Page 69 of Something Like Summer
Chapter 20
Time became a blur thatswept Ben along, often leaving him breathless and disorientated.Not all of his academic credits had transferred seamlessly, meaninghe had extra work to catch up on. His classes were much moredemanding than those of his old school. Often he would spend hisevery waking hour trying to balance all his projects and studies,barely finishing one before more work was added to the pile. ThenJace would manifest like the eye of a storm, pulling Ben free fromhis frenzy and forcing him to slow down and relax, if only for onenight. Ben began to appreciate rather than resent the demandingschedule of Jace’s job, since he had so little time of his own togive.
Finals battered Ben like avicious storm, testing his determination and will. Just when hethought he couldn’t take anymore, the clouds pulled away to revealthe empty bliss of summer. Ben flew home, intending only to stay aweek, but ended up staying the entire summer break. After the firstfew days, he moved his luggage from his parent’s house to Jace’sloft apartment.
Ben took a job as a waiterat a vegetarian restaurant downtown. He didn’t enjoy the work, butit helped keep him occupied on the frequent nights that Jace wasaway. He also felt proud being able to take his boyfriend outinstead of expecting Jace to pay for everything.
With Jace so often absent,Samson warmed to Ben. At first he was only willing to occupy thesame mattress to guard Jace’s side of the bed. Eventually he movedover to cuddle against Ben’s leg. By the end of the summer, Benwould often wake up with the cat sprawled on top of him, somethingJace insisted he had never seen the cat do with anyone buthim.
The days when Jace was intown were bliss, and he often offered using his airline connectionsto take them on a short trip somewhere. Ben declined, preferring tohave as much privacy together as possible. His appetite for Jacewas insatiable. Sometimes they would venture out and exploreHouston, searching for nooks of the city that neither of them hadyet seen. Mostly they would stay home, taking turns cooking,lounging around and talking with light music on in thebackground.
Jace met the family andperformed stunningly, charming Ben’s mother and managing to talkshop with his father. Karen insisted on being present, which hadBen nervous, but her typically rude comments were parried by Jace’ssubtle wit, leaving her puzzled and everyone else laughing. Lifecouldn’t have been better.
When summer break ended andBen had to return to Austin, his heart ached as he packed hispossessions scattered around Jace’s apartment. He wanted tocontinue living there, so much so that he seriously consideredtransferring to the University of Houston. Jace dismissed the idea,reminding him of the complications that came with transferringcredits, and that the connections Ben had made in his currentschool would be crucial in the final year.
These points made sense,but Ben couldn’t help wondering if Jace was slowly tiring of him.Ben supposed that his constant presence might have been too muchwhen Jace was home, but he had been invited, and wouldn’t theirrelationship lead to living together eventually? Maybe it was toosoon for Jace, but Ben had no reservations and was willing to giveall of himself to the other man.
His fears appeared to beconfirmed as soon as he was back in Austin. Jace’s calls becameless frequent, and when they did come his boyfriend soundeddistracted, even distant. Ben became convinced that Jace was hidingsomething from him when he stopped volunteering what he had donewith his free time. The third week Jace cancelled a planned visit,and the fourth he didn’t call at all.
Ben could no longer denyit. Their relationship was falling apart, and he had no idea how tofix it since he didn’t have a clue as to what was wrong. He wasplaying Monopoly with Allison one night, both of them doing shotsof tequila every time they landed on each other’s property, when hedecided to take action. The results weren’t pretty. He called Jaceand left an angry voicemail when he didn’t answer, one that endedwith him sobbing into the phone.
Allison tried to consolehim by breaking out two tubs of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream andpigging out with him. Ben was scrapping the bottom of the papercarton when the doorbell rang. He gave Allison a moody look,silently asking her to answer it. Good friend that she was, shecomplied.
Murmured voices came fromthe entryway. Ben was straining to hear when Jace walked into thekitchen with an arm full of roses. Ben wiped the ice cream from hismouth and reached up to check his hair, before giving up andblushing.
“I’m sorry,” Jace said,proffering the roses. He set them on the kitchen table when Bendidn’t take them. “Look, I’ve been an idiot, but I think you’llforgive me if you come with me.”
“I don’t know,” Ben said,his head spinning. He wished that he hadn’t done all those shotsand was beginning to regret horking down all the ice cream, too. “Ijust don’t understand what I did wrong.”
“You didn’t do anythingwrong,” Jace sighed. “I was trying to be romantic and surprise you,but I overdid it.”
“Overdid what? Why haven’tyou called?”
“Just come with me, okay?”Jace held out his hand. “There’s something I want to showyou.”
Ben’s heart melted. Hereached out and took Jace’s hand, a shock running through him asthey touched. His treacherous heart insisted that his brain forgeteverything and forgive Jace. He would eventually demand answers,but right now all he wanted was a kiss.
“What have you beendrinking?” Jace laughed once their lips had parted.
“Tequila,” Allison saidfrom the doorway. “Sorry.”
“It’s all right,” Jacesaid, leading Ben toward the front door. “I’ll try to have him backsoon.”
“No, you won’t.” Allisonsmiled knowingly.
Once in the passenger seat,Ben focused on sobering up. He had always been convinced that thiswas an issue of mind over matter, but the streetlights refused tostop swaying.
“Wait a minute,” Ben saidabruptly. “This is your car! Did you drive out here?”
“Yup,” Jaceconfirmed.
“Why?”
“You’ll find out in abouttwo blocks.”
Jace pulled onto a sidestreet and then into an apartment complex. He navigated a few turnsbefore finding a spot and parking. After he turned off the car heregarded Ben, the engine clicking as it cooled.
“What are we doinghere?”
