Three young men from very different homes, just coming into their own sexuality, bond at a time when information about homosexuality is scarce to the average teen. Their strong connection cannot survive high school and heartache, however, and their triangle collapses under the weight of prejudice and a need to escape.<br><br>Ten years later, Tucker is bitter and hurt by all the tragedy in his life since those long ago happier days. Reclusive, somewhat animalistic, and completely content to stay that way, he’s brought up short by an unexpected confrontation with the past and feelings that won't stay buried.

Fur, Feathers, and Claws

Tucker hoped not. “He never used to.”


Tucker had a good time with Savannah and a slew of his high school friends after half a six pack and a few hits of grass. He spent a lot of time running back and forth to the van. Every time someone requested a certain record Savannah didn’t have, “I have it,” Tucker would say. If he had to put a number to it, it would be in the thousands. No lie. He had records from when he was a kid, plus the ones his dad had collected since, plus the ones he had collected or bought himself. There were more records than he could or would ever play in his lifetime. The boxes were marked with letters coordinating alphabetically to the artists represented inside. They were neatly lined along each side wall and across the back, leaving the center of the van empty for sleeping and…


“That’s me, bumble bee.” There was a beer in his hand and the redness of his eyes testified it wasn’t his only recent inebriant. “Let’s go for a ride.”


Chapter 58