Page 11 of Something Like Winter

Tim shrugged and gave an easy smile. “I’ve got nothing to hide.”

“I didn’t say you did. Look, Krista thinks you’re mad at her. Something about Ben Bentley, the gay guy.”

Tim played dumb. “Oh, is that his name?”

There was a long pause before Stacy answered. “Yes. Yes, it is.” Forget Bryce. She was way scarier. What a monster couple they made! The beauty and the beast, but it was Stacy’s intelligence that made her dangerous.

“Yeah, well, that guy smarted off to Krista,” Tim huffed, “and I wanted to know who he was. It pissed me off, that’s all.”

Stacy searched his eyes, but seemed satisfied. “You like her, and she likes you, right?”

“Obviously.”

“Then ask her. Dinner and a movie, tonight. Unless you want people to start asking why you’re still single.”

Stacy walked away. A minute later, her boyfriend was sent back over to wait in line with him.

“I don’t understand women,” Bryce huffed.

Tim did. He understood them all too well.

Chapter Four

Krista, as it turned out, made a decent girlfriend. Sure, she talked a lot, but when Tim did have something to say, she listened with rapt attention. She laughed at all his jokes and was so slender that she made Tim feel as big as Bryce. He liked that. He also appreciated that she had none of Carla’s meanness. Occasionally she could be a bitch, but only when she was following someone else’s lead, usually Stacy’s.

Mostly she was just as happy and dumb as the doe he first pictured her as. Like today, when he hadn’t been in the mood for company. Instead of driving to school, he had walked. He forgot to tell her until the end of the day. When he mentioned he was jogging home, she didn’t mind having to find a ride. Carla would have chewed his head off, but Krista simply went with the flow.

Tim was starting to realize she was safe. As he ran along the bike path on the way home, the fabric of his shorts feeling good against his package as it bounced around, Tim considered taking things further with her. He couldn’t be celibate his whole life, just because of what happened in Kansas. Krista didn’t seem the type to spread lies. With his parents out of town for the next two weeks, now was the perfect opportunity to get—

Boom!

Weight slammed into Tim from behind, knocking him off the path. Unfortunately, this particular path ran along a drainage ditch, a deep ravine which left him nowhere to go but down. Tim tumbled, rolling over and over, thankful that the ditch was grass and dirt and not hard concrete —until he skipped into the air at the end and landed on one leg with a crunch.

Pain! It seared up from his leg and into the rest of his body, his brain burning as he swore out loud. He managed to roll off the leg, easing his suffering, and raised the limb into the air. Blood covered one shin. As bad as that hurt, the source of the worst pain throbbed from further down.

Tim carefully lowered his leg, putting pressure on it. A fresh wave of hurt washed over him. This wasn’t good.

“Oh, god! I’m sorry. I’m sorry!” Someone slid down into the drainage ditch with him. Whoever it was, they were to blame!

“What the hell happened?” Tim spat.

“I don’t—I’m just a klutz.”

The guy acted like he was going to pick Tim up and carry him to safety, which was ridiculous because he was so scrawny that Krista could probably take him in a fight. In fact, he looked familiar. They went to the same school, if Tim wasn’t mistaken.

“Is your leg broken?”

“Leg’s fine,” Tim looked back at it. “It’s my ankle that’s jacked.”

The guy dropped to his knees to examine it, like he could fix it with a little tape and glue. Tim stared. Now he recognized him! Benjamin Bentley, shameless homosexual and brave glarer at Bryce. He had inline skates on his feet, which presumably had propelled him into Tim.

“We have to get you to a doctor,” Ben said. “Can you walk?”

Tim tried putting weight on his leg. Even though the worst of the pain had receded, walking on it now would bring it all back again. “You’re going to have to help me.”

“Wait.” Ben flopped on to his rump and started undoing his skates.

Tim watched him work. There wasn’t really anything feminine about him. Aside from being a little small he looked just like any other guy. Except apparently he couldn’t skate without leaving behind a wake of destruction. With the skates finally off, Ben dug in his backpack and pulled out a pair of shoes. Jesus, how long was this going to take?