“He didn’t mention anything.”
“That’s not surprising. He doesn’t like to talk about that sort of thing.” Ben sighed. “There’s a lot he doesn’t talk about.”
He said this last part almost to himself, and though I could have pushed to find out what he meant, I chose not to.
“What about you?” he said. “You hail from the great big city?”
“I do.”
“And you just wanted to escape and live out the small town life fantasy?” He laughed. “Not that it’s much of a fantasy.”
“I like it out here,” I said. “So far. It’s nice to have quiet and space. To be in nature and not surrounded by concrete and asphalt and disgusting car fumes.”
“Cole lived in Boston for a while, when he was going to school. I’d come down and visit him sometimes. The city’s cool, but I don’t know if I could live there myself, either.”
We ordered fried cod, fried clams, and a basket of fries, plus two Cokes, which I normally didn’t drink. The food was incredibly good, though I’d probably have some sort of indigestion the next day.
Ben asked me h
ow my new bike was. I’d gone into the shop one day after work, but he’d been busy helping someone else, so one of his co-workers had let me test ride a couple bikes before I finally settled on a hybrid that I could ride on the road and on the trails. We talked about bikes for a little bit, the conversation somehow always coming back to Cole.
“We raced BMX,” Ben said. “That was about the only time Cole and I have ever really competed against each other.”
“I get the feeling the two of you have a rather competitive relationship.”
“We do.”
“Not just with bikes.”
He nodded. “Not just with bikes,” he agreed.
I almost said, with women, too, just so I could see the expression on his face, but I decided not to.
When we were done eating, Ben drove me around a little bit, gave me a little tour of Gardner, and then drove me home.
“It’s funny,” Ben said. “While I had a really great time with you tonight, I feel like we talked about Cole more than anything else.”
“Did we?” I asked.
“Sort of seemed like it. Not saying that’s a bad thing or anything—he’s my boy—but, I guess I’m just not used to talking about another dude when I’m on a date.”
“Is that what this is?”
He regarded me. “Isn’t it?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I felt like I was a little quick to turn you down the first time that you had come over.”
He shifted in the seat and leaned on the center console, his face now just a few inches from mine. Ben was certainly not bad-looking, but he just wasn’t my type. I could tell that he was going to try to kiss me, which wasn’t how I wanted to end the night. So I fumbled for the door handle and pushed it open, undoing my seat belt right as he leaned a little closer.
“It’s getting late. I should get inside,” I said.
He didn’t say anything for a second, and I knew he was waiting to see if I was going to invite him in. “Thanks again for taking me out,” I said.
He shifted back and gave me a close-mouthed smile. “No problem,” he said. “Oh, and by the way, Cole has herpes.”
Chapter Eight
Cole