Something Like Summer (34 page)

Ben eyed him, trying to
weigh his sincerity. “All right. I’ll cook, but you have to help. I
don’t care how rich you are, everyone should know how make at least
one meal.”

Even without many fresh
ingredients in the house, they managed to put together a decent
pasta sauce made from canned tomatoes and spices they found in the
cupboard. Some aged cheese grated over the top, along with a blend
of pastas for variety, completed the dish. They ate straight from
the pot, laughing about old memories and arguing over misremembered
details.

The makeshift meal was,
unfortunately, very endearing. As much comfort as Ben took in
Jace’s experience and the security that provided, he was aware of
something equally gratifying in how much Tim needed from him. Ben
began to wish that Tim was an annoyingly talented cook, had
acquired his wealth by illicit means, and was still emotionally
stunted. Instead he was doing everything right to reawaken Ben’s
old feelings.

“
I really need to get back
to Jace’s,” Ben said while Tim was digging through the freezer for
ice cream.

“
Aw, you can’t leave. You
haven’t even done the dishes yet!” Tim winced from Ben’s glare.
“Only kidding. Geez! There is a pool here, you know. We could go
for a swim, have a couple of beers. You can even crash
here.”

Ben scoffed. “I don’t think
so!”

“
Your virtue will remain
unchallenged, princess, you have my word. There are two guest
rooms. Take your pick. I’ll even sleep in the car.”

Ben’s trust in Tim wasn’t
the issue. Rather he didn’t trust himself. Ben needed very badly to
go home, relieve some sexual tension, and reexamine everything from
a healthy distance. After resisting a few more onslaughts of charm,
he won and was driven back to Jace’s apartment. Tim killed the
ignition after parking, the resulting silence creating pressure in
the car. Why was it suddenly so hard to reach over and open the
door?

“
Thanks for the last
couple of days,” Tim said. “I know I went a little overboard, but
it’s been a long time since I’ve had someone like you
around.”

“
I liked it, too,” Ben
said, “but I’m also looking forward to Jace being back
tomorrow.”

“
Hint taken,” Tim said
with good humor. “I’m serious about meeting him though. The man
behind the legend and all that.”

“
Yeah?

“
Yeah.”

“
Okay.”

Maybe it would be fun. The
two greatest loves of his life together in one place. What could
possibly go wrong, aside from everything. The scientists who split
the atom had probably felt the same way. They knew what they were
about to do would be dangerous, but like Ben, they were too damn
curious to stop themselves.

__________

Chapter 23

The airport buzzed with
conversation, people weaving in and out of each other with
subconscious precision like worker bees tending their hive. Outside
the gate’s security checkpoint, a group of people waited, each
fidgeting with anticipation, their minds focused on the arriving
passengers. All but Ben, who couldn’t stop thinking of the cell
phone, turned off and stowed away in a kitchen drawer. Instinct
drove him to hide it, and only later did he recognize how odd this
behavior was.

Hugs burst out around him
as reunions took place, but he couldn’t stop thinking of the phone.
Had he time, he would have driven home and set it out on the
counter in plain view or even brought it with him. Anything was
better than it being hidden.

“
Ben?”

Luggage in tow, Jace was
dressed in uniform, wearing just a vest over his dress shirt and
tie due to the warm season. His smile was bemused, as if Ben were
being silly by staring at him dumbly, before his long arms
enveloped him in a hug. The scent of Jace’s aftershave and the
murmured words against his neck were like a tonic. With a kiss,
Jace broke Tim’s spell, woke Cinderella up from the strange dream
of the last couple of days.

“
I’m so glad you’re
back!”

Ben almost cried, but that
would have been even stranger than hiding a cell phone.

When they were home, they
made love with desperation. Jace might not have understood why, but
he was happy to comply. Afterwards, securely nestled in Jace’s
arms, Ben felt safe enough to speak the truth.

“
I ran into Tim the other
day.”

“
Ah,” Jace said, the
puzzle pieces falling into place. There was no need for
explanation. There was only ever one Tim, and Jace knew Ben’s
history well enough to understand how monumental an impact this
would have on him. “I don’t suppose he’s horribly overweight?
Probably bald and missing a few teeth too, I imagine.”

Ben wanted to laugh, but
instead the details poured out, everything except his fear that his
feelings for Tim were still alive. Jace would share the same worry,
so there was little point in voicing it. There was no arguing or
accusations, not from Jace, but he did frown about the cell phone,
and sighed at the mention of the theme park visit. For once Jace
had little advice to offer. Instead he held Ben tightly, as if
knowing this was the more effective strategy.

As they dozed off, Ben’s
mind drifted to the distant teenage world he’d once inhabited. All
of it seemed so far away. This new Tim, with his money and strange
relationship with Eric, didn’t fit into that time and place and was
still too new and alien for Ben’s comfort. Jace was reassuringly
familiar, a solid part of the last two years that Ben intended to
hold onto like flotsam in a storm-ravaged sea.

* * * * *

The cell phone came out of
its drawer, but only two days later did Ben consider turning it on.
His finger hovered over the power button, as if pressing it would
summon a genie from its lamp. Not the big, blue, friendly variety
either, but the sort who twisted the meaning of a wish before
granting it. Ben hated that Tim was all alone inside his silent
mansion, but at least there he didn’t pose a threat to his
happily-ever-after with Jace. And so the genie bottle stayed
plugged. They were just friends, after all. Friends could go days
without speaking, weeks even.

Or about four days as it
turned out. After class, Ben made a token appearance at home for
Allison’s sake before rushing over to Jace’s apartment, stopping
only to pick up their favorite Thai food. He took the steps two at
a time and rapped on the door instead of struggling with his keys.
The door swung open, but where someone tall and debonair should
have stood, was someone brawny and completely
unexpected.

“
For a pizza boy, you’re
pretty hot,” Tim said.

Mouth agape, Ben stared
until Jace arrived on the scene. He gave a helpless little shrug
from behind Tim before speaking. “Look who dropped by. Says he has
a surprise for us.”

“
It’s nothing, really,”
Tim said, gesturing for Ben to come in as if it were his
apartment.

This was getting a little creepy.
Had Tim felt this way when Ben played stalker in high school?
Surely Ben hadn’t been as transparent. Still, as stalkers went he
could do a lot worse. He kissed Jace hello, which felt strangely
like cheating, before heading to the living room to tackle his
food. Let them do all the talking. He planned to keep his head down
and his mouth full until the entire incident was over.

The doorbell rang, causing Tim to
jump out of his seat just seconds after he had sat.

“That
must be the pizza,” he said.

“
Or another ex-boyfriend,
who knows,” Jace murmured as he watched him leave the room. “So,
that’s the famous Tim?”

Ben nodded, following it up
with a sympathetic sigh. “How long has he been here?”

“
Half an hour or so,” Jace
answered, poking around in the Thai bag for any sign of a fortune
cookie. “He’s a little different than I expected. You didn’t tell
me that he looked so-- Uh…”

“
Abercrombie and
Fitch?”

“
Exactly.”

“
Well, maybe he’s here for
a threesome,” Ben said in just the right tone to pass it off as a
joke.

“
You’re more than enough
for me,” Jace replied smoothly. “Anyone else in the bedroom would
only be an unwelcome distraction.”

Ben smiled, surprised by
his feeling of relief. At least he could count on Jace not to
develop any unwanted feelings for Tim.

“
Look, Ben--” Whatever
else Jace was going to say was cut short by Tim’s reappearance in
the room, pizza balanced on one palm.

Ben bartered for a few
pizza slices by offering some of his Thai food, and soon they were
all eating a mix of both meals. The combination was strange and
never meant to come together, but the same could be said about
those dining. Ben watched while Tim focused on developing a rapport
with Jace. Was he interested in who Ben had chosen to be with or
was he sizing up the competition, gaining his trust and collecting
data that he could later use?

Once the Italian-Thai meal
was finished, Tim finally revealed his purpose in
coming.

“
I have a friend, well,
the friend of a friend really, who is throwing a big birthday party
at Splashtown in San Antonio.”

Ben didn’t know San Antonio
had a Splashtown, but he assumed it was the same as the one in
Houston: a massive water park full of pools and slides.

“
He has the whole place
booked just for his party,” Tim continued. “He just so happens to
owe me a favor, and I asked if I could bring you guys
along.”

The pretense for dropping
by was weak, but Ben’s interest was piqued. Crowds and lines always
limited the fun at theme parks, but there would only be so many
guests at a birthday party. As a kid he’d always fantasized about
never having to get off the rollercoaster, and this was the next
best thing.

One look at Jace brought
these fantasies to a screeching halt. The smile on Jace’s face was
just the slightest bit too tight.

“
We don’t have to go,” Ben
told him when Tim slipped away to the restroom.

“
But you want to,” Jace
said.

“
Well, yeah, it would be
fun, but we could always go together some other time.”

“
Do you plan on staying
friends with Tim?” Jace asked. “He’s going to be in your life from
now on?”

Ben cast a nervous glance
toward the bathroom. He knew the risks, but he didn’t like the idea
of abandoning Tim to his lonely life. Surely he had other friends
too, but he seemed so happy to be around Ben, so grateful. “I guess
so,” he answered.

“
Then it’s a good idea for
Tim to see us together as a couple.” Jace’s smile was not at all
resentful, causing Ben to feel a sudden surge of love for him. Any
other guy would be jealous and possessive, but Jace’s solution was
to welcome Tim into their lives.

Still, the trip might be
awkward. Tim brought out the impulsive teenager in Ben, while being
around Jace encouraged him to be smart and responsible. Situations
like these always made Ben feel like he had multiple personalities
and left him unsure of how to act. If only there was only some way
to disperse any tension before it began.

* * * * *

“
Double date!” Allison
sang as they all piled into the car.

Ben beamed at his secret
agent. Allison was the solution to all of his problems. She was to
keep whatever guy Ben wasn’t talking to busy. That way he could be
himself around either one of them. Already she had outperformed his
expectations, calling shotgun and sitting up front with Tim to keep
him occupied. This worked for a short time, but soon Tim was
craning his neck around to talk to Ben in the backseat as the car
swerved dangerously.

At the next gas station
they thanked various gods that they were still alive, and decided
to switch plans. Allison hopped into the backseat with Ben, leaving
Tim and Jace to talk to each other. Every time either of the guys
in the front tried to talk to them, Allison and Ben would break
into song or pretend to be deep in conversation. Eventually the two
men were forced to keep each other company.

After a guard checked their
names against a list, they were allowed into Splashtown. The
restaurant nearest the gate was set up as birthday headquarters.
The birthday boy turned out to be a toadish man of about fifty,
whose fingers, wrists, and neck all strained under the weight of
jewelry.

“
Bling bling,” Ben
muttered to Allison as they approached to wish him happy birthday.
He couldn’t help but wonder what sort of favor the man owed
Tim.

After some small talk they
were free to strip down to their swimsuits and roam around the
park. Ben did his best not to stare at Tim, but he hadn’t seen him
shirtless since high school. His physique was a strange mix of the
familiar and the unknown. The curves and lines of his muscles were
mostly the same, just bigger, but he now had a scar running down
his shoulder. Ben wondered at the story behind it. Where had he
been the past five years and would his body feel different to the
touch?