Stepping Up to the Plate

At 16, Stacy Evans dropped out of high school in the hopes of moving on with his life. But four years later, he's stuck in an abusive relationship with Lamar, a "friend with benefits," and works long hours at a dead-end job just to get by. Then his mother enrolls him in a program to earn his GED. There he meets Darian, a woodshop teacher who is everything Stacy's friends are not -- smart, successful... and who seems to take a personal interest in helping Stacy turn his life around. The two develop a rapport that keeps Stacy after school just to spend extra time with him. In intimate moments alone, they grow closer than just student and teacher. On the right track for once, Stacy has a chance to choose between his troublesome past and a promising future with Darian. But his jealous friends won't let him go so easily.

In Stepping Up to the Plate we meet Angelo Echevarria, AKA "Ange." Half Hispanic, half black, Ange is a young, sexy thug on whom Stacy's always had a crush. He wants Stacy to pull himself out of the gutter and get his life on track. Even if that means he has to leave his friends -- Ange included -- behind. In this follow-up story, Ange spots a hitchhiker trying to bum a ride in the rain who reminds him too much of Stacy, and he can't just drive away. Ange takes an instant liking to the precocious TC, but so does his friend, Lamar, who was instrumental in driving Stacy away. Why can't Ange keep this one for himself?