Fling, Baylin Crow

When lust becomes love it takes courage to look beyond your fears and fight for the future you want.  Dean is afraid of becoming just like his father so he avoids any and all strings.  It't only when he sees his little sister's best friend all grown up and hot that he gives in and starts something he's hoping doesn't turn into more, until it does.  Hayden has always loved Dean but after learning Dean isn't as straight as he thought he was he gives into their chemistry hoping he can hide how his childhood crush is turning into a deeper love than he expected.  When truths are revealed Dean's fear might ruin his chance at keeping Hayden for more than just a fling.

Hayden had all kinds of teenage romantic angst going for him.  The subtle pining, hiding his feelings, sorting through their complicated chemistry, and discovering that love isn't simple or easy...his romantic evolution is complete from childhood to adulthood, even though he's still very young when he gets a shot at a happily ever after.  I enjoyed him and the way he was sifting through feelings, trying to decide if moving on was more important, the way he was trying to come to grips with settling versus reaching, and how he did his best to be considerate when his forays into moving on weren't working for him or his potential partner.  He handled Dean's back and forth pretty well despite the emotional toll.  I felt that he was the more mature of the pair and I genuinely liked him.

As for Dean, though, I had a harder time connecting to him.  He was immature, arrogant, and inconsiderate.  I could understand where his fear was coming from but it doesn't really excuse his epic blowup because it didn't really make sense.  The truth he discovered not only gave hope for his own, but it was in the opposite direction of the truth that caused his original fear in the first place.  I know that sounds convoluted, my apologies, but to be more specific would pretty much be a spoiler for something we don't learn about him until about half-way through the story.

Overall I felt the reconciliation was appropriate.  It required work from Dean, a wake-up call that he can't just show up with a simple apology and expect that everything will be okay for him.  Their confessions were honest and heartfelt and I believed that they could really last despite their young age.  This was a sweet story with a lot of steam that enhanced their story rather than detracted from it.

*$3.99 on Amazon!