Page 127 of Something Like Winter
nostril?
“Everyone fucks to get something,” Ryan said, following Tim into
the kitchen. “Sometimes it’s love and sometimes it’s money.” “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t I?”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Tim shouted. “If all you’re
here for is money, you can leave right now!”
Ryan strutted close to him. “Some people fuck just to get fucked.” When Ryan kissed him, Tim tried to remain cold, but he couldn’t. He
kissed back, enjoying himself when suddenly he felt pain. His bottom lip
had been bitten hard enough to draw blood. Ryan pulled back, eyes
brimming with satisfaction. Was this part of the game now? Tim was so
disgusted that he felt like smacking him, but Ryan had taught him a
better way to deal with pent-up aggression. In case he’d forgotten, Ryan was already undoing Tim’s pants before working on his own. Needing to be purged of his anger and wanting those angel eyes to come back, Tim spun Ryan around, bent him over the kitchen counter, and took out his frustration. Ryan grinned the entire time.
* * * * *
The honeymoon was over. Marcello’s words were prophetic. Tim
didn’t know what he had done, if anything, to cause the change, but
Ryan’s dark side had slipped out of the bedroom and into the light of
day. Usually this materialized as sadistic humor, Ryan taking
unprompted cheap shots.
Ryan spent much of his time with his new friends. Even when he
was home, his ear was glued to the phone while he chatted with Stephen
or one of his circle. Ryan also possessed an eerie sense of knowing when
he had pushed Tim to the very edge. More than once Tim had been ready
to kick him out. Then, out of the blue, his sugar-sweet boy would return. With the fall semester drawing near, Tim kept encouraging Ryan to
re-enroll. Of course money was an issue, so he pulled a few strings with
Marcello, as Eric had probably once done for him. He got Ryan model
work that would earn him enough in just a few weekends to pay for his
sophomore year. Ryan seemed thrilled at first, especially since he would
be working with some of his new friends, but he came home after only a
few hours on the first day.
“That wasn’t fun at all,” Ryan complained.
