Something Like Summer (26 page)

“
It’s a deal,” Jace
agreed. “Look, I’m kissing you tonight, but I refuse to do it here.
Just follow me in your car for a minute and I promise I’ll let you
go home afterwards.”

“
Okay.”

Jace led him out of the
parking garage and two blocks down the road before pulling over at
a park. It wasn’t the sort with trees and charming pathways; rather
it was flat and cleared for different sporting events.

“
Are you sure about this?”
Ben asked as he exited the car.

“
No,” Jace responded
looking around. “I’m improvising. Over there.”

Jace took him by the hand
and led him across the grass to a baseball diamond. Ben thought
they were heading for the bleachers, but Jace led him instead to
one of the bases.

“
First base?” Ben asked.
“You’ve got to be kidding.”

“
I assure you,” Jace said
dramatically, pulling Ben close, “I’m quite serious.”

Jace kissed him, his warm
body chasing away the winter chill as it pressed up against him.
His lips were soft but commanding, and Ben’s body responded
instantly, catching fire and wanting more.

“
Second base is just over
there,” Ben suggested.

“
Not on the first date,”
Jace said with a smile, gently detaching himself and walking Ben
back to his car. Ben watched him in the rearview mirror as he
pulled away, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to wait three days to
see him again.

* * * * *

Jace’s answering machine
dutifully took Ben’s call the next afternoon. Afterwards Ben
loitered around his parents’ house, waiting for the phone to ring.
Why had he played so hard to get? He was only in town a few weeks.
He didn’t have time to be coy with Jace.

In the evening Ben left to
have dinner with Allison, leaving her number with his parents and
asking them to give it to Jace if he called. Ben found his best
friend in surprisingly high spirits. He suspected she still had a
great amount of sorrow beneath the surface, but was proud of her
for putting on a brave face. He filled her in on the date’s details
while enjoying Allison’s homemade lasagna.

The phone rang shortly
after eleven. Allison answered it, smiled broadly, and handed the
receiver to Ben.

“
Hope I didn’t call too
late,” Jace said, sounding tired.

“
Not at all,” Ben replied,
worrying that the other man’s enthusiasm for him had
waned.

“
I’m afraid I have to
cancel our date,” Jace continued. “I was called in to work
today.”

“
I thought you were on
vacation?”

“
I was supposed to be.
There have been a number of ‘mysterious’ holiday-inspired
illnesses, and I have to pick up the slack. I’m calling from Boston
right now.”

“
That sucks. When are you
going to be home again?”

“
Friday afternoon. Do you
have any plans for New Year’s?”

“
Uh, I don’t know.” Ben
looked at Allison. He didn’t want to leave her alone on a holiday
considering the situation. Then again, would she really feel like
partying so soon? “New Year’s?” he repeated, asking both Jace and
Allison at the same time.

Allison rolled her eyes,
smiled, and waved her consent. Ben knew her well enough to tell
that she honestly didn’t mind. He confirmed plans with Jace, and
talked to him a while longer before hanging up. He had thought
waiting an extra few days was going to be hard. Now it would be
even longer.

As it turned out, the time
went quickly. He still had a lot of catching up to do with his
family and much to take care of with Allison. They retrieved her
father’s ashes together and drove down to Corpus Christi, the city
where Mr. Cross was raised and had met Allison’s mother. They
scattered his ashes out into the Gulf and cried together--Allison
because she wasn’t ready to say goodbye to her father, Ben because
it hurt him to see his friend in so much pain.

“
He was a bastard,”
Allison said, shocking Ben. “You know I found a box of love letters
the other day? A whole shoebox full hidden in his closet. Some of
them were from my mother, but most were from him.”

Ben couldn’t imagine Mr.
Cross doing something as emotional as writing sappy prose, and the
surprise must have shown on his face because Allison responded to
it.

“
I didn’t know either,”
she said. “He must have loved her so much that it broke his heart
when she died, but it pisses me off. Mom might have been gone, but
I wasn’t, and I could have used that love. Instead he bottled his
feelings up inside, but the worst part is that now I understand
why. Losing him makes me hurt so bad that I want to do the
same.”

Allison began crying again,
and Ben put an arm around her.

“
You won’t though,” he
said. “You’re better than that. What did you always tell me when I
broke up with Tim and was so miserable?”

“
Lean into it.” Allison
managed a laugh.

“
That’s right. Lean into
those feelings and let them wash through you. As wretched as they
might make us feel, they’re a part of us, and we shouldn’t ignore
them. It only hurts worse if we do.”

“
I’m so glad you’re here,”
Allison said, laying her head on his shoulder.

“
Me too.”

Silently, they watched the
sea gulls dive and soar on the horizon. The skies were winter gray
but the weather was warm enough to be comfortable. Ben couldn’t
ignore how much more he felt at home here than in
Chicago.

“
Don’t go back,” Allison
said, sitting upright and hanging her legs over the dock’s
edge.

“
What?” Ben asked, taken
aback.

“
I’m tired of you being so
far away.” Her best doe eyes were focused on him. “I need you
close. Especially now.”

“
That’s not fair,” Ben
countered, but his heart wasn’t in the argument. As soon as he had
stepped out of the airport into mild weather he had once considered
cold, he knew he was home again. Chicago felt like a distant dream,
but still a part of him was reluctant to return to the world he had
grown up in.

“
Austin is much more
liberal,” Allison said. “It’s nothing but weirdoes. Being gay is
about as risqué as white bread there.”

Austin could be okay. Sure
it was Texas, but also an unexplored city. Home, yet somewhere new.
The idea sounded good, but he intended to show some resistance.
That way he would score twice as many brownie points. “Why don’t
you go to school in Chicago?”

“
And switch schools
mid-semester? Only an idiot would do that!”

“
Thanks!”

“
Well, an idiot or a very
committed best friend.” Allison blinked seductively.

“
I’ll think about it,” he
promised, even though his mind was already made up. The idea of not
having to muck through the snow, of not having to worrying about
Mason breaking in again was too tempting. As much as Ben enjoyed
the idea of living far away from everything he knew, he had tired
of homesickness. Not to mention that he’d never had a friend like
Allison before or since.

“
All right. Done thinking
about it,” he said. “We’ll have to get our own place. I’m not
moving into your dorm!”

The first authentic grin on
Allison’s face since her father’s death was worth the hassle of
switching schools. The big hug she gave Ben only sweetened the
deal.

__________

Chapter 18

The better part of New
Year’s Eve was spent in front of the mirror, where Ben tried on
every possible combination of clothing, even dipping into the
closet for items he hadn’t worn in years. Jace had invited him to a
party, but Ben didn’t know if this was a casual shindig or formal
affair. Considering it was New Year’s Eve, everyone there might be
decked out in tuxedos. Ben tried to find an outfit suitable for all
possible scenarios, but in the end he could only hope his navy blue
dress shirt and jeans were passable. Next came an endless battle
with his hair, which needed to be cut, followed by cologne that had
to be washed off in favor of another scent. Once he felt
presentable, Ben drove into downtown Houston and scouted for the
address that Jace had given him.

An attractive and
transparently drunk woman answered the door, waving him in without
even looking at him properly. The party was in full swing, loud
music pumping and people swaying to the beat, although instead of
dancing, most of them were merely trying to keep their balance.
T-shirts mingled with tuxes, assuring Ben that he wasn’t the only
one uncertain of the dress code. Ben made his way through the
apartment twice, excusing himself more than once for squeezing
between conversations and stepping on toes, before he spotted Jace.
He was seated on a couch and had his arm around a woman who looked
quite a bit like the person who had answered the door. In fact,
almost everyone here was of an indeterminate age and thin, with a
certain vibe that suggested they were all flight attendants. For a
moment Ben felt like he had stepped into some secret underground
culture known only to those inside the airline industry.

Jace jumped to his feet
when he saw Ben and wasted no time in kissing him deeply, causing a
couple of bystanders to “woooo!” in appreciation.

“
Well, hello to you, too!”
Ben said with a flush.

“
I’m glad you made it!”
Jace grinned. “Did you have trouble finding the place?”

“
A little bit,
but--”

“
Who’s this, then?” a
woman exclaimed, taking a hold of Jace’s arm and ogling
Ben.

Jace made the
introductions, the first in a seemingly infinite series. Each time
was the same--a courteous amount of interest was given to Ben, then
Jace and his friends would talk about people and places Ben had no
knowledge of. Jace’s popularity signaled good things about his
personality, but Ben’s frustration was rising. He wanted to be
alone with Jace and get to know him better, not listen to
meaningless gossip. The frequent mention of someone named Sam, who
was purportedly very cute, didn’t help either. Was this an
ex-boyfriend?

“
All right, see you
later,” Jace said cordially to the latest visitor, his smile
dropping once they were out of sight. “We have to get out of here,”
he muttered from the corner of his mouth. “Let’s make a run for
it.”

Ben didn’t need encouraging
and made a beeline for the door. Jace was further behind, choosing
a less direct path to avoid other potentially social
situations.

“
Sorry about that,” Jace
said as they spilled out onto the street. “A party full of nosey
coworkers wasn’t the best date idea. Where to now? A bar? Or
something to eat?”

“
Somewhere
private.”

Jace forced back a smile.
“There’s only one place that I know of. Are you sure?”

“
Don’t read into it too
much,” Ben said demurely. “I just need some quiet.”

Jace walked him to his car
and Ben waited inside while Jace fetched his own. From there they
drove to an increasingly unpleasant area of town. The neighborhood
beyond the freshly locked car doors was run-down and poorly lit.
Several rough-looking people drank and loitered on the sidewalks,
some of them setting off fireworks. Ben hoped that this was some
bizarre shortcut, but they parked only a few blocks
later.

Jace gave him a funny look
when Ben stepped out of the car. “You all right?”

“
Yeah,” Ben said, slipping
on a poker face.

“
Hm. Where did you say you
were from again?”

“
The Woodlands.
Why?”

Jace nodded as if that
explained everything. “It might not be the prettiest neighborhood,
but I’ve never had any trouble here.”

“
It’s fine,” Ben insisted.
“You should see my place in Chicago.”

A passage through one of
the buildings led to a courtyard. Jace unlocked a door to a
stairwell and an old-fashioned caged elevator, the sort that Ben
had only seen in movies. It rattled loudly as they rode it to the
top floor.

“
Home sweet home!” Jace
unlocked the only door in the tiny corridor. He flipped on a light
switch and stepped aside so Ben could enter first.

Lights flickered into life,
illuminating a sprawling studio apartment. The floors were
hardwood, the walls raw brick. The décor was a mismatch of old
furniture and antiques. Vintage advertisements hung on the wall,
stewardesses from days gone by beaming above slogans or art deco
airplanes. Ben noticed a pinball machine in one corner and a ladder
leading up to a loft bed before a grey streak of fur sped across
the room.

“
Samson!” Jace declared
happily as he reached down to pick the cat up. “We have a
visitor.”

The cat rubbed its face
against Jace’s chin before turning its head to regard Ben with
large green eyes.

So this was Sam! That so
many people knew of Jace’s cat meant he was one of those crazy cat
people who talked about their pets like they were children, but
that was preferable to Sam being a hot ex-boyfriend. Ben reached
out to pet Samson, but the cat’s head dodged and came back around
to smell his hand.