Page 46 of When Ben Loved Tim

I smirk. She’s got him trained already. “Minigolf sounds fun,” Allison says. “And you know that really expensive steakhouse that everyone eats at for prom?”

“Yeah?” Ronnie says, looking slightly panicked.

“There’s a great barbeque place across the street. It’s takeout only, but there’s a park nearby.”

“Whatever you want!” Ronnie says breathlessly.

“Although the steakhouse does have a nicer restroom,” Allison murmurs as if uncertain.

I can tell she’s toying with him.

“What about you?” Leon asks me. “Got any hot dudes on the line?”

“I wish,” I say. “Why? Are you interested?”

“If I was into guys, you’d be the first to hear about it,” Leon replies easily. I’m glad he’s so accepting. Ronnie too. I know that’s important to Allison. She dropped a couple of her previous suitors when they turned out to be homophobes. I’d do the same if Tim made a racist comment. I’d talk to him about it first, because human beings say all kinds of stupid things they don’t really mean, but if he stuck to his guns, that would be the end of it. “I was thinking you could come by the garage sometime,” Leon continues. “Allison says you’ve got one helluva voice.”

“You should have heard her rocking the mic the other day,” Ronnie says with transparent admiration.

“If you think I can beat that,” I tell him, “then you’ll be sorely disappointed.”

“I was thinking more of a duet,” Leon interjects.

“With me?” I bat my eyelashes. “Are yousureyou’re not interested?”

“I dunno, man. Maybe I am!”

I can tell that he isn’t, but I like that Leon has a sense of humor about it. He suggests different songs Allison and I could sing together, which starts a discussion that lasts the rest of the break. Even while on a mostly unrelated topic, I can tell how much Ronnie likes her. He hangs on Allison’s every word and sometimes smiles at her for no reason. I’ve had some of those moments with Tim, but I hope that—eventually—we won’t have to rely on the shadows as much.

* * * * *

I’m fresh out of the shower and putting on a newly bought shirt when the phone rings. I decide to ignore it, since I most definitely have plans. Not only did I go shopping for clothes in preparation for my weekend with Tim, I also got a recipe from my mom that’s supposed to be foolproof (ha!) and went to the grocery store with her to pick out ingredients. I’m going to make shrimp scampi on a bed of angel hair pasta. Which soundswaytoo difficult, but my mom assures me that it’s not. Best of all, wine is one of the ingredients, and there will be leftovers we can drink with the meal. Tim will be excited. I’ll be drunk on love. And apparently, the stupid phone isn’t going to stop ringing, so I finally answer it.

“Hey, Benjamin!” Tim says, sounding upbeat.

“Hi!” I breathe in return. “I’m just about ready.”

“Oh,” he says, shooting me down with a single word. Then he swiftly dispatches me with two more. “About that…”

My body tenses. “What?”

“I messed up.”

“You got the date wrong or something?” I ask, slowly sitting on the bed.

“Worse. I let it slip that my parents are going out of town. Everyone knows.”

I shake my head. “So?”

“So my friends expect me to throw a party.”

“Tell them that your parents are really strict.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Tim replies. “They’re not here. Listen, I’ll make it up to you. The next time they’re gone, I’ll make sure that nobody but you finds out.”

“What about tonight?”

All I hear is white noise in response. So much for my early birthday present.