Something Like Stories - Volume One (Something Like..., #7)

by Jay Bell

“Wanna go for a walk?” Ben looked up in surprise at the offer. Jace’s expression was pensive. Perhaps because it had been another full day. Michelle and Greg had come searching for Emma once they noticed her missing, bringing the two boys with them. Greg’s parents stopped by soon with food. After hours of conversation and eating, all Ben wanted to do was bask in the silence now that everyone had gone. The house was finally quiet. Even the television was off. All he could hear were the sounds of whisky on ice and the occasional turning of a magazine page as Jace’s parents unwound. Ben was playing on his laptop, but his boyfriend’s eyes were hopeful and waiting for an answer. “Okay. Let’s go.” The sun was already setting as they walked down to the lake. Ben imagined they would sit on the dock and listen to the sounds of nature. Instead they skirted around the water’s edge and entered the woods. “Do you know where we’re going?” Ben asked, blinking in the increasing gloom. “Of course,” Jace said. “Don’t worry. You’re safe with me. I won’t let any bears get you.” “Ha!” Ben walked a few more steps, then glanced behind him when he heard the underbrush rustling. “There aren’t any bears in Missouri. Are there?” “Only one way to find out.” Jace seemed confident, never hesitating as he guided them deeper into the woods. Eventually they reached a clearing, the open sky above them burnt orange, the first stars already twinkling from trillions of miles away. Jace walked slower, as if in...