by Jay Bell
“I hate when a party is over,” he said.
“Really?” William asked from next to him. “Why?”
“Because endings are sad. They always make me cry.”
“Even when they’re happy?”
“Especially when they’re happy because then I don’t want it to be over.”
William put an arm around Jason and pulled him closer. “I don’t think of it that way. To me it’s more like when a war is over. The chaos has finally ceased. Everything is calm and peaceful again.”
“And kind of sad,” Jason said.
“Hm,” William replied. “Hey, remember when I asked you for four years?”
Jason glanced over at him. “Now I’m getting sadder.”
“I know, I know. What if I asked you for four more?”
“That’s not funny.”
“I’m dead serious,” William replied. “Except this time, I want you to come with me. On a journey. Of sorts.”
Jason looked back to where Ben and Tim—no, to where his parents—were seated. Now they were exchanging frosting-covered kisses. From beneath the table Chinchilla grumbled in her sleep, stomach huge and round, no doubt from all the treats she had begged from guests. Jason loved this world. He didn’t want to leave it, not ever, but he knew he would. If that’s what William wanted him to do, Jason would leave it all behind… but he would never stop missing it. Especially the people. Ben had pulled away from Tim, eyes twinkling as he nodded once. Except Ben wasn’t nodding in greeting. He was nodding toward William.
“Uh, I sort of need you to look at me.”
Jason turned his head. William was holding a little black box. One that was covered with lint. He supposed all such boxes looked the same, but he could have sworn it was the same box that had once held the engagement ring Tim had given Ben. Jason struggled to remember if it had been part of the ceremony, snapping out of it when William laughed.
“Not the reaction I was hoping for,” he said.
“Sorry,” Jason said, “but is that from my old room?”
William shrugged. “I needed a box.”
“Yeah, but it was in my underwear drawer.”
William gave him an exasperated look. “Just take it, okay?”
Jason hesitated. Of course, in the back of his mind, he wondered if this was what it seemed. William wasn’t down on one knee though, so it probably wasn’t.
Fed up with waiting for him to react, William opened the box for him. The interior was no longer empty. Instead it was filled almost to capacity. Inside was a red and yellow ribbon, attached to it a gold medallion. William took it out and held it up, revealing it as some sort of military decoration. Jason admired it a moment before looking to William in confusion.
“It’s a Lifesaving Medal,” William explained. “This is the life you helped me save. I figured it’s a nice symbol for what I’m asking for. A life. Together. Just give me four years. We can stay right here in Austin, if you want. And at the end of that time, when I’ve done my best to prove myself, I’d like to be standing right here with you.”
“And what?” Jason asked.
William smiled. “And then we’ll give Ben and Tim some serious competition.”
Jason grinned, reached not for the medal but the back of William’s neck so he could draw him in for a kiss. Then there was a flash of a camera and a cheer. Someone shouted, “I think he said yes!” before hands started clapping. Jason looked up at the smiling faces around him and felt a sense of wonder. For a moment, he saw it all through the eyes of a lonely boy who had lost his family. A boy who had never dared dream of a day like this, that a group of strangers could become so many precious things to him—family, friends, and even a lover.
“What do you say?” William asked, still uncertain despite the kiss. “Is that a yes? It didn’t feel like a no.”
Jason chose a different answer. “Four years,” he said.
“I’m supposed to wait four years to get your answer?” William cocked his head and gave him a puzzled smile. “Is this some sort of punishment?”
“Take it or leave it,” Jason said easily.
“Okay,” William conceded. “I suppose that’s only fair. It’s my turn to wait, and when the four years are up, I’ll stand on this stage with you and ask my question again. I’ll say ‘Jason Grant, will you spend the rest of your life with me?’ And you’ll say… Come on! Give me a hint! What will you say?”
Jason grinned, and rather than let words betray just how in love he was, he leaned in for another kiss. As their lips met, he realized this wasn’t a sad ending, nor was it a happy one. Instead, this moment was the very beginning of it all. A lifetime of never being lonely, of never lacking love. He’d finally done the impossible. Jason had come home again, and this time it would last forever.
__________
Afterword
We’re out of seasons. I know, I know. I’m sad too, because it means we can never return to this world again, and like Jason, I don’t want to say goodbye. But what can we do? It’s called the Seasons series for a reason. Although you may have noticed that I often call it the Something Like… series as well. Which one is correct? Good question. Maybe both. I suppose Something Like… refers to the overall saga, this huge tale that doesn’t just involve four main characters, but also people like Eric, Marcello, Victor, and Allison. They are a part of that saga too, even though they don’t have their own books, and probably never will. So I suppose that would make the Seasons books—the part of the story we do get to experience—its own sub-series. This begs the question, what if there was a another sub-series with its own naming scheme? Meals, for instance. Something Like Breakfast! Something Like Lunch! Something Like Dinner! So delicious! More importantly, this would allow the story to continue.
I’ll stop playing coy now and tell you the truth. After writing this book and meeting so many new characters, I decided that I want to keep going. I’m still enjoying myself, and I hope you wonderful readers are too. Spring is not only an ending, but it’s also the beginning—or more accurately—the bridge to another set of books. Don’t worry, I have a better naming scheme in mind than meals. I also have a good idea of which characters will be getting their own books, and I’m not going for obvious choices like William or Caesar. At least not yet. I want to explore new territory and waddle outside my comfort zone. But most of all, I want to continue writing about love in all its various forms, and I want those tales to be set in this world that has become so very comfortable. I hope you want to stick around too. If so, I don’t see why the Something Like… saga has to end. Here’s looking forward to forever!
-Jay Bell
January, 2014
Experience the story from the very beginning…
…in the Seasons Series, each book written from a different character's perspective, the plots intertwining at key points while also venturing off in new directions. The quest for love takes many different forms, changing like the seasons. Which is your favorite?
Current books in the series:
#1: Something Like Summer
#2: Something Like Winter
#3: Something Like Autumn
#4: Something Like Spring
Also by Jay Bell
Kamikaze Boys
True love is worth fighting for.
My name is Connor Williams and people say I'm crazy. But that's not who I am. They also think I'm straight, and mean, and dangerous. But that's not who I am. The stories people tell, all those legends which made me an outsider—they don't mean a thing. Only my mother and my younger brother matter to me. Funny then that I find myself wanting to stand up for someone else. David Henry, that kind-of-cute guy who keeps to himself, he's about to get his ass beat by a bunch of dudes bigger than him. I could look away, let him be one more causality of this cruel world… But that's not who I am.
Kamikaze Boys, a Lambda Literary award winning novel, is a story of love triumphant as two young men walk a perilous path in the hopes of saving each oth
er.
Get Kamikaze Boys for your Kindle now!
Or, for more information, please see:
www.jaybellbooks.com
Also by Jay Bell:
Hell's Pawn
John Grey is dead… and that's just the beginning.
Purgatory should have been a safe haven for souls that belong neither in Heaven nor Hell, but instead John finds himself in a corrupt prison, one bereft of freedom or pleasure. Along with his decedent friend Dante, John makes a brave escape, only to fall straight down to Hell and into the arms of Rimmon, a handsome incubus. John is soon recruited as Hell's ambassador, visiting the afterlife realms of other cultures to enlist an army strong enough to stand against Heaven. As interesting as his new job is, John's mind keeps returning to Purgatory and the souls still trapped there. Somehow John must stop a war he doesn't believe in and liberate Purgatory, all while desperately trying to attract the attention of an incubus whose heart belongs to another.
Get Hell's Pawn for your Kindle now!
Or, for more information, please see:
www.jaybellbooks.com
-Table of Contents-
Part One - 2006:
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Part Two - 2009:
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Part Three - 2011:
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-two
Epilogue
Table of Contents
Front Matter
Copyright
Acknowledgements
Dedication
Part One - 2006
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Part Two - 2009
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Part Three - 2011
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Epilogue
Also by Jay Bell
Back Cover
