Something Like Rain (Something Like... Book 8) (37 page)

“I need your help,” Kelly said. “One last favor.”

As in one last night together? William bent over to start putting on his shoes. “I should probably head home before it gets too late.”

“I don’t mean tonight. Tomorrow. Maybe the next day too.”

“Oh.”

Kelly rolled his eyes. “Just a couple more afternoons with me. Then you can spend your entire life with that floozy. That’s right, I called him a floozy, and you know that’s me being nice. I can think of numerous other terms that would be more appropriate, such as—”

“All right, all right,” William said, holding up a hand. Kelly would be okay. His anger would serve him well in that regard. “I’ll help you.”

William stood and stretched, sorrow pooling in his stomach and rising upward, invading his heart and wanting to get at his eyes. “I guess this is it.”

Kelly nodded glumly. “I guess so.”

William looked at him, the tears blurring his vision and making it easy to pretend he was seeing the guy he had fallen in love with. Kelly, king of his own world, the best runner, the man with enough attitude to not care about what anyone else thought. Kissing him the first time had been so terrifying. William hadn’t been sure if he was worthy or even capable. Never had he imagined what would follow, or that he would ever want to leave this amazing person behind. Despite all the bitterness and anger, Kelly was special. Strong and sharp, funny and sexy. William had been lucky. “You were my first everything,” he said.

Kelly pursed his lips, summoning up some of that attitude. “From the sound of things, I won’t be your last. Good night, William.”

“Kelly, I really did lo—”

“Good night,” Kelly repeated, looking away.

Fair enough. William had lost the right to say such things. He had failed to make Kelly happy and whole again, but despite it all, William really did love him. Part of him always would.

* * * * *

William unlocked the front door, setting down his backpack and straining to hear if his mother was still awake. He saw the flicker of television from deep in the house but didn’t hear any studio laughter or jarring commercials.

“Willy?” His mother appeared, tying a robe over her nightgown. Her face lit up when she saw it was him. “Are you staying the night?”

“Permanently.”

“Oh!” She brought a hand to her mouth. “You’re moving back in?”

“Yeah,” William said with a chuckle. “Someone needs to keep an eye on you.”

“This is wonderful!” She switched on the living room lamps. Then she turned around suddenly. “Isn’t it? Did something happen between—”

“Yes,” William said, not ready to talk about it. Not with her, or even Jason, who would have to wait to hear the news. “And yeah, it is a good thing. I guess.”

“I’m sorry, baby.”

“You never liked him,” William said.

“I don’t care. You’re my child, and I know how bad this sort of thing hurts. I’m sorry for both of you.”

“Thanks,” William said, feeling emotional again.

“How about something to eat? Ice cream?”

William shook his head. “I’m tired. I think I just want to crash, if that’s okay. We can talk tomorrow.”

His mother smiled. “Tomorrow it is! I’m just happy knowing you’re home again.”

He felt a little better when she hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. Then he trudged up the stairs, switching on the lights in his room and surveying it. Nothing had changed. He could pretend that he and Kelly had never met. Externally, at least. When William shut off the lights and crawled into bed, he lay there with his eyes open, despite his exhaustion. Too much was missing, such as a warm body next to his and the sound of Kelly breathing. Not to mention a piece of his heart, which William had known he would have to leave behind. He just hadn’t expected that piece to be so big.

Chapter Sixteen

For the first two days after his breakup with Kelly, William didn’t see Jason. They didn’t speak or even text. William had already suggested they keep their distance so he could deal with the fallout of the charity ball. Once he was finally single again, William found himself needing space to nurse his wounds. He mourned the good memories they had made together, which were easier to remember now that they were getting along.

The favor Kelly had needed, his final request, was for his bedroom to be restored to the way it had been before. William didn’t mind. Returning to his own room had felt like a way of turning back the clock. He wanted Kelly to have that too. During the process of carrying furniture up and down the stairs, they remained on friendly terms. He even found talking to Laisha possible again, explaining to her how he had tried to make up for his mistakes. She admitted that she had her own regrets, apologizing for how she had treated him. Burying the hatchet was easy now that the past was in the past—as much as possible, anyway—and he and Kelly were a couple no more.

Having finally accepted that, William sent Jason a message, not telling him what had transpired but asking if they could meet during his next break at work. As usual, Jason didn’t approach the counter when he showed up. Kelly had put an end to that. Normally, after catching his eye, Jason would retreat to the parking lot. William would meet him there in secrecy, their limited privacy fleeting. That’s exactly what happened today. Jason nodded once to get his attention and walked away, except this time, William followed. He grabbed Jason in the mall corridor, spun him around, and locked lips with him right there where everyone could see. Kissing him before had felt great, but doing so without the added guilt took it to new levels.

When William explained that he was finally free, Jason’s glee was contagious, but he needed to clear the air on one point. “I won’t betray anyone like that again. Not you or anyone else. It’s better to hurt someone with honesty than to hurt them with lies.”

Lesson learned, he hoped. They made plans to meet the next night for their official first date. Then he returned to work, and afterwards, went back to Kelly’s house for the final time. But did it really need to be? He hated the idea of losing someone he cared about forever. He didn’t want that, and by the time the bus dropped him off, he had convinced himself they could still be friends.

Once he reached Kelly’s house and finished helping out, he discovered that his former boyfriend had other ideas. William was by the front door, holding a box of his possessions under one arm as he waited for his mother to pick him up.

“Don’t forget this.”

He turned around to find Kelly holding a bright red helicopter. Of course William hadn’t forgotten it! He just thought he had lost the right to keep it.

“It’s a good luck charm,” Kelly said, thrusting it out.

“Are you sure about that?” William replied. “The night you gave it to me we were both arrested.”

“Who knows how the night might have played out otherwise. We might have gotten drunk, thought it was a good idea to dive off the bridge, and ended up drowning. No, it was sheer luck that I got us in trouble.”

William laughed, accepting the Transformer and placing it in the box. From outside the house, headlights moved across the room, signaling that his mother had pulled in the driveway. “The last few days have been nice,” he said. “We should do it again.”

Kelly raised an eyebrow. “Interior decorating?”

“No. We should hang out.”

“I don’t want to be your friend, William.” Kelly closed his eyes briefly. “Sorry. That sounds terrible. The problem is that I still wish you were my boyfriend. I need space so I can move on. If that ever happens, then we’ll see. For now, get the hell out of my life.”

He said this with humor, but the essence was true. They could only be friends once the love between them had died. William wasn’t sure that would ever happen.

“Okay, well, I guess—”

A horn honked outside.

Kelly smiled. “Our families, always getting in the way of those tender moments.”

“Yeah. I shouldn’t keep her waiting.”

Kelly nodded cordially and turned away, but just before he did, William saw his face crumple. The image remained with him for the rest of the night. His freedom had come at a cost to them both, but Kelly was paying the bigger price.

* * * * *

Life returned to being blissfully normal. William had a curfew again. His mother began sticking her nose into his business, wanting updates on his grades and plans, and she constantly worried he wasn’t eating or sleeping enough. He even had privacy in the mornings, since Jason no longer needed to wake up early to see him.

“Forbidden fruit,” Errol had said during a visit home, affecting age and wisdom. “Now that you guys are allowed to be together, I bet the chemistry doesn’t last.”

His brother’s expertise didn’t extend beyond illegal substances, because he was wrong. William was even more into Jason now that guilt was no longer clouding the love potion. Their first official date proved this. Tim had loaned them his Bentley to make the night extra special, Jason driving them to an art gallery, and even though William wasn’t into such things, they had a great time. Jason made everything fun, except maybe at the end of the evening when another car dinged the Bentley. Just a scratch, but Jason was certain he would get booted out of the house because of it.

Tim took the news well. Kind of. First he rushed out to meet them in the detached garage, and yeah, he did freak out. And no wonder! A Bentley wasn’t a cheap car! But before he could get too worked up, Ben had showed up in the garage. That changed everything. Tim was suddenly cool with it all, clearly seeking Ben’s approval, which he got. They were adorable together. William wanted to spend more time with them. He had mentioned the idea of a double date to Jason earlier in the evening, and now was his chance to ask. Ben and Tim were heading back inside the house when William called after them.

“Hey, you guys want to go on a double date sometime?”

“Again?” Tim called back. “Ow!”

It looked like Ben had pinched his nipple, but when he spun around, Ben’s face was angelic. “Just tell us when!” Then they disappeared into the house.

William grinned. He turned to Jason, who seemed amused too. They were standing outside the garage, a small pool of light pouring out and shielding them against the night. “You
so
need them to adopt you!”

“Jason Wyman?” His boyfriend cocked his head, trying the name on for size. “Or Jason Bentley. Neither sounds right.”

“Not as good as Jason Townson, anyway.” William said with a wink. “No, wait! If they adopt you, and you take Tim’s name, and
then
we get married, I would be William Wyman.”

Jason laughed. “Seems like a lot of effort just for a name change. I’m surprised you’re so crazy about Tim. I got the impression you didn’t like him the first time you met.”

“That’s back when I thought he was dating you. It’s not just Tim. I like them both. I get what you mean now. They’re a package deal! I really envy what they have together. They’re so adorable! If you really made me choose, maybe I like Ben a little better, but it depends if you mean emotionally or physically because—”

“Breathe,” Jason suggested, shaking his head. “And if you want adorable, you should see pictures of when they were younger.”

“Like right now? Yes, please!”

Jason chuckled, then pivoted to face the house. “Let’s go!”

A few minutes later they were seated side by side on the couch. Ben and Tim where nowhere to be seen, which meant they had retired to their bedroom. The thought alone had his heart fluttering, even before Jason opened the laptop.

“Ben had all their photos digitized,” Jason was saying. “Personally, I like the old-fashioned printed kind. More romantic, you know?”

William nodded, not really having a preference but eager for the show to begin. “Is this Ben’s laptop?”

“Yup!”

“And you have the password?”

“He has mine too,” Jason said easily. “We trust each other.” He clicked a few times and an image appeared on the screen.

William practically shoved him aside to see. “Is that them?” The image was of two teenagers sitting on a bed together, looking baby-faced compared to the men he had just spoken to. Ben’s hair was a lot blonder, Tim’s muscles not quite as big.

“Yup!” Jason said, anticipating his next question. “Sixteen, maybe seventeen.”

“Wow! They’ve been together for that long?”

“No,” Jason said, “because if you’ll remember…” He skipped past photo after photo, William tempted to reach out and stop him. Not all were of Ben and Tim. Most showed Ben with people who looked like family, including a black girl who aged along with him as the years flew by. “—there’s also this guy.”

The image was of a kitchen table, the room fairly small. Seated in front of poker cards and a half-empty bottle of booze were two guys. Ben’s hair was closer to the darker shade it was currently, his expression surprised as he looked toward whoever was taking the photo. The guy next to him must have seen it coming. He was older than Ben but still handsome, his smile warm. He had reached over to put a possessive hand on Ben’s shoulder, or maybe to get his attention for the photo.

“Who’s that?” William asked.

“Jace. The guy Ben was married to.”

“I don’t like him,” William said dismissively.

“Hey!” Jason shoved him playfully. “He was nice! He’s the one I met after things fell apart between me and my last foster family. Caesar and I were history, and I was hopelessly depressed. Then I met this guy, and honestly, it was the first day after all the bad stuff that I felt happy again.”

“Maybe I like him a little,” William conceded.

“You should. He gave me his number, and Ben’s. That’s how I reached him after Jace died.”

“Now I feel bad.”

“It’s fine. Just remember that if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have met Ben or ended up here. I probably wouldn’t have met you!”

William leaned his head on Jason’s shoulder. “Thanks, Jace,” he said. “But still, it’s hard to picture Ben with anyone but Tim. They’re a perfect match.”

“It is hard for me to imagine too, I guess because I never saw Ben and Jace together.”

“Show me more photos of them.”

“Of Ben and Jace?”

“Ummm…”

Jason laughed. “Fine. More Ben and Tim.”

William witnessed a progression of images that made his heart swell: Ben and Tim posed in front of monuments, behind birthday cakes, next to each other on beaches or in the snow. The ordinary nature of the photos is what made them poignant. William hadn’t grown up with any gay role models—just celebrities living glamourous lives he couldn’t relate to. Had there been a couple like this in his family, or even just in the neighborhood, maybe accepting his own sexuality wouldn’t have been so hard.

“I love them,” William murmured. “I know I barely know them, but…”

“I get what you mean,” Jason said, smiling as he continued scrolling. “It didn’t take me long to love them either.” He reached the first image again, two teenagers sitting on a bed and just beginning their history together.

“Do you think they knew?” William asked. “Way back then, do you think they realized they would be together all these years later?”

Jason thought about it. “Tim? No way. He couldn’t even admit he was gay. Ben probably hoped for it though.”

“That could be us,” William said, pointing at the screen. “Maybe we’ll look back years—
decades
—from now, and shake our heads at how young we were.”

“Maybe,” Jason said, not sounding so certain. “They had to go through a lot to get to where they are now. Like I said, you should ask Ben about it.”

“I will.” He nuzzled Jason’s neck. “On one of our double dates with them.”

“There’s only going to be one,” Jason said. “I don’t plan on sharing you that often! I’m selfish.”

“Are you?”

“Yup. I’m keeping you to myself from now on.”

William nodded at the screen. “How much action do you think that mattress saw?”

Jason shut the laptop and set it aside. “Enough of their story. I want to get back to ours. It’s time for bed.”

“I have a curfew,” William said. “I can’t stay the night.”

Jason smiled, taking his hand as he stood. “Who said anything about sleep?”

* * * * *

Another sign of William’s return to normality was that he had a social life again. When he looked back on the friendships he once had, he realized there was only one person he was eager to reconnect with. As it turned out, she was equally fond of double dating.

“This brings back memories,” Lily said when she walked into his bedroom.

William glanced over to see a naughty smile, then hurried to pull on his shirt. A pale yellow polo, which made him feel rebellious because Kelly had hated it. “Don’t try making out with me,” William teased. “It’s not that kind of double date. You aren’t swingers, are you?”

Lily shrugged innocently. “Wait until you see Isaac before you dismiss the idea. He’s gorgeous.”