Something Like Summer (13 page)

Tim’s black hair was messy
and sticking up, probably from when he and Krista had been messing
around. His silver eyes sheepishly considered Ben’s own, before
looking away and down at his own body. Ben followed his gaze, over
the sea blue tank top to the white shorts where it was more than
obvious that he was aroused. The silver eyes found his again, all
hesitation in them replaced by lust.

“
C’mere,” he
invited.

Ben went to him and sat
down on the couch. As much as he had fantasized about touching Tim,
he found it ironic that he now didn’t know how to proceed. He
concluded that there was nothing left but to do it. He reached out
toward Tim’s crotch, but his hand was caught by the
wrist.

“
What’s the rush?” Tim
laughed, pulling on the wrist to draw Ben closer to him.

With his other hand, Tim
reached behind Ben’s head and pulled him in for a kiss. Their lips
met clumsily before they readjusted and found the perfect fit. Tim
kissed him passionately, taking full control which was good because
Ben was at a loss. This isn’t how it usually went at all! Strange
as it was, considering the number of guys he had blown before, this
was Ben’s first kiss.

He breathed in through his
nose, taking in Tim’s smell as he enjoyed the sensation of the
tongue darting into his mouth. Ben’s hand was released and so he
used it to feel the chest he had spent so much time admiring. Tim
moaned in approval and broke their kiss so he could take off his
shirt. He leaned back and placed Ben’s hand back on his pecs. Ben
rubbed his hand over them and Tim smiled cockily, enjoying having
his impressive physique worshiped so transparently.

Ben worked his hand
downward, Tim squirming beneath his touch in anticipation of where
he was going. Ben wanted to draw it out and tease him longer, but
he couldn’t control himself and grabbed Tim’s cock through his
shorts.

“
Wow!” Ben gasped. He been
with a few guys slightly bigger than himself before, but Tim was
significantly thicker.

He pumped his hand up and
down, enjoying the look of bliss on Tim’s face. His eyes were
closed and his mouth was open. Ben burned the image into his mind
as one of the most beautiful things he had even seen. He never
wanted to forget it.

Ben reached his fingers
under the elastic band of Tim’s athletic shorts and pulled them
back. Tim tensed and sat up, an uncomfortable expression on his
face. Ben looked down to see and was startled. It was uncut! So
that’s what all the fuss was about.

“
The European standard?”
Ben inquired.

“
It’s normal over there,”
Tim said apologetically.

“
It’s gorgeous,” Ben said.
He meant it, too. He liked that it was different than his own. It
was exotic, and like the body it was attached to, breathtakingly
attractive.

“
You don’t mind?” Tim
asked, still adorably uncertain.

Ben answered by taking it
into his mouth. Tim tensed up but then immediately relaxed again,
letting himself enjoy the sensations Ben was giving him. Tim was
certainly one of the most appreciative recipients of his favors. He
moaned approvingly and ran his fingers through Ben’s hair as he
worked.

Soon Tim’s hips began
thrusting and his moans became louder and more insistent. He bucked
wildly as he came, Ben struggling to keep him inside his
mouth.

“
No more, no more, stop!”
Tim panted, pulling Ben off of him.

Ben unwillingly receded.
This was the part that he hated the most. His own cock was
painfully begging for release, both from the confines of his jeans
and sexually, but his mind was already troubled by the awkward
moment to come. Sometimes the guy just went back to pretending he
was asleep, or if it had started when they were awake, would find
some pretense to distance himself. Any second now Tim would say he
had to use the restroom or feign some other important thing that he
had to do, anything to get away from the gay guy he had just
used.

“
Fuck, that was good,” Tim
said, still trying to catch his breath. “Man. I have to take a
piss.”

“
That’s cool,” Ben said
casually as Tim pulled his shorts back up and left the
room.

He pondered leaving as he
waited. It was usually less awkward that way. The toilet flushed
and Tim’s crutches squeaked their way back over to the
couch.

“
I guess I should get
back,” Ben said, starting to stand.

“
What?” Tim laughed.
“You’re crazy.” He shoved Ben back onto the couch and tossed his
crutches aside, falling with his full weight onto Ben. He growled
menacingly and wrestled Ben onto his back, kissing him
again.

Ben’s heart swelled with
happy surprise, but not as much as his cock did when Tim’s hand
suddenly grabbed onto it.

“
Your turn,” he whispered
seductively into Ben’s ear.

Tim slid to the side,
pulled up Ben’s shirt and undid his jeans, ripping them along with
Ben’s underwear down to his knees in a motion that was anything but
gentle.

“
Nice,” he said
appreciatively as he took hold of Ben with one strong hand and
began pumping.

He pushed Ben’s shirt up
further and licked one of his nipples before moving upward to kiss
him on the mouth. Their tongues danced together as Ben struggled to
breathe. He was getting close and opened his eyes, wanting to tell
Tim what was going to happen. He found Tim’s eyes locked fiercely
on his own and didn’t last long after that, soaking his stomach and
even his chest.

Tim grinned. “I’ll grab a
towel,” he said. “And then you’re going to cook for me,” he added
matter-of-factly.

Ben watched him go, his
head still spinning from all that had just happened. The sex had
been incredible, but what really sent his heart soaring had been
the kissing. He felt certain that he had, after all these years of
yearning and wanting, finally met someone who could love him
back.

* * * * *

Nothing had happened
between Ben and Tim, or so it felt. They passed the evening much as
they always did. A horror movie about killer puppets entertained
them while they ate chili. Afterwards Tim put on a few CDs while
they talked; a B-side collection of Nirvana followed by the
Smashing Pumpkins. Ben barely heard the music; instead he pondered
how Tim was taking it all in stride.

The subject didn’t come up
again. Inside, Ben felt like he was going to explode. So many
emotions were stirring within him, all of them positive and
excited. If Tim felt something similar, he managed to hide it
well.

Sleep didn’t come easy that
night. Tim didn’t want to struggle with the stairs, so he stayed on
the couch. Ben made himself a bed of blankets, placing them as near
the couch as possible. As he listened to the sound of Tim’s slow,
rhythmic breathing, he fantasized about sharing a bed with him.
They would whisper pleasantries to each other before kissing
goodnight and holding each other in sleep.

The next morning Ben found
himself roused by his friend and then quickly aroused. Tim pulled
him forcibly onto the couch, kissing him deeply and grinding
against him, leading to a replay of the day before.

“
Guess we should get the
place cleaned up,” Tim said once they had both caught their
breath.

“
I wish your parents were
going to be gone another week,” Ben sighed wistfully.

“
Yeah, me too.”

Tim felt well enough by now
that he was able to help with the chores. By noon the house was as
tidy as could be expected when left in the hands of a
teenager.

“
You should probably get
going. Just in case they catch an early flight or
something.”

Dread stirred in Ben’s
stomach. He had his own parents to face today, and he was sure it
wouldn’t be pretty.

“
Look,” Tim began, but it
was almost a minute before he continued. “What happened between us,
well…”

Ben perked up, giving him
his full attention.

“It’s probably best we keep it a
secret,” Tim said, reaching behind to scratch his head while
grinning nervously. “I just don’t want people to get the wrong
idea.”

“
Wrong idea?” Ben
repeated.

“
There’s nothing
wrong
with it,” Tim
backpedaled. “I just don’t want people thinking I'm gay, when I’m
not.”

It took every ounce of
Ben’s willpower to keep his face straight in light of this
statement. “Okay,” he said. “Not a big deal.”

In reality it was a big
deal, but he could handle it. If having Tim meant doing everything
gay with him but calling it straight, why not? He could just play
it off as some sort of kinky role-playing game. Unless of course,
Tim intended that this never happened again. As cliché as the
question was, Ben couldn’t help but ask, “So are you going to call
me?”

“
Yeah, totally!” Tim
answered enthusiastically. “We’re buds.” The way he stated this was
friendly, but there was a hint of a silent ‘only’ there in the
middle.

“
Cool,” Ben replied. “I’m
off, then. Good luck with your parents when they get
here.”

“
Good luck with yours! I
hope you won’t be in too much trouble.” Tim reached out and mussed
Ben’s hair as if he were sending his kid off to school.

Ben left the house with a
smile on his face. His future with Tim was uncertain, he was facing
the reaming of his life from his parents, and he was forbidden to
see his best friend, and yet Ben had never been happier.

__________

Chapter 9

The school gymnasium,
forever marred by shoe scuffs and perfumed with sweat, was lined on
one side by a long hallway. This led either to the locker rooms or
into the gymnasium itself if you pushed open the two swinging doors
set with small windows. These allowed Ben to peer through and see
that volleyball was being played today. Not one of his favorite
sports, but not as bad as some of the others. Still, he couldn’t
bring himself to enter, even though first period had started twenty
minutes ago.

Ben had chosen to skate to
school instead of taking the bus and had arrived late, despite his
intention of attending all of his classes, as he had promised his
mother yesterday. When he had arrived home on Sunday, he thought he
would be greeted with screams and punishments. Instead things were
unsettlingly calm. His father had been the first to see him,
pulling a comical “look out!” face that warned his wife wasn’t too
pleased with their son.

Except his mother hadn’t
been all that angry. She met Ben in his bedroom, sat down, and very
carefully said, “You are getting to an age where we can’t control
you anymore. In less than two years you will be living on your own.
I hope you will be going to college. If you chose to do so, we will
help support you. If not, then you are on your own. Until then, you
will go to
all
of
your classes and you won’t drink or do drugs in this
household.”

That was it. He wasn’t even
grounded anymore. His parents had set him free by giving him adult
status. Ben had almost felt sad after it had happened, like he was
being forced to grow up. He quickly moved past those feelings,
though. No longer would he have to deal with curfews or tell them
who he was staying with. The new arrangement was ideal for him,
which was why he felt horrible that he was breaking his promise
already.

He hated P.E. There was
nothing redeeming about it, and it would never contribute to his
health or success later in life. If anything, facing the abuse of
the coaches and his peers threatened to make him jaded and
mistrustful of the human race. Why should he waste an hour every
day in a class that made him feel useless and incompetent? He
refused to subject himself to that, no matter the
consequences.

Ben stayed in the hallway,
feeling it was a safe place to hide, until the bell rang. Students
with flushed faces swarmed out of the locker room. He let them pass
without making eye contact, waiting for someone to ask where he had
been. It didn’t happen until one of the very last people stepped
into the hall.

“
Ben, my man!” Leon called
out happily. “Where have you been? I haven’t seen you since my
wisdom teeth were yanked.”

“
I’ve been skipping a lot
of classes lately,” Ben confided. “Have the coaches said anything
about it?”

“
Those clueless goons? Of
course not. They’re too busy reliving their glory years with the
second-rate jocks who didn’t make the football team.”

Ben laughed in relief. “I
wonder how long I can get away with this.”

“
I don’t know man, but
you’ve got the right idea. Tell you what, if the coaches ever
notice you missing, I’ll try to cover for you.”

“
Thanks. I owe you
one.”

Leon clapped Ben on the
shoulder. “Hey, I hear your best friend is dating my best
friend.”

“
Ronnie Adams?” Ben asked.
“I didn’t know you guys were friends.”

“
Yeah, Ebony and Ivory.
That’s our band. Ronnie’s on guitar and I’m on bass. You should
come by with Allison sometime, smoke a j and sing. I crooned out a
few tunes with your girl already, but I’d love to hear what a real
pair of singers can do.”