It was Bart‟s turn to squeeze Evan‟s hand. “I don‟t mind.”
“Good, because really, I‟m not going anywhere. Unless you

want me to.”

“I don‟t want you to,” Bart said. And it was all crazy fast and

overwhelming, but he really liked Evan and somehow he thought
Evan really liked him.

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The waitress came by their table and set down their patty melt

and fries. Then she set a Reuben and fries across from them where
Des had been sitting and a salad with potato soup next to that.

“Want some more coffee?” she asked.
“That would be great, thank you,” Evan said smiling. “And a

box for the Reuben, too.”

Bart scooted over the plate with the soup and salad. “Good

thing we were sharing.”

“When we leave here, Bart, I want you to meet my mom and

sisters.”

“You didn‟t let what Shayne say bother you, did you?”
Evan smiled. “No, but I‟ve had you staying over twice now and

I invited you for the weekend. I should have already had you meet
them.”

“Well, I would love, too.”
Evan leaned over and kissed him quick. “And they will love

you. Now, let‟s dig in.”

MORE THAN ENOUGH

CHAPTER 8

Now that Evan intended to have Bart meet his mom and sisters,

his stomach fluttered nervously. Sure, he‟d already had his dad
meet Bart, but that had been casual. Now, well, he knew he really
liked Bart and wanted a relationship with him.

Not that he had any doubts his family would adore Bart. The

redhead was beautiful and sweet. In fact, as they walked hand in
hand into Evan‟s house, he couldn‟t help but cast a quick glance in
Bart‟s direction. His high cheekbones were dusted with a little pink
and a smattering of freckles, which also crossed over the bridge of
his nose. He smiled at the sight of Bart‟s dangly fairy ear cuff.

Bart caught his glance and smiled back. “What?”
“Nothing.” He closed the front door. “Hey, Mom? Where are

you?”

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“In the kitchen,” his mom called from the right.
“This way,” he told Bart as he led the way down a narrow

hallway, then past a dining room and then finally into the sunny
lemon yellow kitchen. His mom stood at the stove holding a
wooden spoon with which she stirred something in a large double
boiler. “Hi, Mom.”

She turned to face them with a bright smile. “Hi, sweetie. This

must be Bart.”

“Yep. Cute as I said he was, huh?” He grinned at Bart‟s blush.

“Bart, this is my mother, Debra Caruthers. And this is Bart Smith.”

Bart shook Evan‟s mother‟s hand. “Very nice to meet you.”
“It‟s wonderful to meet you, too, Bart. Evan won‟t stop talking

about you.”

Now it was his turn to blush. “You‟re exaggerating.”
She laughed. “Not by much. You boys had dinner?”
“Yeah, at Henri‟s. Sorry, Mom, Des wanted us to meet him.”
“How is Des? I hardly ever see him now.”
“Busy trying to decide about football.”
She made a noise of disapproval. “Poor boy. They just won‟t

stop pressuring him.”

“Pressuring him?” Bart asked.
“Des‟s family wants him to be drafted by the NFL,” Evan said.

“This year, actually, even though he still has a year left before he
gets his degree. They think he‟ll be an elite NFL quarterback
someday. They‟re counting on it. Des doesn‟t know if that‟s really
what he wants.”

Bart frowned. “Wow, really? I just assumed since he‟s always

played in school that‟s what he wanted. What does he want?”

“To be a doctor,” his mom said.
“Yeah,” Evan said with a nod. “Since we were kids he talked

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about that. But football, too. So, yeah, big decision. Anyway, are
the brats home? I wanted them to meet Bart, too.”

“Should be out back.”
Evan nodded. “Bart, can you give me a minute? I wanted to ask

Mom something.”

“Sure. I need to go to the bathroom anyway.” Bart smiled and

left the kitchen.

“So, what‟s up?” his mom asked instantly.
“I wanted to make sure it was okay with you if Bart stays here,

at least for the weekend, maybe longer.”

“Oh?” She folded her arms across her chest. “You‟re actually

asking me?”

He had the grace to blush. “Yeah, sorry. I should have asked

before. Um, Bart‟s father is an ass. He hits him. His sister, too. In
fact, is it okay if his sister stays over tomorrow night? I know it‟s a
lot to ask, Mom, but I‟m worried. Bart‟s dad drinks. A lot.”

His mom hugged him. “Yeah, it‟s all right. I can‟t imagine

what that poor family must be going through.”

He squeezed her. “Thank you. And sorry I didn‟t ask before.”
“It‟s okay. And tell your sisters to come in for dinner.”

* * *

Evan adored his younger sisters, Laurie and Allison. They were

both in high school, one year apart, and blondes like him. Sure
they could be bratty sometimes, but still he would do anything for
them.

Holding Bart‟s hand, they stepped outside. His sisters were in

the Jacuzzi, lounging. “You‟re using sunscreen, aren‟t you?”

Laurie, the youngest at fourteen, rolled her eyes. “Yes, Dad.

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And anyway the sun‟s almost gone.”

Allison straightened and smiled brightly. “Who is this?”
“This is Bart. My boyfriend,” Evan said.
She pouted. “Oh. Hi.”
Bart laughed. “Hi.”
“He‟s cute, Ev.” Laurie waved.
“He is. Mom says to come in for dinner. If you two behave,

we‟ll take you to the mall tomorrow afternoon.”

“Sounds cool,” Allison said. “But we don‟t have to hang out

with you two, do we?”

“You used to like hanging out with me.”
She snorted. “Says you.” They both got out of the Jacuzzi and

wrapped themselves in towels. “All yours if you want it. See you.”

“They seem sweet,” Bart said when they‟d gone inside.
“Yeah, they seem that way,” he joked. “How about it?

Jacuzzi?”

Bart yawned. “I‟m actually kind of tired. Can we just go

upstairs?”

“Sure. You ready for bed? You feeling all right?” Evan asked

with a frown

“I‟m fine. Just thinking maybe I want some alone time with

you.” Bart lowered his gaze shyly.

“Oh. Oh.” He grinned. “Gotcha. Yeah, I‟m tired, too.

Exhausted even. Let‟s hurry.”

Bart laughed. “I can see the dark circles under your eyes.”
They hurried up the stairs, which Evan realized had begun to be

a habit for them, and then into his bedroom.

“Want you,” Bart whispered. He reached for the waistband of

Evan‟s jeans and unfastened them. Without unzipping them, he
slipped his hand inside and wrapped his warm fingers around

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Evan‟s length.

“Ah, fuck, babe.” He lowered the zipper and pushed his pants

and boxers down to his knees. He looked down to see Bart‟s full
mouth curve into a smile and his long lashes cover his blue eyes.
Then his lips closed over the head of Evan‟s cock and he was lost.

There was something so decadent about watching Bart draw

him in deeper, his cheeks hollowing as he sucked. Evan couldn‟t
resist running his fingers through Bart‟s soft red hair, his hands
holding Bart to him as he pumped in and out.

Part of him wanted to stop his lover so he could come deep

inside Bart‟s ass, but the mouth expertly sucking his cock made
thinking almost impossible. Bart‟s fingers grasped his sac and he
rolled Evan‟s balls.

“Geez,” he gasped when Bart swallowed around his cock.

“Bart, I‟m gonna come.”

His lover nodded and sucked him deeper still, almost deep-

throating him. And then he was coming, filling Bart‟s mouth,
unable to hold back.

When he was spent, Bart let him slip out of his mouth. He

looked up at Evan with a grin, his full lips wet.

“Happy with yourself?” Evan asked with a laugh.
“Yup.” Bart stood and wrapped his arms around Evan. “Seems

like maybe you‟re happy with me, too.”

He pulled Bart closer and tightened his arms. “I‟m very

happy.”

* * *

A week later, Bart met Shayne for afternoon coffee after Bart‟s

shift at the restaurant Friday morning and Shayne‟s classes were

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finished. There was a Starbucks just off campus so they met there
at one o‟clock.

Shayne sipped a double espresso over ice while Bart had just

ordered a regular cup of coffee, nothing fancy.

“So, yeah, basically I spent the whole last weekend at Evan‟s

house. Julie stayed over Saturday, too, but Sunday she went back
to Desiree‟s so they could go to school together.”

Shayne nodded. “Everything seems to be going pretty well

then.”

“Evan‟s family is great. I really like them.”
Shayne smiled, but it was just a little sad. “What about Ronnie?

He couldn‟t have been happy you weren‟t around.”

“I‟m sure. There wasn‟t much he could say about it, though.

I‟ve  managed  to  keep  things  low  key  all  week  with  him.  The
mechanic  shop  he  works  at  has  been  making  him  work  some
overtime so he comes home even later than usual. Evan wants me
to  spend  the  weekend  with  him  again,  but  I‟m  going  home  today
before  work so I can check on the  apartment and  make  sure  he‟s
got food and Julie is all right.”

“You‟re such a nurturer.”
“No, I‟m not. It just has to be done.” Bart shrugged. Yeah,

Ronnie  was  a  drunken  asshole,  but  what  else  could  Bart  do?  He
had to think of Julie and, anyway, it wasn‟t like he could afford to
move  to  his  own  place  with  what  he  made  from  the  fast  food
restaurant. Yeah, Evan wanted him to stay over every single night,
but  Bart  didn‟t  feel  right  about  imposing  on  Evan‟s  family  like
that.

“Well, I, for one, can‟t wait until you both move away

permanently from him.”

“Me, too. I sent another email a couple of days ago to Mom‟s

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sister.” He sighed. “I‟m still waiting for a response. I‟m not sure if
the email is wrong or she just doesn‟t care.”

Shayne sipped his espresso. “Too bad you don‟t have a phone

number. I‟m glad you met Evan, though.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Now you‟re glad? You seemed pretty

hostile the other night.”

Shayne winced. “Sorry, bad night. Although you could have

told me who you were seeing. You knew he was Des‟s cousin.”

“I know. We really hadn‟t been seeing each other for long and I

just wanted to see where things were going.” All of which was
true. But, yeah, he felt guilty for not talking to Shayne about it all
before. It felt good to sit and talk to his friend now. It had been far
too long since they‟d had time, just the two of them.

“And now?”
Bart smiled. “They‟re going really good. Evan‟s very sweet.

How about you, Shayne? What‟s going on with you? What
happened last Friday?”

Shayne didn‟t say anything for a while, then he said very

softly, “You‟re lucky Evan‟s out to his family.”

“He told me Des isn‟t.”
“Yeah. Very firmly in the closet. At least until he decides on

what he wants to do. You know me, Bart, I‟m out. I‟m not going
back in.”

“Is that what he‟s asking?”
Shayne shrugged. “He wants to hide our relationship for now. I

haven‟t seen him since last Friday after we left the restaurant.
We‟ve talked on the phone, though.”

“I‟m sorry.”
“It‟s okay. I‟ll work it out, somehow.”
“You‟re in love with him, though, aren‟t you?”

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Shayne shrugged again but didn‟t agree or disagree. Bart

decided not to push it. If Shayne didn‟t want to talk about his
feelings for Des, Bart couldn‟t blame him.

He forced a smile. “Let‟s have dinner soon, okay?”
“Sure, sounds great.”

* * *

Bart hurried up the apartment stairs, his heart pounding hard.

He‟d parked his car a moment ago, having noticed his father‟s car
already parked under the carport. Ronnie was home early. He
hadn‟t had time to get Julie away.

He could hear Ronnie‟s raised voice as he made it up the stairs.
He turned the doorknob and found the front door unlocked.
The sight that greeted him nearly stopped his heart. Julie was

backed up against the living room wall and Ronnie stood before
her, his finger jabbing at her chest. Tears streamed down Julie‟s
cheeks.

“You lazy bitch!” Ronnie yelled. “Clean up that damn

kitchen.”

“Stop it, leave me alone.” Julie sobbed.
“No,” Bart shouted and hurried over. He immediately pushed

Ronnie away from his sister and stood in front of Julie. “Don‟t you
touch her.”

Ronnie sneered. “Oh, look who it is. Her older sister to the

rescue. You two girls make me sick. You think you can just do
whatever you want, don‟t you? Well, things are going to change
around here. I‟ve been too damn easy on you two lately. Now you
think you can walk all over me.”

Bart watched as his father balled up his fist and he knew the

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man intended to hit him and it looked like he intended to actually
go for Bart‟s face.

Not this time.
Bart shoved Ronnie back hard until he stumbled. “You keep

away. From both of us. Or I‟ll call the cops.”

“You don‟t have the guts,” Ronnie said.
“Maybe I didn‟t before, but now, I do. You‟re not going to

touch either of us again,” Bart declared. “Why are you home so
early anyway?”

Ronnie wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “I got fired

today.”

“Fired?”
“Drinking on the job. Or so they said. It‟s bullshit.”
His stomach twisting, Bart sighed and turned to Julie. “Go get

your stuff. We‟re leaving.”

“Leaving? Where do you think you‟re going this time?” Ronnie

asked.

“Away from here, that‟s for sure.”
“I‟m not going to let you just walk out of here. I‟m your father

and you lazy good-for-nothing kids will do what I say from now
on.”

Bart ignored his ranting and gently guided Julie away from the

wall. “Go on, get your things.”

“Bart, look out!” Julie shrieked.
He frowned, about to turn around when something crashed

against the back of his head and the sound of breaking glass
pierced the air. Bart fell to his knees even as he could hear Julie
screaming. His vision dimmed and then everything went dark.

MORE THAN ENOUGH

CHAPTER 9

Evan sat beside the hospital bed holding Bart‟s hand, willing

him to wake up. Bart lay on his back, machines hooked up to him,
tubes running from his hands. Around his head was a bandage. His
beautiful red hair had been shaved. In the back where Ronnie had
hit him over the head with a  glass lamp, they‟d have to give him
several  stitches.  They  were  also  monitoring  him  to  make  sure  his
brain  wouldn‟t  experience  any  swelling.  So  far,  anyway,  there
hadn‟t been any.

Bart had been unconscious for two days. The doctors told Julie

and Evan that they hoped he would wake up soon. They thought he
would.

Ronnie had been arrested. Between Evan and Julie, Bart had

never been alone since being rushed to the hospital. Shayne and

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Desmond had been there, too. Just now Julie had gone down to the
cafeteria to get them coffee and tea.

“It‟s me again. Asking you to wake up. I need you to wake up.

We‟ve hardly had any time at all, Bart. We just started and maybe
it‟s selfish of me, but I want more. I don‟t want weeks or even
months with you. I want years. I want to know everything there is
to know about you. And I want you to know everything about me.
I want to make love with you every day. But you have to wake up
and tell me you want the same thing, too.”

Evan stared at the pale face of the guy he thought he was

falling in love with. Tears pricked his eyes, but he refused to give
into despair. Bart would wake up. He had to. Ronnie was not going
to win.

He couldn‟t help but think he had somehow failed Bart. He

should have insisted Bart stay with him all week and told Bart he
couldn‟t  go  to  the  apartment  without  Evan  being  with  him.  But
Bart  probably  would  have  scoffed  at  that  anyway.  And  none  of
them  had  thought  Ronnie  would  put  Bart  in  the  hospital.  Evan
should have known, though, and his guilt ate at him.

He exhaled and struggled to speak without his voice cracking.

“Shayne  and Des are  doing good. Shayne  said to tell  you  that  he
and Des worked it out. And Des came out to his family. It didn‟t
go  well,  but  it‟s  done.  And  Des  isn‟t  declaring  for  the  draft  this
year  either.  You  have  to  wake  up  so  you  can  talk  to  Shayne
yourself. He wants to tell you all about it.”

Evan pinched the bridge of his nose. He‟d read somewhere that

people could still hear you when they were unconscious but he
wasn‟t sure it was true. Still, he‟d been talking to Bart anyway. He
thought maybe it was more for him than for Bart. He needed to
talk.

MORE THAN ENOUGH

Julie stepped into the hospital room holding two Styrofoam

cups. She handed one to Evan, who took it one handed, and shook
her head sadly. “I keep hoping every time I step out that when I
come back in, he‟ll be awake.”

“Me, too.” Reluctantly he let go of Bart‟s hand. “I‟ve got to go

to the bathroom. Can you sit with him?”

She nodded. “You know I will.”
He set the cup of coffee on the windowsill and forced himself

to step out of the hospital room. He didn‟t even want to leave Bart
for a second, but his body had other ideas.

It was hard not to let his mind wander to how much he wanted

to kill Ronnie with his bare hands. His heart had almost stopped
when he‟d received Julie‟s frantic call from Bart‟s cell phone.
Evan was haunted by that call, Julie‟s sobs.

“I think Dad killed Bart,” she‟d cried into the phone and Evan

had almost died then, too. Thank God, she hadn‟t been right. It was
bad enough what Ronnie had done, but if Ronnie had killed Bart,
Evan didn‟t know what he would have done.

He should have gotten them both away from Ronnie. He should

have done more to look into how to get a minor away from their
abusive parent. He‟d thought he had time and Bart had insisted he
could handle seeing his father.

Right now Evan hated himself for listening.
He left the restroom and headed back to Bart‟s room. Julie sat

in a chair on the opposite side of where he‟d been sitting, sipping
her tea and reading one of the last books of the Harry Potter series.
Her eyes looked very unfocused and her eyelids kept drifting
closed, before she would blink them back open.

“Hey, kiddo. Want me to take you home? You look

exhausted.” Julie had stayed at his house the last two nights.

MORE THAN ENOUGH

“No, I don‟t want to leave yet,” she whispered. Her eyes filled

with tears. “I just need him to wake up. I need my big brother.”

“I know. Me, too. It‟s going to be okay. It will.” He wanted to

convince himself as much as her.

She simply nodded.
Then a noise by the door had Evan turning. Standing in the

doorway was Ronnie himself. He‟d cleaned up from the last time
Evan had seen him. He was dressed in navy slacks and a plaid
shirt.

Julie stood. “What are you doing here? Get away from him.”
Evan put his arm out to stop her from rushing past him and to

her father. “Easy.”

Ronnie continued to stand just inside the door. “I don‟t want

any trouble.”

“You should be in jail,” Julie said.
“How is it you‟re here, Ronnie?” Evan wanted to rush at the

monster himself and bash his face in. But he couldn‟t. He
wouldn‟t. He knew Bart wouldn‟t want that.

“I made bail. I just… I wanted to see my boy.”
“You stay away from him.” Tears streamed down Julie‟s face.
“I‟m not here to cause trouble,” Ronnie insisted. “They tell me

he hasn‟t waked up.”

“He‟s in a coma, Ronnie. Thanks to you,” Evan added.

“You‟ve seen him now. You should probably go.”

“I‟m his dad. I have a right to be here.”
Julie‟s laugh was hysterical. Evan hushed her and wrapped his

arm around her.

“If you were really any kind of dad to him you wouldn‟t have

hurt him. Ever. As his dad you‟re supposed to keep him safe. But
Bart‟s going to wake up and when he does, I‟m going to do

MORE THAN ENOUGH

everything I can to make sure he gets a restraining order against
you.”

Ronnie merely nodded, his eyes focused on the pale figure in

the bed.  “I  want  him to  know and  you, too, girl, I‟m  going to get
help.  I‟m  going  to  rehab  and  am  also  going  to  classes  about
domestic  violence.  So,  when  I‟m  done,  we  can  all  be  a  family
again.”

“We‟ll never be a family again,” Julie said hoarsely.
“Maybe so. Tell him anyway.” Ronnie then turned and walked

out of the room.

Evan held Julie while she cried, his gaze firmly on Bart,

wanting desperately for him to wake.

* * *

The next afternoon, Evan sat with Bart again. Julie had gone to

school. She  hadn‟t  wanted to, but eventually Evan talked  her into
it.  Last  night  they‟d  heard  from  Bart  and  Julie‟s  aunt,  their
mother‟s sister, finally. She hadn‟t got Bart‟s first email, she said,
but  the  most  recent  one  he‟d  sent  had  come  through  while  she‟d
been  away  on  a  vacation.  She  was  headed  down  from  Northern
California  to  be  with  Julie.  They  all  hoped  that  meant  Julie
wouldn‟t have to go back to living with Ronnie for the rest of her
senior year.

He stood and stretched, deciding it was time to go out to the

parking lot to give a call to Des with an update on Bart‟s condition.
Which unfortunately was more of the same.

Evan brushed his fingers over Bart‟s pale cheek and was

turning to leave when Bart‟s lashes fluttered.

“Bart?” he asked, hopefully. Did he imagine it? See what he

MORE THAN ENOUGH

wanted to see?

The lashes fluttered again and so did his heart.
“Bart? Honey?”
And then Bart‟s eyes opened, the crystal blue clearly visible

and looking right at him. “Ev?”

His throat clogging with the rush of tears, Evan nodded. “Yes.”
Bart‟s eyelids blinked a few more times. “What?”
Evan pressed the call button. “I‟m getting the nurse. What do

you remember about what happened, Bart?”

“Nothing. I… Am I in the hospital?”
“Yeah.” Evan leaned down and kissed his cheek. “Later. I‟ll

tell you later. Right now, I‟m just glad you‟re awake.”

“How long have I been out?”
“Three days, honey.” Three of the worst days of his life.

“Julie‟s going to be so happy.”

The on-duty nurse came in and assessed the situation

immediately. “I‟ll get the doctor. I‟ll be right back to ask you some
questions.”

Bart frowned. “Is it my head? It hurts a little.”
“I‟m not surprised. And, yes, you got hit over the head. But it‟s

going to be all right.”

“I don‟t remember.”
“That‟s a good thing, I‟m thinking.” Evan grasped Bart‟s hand

and brought it to his lips.

And then the nurse came back in, followed by the doctor and

Evan stepped back to let them examine Bart.

“I‟m going to call Julie.”

* * *

MORE THAN ENOUGH

“I cannot wait to get out of here,” Bart told Evan the day the

doctors finally said he could go home. He was sitting on the edge
of the hospital bed, dressed in jeans and a purple T-shirt Evan had
brought him to wear. They were now waiting for a nurse to bring
him a wheelchair.

Evan scanned the discharge papers they had given to Bart

earlier. “It says you might experience headaches, confusion, and
dizziness still.”

“Yes, the doctor told me.” Bart lifted a hand to feel the little bit

of red peach fuzz he‟d grown back. “I just can‟t wait to get more
hair. Did they have to shave it all?”

“It would have looked funny if they only shaved the one part,”

he said patiently.

“I don‟t like being bald.”
“You aren‟t bald. And it will grow back, babe.”
“Can‟t be soon enough. Speaking of, where‟s the wheelchair?”
Evan leaned down to kiss him. “It‟s coming. You‟ll be out

soon.”

“I‟m whining, aren‟t I?”
“Nah, you‟ve been here long enough for all of us. We‟re

anxious for you to get out, too.” The nurse came in wheeling a
chair. “And see, here we go.”

They got him into the chair and the nurse wheeled him out of

the room, followed closely by Evan.

Finally Bart was getting out. Evan didn‟t kid himself that Bart

still had to go through some recovery, but the worst of it was over
and they could get back to a semi-normal life. For now, Bart would
live  with Evan at  his parents‟ house, but eventually  they planned
on getting their own apartment together. And Julie  was staying in
their  old  apartment  with  their  aunt,  Beverly.  So,  far,  Ronnie  had

MORE THAN ENOUGH

stayed away from them all and had checked himself into rehab, as
he had vowed he would.

Evan got Bart in the car and helped him get the seatbelt

fastened and then headed for home.

“You okay?”
“Yeah, I‟m feeling fine. Maybe a little tired.”
Evan frowned. Damn, he should have thought of that. Instead,

he‟d been stupid enough to invite everyone over for a Welcome
Home, Bart party. It should have occurred to him Bart might want
to go up and take a nap.

“Your head all right?”
“Doesn‟t hurt at all.”
“Um, Bart.”
“What?”
“I kind of did something stupid.”
Bart eyed him. “What exactly?”
He shrugged. “Everyone was so excited you were getting out

today, I invited them all over for a big party.”

Bart smiled. “That‟s sweet.”
“You don‟t mind?”
“Why would I?”
“Well, being tired and all.”
His lover laughed. “I can handle seeing everyone. I get tired a

little easily, that‟s all. Probably will for a while, Evan.”

He nodded. “If you get too tired you can go on up to bed.”
Bart patted Evan‟s thigh. “It‟s going to be fine.”
And as he pulled into the driveway, everyone poured out the

front door to welcome Bart home. Evan‟s parents, Laurie and
Allison, Shayne and Des, Aunt Beverly, and Julie, of course. There
was much hugging and kissing and maybe even some crying.

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It was great.
Later, after everyone had eaten their fill of several large pizzas,

Evan noticed Bart had disappeared. At first he thought maybe his
lover had gone up to sleep, but when he went up to their room,
Bart wasn‟t there.

He found him out by the pool, sitting by himself, staring up at

the sky. Evan sat next to him and then reached for his hand.

“Everything okay?”
“Yes. Just thinking that I wish I‟d done something about

Ronnie before it got to this point. I let him get away with abusing
us for years.”

“You were little more than a kid yourself, babe. Don‟t beat

yourself up over the past. You did the best you could for you and
Julie.”

He nodded. “Yeah.”
“You tired?”
Bart yawned. “Exhausted.”
Evan stood and drew Bart to his feet. He pulled him into his

arms and thoroughly kissed him.

Bart smiled. “That was very nice.”
“Definitely.”
“Do you think Ronnie will really come out a changed man?”
Evan shook his head. “I‟m not sure. I just don‟t want him to

hurt you again.”

“He won‟t.”
Evan brushed his thumb over Bart‟s bottom lip. “I—”
Now that the time seemed to be right to tell Bart how he felt, he

couldn‟t seem to get the words out.

“What?” Bart asked.
“It‟s just. I-I really… ”

HAWN

ANE

Shawn Lane believes love and passion know no boundaries. Shawn
writes  both  erotic  love  stories  involving  men  in  historical  or
contemporary  settings  and  interracial  romances  between  men  and
women.  Shawn  is  always  looking  for  new  stories  and  new
characters to create while holding down life in California.

* * *

Don’t miss More Than Anything

by Shawn Lane,

available at AmberAllure.com!

College freshman, Shayne Ralston, never expected to meet the man
of  his  dreams  on  his  first  day  of  school,  but  star  quarterback,
Desmond  Stratton,  is  a  force  to  be  reckoned  with.  Soon  he  slips
past Shayne’s reluctance and romances the shy history major.

Des has a decision to make about his future. His family has been
pushing  him  toward  a  professional  football  career  for  years,  but
Des also has dreams of being a doctor. As his feelings for Shayne
grow, Des’s decision becomes more important than ever. Shayne is
openly  gay,  and  Des  needs  to  remain  in  the  closet  if  he  wants  a
football career. Staying in the closet, however, could lose him the
man with whom he’s fallen in love…

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