Something Like Summer (15 page)

“
Fluently. I was raised
bilingual.”

“
Yeah, it’s pretty obvious
at this point that you’re bi,” Ben teased.

“
I’m not,” Tim protested.
“I just get really horny sometimes.”

Ben tried not to laugh at
this but couldn’t help himself. Tim looked insulted so Ben shoved
him playfully and told him to stop taking everything so
seriously.

“
I don’t care what you
are,” he said bravely, reaching out to pat Tim on the back. He let
his hand linger there. “I like you for who you are.”

“
It’s not the sports car,
then?” Tim asked as Ben began to run his hand up and down his back.
“Or the movie star good looks?”

“
Are you kidding me? I can
barely stand to look at you. The car, on the other hand, is pure
sex.”

“
That she is,” Tim
grinned.

“
Coche
bonita
!” Ben tried. He was pretty sure it
meant ‘beautiful car.’ He suddenly wished he had paid closer
attention in school. “Say something to me in Spanish.”

“
Like what?”

“
Something
nice.”

Tim thought for a while
before clearing his throat. He turned and looked Ben directly in
the eye before speaking. “
Enséñame a
volar, mi mariposa hermosa
.”

The smile faded from Ben’s
face. He didn’t understand all of it, but one word had stood out.
“Something nice,” he complained.

“
Sorry if you didn’t like
it,” Tim responded, appearing offended.

“
Well I know what
‘
mariposa
’ means,
and I’m sick of hearing it.”

Tim scrunched up his face
in confusion. “Who’s been saying
mariposa
to you?”

“
Everyone in my Spanish
class,” Ben told him. “We had a substitute and someone asked how to
say faggot in Spanish--”

“
It’s not!” Tim protested.
“Oh, man. How could I be so stupid?
Mariposa
means
butterfly.”

“
It does? So it’s not
homophobic?”

“
Yeah. Well, no.” Tim
thought about it for a second. “It’s just like the word ‘fairy’ in
English. You can say it all day long and it doesn’t mean anything
bad, but call someone that in the right context and it can be
offensive.”

“
Oh.” That explained why
Mrs. Vega hadn’t reacted when the students kept using that word. In
a way it was kind of cool. Basically everyone was saying
‘butterfly’ to him. Big deal! Knowing this would make it easier not
to react in the future. “So what did you say to me then?” Ben
asked.

“
Forget it,” Tim said
dismissively. “I should have chosen my words better.”

“
No, tell me!”

“
Maybe later.”

Ben begged him to reveal
what he had said a few more times, but Tim was adamant. Instead he
started digging around in the sand, looking for shells that weren’t
broken to take as souvenirs. This led to them digging a moat,
followed by the inevitable building of a sand castle. It wasn’t the
right kind of sand though, so all they could build was a shapeless
mound of sand. Ben made a limp flag out of some seaweed and a stick
and stuck it in the top, dubbing it
Popocatépetl.

The night had finally
arrived in full, the temperature dropping. Ben was about to suggest
they leave when a laugh came from further down the beach. Raucous
voices soon joined it as a group of silhouettes moved toward them.
Ben hoped not to be noticed in the dark, but as the strangers
passed there were puzzled murmurs before one of the voices called
out. Tim answered, causing a few to scream and the others to
giggle.

The group walked toward
them, the distant streetlights illuminating five girls, all college
age or older. Each had a beer in hand, two of them carrying
half-empty twelve-packs in the other. The girls were all boney
clones of each other, except for one who was stocky and confident.
She was the first to speak to them in a thick Bronx
accent.

“
What are you two doing
out here? On a date or something?”

“
No,” Tim laughed. “What
about you?”

“
We’re not lezzes! Ew!”
mocked one of the girls in the background to the others’
amusement.

“
That one is kind of
cute,” murmured one of the voices.

“
How old are you guys?”
challenged the ringleader.

“
Old enough,” Tim retorted
to their delight.

“
You guys want a
beer?”

“
Yeah, I need to sit,”
whined a girl with bleached blonde hair. “Let’s drink one with
them.”

The girls jostled for
position on the sand, ending up forming a circle like some strange
council. The ringleader sat directly in front of them while the two
prettiest flocked to Tim’s side. Nearest Ben was a fair-haired girl
with timid posture who risked a sympathetic glance in his direction
before looking away.

Tim eagerly accepted the
beer. Ben turned it down, as the designated driver, which caused a
round of laughter. They handed him one anyway. He sipped at it
moodily, not drinking more than the bare minimum.

“
You guys go to college
around here?” asked the brunette nearest to Tim.

“
Yeah, we sure do.” He
turned and winked openly at Ben.

“
Which one?”

Tim paused. He hadn’t been
in Texas long enough to bluff his way through this one.

“
Texas A&M,” Ben
filled in for him. The college wasn’t remotely local, but the girls
didn’t react, proving they were here on vacation. They barely
acknowledged his response. All attention was focused on Tim, like
dogs eyeing a juicy piece of meat. Ben hoped this wasn’t how he
usually appeared.

They continued grilling Tim
through his first beer. By his second they were trying to outdo
each other to gain his approval. Some told of their raunchy
exploits back home. One tried humor and failed miserably. The girl
nearest to Tim relied on physical charm, finding excuses to make
bodily contact with him. So far she seemed to be in the lead. Only
the bashful girl next to Ben refrained from these games. She
started a cautious conversation with Ben about what life was like
in Texas, which he found hard to focus on while keeping an eye on
the proceedings.

When Tim stood to answer a
call of nature, the brunette rose with him, wrapping an arm around
his torso to help him walk. This caused a chorus of “oooohs” from
the other girls that set Ben’s teeth on edge. He tried to follow
them with his eyes as they left, but they were soon lost to the
dark.

It was hard to judge how
much time passed before they came back, but every minute was
grueling. When Tim did show his face again, he was
grinning.

“
I’m afraid, ladies, that
we must take our leave,” he said.

“
No way! Come and party at
our hotel!” the brunette insisted.

“
Tell us where you’re
staying and we might come by later,” he suggested.

Ben couldn’t wait to leave
as they all clamored to give Tim the information. He didn’t say
anything further until they were back on the ferry, looking over
the edge at the churning water below.

“
That brunette sure seemed
fond of you,” Ben prompted, making sure to keep his voice neutral.
He was certain that acting jealous wasn’t going to earn him any
points.

“
Yeah, she was all over me
when I went to pee.”

“
Really?” Ben asked,
visualizing the girl being swept away by the tides while he pointed
and laughed. “What happened?”

“
Nothing much.” Tim smiled
coyly. “She shoved her tongue down my throat and started groping
me, but I really had to piss. I barely managed to push her away so
I could.”

“
That’s it?”

“
Well, I felt her up. She
had a pretty nice body.”

“
I’m surprised she didn’t
go down on you then and there,” Ben commented, hoping that Tim
wouldn’t say that she did.

“
I bet she would have,
yeah. But whatever.”

“
You don’t sound very
enthusiastic about the idea.”

“
I don’t know, man.” Tim
turned his back to the water and leaned against the rail. “She was
hot and all, but-- After everything that went down in Kansas
because my ex-girlfriend said I raped her, I don’t want something
like that to happen again. The whole school turned against me. It’s
just not worth it. I promised myself to only sleep with people who
mean something to me.”

This statement blew away
Ben’s foul mood. He
meant
something to Tim. Or maybe he wasn’t worried
about a gay guy running around school saying he’d been raped. Such
a claim wouldn’t be taken very seriously. Regardless, Ben chose to
take this as a compliment.

Tim had a CD he wanted to
listen to on the way home, giving Ben time to think while it blared
from the speakers. What happened on the beach tonight had really
opened his eyes. Girls found Tim just as irresistible as he did,
which came as no surprise. Right now Tim was with Krista, who had a
number of hang-ups, but it was only a matter of time before a girl
came along who wasn’t put off by the European standard. One who
would be more than happy to fulfill Tim’s sexual desires once she
had gained his trust. When that happened, Ben would be thrown out
with the weekly garbage.

If Tim was gay, or even
bisexual, Ben had only a limited time to make him realize it before
a different girl moved in on his territory. Maybe it was just
wishful thinking on his part, but Tim was so affectionate, so
giving when they had sex. It was totally different than the other
guys. But what if he was wrong? What if Tim really was straight,
and pushing the issue only ended up destroying what they had right
now?

They pulled into Tim’s
driveway just before midnight. He didn’t seem concerned about the
hour. Obviously his parents kept him on a long leash as
well.

“
You really don’t mind
walking home?” Tim asked him. “I’m sure I can manage driving there
and back.”

“
No. I’ll be
fine.”

“
All right.” They stood
there awkwardly for a moment. Isn’t this where the goodnight kiss
was supposed to take place?

“
Enséñame a volar, mi
mariposa hermosa
,” Tim said suddenly.
“It’s from a poem I-- Well, it’s from a poem.”

“
What’s it
mean?”

“‘
Teach me how to fly, my
beautiful butterfly.’” He reached out and ruffled Ben’s hair, his
version of a parting kiss. “See you around.”

Ben watched Tim enter the
house before making his way down the street, no longer uncertain.
He would help Tim realize who he really was. He would teach him how
to fly.

__________

Chapter 10

Little changed over the
next six weeks, despite Ben’s determination. At times he hardly saw
Tim at all. There was an unspoken agreement that they wouldn’t
interact at school, although they would occasionally see each other
in the hall, making only small gestures in acknowledgement. Often
Ben would initiate these “chance” meetings during the times when
Tim was more aloof than usual.

Then there were days when
Tim was as hungry and affectionate as the first time they slept
together. He stayed the night sometimes at Ben’s house, his parents
generously not making a fuss over him having a guy over. Karen
argued, to no avail, that it would be like a boy staying with her.
Luckily his sister had no clue who Tim was or of his status with
the popular kids. To a senior, anyone younger was a
scrub.

The sleepovers were usually
spent doing the normal sort of things: movies, video games, and
takeout pizza. Once the house was quiet it inevitably became
intimate between them. Sex was now more exploratory, their prior
urgency relaxed into desire. Tim was even comfortable enough to
return Ben’s oral favors, although the topic of sexuality was still
completely taboo. Ben didn’t mind too much. How could he complain
when he was waking up next to the hottest guy in school?

There was, however, one
problem that he couldn’t ignore: Krista Norman. Tim was still
dating her. Ben no longer inquired about sex between them, but it
was clear from a few negative comments that it wasn’t going well.
Ben couldn’t figure out why Tim stayed with her and it became a
point of contempt. Even mentioning her name was enough to spark an
argument.

The issue came to a head in
late October, just a few days before Ben’s birthday. He hadn’t seen
Tim the weekend before because he and Krista had been out on a
double date with Bryce and his girlfriend. Ben intentionally
decided not to call him afterwards, and for the next three days
hadn’t heard from him. While doing some early birthday shopping at
the mall with his mom, Ben spotted them both. Krista, as usual, had
Tim’s arm in a death grip, as if he would come to his senses at any
moment and try to escape.

Ben tried to steer his mom
into a shop before they neared, but she had her own mind about
where they were going and soon saw the couple. She started to say
hello to Tim when Ben hissed for her to keep quiet. She did, mostly
out of puzzlement. Tim gave a little nod as they passed by, his
girlfriend oblivious as she gawked at a nearby jewelry store. As
soon as Krista dragged Tim away to see it, Ben’s mother badgered
him with a series of questions.