Page 75 of Something Like Forever
“Kioshi is amazing,” Timsaid.
“He is!”Corey enthused. “I love him with all my heart. And for the record,it’s not just me who likes wandering. Kioshi may be soft-spoken,but he’s got a wild side. We’re a good match thatway.”
“Ben and I are too,” Timsaid. “We’re both lucky.”
“Yeah,”Corey said, eyes still filled with longing. Then he tore his gazeaway. “Did I ruin everything? I loved the past month! I want tocome see you in Austin, and for Kioshi to meet Ben. Please don’tlet this ruin our friendship. I promise to keep my dumb ideas tomyself.”
“Onemore hug,” Tim said with a laugh. “Just to prove things are allright. You didn’t ruin anything. I promise.”
After embracing, theyseparated and made polite conversation, mostly about the plans forthe gallery and the work that remained. The vibe between them was alittle awkward, but he had no doubt that given time, things wouldreturn to normal.
“I should probably headhome,” Corey said.
“Okay.Tell Kioshi to take care of you for me.”
Corey smirked. “Do youmean that the way I think you do?”
“Absolutely,” Tim said. “Now get out of here. I’mbusy.”
Corey took his timewalking to the door, turning around halfway. “At least one of myfantasies came true.”
“What’s that?”
Corey’s smile was wistful.“You’ve got me eating out of your hand.”
“Good night, Mr.Tanaka.”
“Shitsurei shimasu,Wyman-sama.”
Sweet guy. Just not hisown. Tim watched him go, thinking of the past and what could havebeen. Then he focused on the present because he still had one bigwall to fill. Ben should be here. Tim decided it was time tofinally make that happen.
ChapterEleven
Loneliness was a familiarcompanion to Ben, and to his surprise, he didn’t mind gettingreacquainted with it. Not at first. Yes, he missed Tim. Sayinggoodbye to him, even temporarily, had hurt. Past that, herecognized how long it had been since he had privacy. He used tohave more of it since Jace’s work often took him out of town fordays and days. After he died, Ben had more time alone than he everwanted, all those empty nights a gentle sort of hell. Now his lifewas happy again, filled with an unexpected second chance, oldfriends, and his own little family. So when Tim left for Japan, Bentreated it like a vacation of his own.
Food was a big part ofthat. Frozen pizzas, takeout Thai, and cartons of ice cream. Hewatched the kinds of shows Tim didn’t enjoy, ignored hisappearance, and let the house get messier than usual. Allisondropped by for a sleepover, complete with bad movies and alate-night gossip session. He did the same things a teenager didwhen their parents went out of town, short of throwing a party.During the second week he indulged in drinking, once the novelty ofprivacy had worn off.
He loved Tim. Cohabitatingmeant getting on each other’s nerves, but it made him happy morethan it ever irritated. Ben missed the comfort of Tim’s presence,how just having him there in bed, even sound asleep, made him feelsafer and more secure. And he missed the way he could be himselfmore than with any other person. Even Allison. With his friends,Ben felt he had to at least make the effort of being interesting.With Tim he never worried if a topic was entertaining or not. Theytold each other everything, no matter how pointless.
By the third week he hadstopped his occasional drinking, recognizing that it didn’t help.If anything, it brought the pain to the surface. Ben threw himselfinto his work instead and focused on his studies. That carried himto the fourth week, when he felt high from anticipation because Timwas coming home! Except he didn’t. Since getting the news that Timneeded to stay longer in Japan, things had turned sour. Ben allowedhimself to be unapologetically despondent, except when he workedwith patients at the hospital. For them he put on a brave face. Foreveryone else, he was a miserable fifteen-year-old all overagain.
That should have been theworst of it, but week six—one day in particular—really brought himdown. October twenty-seventh. His birthday. Those werealwaysgood. Benstruggled to remember one that hadn’t been the highlight of hisyear, or at least a serious contender. This birthday was cursed. Hewasn’t normally superstitious, but too many bad things had happenedto ignore, starting with the obvious. Tim was gone and had been forfar too long. No problem, because his best friend would be there tolift him up on his special day. Right? Not so. Brian’s father hadsuffered a mild stroke, and while he was doing okay, Brian’s motherhad fallen and fractured her hip earlier in the month. Allison andher family left for Utah to help take care of them both. Realproblems, Ben tried to remind himself, but emotionally, he wishedhis friend could be there to help him celebrate.
He had other friends, anda big family. They would reach out to remind him he was loved. Ifonly he hadn’t misplaced his backpack the day before and his phonealong with it. Ben had powered off the device before class, andbecause of that, he couldn’t use the GPS to find where it was. Hecould only keep visiting the university’s lost and found in thehope that someone had turned it in. Ben felt cut off from theworld. He supposed he could drive to Houston after his shift at thehospital, but a round trip of six hours didn’t sound likefun.
Nothing left but to accepthis fate with dignity. Life had given him a lot. It had also takenaway someone precious to him. This was better than that. Atemporary separation instead of a permanent one. So when hisbirthday came, Ben started his morning by putting on his favoritemusic and making himself french toast. Chinchilla joined him,getting her own plate, because he figured she was suffering just asmuch heartbreak. Next he opened a package Tim had sent from Japan,which was full of gifts. Exotic grocery items, miniature versionsof everyday objects, clever toys, and bizarre knickknacks. The boxwas packed with seemingly everything he had come across whilethere. Tim had written little notes for each item, his commentsfunny or just an explanation of why he had included it.Have you ever seen such a tiny tape dispenser?What would anyone use it for? Reattaching eyelashes,maybe?
Ben savored theexperience, sitting on the floor while unpacking and handing eachitem to Chinchilla to sniff. Once finished, he longed to call Timand thank him. With his phone still missing, he tried Skyping onhis laptop, but neither he nor Tim used it much and didn’t staysigned in. When that failed, he settled for writing an email. Thenit was time for work, where the staff surprised him with cake. Thatwas good. The day might not be ideal, but he had to admit it wasn’ta complete disaster. After working his shift, he hurried home tolet Chinchilla out to potty. He had just enough time for a quicksandwich before he left for class. Still no missing backpack at thelost and found, and the day’s lectures didn’t hold his attentionlike they usually did. Ben returned home feeling tired, his spiritsslowly sinking. That’s when he heard the front dooropen.
“It’sonly me!” declared a husky voice. “I’m not usually in the habit ofannouncing myself, but I’d hate for you to mistake this as adifferent sort of surprise.”
In other words, his guestdidn’t want to be mistaken for Tim coming home early. Ben hadentertained such fantasies, but with the exhibition openingtomorrow in Tokyo, he knew it wasn’t likely. Still, as he turnedaround from the kitchen counter to face the doorway, Ben didn’thave to fake a smile, because he genuinely liked thisperson.
“Oh, I’mso sorry!” Marcello said, stopping and pressing a hand to hischest. “I seem to be in the wrong house! I’m here to congratulatesomeone on his thirty-sixth birthday, but you don’t look a day overtwenty-one. I do apologize! Shall I see myselfout?”
“It just so happens to bemy birthday too,” Ben said, moving forward for a hug, “so you mightas well stick around.”
“I wouldbe honored,” Marcello said, squeezing him affectionately andstepping back. “Now then, what are you up to?”
