Page 93 of Something Like Winter
“Hello?”
“Hey! Were you sleeping?”
Ben suddenly sounded much more alert. “No! I mean, yeah.”
“It’s only 11 p.m.,” Tim chided. “What sort of college boy are you?”
There was a heavy pause on the line. “Where were you?”
“Oh. I had a study group,” he lied, “and we went out for—”
“No. I mean,where were you?”
“What? You mean the last five years?” And there he goes, ladies and gentlemen! Benjamin Bentley, right out of the gate! “All right, uh, high school. Fuck. Senior year I went to Conroe High School instead.”
“Just to get away from me?”
“To get away from myself.” Tim paced in front of the duplex. All remained dark. Was this the wrong address? “Man, you aren’t going to make this easy, are you?”
“No.”
“Maybe doing this over the phone was a bad idea.” There! A light on the side of the house. Checking the street to make sure no one was watching, Tim walked toward it. “Can’t we meet up? Talk face to face?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
He reached the window and peeped in. Jackpot! Not only was Ben in bed, phone pressed between shoulder and ear as he flipped through some photos, but he was stark naked. Well, nearly. He had underwear on, but Tim could see enough to get his libido raging. Many a moon had passed since Tim had gotten laid, and the rush of hormones sent his courage meter hurtling up to the max.
“Why? Are you indecent?” The window was open, only a screen separating them. “Lying in your bed with nothing but your boxers on?”
Ben tensed and turned around.
“You’re still so damn scrawny!” Tim closed his phone. “But it suits you.”
Ben’s expression was pure disbelief. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Tim pressed his face against the screen. “Let me in before somebody calls the cops.”
“I should call them myself! How did you find me?”
“Looked up Allison in the phone book.” Another lie, but it sounded slightly less stalkerish. “C’mon, let me in.”
Ben flashed a hint of a smile before getting out of bed. Tim hurried around to the front door, like a dog desperate to get out of the rain. Except it was hot, humid, and sweaty out, which made him even hornier. When Ben opened the door, he was wearing a T-shirt. Unfortunately. Tim stepped close to him, but Ben placed a hand on his chest to hold him at bay and shook his head.
“You know what? This isn’t a good idea. Wait outside. I’ll get dressed and we can go for a walk.”
Tim shrugged and stepped back. The door closed. He took a deep breath, trying to summon his brain’s higher functions again. Ben wouldn’t let him off the hook unless he explained… well, everything. He strolled back to his car, wishing it was the old 3000GT, if only for the nostalgia factor. Still, a brand new Mazda Miata was easy on the eyes, and who didn’t love riding in a convertible? Tim leaned against the car, imaging Ben’s impressed response. Except when Ben came outside, he walked right past Tim and down the street.
“Same old Benjamin,” Tim said, hurrying to catch up. “Always knowing what you want and getting it.”
“Yeah, well, not everything’s the same.” Ben glanced over at him. “So how did Conroe High treat you?”
“Same shit, different school. Well, not completely the same. There was no you.”
The obvious flirtation was ignored. “What about girls?”
Tim fought down a grin. Ben was in for a big surprise if he thought girls were still in the picture. “Tried to avoid them. Just had a prom date senior year.”
“Krista Norman again?” Ben’s voice dripped with venom when he said her name. Eric would probably claim it proved underlying passion. Jealousy equals passion equals love—or something like that.
