#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...
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PHOTO above - Kenton is in Jackson County in the Central Region.
Jason takes it all a big step forward ...
All in all, despite Eddy Stevnik's lame threats and Coach Bailey's insinuations, our first date on the town was a big success. Largely due to Dino, of course, God love him. I just about had to pull Jason away from him later when it was time to go home. Dino didn't want to let him go and Jason didn't want to leave. It was like I needed a crowbar to tear them apart.
"Jeez," I laughed as I pulled the Chevy out onto the Columbus Road. "If you two kissed goodbye one more time I was gonna get the tire iron out of the trunk and beat you both over the head with it."
Jason popped over next to me like he usually did. "How come you're laughing? Why aren't you jealous like with Corey?"
I started driving north toward town on the dark highway. "Because you told me not to doubt you again. So I'm not."
"Thanks, babe." He put his arm around me and rubbed my shoulder. "I can't help it if I get these crushes. I love all these dudes. And Dino ... god, he's a real lover boy. He sure needs a boyfriend."
"Don't worry about him. He's like one of the hottest guys in the whole world. He'll hook up with somebody."
Jason giggled. "Or else me and you will have to keep him happy."
"I think it's mostly you, hon. He just comes on to me a little because I come with you."
"No way." Jason shook my shoulder. "Dude, he's nuts about you. It's just that he likes me a little more."
"Yah right. I'm gonna have to start keeping you under lock and key." I snorted, adding, "But in the meantime, if we have to keep him happy, what a bitchin' drag, huh?"
"Tell me about it," Jason feigned disgust, but he was laughing as he added, "I guess it's dirty work, but somebody's gotta do it."
Then he lowered his voice, as if somebody could possibly hear us in the middle of the highway. "And I can't believe he told us about Strike and Vinnie. Who'd 'a-thunk? And Rydell's car!"
That was beginning to bug me. I didn't like being in on secrets that powerful and potentially dangerous. "He shouldn't talk about that stuff, Jason. And he's not supposed to. I know he wanted us to feel safe knowing someone's looking out for us, but it's still creepy. We can't say nothing to nobody."
Jason agreed. "Right. Not a word. We'd end up at the bottom of Lake Erie offshore Cleveland wearing concrete shoes."
I looked at him with a frown. "You think they still do that kind of thing?"
"Meh, I don't know. But I sure as hell don't wanna find out. I'd rather stay on their good side."
Yah, hell of a way to be on a 'good side'. But there was no other way to do anything about Rydell. He'd actually tried to kill us, and we were completely powerless to do anything about it otherwise. I figured as long as they didn't hurt Mark himself, whatever happened was just a round-about kind of justice.
