Paper Hearts by A.E. Wasp

You never forget your first love. No matter how hard you try.

After getting caught making out with a boy in his parent’s kitchen the day of his high school graduation, Benito Quintana left his best friend (and unrequited crush) Mikey behind when he stormed off in a righteous teenage rage and joined the Marines.

The whole Marines thing didn’t work out so well, but one dishonorable discharge and a few alcohol-soaked years later, things are looking up. He’s almost a year sober. He has a new job, in a new town where no one knows his history of failure, so he can start fresh. He’s totally got this.

Michael Washington had his life all planned out. But seeing Benny with his tongue down some guy’s throat short-circuited his brain, and everything he thought he knew about himself went right out the window. Benny left before Mikey could get his head straightened out, and Mikey never did get the chance to explain.

Mikey’s world crumbled again when the death of his wife forced him to drop out of law school to raise his infant daughter. Four years later and he’s just getting his feet under him. Mikey is ready to give in to his long-suppressed desires. What better place than the Pride Masquerade Party for an anonymous hookup?

It isn’t until the masks come off that Mikey realizes he’s screwed in more ways than one.