Two young men from very different backgrounds end up roommates at a state college in west Texas in the latter part of the turbulent sixties. Riki is the black sheep of a wealthy family, on his third and final chance to avoid the draft or disinheritance. His big dream is to be a hot guitarist with a rock band, and he has a weakness for recreational drugs that make him feel better about himself. Jerry is a true son of Bible Belt America, happy to be able to go to college and perhaps rise above the lower middle class level of his family. The two form an unlikely friendship that develops into a deeper bond as they experience drugs, sex, and rock n' roll in their heyday.

Midnight Cowboys

Diamond had showed up at the Sigma Mu house that quiet midweek evening in a stretch Caddie with blacked-out windows, like a Chicago mobster or a big west coast drug dealer. Ivan fawned over him like he was some kind of god. Well, he damn near was. Just a notch or two below Jimi and the Stones, at least their managers and such…


After Diamond had circulated a few minutes, he gravitated right to Riki. He smiled, white teeth flashing like polished ivory in his dusky face. “My man Ivan tells me you play a little gee-tar. What say we get private for a bit and you show me your licks?”


At that point, Riki didn’t give a damn what kind of licks Diamond had in mind. He’d do his best at whatever the musician and entrepreneur wanted. As it turned out, Diamond did want a BJ. Still, afterward, and after they shared a joint, he sent out for a guitar from Ivan’s collection and sat quietly while Riki played.


Chapter 11