Small town teacher Tom Smith is deep in the closet.  He enjoys teaching and is content with his life, or so he tells himself.  Every so often, he drives to Houston to pick up a man for a quick blow job or hand job.  Then he meets Kevin.  Tom only intends their encounter to be a one-night stand, but later he sees the man again.  Kevin wants to keep seeing him, at least occasionally, but Tom refuses.

Months later, Tom regrets refusing Kevin.  He throws himself into work, even volunteering to help a friend stage the school musical.  When he finds out what it’s going to be—the school version of Rent—Tom freaks out.  He’s terrified to be associated with a play that features gay characters.  On top of that, a parent of one of the cast members turns out to be one Kevin Bannerman…the same Kevin from Houston! 

Will the production of Rent destroy Tom’s carefully ordered life, or finally help him break out of his self-imposed chains?

Admit One is the deeply emotional story of a man who’s lived in a cage of his own making so long he doesn’t know how to come out.  Tom coped with terrible events in the past by hiding from them, not really dealing with them.  He’s stubborn, angry, and painfully lonely.  He pushes people away at every turn, and the mere idea of working on the musical fills him with fear.  So does anything that could make him happy.  Many times I wanted to smack Tom for sabotaging his own happiness, but his reasons for doing so are understandable in a sad way.  Kevin makes mistakes of his own, but he cares a great deal for Tom and wants to be with him.  He shows remarkable patience with Tom’s prickly behavior.  When he finally found out Tom’s horrific past, he was wonderful about it.  I wanted Tom to accept Kevin’s love so badly, but there were many times I was afraid he wouldn’t.

Jenna Hilary Sinclair writes about a difficult and painful subject in a tactful and even hopeful manner.  Admit One brought tears to my eyes several times.  Tom’s journey toward healing is a difficult one (for both him and the reader), but well worth it in the end.