Something Like Forever by Jay Bell

Author:Jay Bell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: lgbt, homosexual, gay sex, mm romance, gay books, gay love, gay relationships, gay pride, gay series, something like summer

Chapter Eleven

Loneliness was a familiar companion to Ben, and to his surprise, he didn’t mind getting reacquainted with it. Not at first. Yes, he missed Tim. Saying goodbye to him, even temporarily, had hurt. Past that, he recognized how long it had been since he had privacy. He used to have more of it since Jace’s work often took him out of town for days and days. After he died, Ben had more time alone than he ever wanted, all those empty nights a gentle sort of hell. Now his life was happy again, filled with an unexpected second chance, old friends, and his own little family. So when Tim left for Japan, Ben treated it like a vacation of his own.

Food was a big part of that. Frozen pizzas, takeout Thai, and cartons of ice cream. He watched the kinds of shows Tim didn’t enjoy, ignored his appearance, and let the house get messier than usual. Allison dropped by for a sleepover, complete with bad movies and a late-night gossip session. He did the same things a teenager did when their parents went out of town, short of throwing a party. During the second week he indulged in drinking, once the novelty of privacy had worn off.

He loved Tim. Cohabitating meant getting on each other’s nerves, but it made him happy more than it ever irritated. Ben missed the comfort of Tim’s presence, how just having him there in bed, even sound asleep, made him feel safer and more secure. And he missed the way he could be himself more than with any other person. Even Allison. With his friends, Ben felt he had to at least make the effort of being interesting. With Tim he never worried if a topic was entertaining or not. They told each other everything, no matter how pointless.

By the third week he had stopped his occasional drinking, recognizing that it didn’t help. If anything, it brought the pain to the surface. Ben threw himself into his work instead and focused on his studies. That carried him to the fourth week, when he felt high from anticipation because Tim was coming home! Except he didn’t. Since getting the news that Tim needed to stay longer in Japan, things had turned sour. Ben allowed himself to be unapologetically despondent, except when he worked with patients at the hospital. For them he put on a brave face. For everyone else, he was a miserable fifteen-year-old all over again.

That should have been the worst of it, but week six—one day in particular—really brought him down. October twenty-seventh. His birthday. Those were always good. Ben struggled to remember one that hadn’t been the highlight of his year, or at least a serious contender. This birthday was cursed. He wasn’t normally superstitious, but too many bad things had happened to ignore, starting with the obvious. Tim was gone and had been for far too long. No problem, because his best friend would be there to lift him up on his special day.

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