Something Like Rain (Something Like... Book 8) (5 page)

“Stay on this road for a few blocks. Then it’s another right.”

Still no response.

He leaned forward in his seat to gaze out the windshield. “Now I’m glad we bailed on training. Looks like a bad storm blowing in.”

Kelly snorted, reacting at last. “Anyone still out on the track is going to get soaked.”

“For sure. I actually swung by there looking for you. Saw your friend Jared running like a mad man.”

“He’s not my friend,” Kelly snapped. “Not anymore.”

“Oh.”

The first drops of rain splattered against the windshield, building into a steady rhythm. William didn’t try to make further conversation. He just provided the remaining directions until they pulled into the driveway of his house, Kelly still not speaking. The anger had fled his features again, replaced by misery.

William shook his head. “I don’t get it.”

“Get what?”

“You and Jared. At the beginning of the week, you’re ambushing me in the hall, trying to get me to drop out of the race. Then you show up at the pool this morning, acting friendly. I figured maybe you were doing a little reconnaissance for Jared, but then it turns out that you’re also in the triathlon and you guys aren’t even friends any more. Is that why? Did he get pissed because you entered too?”

Kelly narrowed his eyes. “I don’t think he knows yet. But when he does find out, he’s going to freak. And when I win…” His grin was vicious.

William shook his head in exasperation. “You guys are intense. It’s just a race. You know that, right?”

Kelly turned to face him. “Then why did you enter?”

“For fun! Now I feel like I’m caught up in some sort of sports vendetta or something.”

Kelly frowned. “I just really wanted him to win.”

“And now?”

The rain drummed against the windshield, the wipers swiping at it mercilessly. Kelly’s attention remained focused ahead as he spoke. “He doesn’t like who I am. And I like him a little too much.”

“Oh.” There it was. Confirmation.

“Yeah.”

William felt dizzy. He had never imagined another guy confessing these feelings, or daring to share such information, especially with someone he barely knew. He felt like doing the same, but he wasn’t even sure it was true. If anyone could tell him, Kelly seemed the most qualified. He opened his mouth only to discover that he needed more time. “Do you want to come inside?”

Kelly glanced over in surprise. Then he shook his head. “It’s okay. I should probably—”

“Really,” William said, not wanting him to get away. “We can hang out. It’ll be fun.”

Kelly’s eyes searched his. Then he put the car in park and shut off the engine. William gave him an encouraging smile and led the way inside. Once they were in his room, maybe he could get Kelly talking about the situation with Jared and—

“Willy! I didn’t expect you home so soon.” Ugh! How could he forget? He loved his mother, but her timing wasn’t ideal. She brightened when noticing they had company. “And who’s this?”

“Kelly,” William said. “He’s a new friend of mine.”

“Oh, nice to meet you!” She offered Kelly her hand, appearing pleased. Kate was a sharp woman. She had asked her son to make friends with a bully, and here was someone new in their home. That wouldn’t be lost on her. “Cookies and milk?”

“I would,” William replied, still longing for privacy, “but we’re going to hang out upstairs.”

“You’re a big boy now.” His mother winked at Kelly. “I think you can handle eating in your room. I’ll bring some up. Just try not to get crumbs all over the place.”

“No promises,” William said.

He climbed the stairs in a hurry, eager to get away. He reached the top and turned to find that Kelly was still at the halfway point. He had stopped to look at the family photos hanging on the wall. If William’s mother saw, she’d probably start bragging about her other sons or who knew what else.

“Coming?” William prompted.

“Yeah, sorry.” Kelly took the remaining stairs two at a time.

Once in his room, William found himself at a loss. With his mother returning soon with milk and cookies (so embarrassing!) he could hardly broach the subject he wanted to discuss. The
only
subject, leaving him unsure of what to say.

Kelly slowly walked around the room to take it all in. William hadn’t expected to have anyone over today, but he always kept his room tidy. Still, he felt exposed having a virtual stranger in his most private of spaces. Kelly wasn’t shy about inspecting everything. He took off his jacket while doing so, tossing it on the bed. Then he moved to the dresser where William still had all of his ribbons and medals on display.

Rather than try to explain this, William picked up Kelly’s jacket so he could fold it neatly. Touching the fabric felt personal, a whiff of alluring cologne coming from it when he shook the folds loose.

“Now I see why you invited me up here,” Kelly said, running a finger over one of medals. “You’re trying to intimidate me.”

“You’re not far off. Those are usually in a drawer, but when you came up to me in the hall…”

Kelly turned around. “Seriously? I actually got to you?”

William shrugged and draped the jacket over the bed’s footboard. “A little. I put those out to remind me that you don’t stand a chance.”

“We’ll see.” Kelly returned his attention to the medals. “Would you say you’re the best on your team?”

“Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose. I don’t worry about it much. What about you?”

“I worry about it all the time. I have a very competitive nature.”

William snorted. “I hadn’t noticed.”

“Staying competitive is important,” Kelly said. “Nobody coasts their way into the Olympics. Drive is essential!”

“The Olympics? Is that your dream?”

“No.” Kelly turned, a smirk on his face. “It’s my future.”

Kate showed up then with the promised snacks and managed to embarrass him despite being present only a minute or two. William was grateful regardless because his stomach was growling and her cookies were phenomenal. After taking one, Kelly resumed his inspection. William was proud of his medals, but the shelf Kelly turned to next caused the opposite reaction, especially when he picked up an action figure—Airazor, to be precise—and held it aloft. William
loved
his Beast Wars toys. Sure, he might have outgrown them years ago, but for the past decade they had been a part of his life, and he wasn’t ready to say goodbye.

“I’ve had those since forever,” he explained. “They’re actually robots.”

Kelly appeared puzzled. “You mean like Transformers?”

“Yeah,” William said, moving closer to survey his collection. “But not like the crazy movie that came out earlier this year. These are from when we were little. Do you remember
Beast Wars
?”

Kelly shook his head. “I was into
Power Rangers
.”

“I could never get into that show.
Beast Wars
was so much better. It was all CGI, which was new at the time, and the plots were amazing.” And his collection was awesome, the action figures representing all the important characters from the show, except for X-9 Ravage, which had only been released in Japan and commanded high prices on eBay. Maybe if he saved his money, he could splurge and finally complete the—

“Wait, do you collect these?” Kelly asked, sounding amused.

“Nah,” William said, playing it cool. “They’re just sort of around. I’ve had them since I was a kid. Don’t know what to do with them now.”

Kelly looked at the figures appraisingly. “You know, my kid brother is still young enough to appreciate these. I’d be happy to take them off your hands for you.”

William blanched… and stumbled right into a very obvious trap by doing so. He laughed at himself. “Don’t tell anyone,” he whispered theatrically. “It’s my deepest darkest secret.”

“I can only imagine the scandal this would cause at school,” Kelly teased. “So show me how this one transforms.”

William was happy to comply, talking about the character as he did so, how Airazor and Tigatron had a really romantic story arc in the show. He considered mentioning that in the Japanese dub, they had decided to make Airazor a boy, changing the dynamic of their relationship to be homosexual. That might be a good segue. Then again, talking about toys was way more fun. In the course of his lecture, he discovered that Kelly had never even seen
Beast Wars
. Easily corrected. Soon they were both seated cross-legged on his bed, snacking on cookies while watching the two-episode premier. It didn’t hold his attention the way it usually did. He kept looking to Kelly, at the way he took small careful bites, as if determined not to allow a cookie crumb to fall.

“If you want,” William said once the episodes were over, “we could watch a few together now and again. It doesn’t take long to get through the series. And just wait until you get to a certain episode in the next season! You’ll cry. Not that I did or anything. Um.”

Kelly considered him, features tensing. “Did you get what I said earlier? When I told you that I like Jared too much, did you get what I meant?”

William’s smile faded. “What did you mean?”

“I’m gay,” Kelly said matter-of-factly.

How the hell did he do that? William couldn’t even say those words to himself. He didn’t dare! Doing so might make it permanent. Incurable. He wasn’t sure if he admired Kelly for being strong, or pitied him for admitting defeat. The bed shifted as Kelly stood. He snatched his coat, body stiff as he moved toward the door.

“Wait!” William stood in panic and placed a hand on Kelly’s shoulder, noticing how strong and warm it felt. “You don’t have to go.”

Kelly turned, tone accusing. “Don’t I?”

“Uh.” He didn’t want his mother overhearing any of this, so he led by example and lowered his voice. “It’s okay. What you said. I’m okay with it.”

“That I’m gay?” Kelly asked, still just as loud.

William winced and responded in a whisper. “Yes.”

“Then why are you—” Kelly finally lowered his voice. “Are your parents homophobic or something?”

“I don’t know.”

Kelly faced him fully now, eyes searching his. “Look, there’s one more thing I’d like to get out of the way, because it’ll make things easier on me. And don’t get all offended, because this doesn’t mean I’m hoping that you are, or that I’m even interested. But I’ve told you what I am. So now it’s your turn.”

Jesus, what a question! He looked to the bedroom door, worried it would open or maybe hoping it would, so he didn’t have to answer. He thought about saying yes, then decided to say no, but he couldn’t quite manage either. “I don’t know.”

Kelly’s brow knitted up. “You don’t know?”

William’s mouth went dry. He looked at the door again, deciding it could be an excuse after all. “This probably isn’t the best time.”

“Okay. I get it. I think.” Kelly’s hand rubbed at his chin and mouth as he searched for a solution. “Do you want to go for a drive?”

“Dinner will be ready soon.”

Kelly peered at him, clearly unsure of what to think. “Yeah, it is getting late. Maybe we can get together tomorrow?”

William nodded, then he tried to dispel some of the tension. “When do I get to see you run? I’m starting to think you’re all talk.”

“I’ll prove I’m not. After school. Tomorrow.” Kelly seemed to reconsider. “Let’s go somewhere else. I’m sick of the track. I know a good park with jogging paths. Meet me by my car?”

“Yeah,” William said. “Okay.”

They stared at each other, conversation having dried up. Not for the first time, William wished he was normal, that this was just a guy friend who had come over to watch cartoons and pig out. That part had been so carefree and fun. Why couldn’t the rest of his life be too?

“Walk me to my car?” Kelly said with a hint of mischief.

“Oh!” William said. “Uh…”

Kelly rolled his eyes. “It was a joke. I know the way. See you tomorrow.”

“No, I’ll walk you out!”

“You really don’t need to.”

“It’s polite,” William said. He slipped around Kelly to the bedroom door, bowing as he opened it, as if he were royalty.

Kelly chuckled appreciatively, and when they reached the front door, waited for William to open it too.

“My liege,” William declared dramatically.

They were both smiling as they stood at the spot where walkway met driveway, the storm having blown away. Before they could say goodbye, they heard the sound of base thumping. William recognized it instantly. It was the song his father had cranked up when taking him for a ride in the new car. The same song he was always playing, and one Holly and Abby both loved too:
The Sweet Escape
by Gwen Stefani. Admittedly, it was a fun tune, but a burly construction worker in his forties listening to it? At least the windows were up and the roof closed. The car roared into the driveway. His father sprang out a second after the engine shut off.

“Hey guys!” Lewis said. “How’s it hanging?”