Caleb was lost and had been for as long as he could remember. He tried to walk the path his parents wanted, but he couldn't see it through the darkness. With his brothers away for college everything became worse. The once warm home felt ice cold, the halls devoid of sound and his life devoid of colour. Then he bumped into Lucas. His long time neighbour who he was certain only saw him as his best friends little brother. Until he didn't. Until Lucas inserted himself further into Caleb's life, getting closer to him than anyone had ever been. Too close. Or maybe that's just what Caleb needed, someone to see more than what was on the surface. Maybe the love he sought was right there in front if him, and so was the help he needed. --- *This is a bxb that deals with sensitive themes, religion, and mature subjects. Read with care. It's also a really. really slow burn.* Slow updated, but still updating (promise)! No AI was involved at any point in the writing of this story.

[BOOK FOUR] Leo Morelli has a reputation. He's a heartbreaker. It's chronic. Felix Finley had a reputation. A less fun one. He left it behind. He wants it to stay buried forever. Only when he joins the national volleyball team, old secrets get a little difficult to keep. Felix and Leo have met before. They have history. It's complicated. There's something brewing between them. There has been for a while. Tension. It's palpable. Unavoidable. However, neither of them do feelings. One thinks they're a waste of time, and the other thinks feelings ruin everything. The problem is, feelings don't care about what anyone wants. They happen anyway, and when they do, things get messy.

Jake Taylor is a simple guy of simple pleasures. Family-focused and happy to help, he's proud of his little community in Gunner, East Tennessee. A good son, a dedicated brother, a loyal friend, and an honest man - that's all he strives to be. Ray Cooper can't wait to get out. Hungry for more and ready for freedom, he works hard and keeps to himself while maintaining the eye on the goal - move out and disappear. Any ties he has to Gunner are nothing but reminders of how the world is stacked against him. Ray and Jake don't so much crash into each other's lives as they slowly ease in. But their plans for how the rest of their lives look like don't match, and Ray's past is an ever-looming threat. They shouldn't make sense together, but maybe they do. So what now?