“Let the Lord bless us through this holy child and may he…” shouted a man about four pews behind the Tinsdales. With owl-like precision and speed, Rebecca whipped around in her pew. She did not go unnoticed this time. The exuberant church member immediately stopped. Skyler didn’t know why the man stopped so quickly, but he suspected it might have been the loud crack of Rebecca’s rings smacking the wooden pew as she fiercely grabbed it to turn herself around. Or, it might have been the death stare he imagined Rebecca gave him.
Whatever the reason, suddenly Skyler felt a hand on his shoulder. Gloria-Jeanne awkwardly smiled at him as she leaned toward the microphone and sweetly asked, “Why don’t we hold our enthusiasm—but not our love for Jesus—as we let this young man bless our lives this day? Mmmkay? Thank you kindly, and may God bless you.” And then as mysteriously and suddenly as she arrived, she disappeared, leaving Skyler all alone. Once again, he cleared his throat.
When Skyler finished reading his testimony, including Rebecca’s catchy Jesus-jargon, the congregation jumped to its feet and applauded him for his noble and valiant efforts at thwarting the demon in Jesus’ name and glory. A plethora of liturgical cheers of prayer, joy, and love encouraged Skyler as he stepped down from the pulpit (and stool) with help from Gloria-Jeanne. She passed him a sealed envelope and directed him back to the pews.
“You can open this after church, Skyler,” she said.
Skyler walked down the sanctuary steps and saw Stephen and Rebecca beaming with radiant joy for their little protégé. Apparently, he had performed more than admirably and the congregation was well pleased.
“You were wonderful, Skyler,” Rebecca said as he returned to his seat, her face beaming with pride. “Now we can work on getting you baptized,” she whispered as she hugged him. Skyler’s eyes opened wide with surprise and he wondered what he would have to do for that.
2 | We Should Come Out Already
AT 10:30 IN THE MORNING, the beginning of his study period at school, Skyler dropped his backpack on his favorite table in the library and sat down in his usual chair. He liked to people watch, and this carefully chosen location gave him a bird’s eye view of the other study tables.
The polished wooden surface of the table reflected the brilliant glare of the harsh fluorescent lights that hung from the suspended ceiling above him. He looked around, discreetly peering through the gunmetal painted bookshelves. The library was mostly empty today. His eyes landed on Mrs. McGillicutty, the librarian, who sat at her usual perch and nodded at Skyler when they made eye contact. She had been watching him settle in.
“Good morning, Skyler,” she said softly.
“Morning, Mrs. McGillicutty,” he lazily responded.
He reached into his book bag and pulled out his notebook. He stared at it blankly and realized he didn’t feel like studying because he had no tests for the rest of the day and it was Friday. I guess I’ll do some doodling then.
A few minutes later, the sound of familiar footsteps reached his ears and he smiled. He didn’t have to look up to know it was his best friend, Cameron Mosher.
* * *
Cam was the first friend in Skyler’s life whom he had connected with emotionally and trusted. This went against the grain for Skyler, as he had learned not to trust others because he always ended up getting hurt somehow. Five years ago, when he had accepted the reality of life with the McMahons, that reality was ripped out from under him and he had to start all over with the Tinsdale family.
Cam was the only one of their classmates who reached out to Skyler and helped him come out of his shell. He was kind and shared his stuff freely with Skyler. Cam was an encouraging friend as well. If Skyler wanted to try something new, Cam would find a way to help him do it. Skyler appreciated the fact that Cam invested in their friendship, and in him. With Cam’s help, Skyler learned to trust and overlook the idiosyncrasies of his family. He even learned how to play the guitar—something that brought their families closer together.
One Saturday afternoon, when the boys relaxed in Cam’s room, Cam played acoustic versions of classic songs on his guitar. Skyler sang and changed the lyrics on the fly. Lots of laughter ensued as the excited minds of fifteen-year-old boys crafted the most absurd and silly lyrics.
Eventually, Skyler mentioned he wanted to learn how to play the guitar. Without hesitation, Cam handed his guitar to Skyler and taught him three chords: G, C, and D. Skyler was a quick study. Cam’s parents were also musically talented, and they were delighted to share the gift of music with Skyler.
Even Rebecca was happy to hear Skyler practicing on Stephen’s guitar at home. She asked him to learn a few church songs and join the youth choir. Skyler didn’t mind because he loved the positive attention. Bible verses—the nice ones, at least—and prayers felt more natural to him when they were set to music.
Whenever the boys would jam together, he silently appreciated Cam’s willingness to dumb down his skills so Skyler could keep up. To the delight of their families, the boys set up periodic recitals. Skyler and Cam would play a few songs separately and then perform duets. Even Cam’s parents would join in and then they would have a sing-a-long to some church music and classic songs. It was fun, and Skyler enjoyed it.
As their bond of friendship strengthened, they unknowingly became kindred spirits, even before they found love in each other. They had so much in common and shared similar questions about the world they lived in. They decided that no question would be stupid and they could ask anything of each other without fear of judgment.
* * *
Skyler looked into Cam’s bright blue eyes and smiled. Cam’s wavy dirty-blond hair, cut short on the sides, had been styled up and slightly to the left. Cam wanted to cut his hair in a faux-hawk, but the school considered that hair style to be too extreme. Skyler saw Cam’s red Iron Man t-shirt and smiled.
Of course.
Around the school, their peers were amused by their close bond. Even though the closeness of their friendship was a tightly kept secret, subtle expressions of their relationship entertained them. In this case, Iron Man and Captain America, two heroes destined to be entangled forever.
“Hey, Sky!” Cam whispered. His right hand touched his heart and then pointed at Skyler, gesturing their secret hand signal. Then he dropped his backpack onto a chair across from Skyler. He grabbed the other seat and sat down.
“Hey, Cam!” Skyler winked and discreetly touched his hand to his heart and pointed at Cam. “I’m so excited for tonight.”
“I know, me too. We’re going to have a lot of fun. What are you doing after school?”
“Cycling team practice. I think we’re gonna be pedaling forty-five miles today.”
Cam shook his head. “I don’t know how you do that.”
“Cycling is easy. It’s running that’s hard. Think about it. Our fastest guy can run a 5K in fourteen minutes. That’s just over three miles in fourteen minutes. A marathon is twenty-six miles and that takes, like, about three hours to run. We can bike twenty to twenty-five miles the first hour on flat, open road, and about sixteen to eighteen during the second hour. So, that’s about forty-five miles in two hours. We can go further, faster!”
“Uh-huh, well I’m sure that means something to someone,” Cam said, grinning.
“Uh-huh,” Skyler echoed, smiling back at his best friend.
“And after practice?”
“I think we’re going to Noah’s soccer game, but I can come over after that.”
“I can come with, if you want?” Cam asked, bouncing his eyebrows suggestively.
Skyler rolled his eyes and smiled. “Sure. Noah will appreciate the support.”
“And then after the game?”
Skyler leaned forward and whispered. “After the game, my sexy boy, we will head over to your house for our sleepover.”
Cam reached across the table and took Skyler’s hand in his. “I can’t wait to cuddle with you tonight!”
Skyler smiled and slowly withdrew his han
d. He looked around. Mrs. McGillicutty’s head was still focused on her computer screen. “Cam! Not here.”
“Whatever, I’m sick of hiding. We should come out already.”
“Cam, we can’t. They’ll kill us. You know what our churches say about being gay, and what this school says. My mom, heck, your mom…it will be a nightmare!”
Cam grunted. “Screw them all. I don’t care anymore. I love you.” He extended his arms out to each side. “I want the whole world to know I love Skyler Phoenix.”
Skyler giggled and then sensed movement in his peripheral vision. Mrs. McGillicutty had turned her head in their direction.
Shit, we got her attention.
“Careful, buddy” he whispered, shifting his eyes over toward the librarian’s desk. Cam brought his arms in. “She’s watching us. Anyway, let’s talk about this tonight. It’s too public here.”
“All right, fine. Can I study with you?” Cam asked.
“Yeah, that’s cool. Although, I’m not studying. Just doodling. Can’t focus.”
“Whatever. I have a stupid math quiz to study for.”
“That sucks.”
Cam shrugged and pulled his math book and notebook out of his backpack and spread them on the table in front of him. He took a deep breath and then started working through some math problems.
You look so cute when you’re focused on schoolwork.
Skyler felt Cam’s leg touch his. He smiled. He quickly checked his surroundings again and extended his legs so their legs touched under the table. He didn’t see the small smile form in the corner of Mrs. McGillicutty’s mouth.
* * *
After a surprise pizza dinner at home, Cam came over and hung out until it was time to leave for Noah’s game. Then they all climbed into the family van and Stephen drove them to the Academy’s soccer field. Tonight’s home game was extremely important to Noah and Cornerstone Academy in general. Their biggest rival, Sentinel Baptist Faith Academy, would lock horns with Cornerstone’s team on the soccer field tonight.
Skyler jumped to his feet with the rest of his family and most of Cornerstone Academy’s supporters when Noah scored his third goal of the game. He had scored two goals in the first half of the game, and the second half had proven to be just as exciting.
“Man, he’s brought his A-game tonight,” Cam yelled over the cheering crowd, leaning over to Skyler a little. Skyler nodded at him and winked. Stephen sent Noah two thumbs up from the bleachers. Vicky, perched on Skyler’s broad shoulders, patted Skyler’s head instead of clapping and screamed.
“Ow, Vicky, that hurts. Not so hard!”
“Sorry SkySky, I’m so excited for Noah!” Then she screamed again at the top of her lungs in excitement and waved her bejeweled silver and pink princess scepter in the air above her head. Even though she insisted on wearing her fablus—or fabulous—pink taffeta princess dress, she wanted to sit on Skyler’s shoulders to watch the game. He traded off with Cam and Stephen, but she always came back to him. Vicky preferred sitting on Skyler’s shoulders to watch Noah’s games because she was his favorite sibling, and as a bonus, he was a few inches taller than Stephen and Cam. This let her see the game and everything her little heart desired.
The game ended and the Cornerstone soccer team dealt a crushing blow to the Faith Academy team. Afterward, the school celebrated its star players—including Noah, who scored another goal near the end of the second half—with ritual celebrations and prayers of thanksgiving. Then, the Tinsdales piled back into van and headed out for victory ice cream.
* * *
After stuffing themselves into the van one more time and driving home, Vicky made Skyler promise to give her a goodnight hug before he left with Cam. Skyler packed his overnight bag and chatted with Cam, who sat on the edge of Skyler’s bed and watched him pack.
“What are we going to do?”
Cam checked his watch. “It’s almost nine. We can get some Halo in before mom sends us to bed around eleven, if you want. She might let us stay up till midnight, though. Who knows?”
“Definitely!”
Skyler loved playing Halo. As religious as the Mosher’s were, they didn’t mind video games, even if they were mildly violent. Since Halo was set in a futuristic science-fiction world with imaginary aliens, Cam’s parents allowed him to play it. Games like Call of Duty, which were set in a realistic modern day, were not allowed because of their incredibly real and violent simulations.
The Tinsdales, on the other hand, did not own a video game console. Rebecca felt their time could be better spent in the arts, reading, or memorizing Bible verses. Fortunately for Skyler, Rebecca had withheld any objections about Skyler playing video games at Cam’s house. Unbeknownst to Skyler, Stephen had convinced his wife that their son’s exposure to video games was limited to Cam’s home, and Stephen asked her to back off because they couldn’t stop him from doing everything that came normal to a teenage boy as he grew up.
“And then?” Skyler asked.
“And then,” Cam repeated, lowering his voice. “We cuddle. And do stuff.”
“What kind of stuff?” Skyler asked, a devilish grin spread across his face.
“Sexy stuff,” Cam whispered. Skyler locked eyes with him as Cam bounced his eyebrows suggestively. He glanced at his bedroom door, which was mostly shut. Then he sprinted over to Cam and stopped in front of him. Cam looked up at him with longing in his eyes. Skyler could feel the anticipation brimming between them as Cam bit his lower lip.
Skyler leaned down and kissed him deeply. He pulled away, not wanting to tempt the fates. “I can’t wait to do sexy stuff with you.”
Cam smiled. “Well, get packed already, and we can go.”
Skyler looked down at his shorts and grinned.
Cam chuckled. “Put that away for later.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about," Skyler said, turning to his bureau to grab a change of clothes. Although he felt comfortable walking around in boxer shorts at his house, he opted for a bit more modesty at Cam’s house for Saturday morning, when Bill, Cam’s father, would cook a big pancake breakfast for them. After all, his body had a mind of its own at times. Finally, he grabbed his toothbrush and comb from the bathroom and put them into his overnight bag.
“Okay, I’m all set.” He slung his backpack over his shoulders. “Just one thing left to do. I need to say goodnight to Vicky.”
“Yes, let’s not forget her majesty, the Queen Victoria!” Cam said, smiling. She loved it when he called her the queen.
Skyler walked across the hall to Vicky’s room. Grace had dozed off next to Vicky, who was reading a children’s version of the New Testament.
Vicky peeked over the book and smiled when she saw Skyler coming in.
“What’s going on?” Skyler asked, as he pointed toward Grace.
“Jesus just made a lot of bread and fish for the hungry people with his miracle super powers.”
Skyler grinned. “I meant with her.” He pointed at Grace.
Vicky rolled her eyes and shook her head. “She always falls asleep when I read before bed. I don’t know why I’m not allowed to read her a bedtime story.”
“What? I’m awake,” Grace insisted, stirring a little. “I’m resting my eyes.”
“Uh-huh,” Skyler said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He bent over and kissed Vicky on the forehead. He took his left index finger and gently touched Grace’s left nostril. Vicky squealed with laughter as Grace slapped his hand away.
“Don’t be mean,” she pleaded.
“See ya, booger face,” he taunted.
“Whatever.”
“Bye Cam,” Vicky said. She reached for him with her arms and waited for him to hug her. Cam smiled and obliged her.
“Goodnight, Queen Victoria.” She giggled and said goodnight.
Skyler and Cam headed downstairs to the living room and said their goodbyes to Rebecca and Stephen, congratulated Noah again, and then headed out into the warm nighttime air. A few streetlights
illuminated the sidewalks to Cam’s house, which was only a few blocks away.
“Gosh, it’s so warm out tonight,” Skyler said, commenting on the beautiful spring weather that had settled over Rhode Island.
“Totally. We’re lucky. It’s been so weirdly warm. But I’ll take it after the shitty winter we’ve had.” New England had been hit with a particularly high amount of snowfall in the late winter and early spring. No one complained about the unseasonable spring warmth that had quickly melted the North Pole sized mounds of snow away.
“What do you want to do tonight?” Skyler asked. “You know, when we fool around?”
“Oh, well,” Cam said, excitedly. “I have a surprise! I snuck out this week and went to the pharmacy a few streets over and picked up some lube. I thought we could try it tonight.”
“Oh really?” Skyler asked, feeling the blood rush to his groin. “Do you think your parents will go to bed early?” Skyler knew that if they had been busy during the day, they’d be in bed by 10:30 the latest.
“Yeah, they’ve been up late the past few nights with work stuff and something at church. I think they’re pretty tired.”
“Sweet.”
“I know, right?”
Skyler nodded, his mind racing with ideas about the fun they could have later on.
3 | Keep it a Secret
WHEN THEY ARRIVED AT CAM’S house, they quietly let themselves in. They poked their heads into the living room and saw Cam’s parents, Bill and Jen, cuddled up on the couch.
Jen was nestled into Bill’s side and had fallen asleep. Bill brought his finger to his lips, indicating they should be quiet.
Cam walked quietly toward his parents and Skyler followed.
The Climb Page 3