Something Like Winter (15 page)

“
Is that a
challenge?”

“
No.”

Stacy Shelly eyed him like
a viper. “Well, whoever she is, you better keep her a
secret.”

Tim didn’t ask her to
expound on that threat. “Are you done?”

“
Almost. She wants you to
come sit with us.”

Tim stared.
“Krista?”

“
Yes, Tim. She’s in love
with you. That means she’s already forgiven you or thinks she can
win you back. Or maybe she’s just dumb. Regardless, you don’t need
to sit here like a scrub.”

But Tim did just that for
the rest of lunch period. The next day he tried a tentative smile
in class that Krista returned, which made him comfortable enough to
sit with her at lunch. She didn’t try anything, didn’t put her hand
on his arm like she always used to or press him for answers. Stacy
still scrutinized his every move, but with Krista, Tim felt things
were going to be okay.

* * * * *

“
Are you sure you want to
go through with this?” Tim asked, stopping before the office door
to his studio and turning around.

“
What?” Ben asked, his eyes
big with concern.

“
Me painting you
nude.”

Ben pushed him playfully.
Tim laughed, unlocking the door. This wasn’t the first time Ben had
been here. That had been Christmas, a holiday Tim usually despised,
but Ben had made it just as magical as those cheesy television
specials. Even more so. Then Tim had brought Ben to his studio,
opening one more door to his soul. In the months that followed,
they would often hide away here on the weekends when the office was
empty. Or on a Friday night, like this one, after everyone had
left. All his father’s employees were either out wining and dining
dates or at home comforting themselves with tubs of ice cream, for
today was the most dreaded holiday of them all.

Tim always found the
pressure behind Valentine’s Day irritating. Everyone had to hook up
with someone before the holiday or feel left out. Or jump through
hoops for anyone they already had. Krista had found someone new
just the day before, conveniently enough. The new guy was handsome,
plucked from the semi-popular crowd where Darryl usually got his
eager-to-please girls. Krista invited her new beau to sit at their
lunch table, which was awkward because she kept watching Tim for a
reaction.

So school had been
miserable, but the evening held potential. Tim walked around the
studio, clicking on the lamps Ben had helped him shop for to
replace the cold florescent light. The lamps cast shadows and
created warmth, setting the right mood for him to paint. And
tonight they would help set the scene. Tim didn’t want flowers or
chocolates for Valentine’s Day. He wanted to paint.

“
The clothing stays on,”
Ben said, sitting on a stool.

“
For the painting at
least,” Tim murmured, taking his place behind the easel.

Truth be told, it wouldn’t
matter either way. Ben’s face was his solitary focus. Tim had tried
from memory a couple of times already, but his mental images were
too fluid and shifting. Besides, he’d never had a live model
before. Tim didn’t paint in front of anyone, didn’t even take art
classes. Everything he knew was learned through trial and error or
gleaned from the books he kept in his studio.

“
So what do I do?” Ben
asked, shifting uncomfortably.

“
Just relax.” Tim squeezed
paints on to the palette, eager to begin.

“
Can I still talk to
you?”

“
Sure, but that doesn’t
mean I’ll listen.”

“
Ha, ha,” Ben deadpanned,
but then he smiled when he saw Tim make the first couple of
strokes. “You’re going to let me see, right?”

“
Maybe.” Tim worked in
silence a few minutes. Then his subject spoke again.

“
Ronnie is taking Allison
to Café Annie.”

“
Never heard of
it.”

“
It’s supposed to be one of
the best restaurants in Houston. It’s really expensive.”

“
Hm. Well, I’m lucky I have
such a cheap date.” Ben was quiet, so Tim stopped painting and
looked at him. “I thought you wanted to do this?”

“
I do!” Ben said. “I really
like the idea.”

Tim resumed painting,
knowing the topic wasn’t over. The silence grew thick over the next
ten minutes, but he kept his focus on the canvas until Ben spoke
again.

“
It would be nice to go out
with you sometime.”

“
We do,” Tim countered, but
he knew what Ben meant. Usually they would go for long drives or
nighttime walks. Tim never wanted to hit the mall with him, go out
to eat, or even catch a movie, since there was always the
possibility of them being seen. The most they had ever done was go
to AstroWorld, Houston’s theme park, in the cover of night. That
had earned him some major points, but lately Ben had been pushing
hard for—

“
What about dinner with
your parents?”

Exactly. Tim chose his
answer carefully. “I don’t get why you want to meet them. I know
what you said,” he added quickly. “If they ever catch you sneaking
in, they’ll at least recognize you—”

“
And they’re a part of your
life,” Ben said.

“
Right.” Tim didn’t hide
his sarcasm. “That aside, why can’t you just pop in and say ‘hi’ to
them before we go somewhere? Why does there have to be an awkward
dinner?”

“
Because I want them to get
to know me,” Ben said.

Tim considered this.
“You’re going to tell them?”

“
That I’m gay? Of course!
Before I came out to my parents, they had no idea what gay people
were like, aside from what they had seen in comedies and gay pride
parades.”

“
The fools,” Tim said,
hiding his smile. Not long ago he hadn’t been so
different.

“
One of the biggest shocks
for them was how someone normal, like their son, could be gay. I
think they kept waiting for me to sprout a feather boa and strut
around the house in leather chaps.”

“
You mean you
don’t?”

“
Seriously. I think it
would be good for your parents to meet someone like me.”

Tim shook his head while he
worked. Every time he looked up from the canvas, he saw his
boyfriend looking expectant. “Your parents are cool, Ben. The gay
issue aside, they’re way more laid back about everything. And more
supportive.”

Ben squirmed a little. “I
know I’m lucky.”

“
Good, but not everyone’s
parents are like yours. I know you think I should come out and that
all the pieces will fall into place like they did for you, but
that’s not how it’ll work for me. Not everyone who comes out gets a
happy ending.”

“
You won’t know until you
try.”

Tim snorted. “I can make an
educated guess.”

Ben didn’t give up.
He
never
gave up.
“I don’t see the harm in me being the test subject. Let them meet
me—for dinner, not just a few seconds—and we’ll see what they
think. Anyway, you promised.”

“
Did I?”

“
Yes!”

“
It must have been a moment
of weakness.”

Ben scowled in
response.

“
Fine. Dinner with my
parents. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

The next fifteen minutes
were spent in blissful silence, but Ben’s mind was always working.
“You mentioned coming out to your parents.”

Tim laughed, knowing
exactly what Ben was getting at. “Don’t read into it.”

This was another of Ben’s
crusades. Titles made Tim uncomfortable, and Ben was always pushing
for him to choose something. Maybe he was bisexual, maybe he
wasn’t. What Ben had said about sexuality being emotional had stuck
with him, and yeah, what they had together involved feelings. But
maybe he was also capable of loving the right kind of
girl.

Regardless, Tim knew if he
started getting all emotional, Ben would treat it as evidence. It’s
not like there was any rush. They had all the time in the world
together.

“
Hey.”

Tim looked up from his
canvas. “Yeah?”

Ben licked his lips, his
chest rising and falling a few times. “I love you.”

The breath caught in Tim’s
throat. His mouth opened, ready to reply, then snapped shut
again.

That bastard! Tim had never
doubted that Ben loved him, but the timing was no coincidence.
Maybe Ben wouldn’t play that card now, but it wouldn’t be long
before he used it to define Tim’s sexuality. Still, hearing him
finally say it felt amazing.

“
Come here,” Tim said
softly.

“
Won’t that ruin
the—”

“
Just come
here.”

Ben got off the stool and
walked toward him, standing next to the canvas. His eyes searched
Tim’s, waiting to discover what his response would be. Tim dipped
the paintbrush into the yellow paint without breaking eye
contact.

“
Hold still,” he said.
“Please.” Then he brought the paintbrush up to the center of Ben’s
forehead and pulled down, making one fat stroke of yellow between
his eyes, over his nose, and down to his chin.

“
What was that for?” Ben
spluttered.

“
To make you prettier,” Tim
said before laughing.

“
You’re such an asshole!”
Ben swung at him, Tim dodging easily and laughing some more. Ben
chased him around the canvas a few times, swearing in frustration.
On one of his rounds, he noticed what Tim had painted and
stopped.

Despite all the
distractions, Tim was proud of what he had managed. The painting
was just Ben’s nose and lips. So far he had put most of the detail
into the lips, working out his obsession with kissing Ben. The
painting needed more work, but it had serious potential.

“
Those are my lips!” Ben
exclaimed. “I mean, they look exactly like mine!”

“
Don’t sound so
surprised.”

“
I don’t mean it like
that.” Ben stared a little longer. “I like it, but why?”

He looked at Tim, who let
his eyes dart down to the real thing. His own lips moved a little
in response.

“
Oh, I see,” Ben said
knowingly. “You like what these lips can do.”

“
Yeah.” Tim gave a sly
grin. “I guess so.”

“
You
know
so.” Ben grabbed a tube of blue
paint, squeezed a glob on his fingers, and smeared it over his
lips. Then he moved menacingly toward Tim. “Well? Come kiss me,
baby!”

“
No thanks.” Tim backed up
until he felt the wall behind him, staring horrified at the blue
fish puckers coming toward him.

“
If you love me, you’ll
kiss me,” Ben said.

Well, it beat having to say
it. Tim closed his eyes and braced himself for the sloppiest kiss
of his life.

* * * * *

“
Are you sure your parents
aren’t home?” Ben whispered as Tim unlocked the front
door.

“
Positive. They’re never
home on Valentine’s Day. Usually they shack up in a bed and
breakfast somewhere.” Tim did a double take. “Wait, I thought you
wanted to meet them?”

“
Not like this!” Ben
gestured to his face where the yellow and blue paint had smeared
together, making it look like green slime had leaked from his nose
before drying.

“
You’ve never looked
better,” Tim said. “Ouch,” he added when Ben slugged
him.

Tim must have looked just
as bad. He could feel paint crusted on his mouth where Ben had
kissed him. Hopefully it was non-toxic. He imagined the newspaper
story, complete with a color photo of their bodies lying next to
each other, their mouths stained with the same green hue.
Paint Fetish Kills Gay Couple!

Tim grabbed a beer for
himself and a Coke for Ben, but the war paint had weirded him out.
“Come on, Benjamin. It’s time for your bath.”

As romantic as a candlelit
bath sounded, the tub was barely big enough for them both, and Tim
would have a hard time doing half the things he wanted to. So he
turned on the shower and let the water get hot while he undressed
his boyfriend. Ben was wearing a tangerine dress shirt Tim had
never seen before, probably bought for this occasion. He slowly
undid each of the buttons, adoring how Ben had trouble meeting his
gaze at times like these. Crazy, considering everything they had
done together. As wildly brave as Ben could be, he still had a
bashful side, and it came out every time Tim touched
him.

Tim wasn’t so ceremonial
with his own clothes. As soon as Ben was nude, he tore off his
clothing so they could get in the shower. Ben was under the water
first, holding his head up to the stream, green water swirling
around his feet. Then he switched places with Tim. When they were
both warm and wet, Tim grabbed the shampoo and squirted some into
his hands.

“
Come here.”

“
Oh, no!” Ben replied. “I’m
not falling for that again.”