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“Too bad. It’s the weekend and I want us to be together as a family.”

Ricky’s hands clenched into fists as he bit down on the urge to yell at her. Maybe it wasn’t too late. “Please,” he said. “I really like him.”

“That’s fine, honey. Another week won’t make a difference. Like I said, you’re welcome to invite him over, as long as we’re home and get to meet him too.”

Ricky snarled and marched toward his bed, tempted to throw himself on it. “Why do you hate me?” he demanded.

His mother’s expression softened at this, which only made him madder. “I’m doing this because Iloveyou.”

“Well you wouldn’t if you understood what it’s like to be gay!”

She walked over to his bed and sat on the mattress, patting the spot next to her. Ricky rolled his eyes before sitting there.

“Tell me,” she said.

“What?”

“Whatever it is that I don’t understand. I’m listening.”

Ricky saw the sincerity in her eyes and decided to try. “It’s impossible to meet anyone like me. Other gay guys. That’s why we met in a chat room. It’s one of the only places for people our age.”

“Andfor people who are much older than you. Correct?”

He nodded grudgingly. “Yeah, but I can tell. It’s obvious. Adults don’t watch the same shows or listen to our kind of music.”

“They do if they want to lure in someone your age.” She held up a hand when he began to protest. “You have to admit that we wereveryaccommodating when it came to you and Jeremiah. Even though I had—and still have—my reservations. Not because of who you are. You’re young, Ricky. I know it doesn’t seem that way, since you’re on the threshold of becoming an adult.You’ve had more experiences than most people your age. That’s been challenging for me, but then, you’ve always been ahead of your peers. I’ve done my best to trust you and not hinder your development. However, there are evils in this world you don’t fully grasp yet. And you won’t, god help me, until you’re older.”

“I know what a child molester is,” he grumbled.

“But you don’t know what it’s like to be the victim of one. And no amount of begging or pleading will convince me to turn a blind eye to that danger.” She reached over to take his hand, although he kept his limp and unresponsive. “You’re spending the day with your family. You can meet Cameron next week, with us there.”

He considered asking her to drop him off today so they could all meet then, but that would be a disaster. He would be weirded out if Cameron’s parents were with him at the agreed place and time. At the very least, it would kill the mood.

“Okay?” Ami pressed.

“Do I have a choice?” Ricky demanded.

“Yes. You can try to understand where I am coming from and meet me halfway. Or you can choose to be angry despite it only making us both miserable. Decide which it is going to be. I’ll see you downstairs in an hour.”

She got up and left the room. As soon as the door was shut, Ricky booted up the computer, hoping against all the odds that Cameron would be logged in. But he wasn’t, of course. He checked again once out of the shower, and one final time before his parents made him get in the car, but the result was the same. His day was ruined.

— — —

Anthony was about to enact a scheme that had infested his thoughts ever since his date with Mindy. In some ways, that had gone better than expected. He had worried she would fawn over him, and even worse, that he’d be forced to pretend he liked it. And he would have, if only to spare her feelings. Mindy was cool. It was almost a shame that she was a girl, because hanging out together had been fun…

Until they saw that damn movie.Paper Moon. In it, an unlikely pair of friends were taking the world by storm and having a grand ol’ time. Then the man fell in love with a woman. Suddenly everything revolved aroundher,and it ruined their adventures.For a fleeting moment, Anthony had hoped Omar would recognize the message and realize what he was doing to their friendship. But no. The movie only seemed to encourage him.

Anthony felt a now familiar ache in his heart. He hadn’t like seeing Omar kiss Silvia. Their declarations of love were just as bad, no matter how jokingly they were made. Everything revolved around her now. Over the following week, Anthony kept showing up at the record store, but it was torture seeing them together. There was no escape at home either. Omar only wanted to talk about her. Anthony knew he was being unrealistic. Omar was straight. Of course he was chasing after a girl. And yet, the truth still hurt. More than he could bear, so Anthony had decided to find someone who could love him back.

He waited until Saturday came around again. Omar had plans with Silvia during the day. That was fine. Anthony woke up, had breakfast, and made himself as presentable as possible after showering. Not a button-up shirt this time. He dressed casually, choosing one of his favorite outfits so he would feel more confident. Then he rode his bike into the center of town and chained it up at the bus station. An hour later, he was in the heart of Kansas City and walking toward Liberty Memorial.

It’s where you go to meet nice people.

That’s what the man at the gift shop had said. Anthony wasn’t completely clueless. He knew what a cruise park was. Men met there anonymously to find someone to have sex with. He wasn’t looking for anything like that, but he figured it was his only chance of meeting other gay people, at least until he was old enough to get into bars. He’d considered answering a classified ad instead. ThePitch Weeklyincluded some for “men seeking men,” but the prospect of going on a date with a stranger was much more intimidating than hanging out in a park and choosing from the options there.

His pulse picked up when the monument came into view. Liberty Memorial Tower was a massive stone column that rose more than two hundred feet into the air. Light and steam at the top combined during the night to create the illusion of a burning flame. Like a funeral pyre, which was fitting, since it was a memorial to those who had served in the First World War. Surrounding this was a terrace made of the same beige stone, a museum, and a large sprawling park.

Anthony was in awe as he approached, nearly forgetting the reason he had gone there. But soon he began paying attention to the people while trying to figure out if anyone was gay and searching for companionship. Most folks seemed to be part of a family or a tourist group. He walked directly to the tower and stood next to it. Aside from getting in the way of people taking photos, he didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. Maybe he should try the park itself? After all, nobody called it a cruise monument.