The exes of our guys return in more ways then one in Week 3 of BOYSTOWN. The tenth and final volume launches July 29, exclusively on the GoPride Network

CHAPTER 11 - MORNING AFTER

Hunter rolled over in a stranger's bed, still covered in sweat, glitter, and Pride beads. Where the fuck was he?

"Morning," the stranger said groggily.

"Hey," Hunter said, looking for his underwear on the floor.

"You leaving? I thought we could grab some breakfast."

"Yeah, dude, I gotta get home."

"Wild day yesterday, huh?"

"Whatever."

"Sweet ink. Is that a phoenix?"

"Yeah man."

"Mean anything special?"

"Look, I don't mean to be an asshole, but it's too early and I'm too hungover for small talk. I'm just gonna go." 

"Alright. Jesus." The handsome stranger put on his Buddy Holly glasses as Hunter quickly got dressed and walked towards the door. "Remember when I said you looked familiar?"

"Yeah," Hunter said, uninterested.

"I think I used to date one of your roommates." Hunter looked at him close. He was the guy that broke Tyler's heart. He should've felt like shit, but he just wanted to get the fuck out. Running out the door, he walked to the nearest major cross street: Belmont and Central Park.

How the fuck did he end up in Logan Square?

 

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CHAPTER 12 - POSING AND POSTURING

"He looks so out of place," Chadwick scoffed, sipping his scotch and soda. 

 

"Mason has definitely taken a shine to him," Bryan said, eying the staycation package at the silent auction table. 

 

"Wasn't that the suit he was wearing last time?" Diego asked, popping a canapé into his mouth. 

 

"He definitely makes a poor replacement Josh," Chadwick said. 

 

"Quiet, here he comes," Bryan warned as Mason approached. 

 

"So, what do you guys think?" Mason asked eagerly. "Don't we look adorable together?" 

 

"Absolutely!" the trio agreed.

 

* 

 

Tyler felt bad that he didn't have any cash to tip the bathroom attendant, but he took a mint anyway. He was going to have to go to more of these things to represent Haven if they were going to raise the money they desperately needed to stay afloat. He was glad that Mason was there to show him the ropes, but he wished that Mason wouldn't be so... clingy. 

 

"The trick is to look bored with it all," a handsome stranger said behind him, washing his hands. 

 

"Well, that's half the battle won," Tyler joked. 

 

"These things can be a bit much," the stranger said. "But you just have to keep reminding yourself, underneath the posing and posturing, the money is going to a good cause." 

 

"The way my date makes it sound, the posing and posturing is the most important part." 

 

"Don't listen to Mason. Just be yourself, remember it's a party as much as it is a benefit." 

 

"Thanks," Tyler said. "Wait a minute. How did you know I was with Mason?" 

 

"Oh the whole hen house is clucking about you." 

 

"Really?" Tyler asked uneasily. 

 

"They need their little flights of fancy," handsome stranger winked. "See ya over there." 

 

"I'm Tyler, by the way," Tyler said offering his hand. 

 

"Nice to meet you," handsome stranger said, shaking it. "I'm Tom." 

 

 

 

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CHAPTER 13 - SIX MONTHS

Nicholas had been his friend and personal doctor ever since he moved to Chicago. Usually a visit with him ended with a jovial liquid lunch. Today, Nicholas looked somber as he brought in the results from the biopsy.  

 

"It's malignant," Nicholas said, simply. "We could go through rounds of chemo but it's so far advanced that... " 

 

"How long?" 

 

"Six months." 

 

"Shit." 

 

"This is never easy to say but... you should get your affairs in order." 

 

"I've tried. Believe me, I've tried." 

 

"Are you and... ?" 

 

"That bridge is burned." 

 

"Are you seeing anyone now?" 

 

"No," he said, taking mental stock of everyone in his life that would actually stand by him through this. "I've got no one."

 

"Well, you've got me," Nicholas said, putting his hand on his shoulder. "I'm here for you no matter what." 

 

"Thanks," he said, taking Nicholas' hand. "Could you give me a minute?" 

 

"Of course," Nicholas said, quietly exiting the room.  Six months. He shouldn't be suffering through chemo. He should be going out with a fucking bang. Shirtless with a cocktail on some Mediterranean island surrounded by shirtless young men. Not like some ghost of himself. Not dying alone. But he needed the funds to do it. 

 

"Steve," he said desperately to an unreceptive voicemail. "It's Bruce. Any chance you'd reconsider buying back the property?"

 

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CHAPTER 14 - FIREWORKS

The night patrol went relatively quiet, with most of the homeless kids most likely at the viaduct setting off fireworks. 

 

"Do you think I'm pretty?" LaTrice asked, as they walked west on Belmont. 

 

"That's the stupidest question you ever asked me," Travell scoffed. 

 

"Some of the queens, they get surgeries, they got boobs... " 

 

"You're you LaLa. That's the most beautiful thing ever." 

 

"People keep saying that but I look in the mirror... I'm not all what I feel inside, you know? I'm a girl." 

 

"Who said you weren't?"

 

"This dick between my legs. People walking by thinking I'm just another drag queen. This thick ass foundation." 

 

"You a girl to me boo." 

 

"But I wanna be a girl to everyone." 

 

"We'll figure it out. We'll find a way." 

 

"Because that's gotta be the priority, before officially getting off the streets." 

 

"Believe me, Ima do everything I can... " 

 

"We don't even have our own place." 

 

"We've gotten this far. Together. It's just a matter of time." 

 

Travell kissed her and in his eyes, she saw how beautiful she was. She just wished she felt it herself. 

 

 

 

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CHAPTER 15 - AWKWARD

"This is so awkward," Ben said, unbuttoning his shirt on the computer screen. 

 

"Desperate times," Charlie said, pulling down his gym shorts. 

 

"I'd forgotten how hot you were," Ben said, watching Charlie stroke on the other side of Skype. "I mean, I hadn't forgotten, but... " 

 

"Shut up," Charlie said. "I mean... what are you thinking about doing to me?" 

 

"Doctor Ben?!" a voice called urgently from the other room. 

 

"You have got to be fucking kidding me," Charlie said. 

 

"Sorry babe." 

 

"No, it's cool," Charlie said, already getting soft. "Go." 

 

*

 

"This long distance thing is bullshit," Charlie thought to himself, blasting Boyce Avenue on his iPhone while he rode up the Broadway bus. He'd never attempted to do anything like it. Was it working? Was it not? Was this still an actual relationship? There was only one couple  he knew that had gone through this, in college when one of them studied abroad for a semester. He got off at Berwyn and walked west, in search of his answer. 

 

  

 

When the door opened at David's condo, he didn't expect to see Josh there. In his underwear. 

 

"Hi," Josh said. 

 

"Hi?" Charlie said. 

 

Awkward.

 

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