CHAPTER 1

Stepping off the tram in the Pittsburgh airport, I feel like a totally new person.

Dad wanted to join me for dropping me off at school, but I declined.

He has four kids playing hockey, two in the USHL, and Mom just had her hours cut at the factory because she got into it with Linda over the graduation incident.

At least I managed to snag an academic scholarship to pay for most of my costs.

As long as I can find a professor to sign off on my work study, I’ll be able to be employed on campus and not have to worry about transportation costs for a while.

“Break me off a piece of that.”

Although I hear it, I’m still not used to having positive things said about the way I look.

Over the last few months, my little brothers took me with them for all of their workouts and Mom put me on the same diet as them.

The lean protein, vegetable heavy meal plan that they thrive on seems to be beneficial for me as well.

And my body decided to hit another growth spurt halfway through July, so the weight redistributed and the muscle built up in all the right places.

Add in getting lasik surgery for my eyesight, my graduation present from my family, and people who knew me for my entire life no longer recognized me in the days before I left.

Grabbing my bag, I pull out my phone to check and see what the wait time is for an Uber to get me to campus.

I saw online that there is a public transit bus system that I can take, but the groups on social media for the colleges in the area say that it’s not ideal and will take hours compared to the forty five minutes or so for ordering a rideshare.

Since the wait time for a ride is only about five minutes, I continue to ignore the stares from the people around me and head outside with my stuff.

I hate using my old hockey equipment bag as a suitcase, but in our house it was all there was that was big enough and the Goodwill didn’t have any decent luggage for sale.

I wouldn’t have cared if I was going to Michigan.

Anything I didn’t bring initially would have been able to be brought when my brothers were dropped off with their billet family.

But I’m alone here…

“You Sid?” a voice calls out from the rather bland four door sedan parked in the front of the line of cars.

I grab my bags and head to the car, laughing at the bumper stickers I can see on the back of the vehicle.

My other vehicle is a TARDIS

Puck Off

My Dog Will Eat Your Stick Familly

I Solemnly Swear… A Lot

“Hockey player?” the driver asks me as I place my stuff in the trunk. I shake my head and climb into the backseat with a grimace. I don’t like being reminded of who I used to be.

“Gaqve it up,” I tell him and stare out the window at the scenery flying past the window.

I don’t know if he can tell I don’t want to talk about it, but he doesn’t push. The ride to the campus is relatively quiet with him asking a few questions about how familiar I am with the area and what are my interests and whatnot.

“I could really use a good place to pick up guys,” I mutter under my breath but judging by the guffaw that comes out of my driver, I wasn’t successful in being quiet enough.

“Depending on how old you are, kid, I could point out a few places,” he says as we head into a tunnel. “Over twenty one, your best bet is Pegasus. Under twenty one, you can always check out Mister Drag. If you’re just looking for friends, you can always come hang out at McKinleys, but it’s not a hookup spot and Eli will ban your ass if you try.”

Ignoring the heat flaming my face caused by the fact that I just accidentally came out to this total stranger, I stare straight ahead as we emerge from the tunnel to a stunning view of the city.

This. This right here is what I needed to see.

The visual of Pittsburgh spread out before me is the reminder I needed that I am no longer that scared and depressed fat kid. I’m not stuck in some backwoods small town where being gay is akin to sacrificing goats or something. I dunno. Old Lady Johnson started giving the sign of the cross when she saw me after graduation.

“What’s that Mister whatever you said?”

“Mister Drag,” he says as he takes the first right off the bridge. I’m glad he knows where he’s going cuz that turn came out of nowhere. “Technically, the name of the club is the Monarch Room Dance Revue and Gaybar. But it’s a drag show and night club combo. The name was a play on words thought up by the first manager, one of my neighbors.”

“That sounds… fun?”

I’m not really sure if I know what to do at a club in the first place. Considering the last time I was in Pittsburgh was for my campus tour and interview, and I made serious bad decisions that night, I’m not confident that I have the knowledge or ability to navigate this.

“Don’t stress about it, Kid,” he says as he pulls up to a building and parks. “There’s no pressure to do anything you don’t want to.”

He starts pulling my stuff out of the trunk while I climb out of the backseat. Even though I only dropped about twenty pounds in the last three months, I gained about five inches of height. Being six foot six and over two hundred twenty pounds does not make sitting in a backseat comfortable, so I take a few seconds to stretch out a bit.

The driver comes up to me when I go to pick up my bags. When I look at him, he hands me a card and then slides clumsily over the hood of his car. He looks ridiculous…

“Call if you wanna check out Mister Drag or just wanna hang out at McKinleys or if you want some fun and strike out? No pressure!”

Glancing at the card, I laugh. It just has the letter “J” and then a phone number. What is this, Men in Black?