Neil views the coach's abuse as love and becomes attracted to "bearish" middle-aged men. He begins prostituting himself at the age of 15, and continues doing so three years later when he moves to New York City, where his best friend, Wendy Peterson, now lives. In New York, Neil has an emotional encounter with a client, Zeke, who is dying from AIDS and (instead of sex) only wants to feel another person's touch. Afterward, Neil begins withdrawing from prostitution and takes a job at a sandwich shop with assistance and encouragement from Wendy.