Page 161 of Something Like Winter

Tim laughed. “For you to fall madly in love with me again? How long did it take the first time?”

Ben’s face flushed, but he nodded. “Okay. Let’s do it. Where are we going to go?”

Chapter Thirty-five

“Mexico City?” said the woman behind the counter as she eyed their passports.

She had their reservation on the screen and probably wouldn’t hear his response, but Tim went along with this strange airport ritual and answered in the affirmative. Then he glanced back at Ben, whose attention was elsewhere. Tracing his line of sight, Tim saw a group of flight attendants, chatting happily as they pulled their luggage behind them.

Of course.

That would explain the return of Ben’s haunted look. The woman at the counter spoke again, Tim nodding through the rest of the process. Had another of his ideas failed already? If so, he only had himself to blame. Of course an airport would make Ben think of Jace—astronaut of the stratosphere. And now that Tim considered the situation, he remembered Jace had often whisked Ben away to exotic destinations.

The realization made him want to drive to Mexico City instead, especially when Ben remained silent all through the security screening. But once past this procedure, Tim began feeling optimistic. He loved the buzz of an airport, how everybody was jetting off to somewhere new or finally returning home again. Everyone was in transition, no one truly belonging there, which meant no one was an outsider. All were of equal status. At least until it came time to board.

“This is going to be fun,” Tim said.

Ben managed a smile. “It’s been a long time since I travelled. How long is the flight?”

“About two and a half hours.”

“Should we stock up on drinks and snacks?”

“Why?” Tim asked. “They’ll be serving us lunch, and we get all the drinks we want.”

“Since when?”

“Since always. We’re flying business class, baby!”

Ben perked up. “Really? I’ve only flown economy before.”

This made all the difference. Faced with a new experience, Ben focused on where they were going instead of where he had been—and with whom. During the flight, they played with the seat controls like a couple of kids, taking shameless advantage of all the perks and privileges the overpriced seats brought them. The flight attendants—all of them female, thankfully—treated them like royalty. Time flew by like the clouds, and the plane soon began circling a sprawling metropolis as it began its descent.

Tim leaned over Ben’s lap, both of them looking out the window. “Wait until you see the city at night. It’s like the land is on fire.”

Ben would see it every night. Tim hadn’t just splurged on business class tickets. The hotel suite he had reserved was magnificent. From their room on the twenty-third floor, Ben would view the city like an emperor on high. Then Tim would drag him into the Jacuzzi built for two. Maybe he’d even have the tub filled with champagne instead of water. Tim would love to have a limo pick them up at the airport, but one small kink had formed in his romantic plans.

“I told you myabuelitais picking us up from the airport, right?”

“Your what?”

“My grandma, Nana.”

“No.” Ben shot him a nervous glance. “Does she know about me?”

Tim laughed. “Don’t worry. She’s not nearly as bad as my parents. I mean, I thought she would be worse. Not in a mean way,” he added quickly. “I figured my sexuality would break her heart. Instead she mostly took it in stride.”

“Mostly?”

“Well, we don’t exactly talk about it much. And she’s never seen me with another guy. That’s going to be weird.”

Ben stared until Tim nudged him, triggering a smile. “Well, I’m looking forward to meeting her. Remember how I did all that research on Mexico City to impress your mom?”

Tim groaned. “Yes, and please, just be yourself. No hammy book reports.”

“Of course not.” Ben paused. “Did you know that Mexico City has the largest public transportation network in the world?”

“Stop,” Tim pleaded.