***SPOILERS***
Oscar’s parents split up when he was about 8, and he continues to have issues with both of them. His mother left, married another man and formed a new family. Even though Oscar spends time with his mother and has his own room at her new home, he still feels abandoned by her. On the other hand, his father can be a bit nuts. For instance, Oscar isn’t allowed to have a key to his own house because his father is afraid someone will steal from him, so if Oscar comes home from school or work when his father is out, he has to retreat to his tree house in the back yard.
Oscar witnessed an especially brutal gay bashing when he was a kid, so now when he starts thinking about having sex with guys, he experiences flashbacks and associates intimacy with violence.
He wants to be a makeup artist for the movie industry, and he’s especially interested in the horror and fantasy genres. He has pinned all of his hopes on attending a specific school in New York City, and he plans to share an apartment with his best friend, a girl whom his father assumes is his girlfriend.
Oscar gets a job at a home supply store, and there he meets Wilder, a lanky pretty boy brimming with self-confidence and social ease. One day, Wilder surprises Oscar in the employee locker room when he asks Oscar if he can borrow his work shirt. Oscar is coming off of his shift and informs Wilder that the shirt is sweaty. Wilder doesn’t care and puts it on anyway. Oscar is instantly smitten.
Oscar and Wilder become friends. They hang out together, go to a party together, and one night, they share Oscar’s bed in the tree house. It becomes awkward for Oscar when he accidentally reveals he’s attracted to Wilder. Wilder, ever the cool dude, kisses Oscar and gives his crotch a squeeze. But Oscar doesn’t feel anything because Wilder doesn’t really mean it. He’s merely indulging Oscar. Wilder leaves town the next day.
I thought a tree house would be a wonderful place to lose your virginity, and for it to happen with the boy you’ve been longing for… Wow! That’s a story you could happily tell for the rest of your life. But things don’t work out the way Oscar wants them to. He isn’t accepted at the school in New York, so he has to quickly make alternative plans.
Even though the story ends on a down note, we get the sense that Oscar is going to be okay. He’ll find another way to get the training he wants, and he’ll be better prepared the next time a special boy comes along.
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