Interview questions from butterfly_karen

1) Your relationship with your family is not close save your sister. Why is that?

I've grown up feeling like my parents think I belong to them and I resent the expectations they have. My sister's the only person who accepts me as I am.

2) How many people do you count on (aside from yourself) for support in your darkest hours of need? Who are they?

Probably one now that I have Tom. He's my boyfriend and the only person I can honestly say I trust without question.

3) What creative outlets do you utilize to feed your soul?

I like to write poetry, paint, and do drunken karaoke. I'm not particularly good at any of them, but I do derive some pleasure from the creative process. The karaoke's just for kicks.

4) Where is your favorite place to go and have fun, and when you're there what do you do?

I used to love to go to the beach when I was in SoCal. My parents have a house in Malibu, but I never enjoyed that place as much as going to Venice and hanging out with the other freaks and weirdos. Just walking around, playing some beach volleyball, shopping, eating, enjoying the day. I haven't found a favorite place in Boston yet (besides Tom's bed).

5) Do you have any hidden talents you usually don't divulge to people?

Most of my talents are sexual and are divulged to my lovers. And I can mimic accents really well.

Meet the Quinns

Dev's parents had sent a car to pick up Tom and Dev from the airport. Usually, Dev would feel annoyed that they didn't trust him to make it to the house in Malibu on his own, but this time he was looking forward to relaxing in the back with his boyfriend and unwinding from the flight from Boston. While on the plane, he'd made sure to tell Tom everything he could think of about his folks. He'd shared that both of his parents were born into money yet didn't seem to share the same sense of entitlement that most of their friends did. That didn't mean that they didn't enjoy their money, of course. They had the houses and the cars and all of the trappings of wealth, but the difference, Dev cheekily told Tom, was that they were kind to their staff and treated them like human beings. Sara and Jackson Quinn had also been married for twenty-five years and were the only couple among their friends who had never been divorced. That was more than enough to set them apart from the rest of the company they kept.

Dev had then explained how his family had come into its money (though he did it quickly because, frankly, it embarrassed him to be a trust fund baby). Dev's great-grandfather had been wise enough to buy up a tremendous amount of property in the Los Angeles area and through savvy development decisions had secured his family's wealth for generations to come. Sara's family held the patent for a simple household item that had brought in millions for them and would continue to do so for a great while longer, as well. Dev had told Tom that the only reason he was a poor student now was because he had dropped out of school and been determined to have some freedom and struggle with life a little before taking control of his trust. The day that happened, he and Tom would never want for anything. It just happened that his parents were under the impression that he was rejecting both them and their money and constantly fretted about their son's decision to "go rogue." On the plane, Dev had asked Tom not to let on about his plans to go back into the family fold once he was ready.

Dev looked over at his lover and smiled as the car headed out of the airport. "Almost time to meet Sara and Jack," he said, taking Tom's hand in his own. "Too late to back out now, unless you don't mind jumping out of a moving vehicle."