Page 109 of Something Like Winter

“What’s up?”

“Come here,” Tim said, voice husky.

Aaron fidgeted and flushed before he complied. When he was close enough, Tim put a hand on his neck, leaned forward, and kissed him. Aaron tasted like the gum he’d been smacking, his breath minty fresh. He was a good kisser, letting Tim lead but not remaining passive. And Tim felt nothing. Not even a stirring in his pants.

“What was that for?” Aaron grinned when Tim pulled away.

“Just because. I’ll see you around.”

Once outside, Tim walked around the building to get away from the parking lot where their cars were. When he felt enough distance, he leaned against the brick wall of the building and resisted the urge to bang the back of his head against it. So stupid! Of course no one could compare to Ben, but it had seemed worth a shot anyway. Life would be so much easier if he could move on.

Tim knew now that he couldn’t.

* * * * *

Nights were sleepless, even though he jogged more than usual, or played countless games with Chinchilla. Even with his body exhausted, Tim’s mind was fevered, refusing to rest as he considered scheme after scheme of getting Ben back. One thing was for sure: as long as Jace was in the picture, he didn’t stand a chance. So his focus shifted to separating them somehow. The plan he came up with wasn’t brilliant, but it was his only shot.

The following week, after his contemporary art course, he invited Aaron out for coffee. What he proposed would probably get him slapped in the face, considering how perked up Aaron was. They sat across from each other at a table with a chessboard surface. This was the same coffee shop where Tim had found Ben again, providing him with all the motivation he needed.

He told Aaron a condensed version of his history with Ben, and slowly Aaron’s shoulders began to droop. Only when Tim got to the end did Aaron straighten up hopefully.

“So it sounds like it’s over between you two,” he said.

Tim nodded. “Yeah. But I can’t move on. I keep trying…” He looked at Aaron meaningfully. “This guy Ben’s with—he’s no good.” A lie. Jace wastoogood, but the truth wouldn’t help his cause. “Maybe if they weren’t together anymore I could get over it.”

“There’s not much you can do about that,” Aaron said dismissively.

“I think there is.”

“Oh?”

Tim leaned back. “What if someone wrote Jace a love letter? The guy travels all the time, which would give him plenty of opportunity to mess around on Ben.”

“So… what? You send a love letter to Jace and hope Ben finds it?” Aaron scoffed. “Jace will just throw it away.”

Time to move in for the kill. “Right, but if Ben sees this guy leaving the letter for Jace, maybe tacking it to his door…”

“A-ha. Let me guess. You want me to be that guy.”

Tim gave a slow smile. “I can’t exactly do it myself.”

Aaron pursed his lips. “I’m not stupid, you know. You just want them to break up so you can get to Ben.”

Fuck. Time for a new strategy. “I can make it worth your while.”

“Really? How?”

There was something disturbing in the way Aaron looked at him, like he thought Tim would gladly whip it out in return for this favor. “I mean money,” he said. “Beauty school tuition.”

Aaron rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right.”

“We can go to the bank right now. All you have to do is write the letter and make sure Ben sees you delivering it. I know what time he gets out of class. He always heads over to Jace’s afterwards.”

“You’re crazy.”

Tim shrugged. “Might as well take advantage of me. Five grand for what, ten minutes work?”

Aaron’s eyes narrowed but his lips twitched at the corners. Tim had him hooked.