Something Like Lightning (53 page)

Kelly chuckled. “Too true. Thanks for this. The exhibition and all the work you put into it.”

“My pleasure.” Tim took the keys out of his pocket, tossed them in the air and caught them again. “Take care of yourself, Kelly Phillips.”

“You too.”

He watched Tim climb into a silver car and drive away. Then Kelly looked across the street and sighed. He was tired. Too tired for a mental sparring match with Marcello. If only that camera wasn’t so unbelievably amazing. He supposed the fruit a serpent once offered to Eve must have been the shiniest, most juiciest apple imaginable. Sometimes a person couldn’t help but take a bite.

Kelly strolled across the street. The driver perked up and opened the door for him. After he slipped inside the car and got comfortable, Kelly closed his eyes and listened to the rumble of the motor and the gentle hum of tires on the street. When these sounds ceased, he opened his eyes again just as the driver opened the door.

He stepped outside the car. The studio hadn’t changed at all, its drab exterior still belying the artificial glamour created within. A figure stood in the open doorway with a similar vibe as his driver. Sure enough, Kelly’s driver approached this stranger and offered him a cigarette. By the time Kelly strolled up, they were talking sports.

“Sorry,” Kelly interrupted. “But are you still going to be here when I come back downstairs?”

“Of course,” his driver said. “I’m supposed to stay here all night, if need be.”

“Oh. Thanks.” Kelly felt a little uneasy as he walked down the hallway, the fluorescent lights flickering as they always did. The elevator doors opened just as he approached. He could imagine Marcello sitting at his desk, watching the security monitor and chuckling at how easily he lured flies into his web. Kelly entered the elevator and turned around, refusing to act surprised or impressed when on its own, it took him to the top floor. In fact, he made sure his expression was positively bored when the doors opened again and he strolled into Marcello’s office.

“Don’t let them close!” a voice shouted.

Kelly’s eyes went wide as a figure leapt over one of the lounge couches and charged at him. He stepped aside just in time for Nathaniel to slam into the metal elevator doors, which had already shut. Then he jabbed at the button to open them again, snarling in frustration when they didn’t. Kelly took this opportunity to examine him. Stubble still covered his clenching jaw, the rolled-up sleeves of his dress shirt revealed arms Kelly had once clung to for support, and the strong brow still softened somewhat when turning to him.

“Nice to see you too,” Kelly said. “What’s next? Are you going to try jumping out a window just to avoid me?”

Nathaniel took a deep breath and huffed. “I’m not avoiding you. I just don’t like being trapped. I called a technician over an hour ago.”

“Marcello has someone waiting at the door. He probably sent the technician away already. So where is he? Hiding behind his desk, or can he control all of this from home?”

“From his phone,” Nathaniel said, leaning his back against the elevator doors and sighing. “I don’t want to know what he’s playing at.”

“He probably thought this was the only way he could get us to talk.” Kelly crossed his arms over his chest. “I saw you at the gallery. Why did you run off?”

“I had an awkward conversation,” Nathaniel said.

“That’s it? That’s why you didn’t even say hello?”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

“What else is new?”

Nathaniel’s jaw clenched a few more times. Then he pushed away from the elevator and plopped down on one of the couches, burying his face in his palms. Kelly watched him a moment, then went and sat across from him. On the table between them were two presents. One had been opened already, scraps of torn wrapping paper obscuring it from view. The other was a box. The camera, no doubt. An unopened bottle of wine sat near it, condensation dripping down its surface. Next to it, two empty glasses waited. The lights in the office were low, and the air smelled of scented candles, even though they had already been extinguished. Marcello’s intent was more than obvious to them both, which made it hurt that Nathaniel seemed so distraught by the prospect. Was nothing left between them?

“I know about the prosthetics,” Kelly said softly. “You’ve been paying for them all this time.”

Nathaniel’s hands dropped into his lap, his eyes searching. “Marcello told you?”

“I figured it out. I’d offer to pay you back, but I don’t have any money. Maybe someday I can—”

“No,” Nathaniel said firmly. “I want to do this. For you. Please let me.”

Kelly studied him. “Why? I know you promised I would never have to worry about it, but I don’t hold you to that anymore. It made sense when you loved me, but not now.”

Nathaniel’s expression was pained. “That’s not fair. Don’t make me say it.”

“Why not?” Kelly said. “Is that the cure? Does staying silent keep the feelings at bay?”

Nathaniel shook his head. “No.”

“And did it ever stop hurting? All these years we’ve been apart, can you honestly say you avoided what you fear most? Because my heart has been aching since that night. No matter how far I go and how many other people I welcome into my life, there’s always a part of me that yearns for you. I’ve learned to live without you, Nathaniel, and I can keep on doing so. But I don’t want to, and the pain is never going to go away. I’m guessing the same is true for you.”

“Yeah,” Nathaniel said, his voice hoarse. “I love you, Kelly. I’m a piece of shit and I ruined everything, but I love you so much that I think it might be worth the pain.”

“It doesn’t have to hurt,” Kelly said, his chest heaving. “Not all the time. I swear.”

Nathaniel’s eyes were desperate with hope. Or fear or just pure emotion. Kelly didn’t know, and that troubled him. He loved the man so much that sometimes he awoke in the middle of the night, the dreams of them being together again so beautiful that they drove him to tears. But there remained so much he didn’t know about Nathaniel, and that made him question everything. Nathaniel stood, as if to come to him, but Kelly shook his head.

“We need to talk,” he said.

Nathaniel hesitated and sat back down. “There’s someone else?”

“There’s only you.” Kelly’s laugh was ironic. “You made it so I could run again, and believe me, I’ve been running long and hard. Whenever I look back, I see you’re not there and I feel like I got away. But the truth is, you’re inside me so deep that there’s no escape. All this time I’ve been running, all I’ve been doing is carrying you with me. So no, there is no one else. I don’t think there ever will be. But I’m finally ready to get to know the man I love. All of him.”

“So what do I do?” Nathaniel asked.

“Talk to me. Tell me everything.”

Kelly tried to soothe his racing heart as he took a seat and leaned back. This was going to be a long night, but he had learned long ago that dark times are best weathered with those you love. And when the dawn of a new day greeted them, he prayed that the skies would be clear, the rest of their days spent together basking in the light.

The story continues in...
Something Like Thunder

Nathaniel Courtney has a troubled past. One that still haunts him and causes him to behave irrationally. Will opening up and sharing his life story be enough to earn him a second chance? Can Kelly Phillips ever forgive him? Or is this only the eye of the storm?

Something Like Thunder
is the second book in the Storms Series, one that reveals Nathaniel’s secrets while furthering the events of
Something Like Lightning
.

Experience the story from the very beginning...

...in the
Seasons Series,
each book written from a different character’s perspective, the plots intertwining at key points while also venturing off in new directions. The quest for love takes many different forms, changing like the seasons. Which is your favorite?

Current books in the series:

#1: 
Something Like Summer
 

#2: 
Something Like Winter 

#3: 
Something Like Autumn 

#4: 
Something Like Spring

Also by Jay Bell

Kamikaze Boys

True love is worth fighting for.

My name is Connor Williams and people say I’m crazy. But that’s not who I am. They also think I’m straight, and mean, and dangerous. But that’s not who I am. The stories people tell, all those legends which made me an outsider—they don’t mean a thing. Only my mother and my younger brother matter to me. Funny then that I find myself wanting to stand up for someone else. David Henry, that kind-of-cute guy who keeps to himself, he’s about to get his ass beat by a bunch of dudes bigger than him. I could look away, let him be one more causality of this cruel world... But that’s not who I am.

Kamikaze Boys,
a Lambda Literary award winning novel, is a story of love triumphant as two young men walk a perilous path in the hopes of saving each other.

For more information, please see:
www.jaybellbooks.com