Brittmeetsbook

I’m broken, hiding my pain behind fake smiles and pretend joy. Inside, I’m a mental mess between being tossed into conversion therapy and foster care as a kid. I struggle to focus and suffer anxiety, panic attacks, and nightmares. My passions for skateboarding and bartending make me happy enough. But only Nate, my former foster brother and best friend, calms me and keeps me going forward. I’m not sure what I would do without him. Even worse, I secretly love him. Loving him could mean losing him.

Just the sight of Nico ‘Stix’ Jamieson makes me want to hurt something. Between his stupid smiles on that annoyingly handsome face and the constant drumming of anything that makes a sound with those drumsticks of his, I want to throttle him. No one is that happy. I don’t trust it. Even when my hate for him is clear, he throws it back in my face with a smile and wave. And how he loves to push my buttons when he’s feeling especially obnoxious. If I hate him, then why am I obsessed with him?

Nicholas Theodoropoulos had been my stepbrother since I was fourteen. Mom died when I was twelve, and I resented Dad remarrying so soon. Even worse, my stepbrother had grown into a gorgeous man. I hated looking at him, reminding me every day of what I could never have. No one knew I was gay and never would. But when my best friend backed out of our road trip to California, Dad forced me to travel with my stepbrother. It was the only way if I wanted to go on this journey I’d been planning since middle school. Nothing good would come out of this.