#1 in LGBTQ || When Johnny and Jason, the high school football team's two star players, come out on social media as gay lovers, all hell breaks loose in the small Appalachian town of Kenton. Their lives, and those of some of their teammates who come...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
PHOTOS above and below - DINO
**
Homophobia raises its pumped-up fist at Jason and Johnny on the town square.
I slowed the car down to drive around the big rectangular block that was the very center of town. Half of Kenton's square had an area of virgin Appalachian forest on it, the other half a park with walkways, rose gardens, a gazebo and bandstand, a war memorial, and swings and other play sets for the kids
Hundreds of residents were out for the hot summer night, many crossing the streets from the park to the shops lining the square around it. There were restaurants, a book store, antique shops, a drug store and pharmacy, an ice cream shop, the Apple Store that attracted buyers from all over southeast Ohio, and the Starbucks, which was not only the very heart of the town but also the center of the universe for some residents.
I turned down the Columbus Road and drove to Strike's garage where I parked in his front lot. Parking was limited near the square and we'd have to walk back up the couple blocks.
"Let's check the back lot," Jason suggested, seeing that his Mustang was no longer parked out front. "I guess the car was too much a distraction out here by the street."
I grunted. "Yah, I bet the Christian Ladies Guild made Strike put it inside."
He punched me in the arm, laughing. "Hush your mouth, boy. My mother belongs to that group. They're the ones who bitch about Bada-Bing! all the time."
"Uh oh. They'll be giving your mom a hell of a time when they see their Facebook feeds tonight."
"Nah, she'll ignore them, Johnny. My mom's tough in some ways. She supports us and she'll tell them all to go punt if they bother her. Plus she's got a bottle full of tranqs in the kitchen cupboard that keep her real nice and chill."
The Mustang wasn't in the back lot either, so we figured Strike had put it inside where it couldn't be seen and continue to be a topic of sensational gossip around town. We went back to the street and crossed to the other side and walked past the auto parts store and up toward the square. Remembering this was a date, I grabbed Jason's hand and intertwined my fingers with his.
"You sure you want to do this?" he asked, squeezing my hand in return. "Everybody and their mother will be out on the square tonight."
"Yes. This is a date. I love you. We're gonna get married. There's no reason in fuck why I shouldn't hold your hand."
Jason smiled, squeezing my fingers again. I knew how he felt. Even though same-sex marriage was nearly on the verge of becoming legal here in Ohio and across the nation, we'd grown up having that awful taboo against same-sex love battered into our brains. It was just as much a fight for us to overcome our own brainwashed thinking as it was to deal with the others who still believed that way. So often I wished I could get a total mindwipe about it, or maybe just a good same-sex taboo lobotomy.
