Something Like Lightning

by Jay Bell

  “Okay, everyone,” said their hostess, nearly shaking with excitement as all heads turned toward her. “It’s time to really start having fun!”

  She had a bottle in her hand, which was encouraging, but as soon as Kelly saw it was empty, he knew what was coming.

  “Spin the Bottle! ”

  Kelly glanced around the room, realizing there were about three lassies to every lad. Several of those girls were looking in their direction. He met William’s eye.

  “Okay,” Kelly said. “Time for us to take our leave.”

  “I don’t want to go yet,” William said. “It’s almost midnight.” After a girl across the room waved at him he added, “But maybe we could find somewhere a little more private.”

  Kelly grabbed his backpack, which held his camera and something that might rescue the evening. Then he followed William upstairs. He seemed to know where he was going. Down a hall and to the right, they entered a room that was—feminine. That about summed it up. Pinks and pale yellows. Lace curtains, bottles of perfume and a makeup mirror on a little vanity table. Next to that was a small television set, its edges decorated with glitter paint and tiny plastic jewels. Overall the room felt comfortable and nice, rather than utilitarian like Kelly’s or even William’s room. Sure, maybe Kelly decorated with photos and William had his toy display, but everything here felt carefully chosen and arranged.

  “Is it wrong that I like this?” Kelly murmured.

  “The room?” William chuckled. “I always wondered what it would be like to have a sister. You?”

  Kelly shrugged. “Royal is enough trouble. I never wanted to double it.” He walked over to examine the photos on the dresser, which were mostly girls clutching at each other and smiling. One was of a much younger William wearing a bowler hat and holding a banana to his ear like a phone. Kelly picked it up and looked over at him questioningly.

  “I was in drama freshman year,” he explained. “Wasn’t really my thing, but we had a lot of fun.”

  “Not a bad photo.” Kelly set it down and glanced around the room. This is where the year would end. He never would have chosen such an environment, but he was glad to have William to himself. The holidays had been spent waiting for him to be free again. The Townsons had pulled together over Christmas, the three brothers gathering around their mother as if to guard her from further harm. Endearing as that might be, it left little room for Kelly. Only tonight did they finally have substantial time together, and he intended to make the most of it.

  Kelly switched on the lamps at either side of the bed—pastel sketches of sheep leaping across the shades—and turned off the overhead light. This created a much cozier ambiance. Then he opened his backpack and took out his camera, making room for it on the dresser. He fiddled with the settings for a moment and pointed it toward the center of the room. Then he pushed a button and left it behind.

  “My mom gave us a present,” Kelly said, reaching into the backpack and pulling out a bottle. Unlike the one downstairs, this was still sealed shut. “She made me promise we wouldn’t drink it until we’re home again.”

  “Is that champagne?” William asked, walking over to see. He took the bottle, turning it to read the label, but Kelly watched his face instead, his body reacting already. But it wasn’t just hormones. He loved William. He really did. Every little detail drove him wild. The way his brow furrowed as he read, the way he nibbled on one corner of his lip as he examined the foil-wrapped cork.

  click

  William looked up. “What was that?”

  “My camera,” Kelly said. “It’s set to take a photo every minute. Most of them will turn out blurry, but I thought it would be a fun experiment.”

  “Okay,” William said, trying to hand back the bottle.

  “Open it,” Kelly insisted.

  “But you said—”

  “You’ve never broken a promise made to your mother? You know what, don’t answer that. Just make with the bubbly.”

  William grinned, and for the next five minutes, they bickered over the right way to open it.

  “Don’t do it over the carpet!” Kelly insisted. “Foam will spray everywhere.”

  “That’s why I plan on putting my mouth over it as soon as the cork pops,” William replied.

  “Ever tried that with a can of cola that’s too shaken up? It’ll come out your nose.”

  “Then you better hold two glasses to my nostrils.”’

  “Gross! Wait, we don’t have glasses at all.”

  In the end, they opened the bedroom window and took out the screen. The plan was to hold the bottle outside the window until the foam drained off. William looked like he was handling hazardous materials as he enacted this plan, his cheek against the top window pane as his outstretched arms worked blindly. Then came the pop! and they both went still.

  “Well?” Kelly asked.

  “It’s not overflowing,” William said. “Maybe it was flat already.”’

  But a nice curl of fumes came from the bottle when William pulled it back inside. Over the muted sound of Duran Duran downstairs, Kelly could hear bursting bubbles.

  “Should I go find cups?” William asked.

  “We can slum it and drink directly from the bottle.”’

  “Okay,” William said. “You first.”’

  He held out the bottle, but Kelly didn’t take it. Instead he stepped closer. William caught on, lifting the bottle and carefully holding it to Kelly’s lips. William tilted the bottle slowly, bit by bit, until golden sparkles poured into Kelly’s mouth.

  click

  Then Kelly had to pull away, because his cheeks were filling up and his nose was tickling. He swallowed in one big gulp, covering his mouth just in case.

  “How is it?” William asked.

  “Good! Now your turn.”’

  “Oh no!” William said, dodging away from him. “I’m not letting you hold the bottle. You’ll make me drink way too much.”’

  “I won’t,” Kelly insisted. “Trust me.”’

  Of course when William handed him the bottle, Kelly did just that. William nearly sprayed champagne all over the room, but he managed to swallow it without too much dribbling out.

  “You’re cruel,” William said, shaking his head.

  “I know,” Kelly said proudly, taking another swig.

  The door to the bedroom opened then, in the frame a hopeful-looking guy with his arm around a girl’s shoulders. “Whoa!” he said. “Sorry. Didn’t know anyone was in here.”’

  “It’s fine,” William said.

  The guy looked between them a few times. “We were searching for somewhere private. The master bedroom is already taken. Uh.”

  “Oh!” William said. “We can leave.” click

  Kelly rolled his eyes and went to the door. “Try the laundry room downstairs. Or maybe the hall closet.” He shut the door so fast that the couple had to jump backward to avoid being hit. After pushing the lock on the knob for good measure, he turned around.

  “I may be cruel, but you’re way too nice!”

  “They wanted to be alone,” William said.

  “And we don’t?”

  William’s cheeks flushed. “Right. Sorry.”

  “It’s fine,” Kelly said. “What time is it?”

  “Just a few more minutes.” William sat on the end of the bed, eyes unfocused. “What a shit year. I’ll be glad when it’s over.”

  Kelly sat down next to him. “It wasn’t all bad. Was it?”

  “No. It would have been one of the best. I met you. Then I came out, and it’s like no one even cares. Except...”

  Kelly nudged against him. “Don’t worry about the name-calling at school. It’s just random assholes.”

  “It’s not that,” William said. “I’m not sure if my mom is okay with it. Every time I mention your name, she kind of makes this face.”

  click

  “Oh,” Kelly said. “I’m sure she’s okay with you. She and I just need to get to know each other better.
Besides, she’s probably worried you’ll get hurt like she did.”

  “You think so?”

  “Yeah,” Kelly said, wishing it were that simple. Eventually he’d have to try to smooth things over, but right now he didn’t want to dwell on the past. “So tell me about next year. What’s going to happen?”

  “You want me to make a prediction?”

  “Sure,” Kelly said.

  William thought about it. “Everything’s going to be perfect.” “Really?”

  “Yeah. No more heartbreak. Not for my mom, not for us, not for anyone. And then. Vegas.”

  “Vegas?” Kelly asked.

  “Yup. We fall so madly in love that by the time the school year is over, we head down to Vegas to get hitched.”

  “Wow,” Kelly said. “Are you proposing to me?”

  “Not yet,” William said, “but give me another swig from that bottle and we’ll see what happens.”

  Kelly laughed and handed it to him. A moment later, shouting came from downstairs. Outside the open window, someone started banging a pan. Two thousand eight had arrived. They looked at each other in surprise, William’s eyes searching his. Then he leaned over, and with lips tasting of champagne, he gave Kelly his first kiss of the year. click

  “He’s so... nice.”

  Bonnie placed her feet on a plastic chair, popped the last bite of a homemade brownie into her mouth, and considered him. “You say that like it’s a cussword. Nice”

  “I’m simply stating the facts,” Kelly insisted.

  “And is his niceness the reason he’s not here?”

  “Sort of.”

  The gay youth meetings had descended into chaos lately. Phil, their group leader, hadn’t shown up today. This happened on occasion when he was ill or some other emergency cropped up, but now he had missed three consecutive meetings. For better or worse, they were on their own. Kelly enjoyed it, since all they did was get together to socialize. William missed the structure and wasn’t as eager to attend anymore.

  “I’ve mentioned that Royal is totally crazy about him, right?” Kelly said. “Now he’s decided he wants to be in the Coast Guard too, and today in Galveston they’re having some sort of open house. On a boat. Or maybe an aircraft carrier. I don’t know, but guess where my boyfriend is. He’s driving Royal down there so he can see it.”

  “That bastard,” Bonnie said without emotion.

  “He’s taking a road trip,” Kelly stressed. “Without me.”

  “You couldn’t go?”

  “It wouldn’t have been romantic with my little brother tagging along.”

  “I guess not.” Bonnie shrugged. “Maybe the break will do you both good. Carpooling to school, classes together, a shared lunch period, and gee, what do you do after school?”

  “Hang out.”

  “Together. Just you and him. No one else. That’s pretty intense. I don’t remember the last time you and I did anything.”

  “Sorry,” Kelly said.

  “I get it,” Bonnie said. “I know what it’s like to be in love. But moderation and all that. Eat too much candy and you’ll end up sick.” “Maybe you’re right.”

  Bonnie put her hands behind her head and leaned back. “You should be happy. Most couples who spend that much time together argue nonstop. Sounds like you guys get along.”

  “We bicker,” Kelly admitted. “Usually over stupid stuff. Like on Valentine’s Day. We went out to dinner together and were halfway through the meal when the waiter asked if we could hurry up. I’d been saving my allowance for weeks! I made that reservation a month in advance too. The stupid waiter didn’t want us to finish our food.”

  “Fuck that,” Bonnie said.

  “Exactly! It was supposed to be our big romantic night out. I got pissed and told the waiter that not only were we still eating, but we were planning on having a leisurely dessert afterwards. Of course William got all flustered and acted like I was being offensive. Then he ate even faster than usual and insisted he was full. He’s never full. So no dessert. Just a rushed meal. Super-expensive fast food. When I suggested we shouldn’t tip the waiter, he looked at me like I was being unreasonable.”

  Bonnie scrunched up her face. “Okay, so maybe that’s a little too nice. But it’s still better than him being a jerk. Would you rather William had leapt up from the table and put the waiter in a headlock?”

  Kelly thought it about it carefully. “Yes. I would have liked that very much.”

  Bonnie laughed. “You’ll be fine. Opposites attract.”

  “I suppose. I just wish we hadn’t spent the rest of the night arguing about it. Definitely not a romantic Valentine’s Day.”

  They noticed then that the youth group had quieted down. An adult had entered the room, one wearing a flannel shirt and round glasses. With his medium-length hair, the guy could have been a John Denver impersonator. “Settle down now, everyone.”

  Kelly and Bonnie exchanged glances. The party was over.

  “My name is Keith, and I’ll be leading these group meetings from now on. I’ve been asked not to talk about what happened to Phil, the previous group leader, but I feel that being open and honest is important. As you may have heard, Phil was asked to step down because he engaged in inappropriate conduct.”

  “You mean kinky sex?” Bonnie asked.

  Keith reconsidered his words. “More of an inappropriate relationship.”

  “Wait,” Kelly said. “Wasn’t he married? He talked about going to Massachusetts with his husband just so they could get hitched.”

  “That’s true,” Keith said, adjusting his glasses nervously. “I don’t want to go into details, but I thought you should know the general reason.”

  The room was silent. “What do we care if he cheated?” Bonnie said. “Has nothing to do with us.”

  “Unless one of us helped him cheat,” Kelly said, meaning it as a joke.

  In the comer of the room, Layne started coughing, waving away any offers of help. When he recovered, he tittered nervously, unable to make eye contact.

  “And now we know,” Kelly murmured.

  “Anyway,” Keith said, “with that out of the way, I’m afraid there will be other changes too. Meetings will now be biweekly—” A mixture of groaning and jokes interrupted him. “—but this will also free up the budget to allow activities outside the church. For the remainder of today’s meeting, I thought we could discuss some of those possibilities.”

  Kelly rolled his eyes and tuned out the rest of the lecture. Or tried to. Bonnie seemed genuinely interested, even raising her hand when Keith solicited ideas.

  “A camping trip,” she said.

  “I do love pitching a tent!” Layne chimed in. “With people my own age, of course. Um.”

  Other members of the group latched on to Bonnie’s idea. Kelly shot her a glare, as if she had betrayed him.

  “What?” she said. “It’ll be fun. Just think about sharing a tent—and a sleeping bag—with William.”

  Kelly blinked a few times. Then his hand shot up. “Camping sounds good to me!”

  Mosquitoes or the ghastly chemical smell that kept them at bay? Not the best of choices. Kelly slapped his arm, deciding that if he weren’t hoping for action tonight, he would have gladly dunked himself in skunk spray to avoid any more insect bites. He just hoped all this suffering would be worth it. He glanced over at William, who was still trying to get the campfire going. The sun hadn’t gone down yet, but he insisted it would be easier to start now rather than fumbling around in the dark.

  “You wouldn’t believe how romantic he is,” Layne was saying to a captive audience. His forbidden relationship with Phil was common knowledge now, but he’d been tight-lipped about the details. Until tonight. With Keith having wandered off to gather firewood, Layne was taking the opportunity spill the details. “I never would have guessed he has a foot fetish. That’s sort of weird, but whatever. He sure knows how to make a guy feel special. Once Phil moves out of his mother’s place, he says we can li
ve together.”

  “You’re sixteen,” Kelly pointed out.

  “So? That’s legal in most states. I can’t help it if Texas is so prudish.”

  “He’s forty years old,” Kelly said next.

  “Thirty-nine,” Layne corrected. “And you’re just jealous that I have a lover with so much experience.”

  “Congratulations,” Kelly said, “but you guys don’t have anything in common. You can’t.”

  “Leave him alone,” William said.

  Kelly ignored him. He knew Layne well enough to know he could handle a little teasing. “What do you talk about when you’re not shoving your feet in his face or whatever?”

  Layne pursed his lips. “He’s going through a midlife crisis and wishes he could be a teenager again. I am a teenager, and I want school to be over so my adult life can begin. We spend a lot of time comparing notes.”

  “And other things, no doubt,” Bonnie said. She had her arm around Shirley, a skinny new arrival with big teeth and probing eyes. The black makeup she wore only drew more attention to these features. Kelly supposed she was pretty, in an alien sort of way.

  Layne considered them one by one. “You can’t tell me none of you have lusted after an older man. Or woman. Come on! No hot teachers? No friend of the family who always wants you to sit on their lap?”

  “You’re horrible,” Lisa said, covering her mouth.

  “He’s honest,” Bonnie corrected. “And yes, there was someone. My boss at my first job. She was nearly fifty. Of course I didn’t know that at the time. She could have passed for twenty, I swear, and she totally fed into that. I didn’t find out her real age until—”

  Kelly slapped at his neck. Deciding he’d had enough, he stood and headed for his tent. Maybe once the fire was blazing, the smoke would drive away the mosquitoes. Until then, he would take sanctuary inside aluminum poles swathed in cheap nylon. Once inside, he zipped shut the entrance flap and surveyed their weekend paradise. The tent had enough room for two sleeping bags, a cooler filled with ice and drinks, and their backpacks, which contained a change of clothes and toiletries. And in Kelly’s case, a little bit more, just in case things went further than before.