Island Heat (2 page)

“What about that place, with the cute front porch?”

“It's so small,” Eli frowned, squinting at the high-resolution photo plastered across his computer monitor as he leaned back in his home office. It looked like a cute beachfront home found in New England, but a little too tacky for his tastes.

Besides, sharing it with Dean would be too cramped, especially if they brought guests home. It was a small enough community that nearly everyone knew everyone else, and the after party XXX moved from house to house throughout the summer. Eli loved throwing at least one party in the summer, if not more, but his favorite hundred guys – his friends from elite circles and their hot dates – wouldn't fit into that place.

Dean sighed at Eli as he rolled his chair closer to the monitor and pushed Eli's hand off the mouse to close the window. “Okay, fine. Something bigger?”

“I liked the place we had last time.” Then, Eli remembered: the mansion he'd shared with Tom only had one massive bedroom on a completely open second floor that overlooked the entire living room and entertaining space below. It might be awkward to share with his best friend. “Oh... wait.”

Dean opened up another tab. “What about this one?”

“Oh, I like
that
.” The house was bright and spacious with vaulted ceilings and windows overlooking the sea. There were two huge bedrooms on the upper floor, each of which had a walk-in closet and an en-suite bathroom.

“Each of us has our own balcony,” Dean pointed out, clicking to a photo showing the view of the water and the beach below. As he kept clicking, Eli marveled at the huge, gleaming living room and kitchen. The windows in the living room were also rolling glass doors that opened onto a covered outdoor area with a fire pit and wet bar. There was space around the side of the house, and the trail behind the house led directly to the beach where they could hold bonfires.

Tom hated open flame. It made Eli smile to think about how much Tom would have hated that house just for the fire pit. Eli was going to light it every evening.

“Let's do it,” Eli told him, suddenly determined. A house as beautiful as this, completely different from the modern condo he'd stayed in last time, would be a good place to stay for the summer.

Dean grinned and picked up his cellphone to dial the number for reservations. “Good. We'll get there a couple days early this time to get settled in before everyone else arrives, huh?”

“Good idea,” Eli agreed. He didn't want to be waiting around here any longer than he had to.

Dean made the call quickly, giving their names and the place they wanted to rent before chatting with the guy working in the rentals office about Ember Isle's plans for summer entertainment. Eli let him flirt for a minute before kicking him.

Once he hung up, Dean laughed. “He sounded cute. So sue me.”

“What are they doing this year?”

“Same Main Street plan as last year, but with all different shops. They're recruiting the last few spots now – sounds like they're looking for a few more bars and pubs. They're upping the class schedule for water sports, especially jet-skiing and stand-up paddle-boarding. They're also bringing in more bands since the concert last year went so well. And he specifically said to tell you that your favorite club from last year is opening up again. Chrome.”

“Awesome. That all sounds... so great.” Eli didn't even have to feign his enthusiasm, since he found his heart thumping with excitement. Forgetting his troubles on a tropical island playground for the rich and famous sounded like the perfect way to spend the summer. Maybe he'd flirt with a few guys along the way and get back into the dating scene, too.

He deserved better than that bastard, and if Tom had been able to move on from him before they'd even gotten married, so could he now that they were done.

Kevin carefully cracked two eggs into the frying pan, tossing the shells into the compost bucket and listening to them sizzle against the hot metal. Troy hadn't brought home a guy last night, which meant Kevin felt more comfortable cooking breakfast shirtless and un-showered.

“Morning!”

Kevin turned his head to glance at Troy and smiled. He always came out just in time when he cooked breakfast for him. “Morning,” he answered automatically, noticing that Troy looked awfully pleased about something. Maybe he'd gone to someone else's place before coming home. “Breakfast's nearly done.”

“Okay. Uh, so... I have something to tell you.” Troy had his phone clutched in his hand, and he was watching Kevin intently. His dark hair was all over the place, and he kept pushing it back from his eyes. He really needed a haircut.

Kevin leaned against the stove. “I'm flattered, but I like being just friends.”

“Oh, ha ha,” Troy rolled his eyes, but he was glowing more than Kevin had ever seen. “No, it's not that...”

“What, then?”

“I might have applied for something for us...”

Kevin's eyes sharpened as he turned to lift the fried eggs onto two plates, completing the breakfasts he'd cooked. “What's that?”

“A business program.”

“Okay...” Kevin frowned, carrying the plates to the table. He'd already set it with utensils and condiments.

Troy leaned on the back of his chair, still holding his phone, and his hand was shaking.

God, we got accepted to something.
“Tell me,” Kevin told him firmly. “I'm not angry.”

“Okay, good. It was super spur-of-the-moment a couple nights ago. Someone at the bar told me about it and then I did it on my break after you went to bed...”

“What is it, then? I assume we got accepted?”

“Yes, they just called and sent a followup email,” Troy breathed out, his eyes wide. “I applied for a storefront on Ember Isle.”

“I... don't know what that is,” Kevin admitted.

“Oh, fuck, you're too straight for this,” Troy laughed, finally sinking into his chair and setting his phone aside. He leaned in over his plate, groping for his fork as he met Kevin's eyes. “It's an island for millionaires and... I don't know, just rich people. The one percent.”

“We could never afford rent--”

“We don't pay rent upfront,” Troy told him. “That's the genius of it. The new businesses don't have to, so they pay from their profits. There's a mentoring program built in, too. It sounds like they were actually looking for people to do a dessert bar this year, since they haven't had one yet. They've already got a wine bar and a few others, but... it's a small island and a long enough summer that they told me we'll have no problem getting people--”

“Okay, whoa, whoa,” Kevin held out his hand, then picked up his utensils to start eating. He took a few bites as he processed everything Troy had just said; it sounded like the opportunity of a lifetime, but
summer
? An island? He'd have to quit his job for this. “Are we going to make money off this?”

“That's up to us,” Troy answered seriously, meeting Kevin's eyes. “If we still want in, we just have to say so. But, uh...”

“What?”

“We have to accept the spot by noon, or else they'll find another newcomer who wants to open a bar.”

Kevin felt resentment at the tight deadline, but even more stubbornly resentful towards whoever the next in line was. He hadn't even known the opportunity was there until now, but now it was
his
and nobody was going to take that from him. “That's – that's not much time.”

“We already went over the business plans, Kevin,” Troy told him, starting to eat breakfast and speaking between bites. “We know how to make it work. The margins are high enough there that we can make money
and
pay rent.”

Kevin's heart hammered. “What if we don't?”

“If we fall behind on rent, they... well, they do kick us out,” Troy admitted. “But they said that's only happened twice in the last ten years. They liked my management degree and my work experience at the bar, and they liked your cake shop – not this one, the last place, of course–”

“You applied for me, too?” Kevin laughed.

“Yeah,” Troy grinned. “You never would've done it if I'd told you.”

Kevin had to admit that point: Troy was a lot more impulsive than he was, and he would have tried to talk Troy out of it by convincing him they weren't good enough to be accepted.

“And, uh... they came in to check us both out.”

“What?” Kevin exclaimed. “When?”

“They were undercover, I guess,” Troy shrugged. “But they said they liked both of our work.”

Kevin searched his memory until that customer – the one who had particularly wanted to know what he'd invented and baked himself – came to mind. “Oh, my god.”

“What, you remember who it was?”

“I think so. He was hot, maybe about our age.” Troy grinned, and Kevin ignored him. “He wanted to try all my pastries.”

“Yeah, um... on that note...”

“What?”

“There's one other catch.”

Kevin eyed Troy at the way Troy was still grinning, crunching the last piece of buttered toast. “Just tell me.”

“The island's a gay resort.”

***

Just as Kevin expected, his friends and family were both happy for him and happy to have another opportunity to tease him.

His parents, of course, worried that it was a mistake to quit his job, but they agreed that this was the chance of a lifetime to get spotted by someone with the kind of funding it took to turn a small storefront into a proper store when they came back home at the end of the summer.

He only called one or two other friends, and then he posted the news on Facebook:

Troy and I were invited to open a dessert bar on a gay resort island this summer. Going to hand in my notice today.

By the time he had a form letter of resignation downloaded, customized, and printed, he'd already accrued fifteen likes from his friends, along with a few comments.

Good luck. Keep your shirt on, bro,
one of his particularly obnoxious college friends advised him.

He was going to get a lot more teasing about this, but he didn't want Troy to see his less pleasant friends' reactions, so he answered,
I've been living around an actual gay man for three years now and I've been fine. This is a great business opportunity.

Someone else answered,
Great biz opp for you to be a sugar boy.

Troy answered,
That's my goal this summer. He can run the biz, I'll get us an investor... and boyfriend. :)

I'll make a financier to attract them all.
Kevin laughed to himself as he posted the comment while walking to the bakery. Few of his friends would get the reference to the type of dessert except for Troy, who'd had to listen to him planning menus many times, but it amused him nonetheless.

When he reached the bakery storefront, he squared his shoulders. Darren was going to be pissed.

In the surprise of his life, however, as soon as he walked in with the letter in his hand, Darren nodded. “I know why you're here.”

“You do?” Kevin exclaimed, wracking his brain. He didn't have Darren on Facebook, did he?

“A man from Ember Isle called to ask me about you. I didn't want to mention it in case they didn't accept you, but... they did, didn't they?”

“I... yeah.” Kevin swallowed hard and laid the letter on the counter.

“Congratulations, Kevin.” For once, Darren seemed sincere. He leaned in to shake Kevin's hand. “I'm glad I got you to decorate the next couple days of cakes already.”

That's
why he made me do all that overtime?
Kevin tried to hide his shock and just nodded. “Hopefully you find someone soon. I hate leaving without proper notice, but...”

“Chase your dreams,” Darren told him as Amanda emerged from the kitchen to see why he was in early. Kevin's heart sank. He'd miss some things about this job, including working with Amanda.

At the same time, he couldn't help but grin. This
was
his dream, and all of a sudden, he had the most bizarre opportunity to take it. Thank god Troy had decided to take the risk for them.

As the luxury speedboat crested another wave, fresh, salty mist blew across Eli's face. He couldn't help but laugh at Dean, who was standing and holding onto a railing, his arms up in the air. Dean kept whooping at any particularly large waves.

He'd agreed to let Dean handle the transportation to the island and all the details, following his best friend for a plane journey, boat ride, and soon a taxi on the small island to their rented mansion. His thoughts were no longer focusing on the night he kept replaying in his mind. Instead, he found himself wondering what they were going to do that summer.

“Dean, sit down!” Eli called again with a laugh. “God.”

Dean collapsed to sit next to him, sprawling and beaming at him. “What? Why?”

“You're going to fall in, you idiot,” Eli laughed. Already, this was a different trip entirely from when he and Tom had visited last summer. They'd taken a refined, elegant yacht that had served champagne and finger sandwiches on the way to Ember Isle. They could already see the island in the distance with this powerboat propelling them onwards at a much faster speed than the yacht had gone.

“I'll swim,” Dean shrugged, but he stayed seated. “Can't wait to get there, man. It's going to be a great summer.”

“What are you going to do this summer?”

“I think I'll see how many hotties I can hook up with,” Dean told him, smirking. “See if I remember any of them from last summer. You can join me this time,” he slapped Eli's knee.

Eli rolled his eyes. “Our place has separate bedrooms for a good reason, Dean.”

“Oh, don't go breaking my heart,” Dean mock-sighed. “You know you've always wanted to watch.”

“No, I haven't,” Eli laughed, shaking his head. Dean was incorrigible.

Dean leaned in. “Fine, I'll save all the
romantics
for you. You know, I heard that this year, they were specifically looking for guys to come here and romance us as well as the party boys like usual.”

“Like a matchmaker?”

“Yes! They hired a matchmaker to send over a couple dozen of them who are looking for
true love
.”

Eli's heart twisted for a moment.
True love...
He remembered the headlines when he and Tom had come out. He tried to brush it off with a quick smile. “Yeah, maybe.”

“Chin up,” Dean told him, having caught that expression. “It'll get a lot easier when you have cocktails and barbecue food in you all day long.”

That was what Eli was hoping for, at least. He turned his gaze ahead to the island, which was rapidly coming into view. Ember Isle looked lush and pristine from the water with white sand beaches, its water that particular shade of tropical blueish-green. Two wharves for ferries and passenger boats like this one bookended the boardwalk that led to Main Street, and several other wharves for private boats were tucked on the other side of the island.

The island was only a few miles in each direction, making it easily walkable. Many men walked around, though a few taxis and limos serviced the island for the parties. Rumor had it they were brought over by barge in the beginning of the summer since the island's population dwindled to year-round service workers and property caretakers in the winters, all employed to keep the billionaire playground in good shape so spring maintenance was quick.

It was a dream resort, and it changed every year as the island's owner, Bill, hired different business owners every year for the downtown core. Restaurants, boutiques, and clothing stores came and went, rarely staying for more than one summer. Their owners often saved up the money they made from the rich clientele to start their own businesses all over the world, playing up the prestige of having been in business on Ember Isle.

Eli smiled as their boat slowed and approached the dock before gently bumping into the pier. He scrambled off the boat as soon as their skipper tied it up to the wharf, stretching as he got his footing again. The skipper started to unload their luggage and Eli wandered away from it, looking around at the other ferries and boats. Some other men were arriving at the same time, but nobody he recognized – probably service workers or business owners.

They were arriving early, so Main Street wasn't yet open. The business owners were arriving and getting their stores set up, offloading and importing their merchandise, while restaurant and bar owners were ordering ingredients, setting up the décor, and training staff. Construction would be well underway, perhaps even complete, for the limited internal and external renovations each business owner could do to the rental storefronts.

A ferry was just docking at the end of the wharf. Eli could see a good dozen men already lining up to get off. They were probably competing for taxis.

“Going to go check in before that lot get here,” Dean told him in passing, brushing by him to stride down the end of the wharf.

“Yep.”

“There's all your luggage, sir,” the skipper addressed Eli, who turned to face him. Eli could see his suitcases and Dean's carefully arranged on the dock.

“Thanks,” Eli smiled, digging in his pocket to pull out a hundred-dollar bill and hand the tip over. “You were great. We'll call you for the way back.”

“I look forward to seeing you again. Enjoy your summer,” the skipper bowed slightly before jumping back on the boat and untying it. He was already on his way back, no doubt to find more business on the other end.

“Careful,” Eli heard a warm, light voice scold from behind him. He turned back to see a gorgeous young man in a t-shirt and beige shorts with neat, short brown hair kneeling on the wharf as a man about the same age with black hair stopped next to him.

“I didn't see it there,” the other man answered.

“Good thing you didn't step on it. God, Troy.” The guy picked up what looked like a crab and straightened up again as a few other people stepped around them on their way to the housing office.

Troy sighed and answered, “I'm going to check in, you save all the crustaceans.” He brushed his hand along the brown-haired man's back briefly in passing, then headed straight up the wharf in a brisk stride towards land.

He must be dating Troy. I wonder if they're here as a couple,
Eli thought, but he couldn't stop watching the man. He had a bit of a frown, like he was permanently slightly grumpy. It was adorable.

“I will.” Still holding the crab, the man looked around as if searching for more crabs on the wharf.

When the others had passed and the wharf was clear, Eli approached, his hands in the pockets of his trousers. “Taking that home with you?”

The man turned, startled at first, then offered a small smile. “I thought I might,” he joked. He held onto the creature like he didn't know what to do with it.

“Careful, don't say that too loudly. You don't want guys around here knowing you've got crabs,” Eli teased.

“Oh, ha ha.”

Eli laughed at the sarcastic retort and reached out to wrap his hand around this cutie's hands, bringing them closer.

A familiar, achingly wonderful thrill coursed through him at the touch. He didn't know for sure that he wanted more yet, but he was happy to touch a stranger and flirt a little for the first time in a while. Since dating Tom, unlike Tom had done, Eli had never laid a hand on another man in a flirtatious way; it was pure instinct he was following now.

The other man shifted from foot to foot but let him see the crab, who was busily trying to scuttle away across his palms. It was about the size of both of his hands.

“It's a kona crab,” Eli told the younger man, his fingers brushing along the backs of his hands. “You can throw it back in before it pinches you.”

“It won't drown?”

“You're not from the coast, are you?”

The man blushed and shook his head, pulling his hands away from Eli's to throw the red creature into the water, watching it sink into the water. He raised his hand to block any little droplets of water from hitting him. “I came from Chicago.”

Eli could tell. What a cute accent. “That's no excuse, then. Chicago has plenty of good seafood restaurants.”

“What?”

“That's how I knew it's a kona crab. I've eaten them,” Eli teased. “I should have gotten you to hold onto that one.” He laughed to let him know it was mostly a joke.

The other man's eyes widened comically and Eli grinned at the reaction. “Oh, that's horrible,” the man answered, but he laughed along with Eli nonetheless. He was still standing a little too close to Eli, taking in Eli's suit and tie with a quick up-and-down glance before taking a little step backwards. A shame – there were sparks of chemistry already.

“Hey, we're good to go, Kevin,” Troy told the gorgeous man, walking up to them from the direction of the rental office and glancing quickly at Eli as he ran a hand across Kevin's back again before tugging his shoulder. “Come on, or we'll miss our taxi. I already had to bribe him with the promise of cupcakes...”

Kevin's pretty brown eyes lingered on Eli's for a few moments more before he smiled and turned to walk off with Troy. “See you around.”

Eli's spirits lifted. He didn't know what was going on between these two, but Kevin was cute and there was something between them already. “Your secret's safe with me,” Eli teased. “Don't bring any more home, though.”

Kevin glanced back over his shoulder and rolled his eyes but grinned as he walked away with Troy, each of them towing their luggage up to the waiting taxi.

Just as their taxi pulled away, Dean came sauntering down to the wharf, followed by a driver. Eli wasn't sure he wanted to let on that he was ready to look at cuties like Kevin yet, lest Dean try to set him up with every single eligible and attractive man here. He just smiled and let Dean and the driver flirt while loading their luggage into a limo.

Letting Dean talk him into this visit hadn't been a bad idea after all. Eli could see himself enjoying the summer that stretched out ahead of him like a promise.