“This was a nice surprise,” Tim said eventually. “I thought you were coming over to tell me that Jace wants my head on a platter.”

“No.” The smile faded from Ben’s face. “He was very understanding about everything, but there is something we need to talk about.”

“Oh yeah?”

“I can’t handle this,” Ben blurted out. “My feelings for you, I mean. They never went away--”

“That’s a good thing,” Tim interrupted.

“No, it’s not. I love Jace. I’ve been with him for over two years, and I plan on staying with him.”

Tim reached out and grabbed his arm, as if he were afraid Ben would try to flee. “I can give you everything he can,” he promised. “More even.”

Ben knew arguing would be fruitless. “I’m with Jace,” he said. “And that’s how it’s going to stay.”

“Okay,” Tim said, releasing his arm. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.”

“Yeah, it does, Tim, because that’s not how I see you.”

“That’s not how I see you either, so why fight it?”

“Because I love Jace, and I’ve already hurt him more than I ever should have.”

“And you don’t love me?” Tim challenged. “I know you do, because I feel the same way.”

Ben struggled to remember if Tim had ever said “I love you” when they were younger. Was he even saying it now, or just implying that he did?

“I have to go.” Ben stood. “I don’t think we should see each other. For a while at least.”

“Benjamin, wait!” Tim called after him.

He ran for the car, and as he pulled away, he saw Tim holding Chinchilla back so she wouldn’t run into the street. Tim looked hurt, but at least Ben knew that he would no longer be alone.

* * * * *

Whatever academic gods were out there received multiple daily prayers from Ben, mostly as pleas to help him complete his finals and put formal education behind him. Other times he thanked them for providing limitless distraction during a difficult situation. The first time he had said good-bye to Tim had been against his will. Now it was his own doing, but he still couldn’t say this was what he wanted.

Scholarly pressure accelerated time until two months had gone by, and even though Ben thought of Tim every single day, his relationship with Jace was back on track. Some weeks they barely managed to see each other, but when they did their relationship was just as loving and intimate as before. If Jace harbored a grudge, he didn’t show it.

After a late study session in the library one evening, Ben had decided to go home, a term that now referred to Jace’s apartment. He had barely stayed a night at his duplex in the last month. Normally Allison wouldn’t tolerate such a thing, but she was busy with her own finals. When Ben leapt up the stairs to the apartment, he saw someone tacking a note to the door.

The stranger turned when he heard Ben approaching, eyes and mouth wide in surprise. With eyeliner, base, and powder on his young face, he was only a microphone away from being in a boy band. Surprise became disinterest before the stranger turned away, evidently feeling Ben’s presence was of no consequence.

The boy band reject was already walking away when Ben saw that the note was addressed to Jace. His name was surrounded by hand-drawn hearts. Underneath these was a long series of X’s and O’s followed by the name Aaron.

“Hey!” Ben called after him.

“Oh,” Aaron said when he turned around. “Are you Jace’s roommate or something?”

“I’m his boyfriend,” Ben challenged.

“Yeah, right,” Aaron laughed. “’fraid I beat you to that one! Make sure he gets that note, ‘kay?”

Aaron turned and walked away. Ben felt like grabbing him by his over-styled hair and dragging him back for some answers, but he figured the note would tell him all he needed to know. He tore it off the door and went inside, ignoring Samson’s purrs of greeting.

The note was written in purple ink in a handwriting that was annoyingly loopy and feminine. It read:

Surprise! Bet you didn’t expect to see me so soon, huh? My parents sprung for a ticket. Guess I should have called ahead to tell you I was cumming. At least I hope I will be. How about a rerun of what we did in your hotel? Then again, maybe not. I’m still sore! Just in case you forgot my number-

Ben glanced at the number to confirm that it was a cell phone from a different area code. Blood boiling, he let the note fall to the ground and ran outside to chase after Aaron. He circled the block to no avail. When he came back, Jace was struggling to get the key into the door, arms loaded with bags of groceries.

“Hey!” he said happily when he saw Ben. “You ready for dinner?”

“A note just came for you,” Ben said, trying to keep his face impassive.

“A note?”

Ben gestured for him to go inside. Once they were in the apartment, he swept the note off the floor and handed it to Jace. Ben searched his face as he read it. Jace looked puzzled, as if he didn’t understand, but Ben knew he had the best poker face in the world.

“Is this some sort of joke?” Jace asked.

“Come on. Where were you last week?”

“A lot of places,” Jace replied.

“Including Boston?”

“Yeah. So?” Finally recognition dawned on Jace’s face. “You think-- No, this isn’t from that kid. I haven’t talked to him since.”

“Since what, exactly?” Ben demanded, wondering how many boy-toys Jace had scattered across the U.S. Like a sailor pulling into port, he probably had one waiting for him in every state.

“You know the story. Nothing happened. This is--” Jace gestured with the note. “I don’t know what this is.”

“It’s perfectly clear what it is,” Ben shouted. “Or is there another gay guy next door named Jace, and Aaron just happened to pick the wrong door?”

Jace set down the note, took a deep breath, and looked Ben in the eye. “I’ve never cheated on you.”

“Then how do you explain it?”

Jace shrugged and considered the question for a moment. “If I had to guess, I expect Tim thought this might--”

“Tim? Get a grip, Jace! He’s not Moriarty! I saw the guy who put this on the door, and it sure as hell wasn’t Tim.”

Jace’s jaw clenched, his patience finally nearing its end. “I don’t know what’s going on, but if anyone deserves to be under suspicion, it’s you!”

That was enough to send Ben over the edge. Their words became more heated and ugly with every sentence. Blinded by rage, one of them screamed it was over. Afterwards it was too hard to remember who.

Ben ended up back at the duplex after driving recklessly through town. What he needed was to talk to Allison. Unfortunately she wasn’t home. He waited for two hours, pacing the house and trying to make sense of his thoughts when the painting caught his eye. Two hearts, overlapping in a swarm of fiery colors.

Why the hell not? He would go see Tim. He could confront him, even. Maybe Jace was right. Maybe this was some crackpot scheme to get them to split up. If so, it had apparently worked. Some of the anger ebbed away, replaced by sorrow. They hadn’t really broken up, had they?

Tim’s car was in the driveway of his house, but so was another he didn’t recognize. Ben thought of Aaron, certain that he was here and conspiring with Tim over their next move. He pounded on the door. Tim answered almost immediately, looking surprised but happy.

“Benjamin!”

“Who’s here?” Ben growled, feeling like an over-possessive husband.

“Just someone from school,” Tim said.

Ben pushed past him and stepped over Chinchilla, whose whole butt wagged in greeting. He stomped into the living room to discover a mousey girl pouring over multiple spiral notebooks.

“Is that your car outside?” Ben asked, suddenly feeling stupid.

“Huh?” the girl replied, finally noticing him. “Yeah. Do I need to move it?”

“No. Sorry.”

“Actually,” Tim said, entering the room, “we’re going to have to do this tomorrow. Something’s come up.”