Island Heat (15 page)

“I'm gonna go out for the afternoon,” Eli told Dean as they finished breakfast. Dean had stayed home last night until he'd gone to bed to watch a movie with him before heading out to party for a little while in the small hours.

Dean eyed him for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah, sure,” he answered, his voice a little too casual. There was something strange about the way Dean was acting, but Eli didn't want to raise any questions in case Dean had questions of his own. He was a bit more distant than usual; he didn't even ask where Eli was going.

Just as well, since Eli wasn't entirely sure. He had two good ideas that didn't involve rowing out to Tom's boat, and he still didn't want to let Dean know that Tom was lurking around and unnecessarily freak him out. That would involve telling him about Kevin because Kevin had been the one who'd seen Tom; worse yet, it was possible Tom had seen Kevin, too...

Eli sighed to himself as he brought his dishes to the kitchen and wiped off his hands, then headed for the door.

“See you later,” Dean called out as he headed out.

“Yeah, later.”

What's with him?

***

“Thanks for meeting up with me,” Eli told Rube as he slid into a chair at the sidewalk café on Main Street. He kept glancing at everyone who passed, on the off-chance it was Tom. He'd even stopped by the fucking supply store in case that was where the yacht was stocking up, but no luck. It was starting to drive him crazy, and the only man he trusted to keep the truth to himself was this one.

“Of course,” Rube answered with a smile. He already had a knowing look on his face as he wrapped his hands around the Long Island iced tea. “Go on, then, spill. Who's the man?”

Eli's eyes widened.

“I know everything that goes on with my mentees. I thought it'd be pretty difficult to distract a straight man, but apparently not,” Rube smiled. He wasn't accusatory, but he spoke plainly.

“Ah.” Eli cleared his throat. He hadn't exactly wanted to get into
that
, but it looked like they were going to talk about it anyway. “Um, I mean... me and Tom...”

“I saw the ring off,” Rube told him, his smile fading as he leaned forward to press a hand to the back of Eli's for a moment before settling back in his chair. “I'm sorry.”

Eli's heart sank. “Thanks,” he murmured. It was such a relief to be honest with someone for once. “I can't believe nobody's fuckin'
noticed
.”

“A few people have,” Rube answered. “I told them to mind their own bloody business.”

Eli laughed under his breath. “Thanks. But my friends...”

“They're used to seeing it there. They don't notice it missing.”

“That's what Dean said. But... it was only two months...”

“Two months is a long time in our world,” Rube reminded him with a little smile. “People get wrapped up in their own affairs, especially here. And you are, now, too.”

Eli winced. “I don't want to get him in trouble...”

“It's not against the rules for him to date,” Rube assured Eli, sipping from his straw. “That's not a problem. But it could... make a bit of trouble for them. Him and Troy, that is.”

“Why?”

“Oh, some guys hate seeing others getting ahead. They'll think it's by any means necessary.”

Eli nodded slowly. He didn't know what effect he was supposed to have on Kevin's hard work and Troy's skillful mixology and their rock-solid branding and great customer service... but if people thought Sweet Nothings was doing well because of him, he'd stay away if he had to.

“I've been wondering, actually. You know I'd normally never ask,” Rube frowned, looking like he was having difficulty even bringing himself to do so. He bit his tongue and sipped his drink again.

“Go on.” Eli leaned forward. He trusted Rube to tell him the truth and the whole truth, and any questions he had were bound to be important.

“Is it off for good?”

Eli sighed, folding his arms on the table and nodding. He loosely held the stem of his piña colada glass in one hand. “We're done.”

“Ah.” Rube glanced away, looking up and down the street and watching passersby.

Eli couldn't tell why he'd asked, but he had his own question that needed answering. “So, if he's here, I need to know,” he pressed. “He wasn't supposed to be, but I'm certain he was here. But nobody will give me a straight answer.”

“That's... difficult,” Rube murmured.

Eli's eyes sharpened. “Why?”

“I'm not supposed to... I mean...” Rube was tapping his foot on the ground, raising his glass to sip a few more times. “I need your silence on this.”

“Of course.” Eli's heart raced. He was about to get the truth, finally, and find out why nobody had been straight with him.

“He's here.”

Eli's heart sank. He had to resist the urge to get overwhelmed by emotions: disgust, anger, betrayal. Merely the thought of having Tom lurking around was horrible. “Then why isn't anyone--?”

“Because,” Rube interrupted, “they've been sworn to silence
.
”

“By whom?”

“Tom.”

Eli shook his head, still not understanding.

“Look – the rumors are true. He's talking about buying the island,” Rube told him. “He met up with Bill not long ago, but... you aren't going to like this.”

“Why not? I mean, holy shit, I hate him trying to buy my one fuckin' happy place...”

“Because,” Rube sighed, “he met Bill at Sweet Nothings.”

Eli's heart sank before he even finished hearing the words. Kevin must have seen him, then, and vice versa. Unless Tom didn't recognize him, but then... why hadn't Kevin mentioned a word of this to him? Was Tom somehow buying him off? Did he... oh, fuck, it hurt to even think about, but did he favor Tom over him?

Worst of all: maybe Tom was taking Kevin from him.

I thought I was going crazy, looking in corners and windows for Tom. And all this time, Kevin could have told me.
He breathed out a quiet sigh and closed his eyes.

“Fuck.”

“Your boyfriend's outside.”

Kevin rolled his eyes at Troy as he checked his watch. It was a few minutes before closing time on Saturday night, and he'd just ushered the last customer outside. Warning or no warning, he was going to chase Eli wherever he led, and seeing him show up outside and smile through the front window at him made his heart soar.

Kevin held up a finger to indicate to Eli that he'd be out as soon as he closed the place down, and Eli nodded, milling about the front door and glancing around the street.

“No denial,” Troy teased as he dumped his ice bucket out. “Oh, I'm gonna have fun with you all summer.”

Kevin laughed to himself. “I'm long overdue for it, so yeah, fill your boots.”

“I'll close up tonight. You go,” Troy encouraged, waving a hand at Kevin.

“No, I can--”

“You've closed up a few times for me. It's my turn.” Troy wasn't taking his no for an answer. He reached out to push Kevin by the shoulder towards the door. “Go get your man.”

Kevin laughed quietly at Troy's words. “Thanks.”

“You're welcome. See you tomorrow,” Troy winked.

“Night,” Kevin waved, unlocking the door to let himself out and locking it again once he was outside.

“Hello,” he heard Eli's rich, warm voice from nearby. God, that sexy rumble made his legs weak.

“Hey,” Kevin greeted breathlessly and turned around, pocketing his keys.

Eli stood there, hands in his pockets, those intense blue eyes utterly focused on him. Something was off, though. He wasn't beaming or reaching out to touch him or looking him up and down like usual. Kevin's stomach twisted nervously and he set off for a few tentative steps towards Eli's place.

“Let's talk,” Eli said simply. He seemed... cool.

Don't dump me before I even get with you properly,
was all Kevin could think. Suddenly, Seth's words from earlier seemed much more portentous. “Okay.”

He walked beside Eli down the length of Main Street, passing partiers emerging from the clubs and bars that were shutting down at the same time as his place. Others stayed open until dawn, but
they
all had employees. Lucky bastards.

When they reached the boardwalk, Eli leaned on the railing and glanced out over the water in nearly the same spot as Troy had leaned when they'd talked on Thursday.

“What happened?” Kevin asked, his voice quiet so he didn't startle Eli. There was a party on the beach around a bonfire now burning low, but they were at the far end well away from the boats and ferries. Other than those cheers and voices, it was quiet here.

“Do you have a crush on Tom?”

The words were almost ridiculous, and Kevin couldn't help but laugh. When he saw Eli's eyes dart quickly to his face to read his expression, his smile faded as he realized Eli was serious. “Wait, you're not...”

“Do you?”

Kevin shook his head slowly. “I... no. I used to admire his acting work, before I found out that... you know, you and him aren't getting along...”

“But you're not into him?”

Kevin frowned. “Why would I be? Unless I were playing you?” he asked, returning the question with one of his own now. “I don't know what happened between you two, but--”

“He came to your place.”

Oh. Ohhhhh. Shit.
Kevin caught his breath in his frantic rush to tell his side of the story. “Shit, no. No, I know how it looks. He was with Bill--”

“I know that. But you didn't tell me.” Eli sounded betrayed, and Kevin's heart hurt. He hadn't thought Eli would find out, unless Dean had told him...

“I didn't want to worry you,” Kevin sighed, rubbing his face. He tentatively reached out to take Eli's hand. Eli didn't pull his hand away, so he squeezed lightly. “I told Dean and he said he'd sort him out.”

“Wh-You went to Dean?” Eli murmured, his eyes widening.

Kevin stood firm. “Every time I mention him, you get this
look
in your eyes. I don't know what shit went on between you, and I don't think I want to know, but... you wouldn't have liked what he was saying. It would have hurt your feelings, especially so soon after you two ended things.”

“I know what they were talking about,” Eli sighed, reaching out to take Kevin's other hand and pull him in closer. His anger and hurt had lapsed into quiet exhaustion. “I just – I hadn't told Dean about us yet.”

“Oh.” Kevin grimaced. “Sorry.”

Eli added, “And... it's stupid, but I was worried – take you.” Kevin couldn't hear the name he said.

“Dean?”

“Tom.”

“Oh.” Kevin laughed again and shook his head, leaning in to brush his lips along Eli's in a quick kiss. “He's not going to steal me away from you, babe.” The pet name felt like an appropriate kind of reassurance in the moment.

Eli visibly relaxed and smiled back, those broody brows lifting into a more open expression. “I'm sorry. It's actually... it's not totally out of the blue.”

“Hm?” Kevin murmured, leaning in for another slow kiss. Eli's hands slipped to his waist and he reached up to loop his arms around the worried billionaire's neck.

“We met because he stole my boyfriend.” It could have been a serious statement, but Eli was laughing quietly nonetheless.

Kevin's eyebrows shot up and he stared at the handsome man for a few moments. Suddenly, Eli's worry made sense. “Oh. Wow, man.”

“I know, I know... I should have known then,” Eli chuckled.

“No, I didn't say that.”
What does that mean?

“But, you know, it's on par with the kind of thing he'd do. He's... he can be petty.”

Kevin's image of his once-favorite actor was destroyed just a little bit more, but he tried to set that aside. He was losing his perception of the man's public persona; Eli was losing his fiancé. “I'm sorry. But, like...
no
.”

“No?” Eli leaned in to kiss him again, swaying lightly with him.

In the darkness of three AM, Kevin almost wanted to dance under starlight, but it didn't seem like the moment.

“No, I wouldn't let him hit on me,” Kevin clarified. “Or choose him over you.”

Eli nodded slowly. “I know I shouldn't be jealous when we're not even seeing each other--”

“We aren't?” Kevin interrupted boldly, his voice quiet but firm. He was hinting strongly at what he wanted Eli to know.

Eli hesitated for a few moments, his gaze flickering from one of Kevin's eyes to the other. Then, the man's face relaxed into a little smile. “Unless you want to be.”

“Yeah,” Kevin murmured. His heart pounded, but he never heard a hint of a voice in the back of his mind telling him that this was a stupid decision. For the first time, he found himself
wanting
to wear the title.

“All right.” Eli leaned in to kiss Kevin for a long minute, their lips sliding against each other's and parting naturally to accept each other's. Kevin liked that Eli usually kissed him more forcefully than him, but this time, it was a gentle affirmation.

Kevin felt warm and tingly by the time Eli pulled away. “Mm...”

“I have to sort out Tom's bullshit and tell everyone that we're broken up this weekend,” Eli murmured gently, his hand raising to cup Kevin's cheek. Kevin resisted the urge to nuzzle into it. Eli was so touchy and affectionate, and Kevin found himself loving it.

“You do what you have to do,” Kevin answered simply. “And tell me when we can be official.”

“As soon as possible,” Eli promised with a grin.

Kevin added, “And for tonight... you could come home with me.”

Eli sighed, pressing their foreheads together so the tips of their noses brushed as he looked into Kevin's eyes. “I can't,” he murmured, and Kevin heard deep regret in his voice. “I have to sort things out with Dean.”

Oh... right.
In the tenderness of the moment, Kevin had nearly forgotten that he'd outed Eli to his best friend. He hoped Dean hadn't taken it too hard; after all, Troy had forgiven him quickly. “Again... do what you have to do.” Though he wanted to spend the night with Eli, he admired that Eli was loyal and honest enough to seek Dean out right away and fix things.

“I could come over tomorrow morning,” Eli murmured. “Spend the morning and afternoon together...”

“Okay. I'm in the Palms complex,” Kevin told him. “Apartment thirteen.”

“Oooh, my lucky number,” Eli grinned. “At least, it is now.”

Kevin felt warm, but he let go of Eli's neck and pushed Eli's chest lightly before Eli could embarrass him into blushing. “Go on, take care of things with Dean. Tomorrow will be here soon enough. It's...” A thought occurred to him: it was after midnight. Well after, by now. “Oh. Actually, it's already tomorrow, technically.”

Eli laughed. “It is.” He shook his head. “You're so cute. It's no wonder I'm at such a...” He squinted in a certain way that made Kevin tilt his head suspiciously. “Crushin' state. Or crush station...”

“Crushin' state--”
Crustacean.
Kevin burst out laughing. “That's – that's
horrible
. That doesn't even make sense!”

“It's three AM,” Eli protested. “That's the best I can do.”

Still smiling, Kevin reached out to cup Eli's cheeks in his hands. He held Eli still so he could lean in and up for another sweet kiss to his lips. “See you in the morning,” he murmured.

“See you,” Eli whispered back when Kevin drew away.

Kevin still grinned to himself as he slipped his hands into his pockets and turned to walk home. He walked quickly, rounding the corner to the street that led to his apartments. “Crush station. That's actually the worst one so far.”