Page 97 of Something Like Winter

“Of course.”

Allison was on the couch watching TV when they entered. She didn’t look happy, shutting off the television and rising to have a hushed conversation with Ben. Tim idly examined the surroundings, feeling like a home wrecker. When the whispers became more like hisses, Ben broke away briefly.

“Wait in my room,” he said, pushing Tim in the right direction.

Perfect.

He didn’t find anything recognizable about Ben’s bedroom, the furniture and decorations completely different from those of their teenage years. With one exception. The painting Tim had given Ben for his birthday—two hearts overlapping—hung on a wall opposite the bed. Tim stared at it, part of him criticizing his work from so long ago, but the rest of him feeling elated.

He spun around when Ben came in, wanting to scoop him up into his arms. Instead he took inspiration from the towel Ben had fetched for him and started stripping off his wet shirt. Slowly.

For one fleeting moment, familiar lust made those brown eyes appear anything but innocent. Then Ben tossed him the towel and looked away. “I need you to go.”

Need. Not want. Tim dropped his shirt on the floor and towel-dried his hair. “Mind if I keep this? The car seats are pretty wet.”

“Sure.” Ben remained in the doorway, eyes on the carpet.

Just come closer, Tim thought. We both want this. “I had fun today,” he said. “Just like old times. Better maybe, since I’m hiding in your bedroom from Allison instead of the whole world.”

“It was a nice day,” Ben admitted.

“How about dinner tomorrow? You deserve a better meal than those chicken wings.”

Ben raised his head. “You broke my heart. You know that? I picked myself up and brushed myself off, but it never stopped hurting.”

Tim swallowed. “If it’s any consolation, I broke my own heart in the process.”

“Did you?”

Tim put his hand over his chest. “I swear. I won’t pretend to know what you went through, but I sent myself straight to Hell. I deserved everything I got, but you didn’t.”

Ben looked away, chewing his bottom lip. Tim struggled to find another way of expressing how much regret he felt, but there were no adequate words. He was sure he had lost when Ben said, “Maybe a quick lunch.”

“Deal!” Tim walked toward him, towel draped over one shoulder, and Ben stood aside for him to leave. That was okay. Tim showed himself out, nodding cordially to Allison on the way. Not bad for the first date. Not bad at all.

* * * * *

Tim had an enemy in Allison. A shame, since he really did like her, but her intent became obvious the next day. Tim met Ben for lunch on campus, which was nice, but not conducive to romance. When they made plans for that night, Tim knew they were on the fast track. He could feel the tension between them growing. A little more time spent together and the outcome was inevitable.

Then Ben called in the late afternoon to cancel, saying Allison needed a night out with him. Tim didn’t hold it against her. She was only trying to protect Ben from getting hurt again. She’d come around when she saw how happy Tim would make him. Instead of getting angry, he made further plans.

Saturday morning, Tim collected Ben and whisked him away to a nearby amusement park for another blast from their past. It wasn’t the same park they’d visited as teenagers, but it wasn’t so different either. They fell right back into their old routines, except this time Tim was desperate to touch Ben in public, to hold his hand or just put an arm around him. He didn’t, not wanting to move too fast, but Tim did mentally kick his teenage self around for all the missed opportunities.

The day was ideal, the sun steadily sinking, when Ben’s new guy found a way to ruin their fun, even from out of town.

“Samson!”

“Who?”

“Jace’s cat. I totally forgot to feed him today.”

Tim had forgotten the new guy’s name until Ben said it again. Jace hadn’t come up in conversation at all, and Tim had been happy to pretend he didn’t exist. Ben—well, who knew what he was thinking? But now they had to head back to Austin just to feed the damn cat.

“I hope Samson’s okay,” Ben fretted once they were back on the highway. “Usually I stay over there when Jace is out of town.”

“So why haven’t you been?”

This earned a thoughtful pause, but one that ultimately backfired on Tim. “I’ll crash there tonight. Gotta make sure the apartment looks nice before Jace comes home.”