After seeing that, nothing would have surprised him anymore. Scoffing, he maneuvered around two girls in ‘sexy convict’ costumes featuring a ball and chain alongside a skimpy version of the orange overalls Shane had been wearing only last month. Crowds of students drifting between party houses in ridiculous outfits reminded him of how different his life could have been had he been born into a wealthy family. It was Halloween, and he couldn’t have felt more excluded if he’d tried. When he rode his bike, all the injustices of the world hid in the shadows, but as he pulled onto the university campus and had to slow down, reality caught up with him, scented with damp leaves and beer.

Tonight, Shane would ruin two lives in one fell swoop, and he couldn’t wait. WARNING: This story contains scenes of violence, attempted SA, offensive language and morally ambiguous characters. Themes: blackmail, revenge, manipulation, ex-con, secrets, rich/poor, class differences, age gap. Shane now stands at a crossroads, between Rosen and revenge. But as a love he’d never even dreamed of becomes real, he’s starting to realize he doesn’t have to be the ‘scum’ society’s been telling him he is. Shane thinks he’s in control, that Rosen is just a means to an end, a tool to be manipulated. All sanity goes out the window, and the slippery slope leads Rosen down a path of violence, blackmail, and passion too sizzling to be denied. Seems easy enough until he meets Shane, a bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks. Join a fraternity, avoid scandal, and keep his sexuality under wraps. If Rosen’s dad is to pay for his art degree, Ros has to stay on the straight and narrow. Shane’s plan is to incriminate the boy, but when the dreamy blue eyes meet his, Shane can think of a hundred other ways to ruin Rosen right under his father’s nose. And number one on that list is Rosen, Ed Beck’s son. Shane is straight out of prison, and has one goal only-to wreck everything dear to the man who put him behind bars.

One Step Too Close by K.A. Merikan