Chapter 1

Perched in the lifeguard’s chair high above

the college’s Olympic-sized swimming pool, Kevin Chase stared

across the water and kept an eye on the students splashing below.

He’d grown used to the summery smell of chlorine and raucous shouts

that echoed off the tiled walls. Now only an hour from the end of

his shift, he held his whistle in his fist and twirled its lanyard

around and around his hand, first one way, then the other. Only an

hour, and then he’d close the pool and have the place to himself.

Sure, he had practice tomorrow with the rest of the swim team, but

he savored the opportunity to get in a few extra laps with no one

else in his way.

The gym doors squeaked open and boyish

laughter drifted in as a handful of young men pushed each other

into the pool room. Tell me that isn’t…Kevin lifted his

sunglasses to get a better look. Shit. Danny Santos.

Suddenly he wondered how suspicious it would be if he dived off the

chair to hide in the water below. Danny. Here. Tonight. Why?

* * * *

Danny and Kevin lived on the same floor in

the freshmen dormitory, but the similarities ended there. Kevin was

slim and tall and impossibly blonde, and Danny…well, wasn’t. He was

a stocky guy with dusky skin and dark hair that fell to his chin.

He wore it in a half-ponytail, just the top and sides pulled back,

and lived at the opposite end of the hall, as far away from Kevin

as possible without going into the next building. During the first

semester they didn’t say two words to each other—the only reason

Kevin knew Danny’s name was because it was taped to his door like

everyone else’s. He was a rumored pothead; Kevin joined the swim

team and worked part-time at the pool. They were, quite literally,

worlds apart.

Then two weeks ago came spring break. Most

students left campus immediately after their last class, but Kevin

had a big swim meet Saturday morning and stayed to practice. Late

Friday night someone knocked on his door—he opened it to find Danny

lounging in the doorway. “You know it’s just the two of us left?”

he asked without preamble.

Somehow one thing led to another and by

midnight the two of them were twined together in Kevin’s bed. The

taste of pot on Danny’s tongue burned Kevin’s mouth with an

unfamiliar sting, and he couldn’t remember how Danny’s hand had

found its way down the front of his pants. “I like to watch you in

the shower,” Danny purred as he stroked Kevin’s growing erection.

“Those curtains don’t close all the way, you know? Sometimes I sit

on the bench outside your stall and watch you lather up. Watch you

jerk off. I like the way you bite your lip and whimper when you

come.”

“I don’t whimper…” But it was a feeble

protest because he did and it was that tiny detail that made him

realize Danny wasn’t lying. This was the first time he had been

with a boy, ever, and his heart fluttered every time Danny

moved against him, his head felt drugged and cloudy, his lips

burned with a desire that had nothing to do with marijuana. The

thought of where this might lead nearly suffocated him.

Out in the hall, something banged against the

door to their dorm with a loud thudthat startled them

apart. As Danny’s hand slipped from Kevin’s shorts, he wanted to

pull it back, shove it between his legs, hump against the strong

fingers until he came. You said I whimper, he thought,

wondering if that would be enough to get him back. So close, so

close. But when Danny went to check on the noise, Kevin knew

the moment was gone. “Julio,” Danny called out, his voice loud in

the empty hall, “you fucker! What the hell you want at this

hour?”

As Danny went to open the door for his

friend, Kevin skulked in the opposite direction, heading for the

bathroom. There he splashed cold water on his face and neck, rinsed

the lingering taste out of his mouth. Voices drifted down to the

other end of the hall, and Kevin waited until he heard Danny’s door

slam shut before making his way back to his own empty room. Since

then, he’d avoided Danny. He didn’t know what made him angrier—how

easily Danny blew him off or how difficult he was to forget.

* * * *

The lifeguard chair shook slightly beneath

Kevin, then someone leaned over the back to breathe down his neck.

“So here’s where you’ve been hiding.”

Kevin jumped at the closeness of Danny’s

voice. Scowling, he shook his head as if Danny was an annoying fly

and refused to look his way. “Get down.”

Having climbed up the back of the lifeguard

station, Danny now stood on one of the crossbeams between the chair

legs, hands on the back of Kevin’s seat. As he spoke, he pulled

against the chair, which jerked beneath his weight. “Where’ve you

been?” he wanted to know. “I haven’t seen you in the shower

lately.”

“You shouldn’t be watching in the first

place,” Kevin said, his tone curt. “Stop that.”

Another hard tug and Danny threw his arms

around the back of the chair. Exasperated, Kevin sat forward to

keep from touching him. “Get down, will you?” he asked. “I’m on

duty here.”

Danny ignored him. “I miss seeing you,” he

whispered, one finger brushing along the bottom of Kevin’s short

hair. Kevin shook his head and Danny pulled away, only to start

again when Kevin stopped. “Don’t you want to pick up where we left

off?”

Despite the way his blood stirred beneath

Danny’s touch, Kevin snipped, “No.”

As if he hadn’t heard him, Danny trailed his

hand over Kevin’s shoulder. Kevin shrugged but Danny was stubborn

and his fingers trickled down Kevin’s chest. “Where were

we?” Danny murmured. His hand moved when Kevin tried to slap it

away, then came back to rub over his tanned stomach. Lower, lower…

“Right about—”

Kevin caught his wrist before Danny reached

the front of his shorts. “Stop. Just stop, alright?”

“I’m only playing,” Danny started.