Something Like Winter (5 page)

“
What’ll it be?”

“
A beer.”

“
A beer man, very good.”
Except Darryl didn’t open a fridge and pull out a bottle. Instead
he grabbed a mug, held it tilted under a nozzle, and pulled a
handle. Tim died and went to heaven. They actually had beer on tap!
In their home! He needed to have a serious talk with his dad. Of
course his father wouldn’t be cool about it, even as a
joke.

Darryl set the glass on the
bar, but it was only two-thirds full. “Beer isn’t very strong,
especially for the first day of school. Ever had a
depth-charge?”

Tim shook his head. Darryl
grinned and grabbed a bottle of whiskey. He filled a shot glass
full before dropping it straight into the beer mug. The beer fizzed
and foamed, but didn’t overflow. Pushing the mug toward him, Darryl
started taking other orders. He certainly knew his stuff. He
whipped up everything from cocktails to daiquiris, always knowing a
way of making the requested drink stronger. No wonder he was
popular!

“
What do you think?” he
asked, nodding toward Tim’s beer.

The foam had died down
enough for Tim to take a sip. It tasted like someone had pissed in
his beer, but he nodded appreciatively and lied. “Fucking
delicious!”

Darryl was having the same
and clinked mugs with Tim before nodding to the room. “Looks like
you have a fan.”

Tim turned around. A dozen
other people were there, but he only remembered the names of two.
Doe-eyed Krista Norman was staring at him, but laughed and looked
at her friend like she hadn’t been. And that friend of hers was
something else! Krista was pretty, but the brunette next to her was
beautiful. Dangerous too, judging from the power Tim felt behind
her gaze. Unlike Krista, the brunette offered no bashful
flirtation. Instead she sized him up in seconds and looked away
again. Tim, feeling a little uncomfortable, did the same. He spun
back around in the stool, catching a hulking giant glaring at him
as he did so.

“
A fan, huh?” Tim said.
“You mean Bryce?”

Darryl guffawed. “Don’t
worry about him. Not only is he big as an ox, but he plays like one
too.”

“
Football?”

“
That, and women.” Darryl
gestured to the room with his mug. “He thinks all these cows belong
to him.”

Charming.

“
The problem is,” Darryl
continued, “everyone here has dated everyone else. Some of us have
a harder time letting go, is all.”

“
So you talking to me is
making Bryce jealous?”

Darryl laughed again. “He’s
nothing to worry about. He’s with Stacy Shelly now, and believe me,
she’s the kind of girl who keeps you in line.”

“
The brunette?” Tim asked
as if disinterested.

“
Yeah. That’s Krista’s best
friend. Speaking of which—” He nodded over Tim’s shoulder. “What do
you think?”

“
Krista? I think she’s
hot.”

“
So do I, but no one ever
gets anywhere with her. She’s a prude.”

“
Or maybe none of you guys
have the right moves.” Banter. It was so damn easy.

A cocky smile spread over
Darryl’s face. “All right. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

They went to join the
others on the couch, Darryl telling people to move over, making
room for Tim to sit next to Krista. When Tim put his mug on the
long coffee table, he noticed it was more than half-empty. That
explained the warm feeling inside.

“
Hey,” Tim said, focusing
on Krista. She turned bright red, like he had asked to see her
panties.

“
Hi,” she
managed.

Stacy leaned forward on the
couch to get a better view of him. “So, Mr. Tim Wyman, where
exactly are you from?”

Tim managed to meet her
gaze, but only just. “Kansas.” He could see her tallying the points
in her head. Had he been from somewhere cool, say California, he
would have earned more.

“
Trying out for any of the
teams?” she asked next.

“
Yeah. Not sure which,
though.”

“
How about football?” Bryce
said.

Right. Like Tim was looking
forward to getting crushed beneath him during practice. Tim had
given football a shot in freshmen year and hated it. People in
Kansas were fanatics about high school football, especially the
teachers. While it was an easy way to get good grades—since failing
meant the team lost a player—Tim hated the intense pressure.
Basketball was out too, since being six feet tall didn’t amount to
much on the court. That left cross country in the fall, which they
probably wouldn’t care about, but in the spring…

“
I’m thinking about
baseball,” he said.

“
Wait, there’s a baseball
team?” Darryl said sarcastically.

Stacy played off this,
sounding bored. “I can’t say I’ve ever heard of one.”

“
Trust me,” Tim said,
looking her in the eye. “When I’m on the team, it’s all you’ll ever
hear about.”

Most people chuckled at his
joke, but Stacy’s eyes lit up with scored points. Darryl hopped up
to get more drinks, and the rest of the party was much more
relaxed. Tim was in. For now. They would never stop watching and
judging him, but that was high school. The wine flowed like wine,
and so did the depth-charged beers. Considering he had skipped
lunch, every beer felt like two, maybe four including the whiskey.
Soon enough, Tim had his arm around Krista, and she was either
flushing or giggling in response to everything he said.

At some point Darryl’s
parents were mentioned, which was the alarm that sent everyone
scurrying for their cars. Tim knew he shouldn’t drive, but he
couldn’t crash at Darryl’s place. The streets were a distorted
blur, and he managed to get lost a few times, but an army of
exhausted guardian angels guided him home safely. The last of them
helped him up the stairs and to his bathroom. Tim barely managed to
get the toilet seat up before he puked his guts out.

All in all, a fairly normal
first day of school.

* * * * *

“
Timmy!”

Krista Norman darted down
the hall and put a hand on his arm. Funny how first impressions
could be so wrong. Last week Krista had seemed so shy. Now she
never stopped talking. Not that Tim minded much, since it meant
less effort on his part. Usually he would daydream about other
things while she rattled on.

And Bryce, who had seemed
so big and scary before… Well, he was still both those things, but
he had warmed up to Tim, probably because he’d kept his distance
from Stacy. And maybe Bryce didn’t worry about Tim getting anywhere
with Krista, since more people than Darryl had since told him she
was a prude. That was fine by him. Horny as Tim might be, he still
felt shell-shocked from the rape rumors in Kansas.

“
Hey, faggot!” Bryce
rumbled.

Tim looked up and followed
his gaze. The intended target was obvious, since he was the only
guy standing still as everyone else hurried to class. Brown eyes
stared at him from below perfectly styled blond hair, and for one
moment, Tim thought of Corey.

“
He really is, you know,”
Krista said in a stage whisper.

The guy’s face turned red,
but he seemed more angry than embarrassed. He glared at Bryce, even
though he was skinny enough to be crushed by one of those ham
fists. Then he waved sarcastically at Krista, imitating her snobby
body language. The guy had guts! Finally he looked at Tim, as if he
was still unsure about him. Tim returned the wave, which didn’t
seem to please him, since he spun around and stalked off down the
hall.

“
Who was that?”

“
Brian Bentley,” Krista
said, rolling her eyes.

“
No, it’s Benjamin,” Bryce
corrected, “as in bend over!”

The joke didn’t make sense,
but for Bryce it was probably his wittiest moment.

“
Walk me to class?” Krista
said.

“
Yeah,” Tim answered
distractedly.

He said goodbye to Bryce
and let Krista guide him down the hall. Krista started talking
about a shopping trip or something involving shoes, Tim nodding
along until they reached her class. Then he interrupted
her.

“
How does anyone know?” he
asked.

“
What?”

“
That Benjamin guy. How
does anyone know he’s gay?”

Krista looked repulsed.
“Because he told everyone.”

“
Seriously?” Tim considered
this in surprise. “That takes balls.”

“
More like he’s crazy. Who
cares anyway? He’s just some loser.”

“
Well, if nobody cares,
then why pick on him?” Tim had never understood the way popular
kids picked on those who weren’t. He got along with everyone,
really. But here, just like back in Kansas, being on top seemed to
require making everyone below you miserable.

Krista rolled her eyes. “Do
you want me to get you his number or something?”

“
Why would I want it?” Tim
said forcefully enough that she blanched.

“
I was just kidding.
Geez.”

Tim glared at her. “Why
would you even joke about that? Huh?”

Krista grasped for words
and for once couldn’t find any.

“
I’ll see you during
lunch.”

Tim sulked his way down the
hall. He had only asked a simple question. Krista didn’t need to
jump to conclusions like that. Just because he didn’t hate someone
for what they were, didn’t make him the same thing. He felt
irritated at himself for even broaching the stupid subject. But
once he was in class and had calmed down, part of him couldn’t help
smile that there was someone crazy enough to stand up to Bryce
Hunter.

* * * * *

Tim waited in line for
lunch, the smell of greasy cafeteria food making his stomach growl.
Bryce’s stomach roared back, echoing the sentiment. They did this
every day, grabbing two trays each and bringing them back to Krista
and Stacy like waiters on a date. Tim only started doing it because
he enjoyed the quiet that came from leaving Krista at the
table.

“
I’ve got this
one.”

They turned in unison,
puzzled at Stacy’s presence.

“
What?” Bryce
asked.

“
Today I’m bringing you
your food. Go sit down.”

Bryce shrugged and did as
he was told, leaving Tim and Stacy alone for the first time. Tim
knew this had never happened before because he made sure it didn’t.
As hot as she was, Stacy scared the hell out of him. Maybe because
she was as mean as Carla could be, except Stacy usually didn’t
bother playing nice.

Not that she couldn’t, when
she wanted. A male teacher had once come up to her in the hall and
asked why she had missed class. Stacy went all giggling dingbat,
her every movement adorable and flirtatious. The teacher had
forgiven her pretty quickly and headed down the hall, probably so
no one would notice the growing tent in his pants.

“
Double date tonight,”
Stacy said with a calculating smile. “Or at least, it was supposed
to be.”

“
The four of us?” Tim
asked.

Stacy nodded. “Don’t you
think it’s time you make it official? I know Krista is an idiot,
but believe me, there are benefits to dating someone so
stupid.”

Tim didn’t
reply.

“
You’re a very careful
person,” Stacy said. “Why is that?”

Tim shrugged and gave an
easy smile. “I’ve got nothing to hide.”

“
I didn’t say you did.
Look, Krista thinks you’re mad at her. Something about Ben Bentley,
the gay guy.”

Tim played dumb. “Oh, is
that his name?”

There was a long pause
before Stacy answered. “Yes. Yes, it is.” Forget Bryce. She was way
scarier. What a monster couple they made! The beauty and the beast,
but it was Stacy’s intelligence that made her dangerous.

“
Yeah, well, that guy
smarted off to Krista,” Tim huffed, “and I wanted to know who he
was. It pissed me off, that’s all.”

Stacy searched his eyes,
but seemed satisfied. “You like her, and she likes you,
right?”

“
Obviously.”

“
Then ask her. Dinner and a
movie, tonight. Unless you want people to start asking why you’re
still single.”

Stacy walked away. A minute
later, her boyfriend was sent back over to wait in line with
him.

“
I don’t understand women,”
Bryce huffed.

Tim did. He understood them
all too well.

Chapter Four

Krista, as it turned out,
made a decent girlfriend. Sure, she talked a lot, but when Tim did
have something to say, she listened with rapt attention. She
laughed at all his jokes and was so slender that she made Tim feel
as big as Bryce. He liked that. He also appreciated that she had
none of Carla’s meanness. Occasionally she could be a bitch, but
only when she was following someone else’s lead, usually
Stacy’s.