Something Like Summer (40 page)

Ben didn’t hear Brian’s
snappy comeback. His chest felt tight and his breath short as he
hurried to make himself presentable. Was he excited? Nervous? Did
he have a right to be either of these or was that the beginning of
infidelity?

Steadying himself, he
walked to the reception area, resisting the urge to run. Only one
person waited there, and he was indeed breathtakingly beautiful.
Silky blond hair framed his young face. His complexion was perfect,
his mouth delicate and pink next to the black lip piercing. His
blue eyes looked Ben over before settling into a scowl. The anger
only accentuated his handsomeness.

“
You’re Benjamin?” the boy
asked.

“
Ben,” he corrected,
having already put the pieces together. This wasn’t
good.

“
So much for the legend.”
The beauty faded momentarily, overshadowed by hate.

“
And you are?”

“
Ryan, Tim’s boyfriend.”
He waited for a reaction, disgusted when none came. “What, he never
told you about me?”

“
I haven’t spoken to Tim
in years.”

Emotions played across
Ryan’s face—doubt, suspicion, sorrow. How young was he? Still a
teenager, that was certain. Ben suddenly felt old. He thought back
to his emotionally tumultuous adolescent years. What would he have
wanted to hear if he were Ryan?

“
You’ve got nothing to
worry about,” he said. “I’m happily married. I’m not interested in
Tim anymore.”

Ryan’s handsome visage
returned to anger. “That doesn’t mean he’s not interested in you. I
know he’s been coming here, so you can stop with the
lies.”

Ben sighed. He wouldn’t be
able to defuse this situation. Better to retreat and let them sort
it out at home. “I have to go, but I hope you two work things out,”
he said, turning to leave but stopping when he saw Brian standing
in the doorway.

“
Another one for you,” he
said, looking concerned.

Tim stepped out from behind
him. The last few years hadn’t been kind. He had circles under his
eyes and stubble covered his chin. Even his once-invincible
physique had grown paunchy. He appeared vulnerable and uncertain,
until he spotted Ryan. Then his face became a mask of fury that Ben
hadn’t seen since they parted as teenagers.

Oblivious of their
surroundings, Tim and Ryan began shouting at each other. Ben stared
in shock before shooing Brian away, promising to lock up. By the
time he returned his attention to the conflict, Tim had grabbed
Ryan’s arms and was shaking him and yelling. Ryan was alternating
between crying and shouting back.

“
Let go of him!” Ben
growled, adrenaline taking over. “I said let go!” When neither man
paid any attention to him, he pulled on Tim’s shoulder. Tim rounded
on him, eyes blazing before his face crumpled.

“
That’s right, show him
how you treat me,” Ryan yelled, lifting the sleeves of his black
concert T-shirt. His arms were bright red where Tim had gripped
him, but there were also bruises. “Did he do this to you, too?”
Ryan demanded. “Is that why you left him?”

Ben turned to Tim, jaw
clenching, but his former boyfriend couldn’t meet his
gaze.

“
I’m going to kill
myself,” Ryan bawled, heading for the door. “I’m going to kill
myself and leave a note blaming it on you!”

The door slammed, the glass
shaking in its frame. The silence that followed was filled only
with Tim’s heavy breathing. Ben could smell alcohol on his breath,
much more than the theater would serve.

“
I guess I should go after
him,” Tim said.

“
I guess you
should.”

Tim turned when reaching
the door.

“
La Maisonette, tomorrow.
Seven o’clock?”

Ben hesitated.

“
Please?”

“
All right.”

Tim slunk into the night
wearing a burden of shame. Ben was tempted to lock the door after
him, but he didn’t. He still trusted Tim, still knew him. There had
to be a reason for everything he’d seen tonight, and he wouldn’t be
able to rest until he found out why.

* * * * *

Tim was already at the
restaurant, seated at a table and waiting. His appearance was
better than it had been the day before, face clean shaven and hair
freshly cut. He still didn’t look as though he’d slept recently.
Ben sat, not knowing what to expect and warily noting the
half-empty bottle of wine on the table.

“
I’m sorry about
yesterday,” Tim said, lifting the bottle. “Drink?”

Ben nodded. He didn’t plan
on drinking but he figured it was one less glass for
Tim.

“
Is your boyfriend
okay?”

“
Ryan? Yeah, he says stuff
like that all the time.”

“
And do you react like
that all the time?”

Tim’s expression was
miserable. “No! I never hit him. Nothing like that. We had a fight
last week, and I grabbed him just like last night. I don’t know my
own strength sometimes, and he really knows how to push my buttons.
Those were the only two times, but I’m afraid of what might happen
if things don’t change.”

Ben didn’t know what to
say. He didn’t know Ryan or his history with Tim, and part of him
was unwilling to ask. If Ryan caught them here things would only
get worse. Jace wasn’t thrilled with Ben being here either, but at
least Ben hadn’t kept it a secret. What could he do, walk away? Let
his last memory of Tim be of the broken man before him?

“
All right,” Ben said.
“Tell me everything.”

Tim had met Ryan at a bar a
year ago and they had everything in common. Both came from
well-to-do families with distant parents. Ryan’s had turned their
backs on him when he came out, eventually cutting him off from his
college tuition. Tim had supported him, but eventually learned that
Ryan never attended the expensive classes he was paying for. Ryan
had little interest in anything other than partying, and Tim had
indulged him, joining in and feeling like a teenager
again.

“
For a while things were
good,” Tim said. “Well, maybe not good, but entertaining. Then the
lies started. First my wallet was stolen. I didn’t care about the
cash, but the credit cards were a hassle. Part of me suspected, so
I didn’t cancel them right away. Sure enough, they were used at
Ryan’s favorite clothing store. The brat even showed up in a new
outfit the next day. It’s not like he has a job or any other source
of income besides me, so it couldn’t have been more
obvious.

“
Then a friend of his
turned out to be much more. I put an end to that, but it wasn’t
pretty. I suppose it was karma for what I put you and Jace through.
Every time I try to rein him in makes him act out that much more,
usually by partying. Last week Ryan ended up in the ER to have his
stomach pumped. All he cares about anymore is drinking and
drugs.”

“
Looks like you’ve been
indulging a bit yourself,” Ben said.

Tim moved his hand away
from his glass and nodded. “Ryan is your opposite. You always
brought out the good in me, changed me for the better. With Ryan, I
just don’t know. I used to see myself in him. His parents are just
as cold as mine, and I saw the pain hidden behind that pretty face
of his, but he has a mean streak. Ryan turns his hurt back on the
world, and I don’t know what I can do to make him better. Sometimes
I think he’s who I would have become if I had never met
you.”

Ben listened, mentally
searching for an answer to Tim’s problems. Tim had tried to do
right by Ryan, but the anger Ben had seen last night still
concerned him. If something didn’t change, Tim might do something
he would regret. In any case, Ben didn’t like to see him suffer
like this.

They soon asked for the
check. Neither had touched the appetizer, and Tim had already
finished the wine. Ben insisted on driving Tim home, imagining for
the briefest of moments that the man next to him was a teenager
with an injured ankle.

“
This isn’t how I meant
for it to be,” Tim grimaced. “How I wanted us to meet again, I
mean. I had this dream about you being on stage. Isn’t that crazy?
I had no idea you did theater, but I dreamt it anyway.”

Ben glanced over at him.
“And that’s how you found me?”

“
Well, that and some
Google-powered stalking.”

Tim still lived in the same
architectural mess as before, but the driveway was overflowing with
cars. None of then were sporty enough to belong to Tim. Heavy bass
pounded from the house, accompanied by a babble of voices. A
forlorn howl occasionally cried out above the din.

“
I told him not to leave
her out back,” Tim complained as they got out of the car. “She
hates being alone at night.”

“
Chinchilla?”

“
Yeah.” Tim smiled. “Come
on. She’ll be glad to see you.”

Ben didn’t expect
Chinchilla to remember him, but her whole butt wagged at turbo
speed when she saw him. The puppy Ben had once known was gone,
replaced by a stout dog who was all smiles as Tim kissed and pet
her. Her leash was tangled around a tree, Tim casting angry glances
toward the house as he unclipped the line from her
collar.

“
This happens almost
nightly,” he muttered.

“
I don’t mean to state the
obvious,” Ben said, “but why don’t you just break up with him? I
know, I know, you said the sex is really great, but things are only
going to get worse.”

“
You’re right, but I don’t
know how. You heard him last night. He always threatens to kill
himself. The night he overdosed was because I suggested taking a
break.”

Ben thought about this
while squatting next to Chinchilla and rubbing her belly. “Here’s
what we’ll do. You send Ryan on a trip, a long one, somewhere in
Europe. Tell him it’s your way of apologizing. While he’s gone you
sell the house and move somewhere new. When he comes back you never
contact him and he won’t be able to find you.”

“
Think so?”

“
Yeah. You guys will get
some distance between you and things will cool off. Not only that,
but wherever you send him, make sure it’s a gay resort.” Ben
chuckled. “Or hire an escort to pick him up from the airport. He’s
young and hot. I’m sure someone will snatch him up soon. Then he’ll
be somebody else’s problem instead of yours.”

Tim laughed. “You know,
that’s just crazy enough that it might work.”

Ben laughed too, but he
knew that this wasn’t the solution. Tim had put up with Ryan for so
long because of more than just his suicidal threats. There was
emotion there, no matter how unhealthy it was.

Glass shattered inside the
house. Judging from the way the music grew louder, most likely a
window had been broken. There was a brief chorus of laughter before
the party continued raging.

“
All right,” Ben sighed as
he stood. “Time for me to make everything better. Come
on.”

If Ben had felt old when
meeting Ryan, he felt positively ancient as he navigated a sea of
intoxicated teenagers. With Tim in tow, he felt like they were a
pair of angry parents who had come home early from their vacation.
A few recognized Tim, but their expressions were amused rather than
ashamed, even those who were still laughing over the broken window
and the potted plant that had been thrown through it. They had no
respect for Tim, and that made Ben all the more
incensed.

Once he had battled his way
to the living room, stepping over a pile of puke on the way, Ben
ripped the heart of the party out by unplugging the stereo. A
number of loud complaints followed, but one was louder than the
others.

“
What the hell is he doing
here?”

The crowd parted for Ryan,
whose skin was pale and sweaty. From the way his pupils were
dilated, it was safe to assume he was on something.

“
I’m here with my
boyfriend,” Ben said, reaching over to take Tim’s hand.

Ryan barred his teeth like
an animal. Ben had never seen anyone actually do that, but Ryan’s
fury was so intense he was shaking. He shouted something
unintelligible that might have been “I’ll kill you!” before
charging toward them. Tim tensed up, ready to defend Ben, which
would only escalate into violence. Ben didn’t want that, so he
placed a hand on Tim’s face and turned it toward him.

And then Ben kissed
him.

His newly discovered
acting skills weren’t
needed for this
. As
it had always been, the emotions he felt for Tim weren’t far below
the surface. From the way Tim reacted, he felt the same way. The
room went silent as every person there witnessed a kiss worthy of
the big screen. The silence was broken when Ryan began
sobbing.

Ben pulled away from Tim
and saw the pain on Ryan’s face. The kiss had convinced Ryan that
Ben and Tim were in love, and the kid was too young and stupid to
realize that Tim also loved him, that emotions like these never
went away completely. Ben felt sorry for him, but he didn’t dare
show that now.

“
I’m moving in,” Ben said.
“Tim asked me to. You are leaving and never coming back. All of
you,” he said loud enough to be heard.