A/N: Hello again everyone! New chapter time!

Before we get started, I would like to thank everyone that read last chapter! I would also like to give a huge thank you to winterschild11, Guest, Side1ways, and RainbowDiamonds for reviewing!

I hope you all enjoy!

Kendall is so fucking screwed.

He just wanted to go to the bar and drink the taste of the competition out of his mouth. He just wanted to have a few beers and maybe a couple shots and find someone to take to his motel room that wasn't the guy across the street.

But of course, the guy across the street stumbled into the bar when he was four beers in and fucking stared at him and, well, Kendall had never said no to a challenge before.

He hadn't meant to stare back. Hadn't meant to walk right into his space and taste his breath on his tongue. Hadn't meant to lead him to his truck and hadn't meant to let the guy fuck his fist until they were both coming all over themselves, messy and desperate.

It was like he was still fucking sixteen, but instead, he was a grown man, obsessed with the one guy in the dumb as hell town he shouldn't have been in.

He wipes his hands down the front of his pajama pants, grimacing at the sweat gathered there. The shower he'd taken when he'd stumbled into the motel room, body spent and mind whirling, barely helped wash away the feeling of James Diamond's hands on him.

Kendall throws himself onto the bed, thoughts rumbling as loudly as his pulse.

He hadn't meant to get involved with James at all. But, whatever.

So his boss will be mad if he finds out-the rivalry is stupid and makes little sense to Kendall anyway. Who cares that two restaurants are competition to each other? That's how businesses in the same town work. And, the two men don't even serve the same food. The fact that Savory Arts and Brooke's seem so determinately pitted against each other is a dumb, idiotic thing.

And, besides. If either of the restaurants is going to win, it's going to be Brooke's. Savory Arts is doing well now, sure, but the place is new and Griffin is a jerk. As soon as Kendall gets enough money to leave town, he'll gas up the junker and be out before Griffin can even beg him to stay. Then the place won't have good pastries and everyone will realize Griffin is a bonehead and James' little ramshackle diner will be the reigning champion.

So if he wants to fuck the future reigning champion, it's whatever. It's not like they're dating or anything. And it's not like he owes anything to Griffin anyway.

He glances at the clock, grimacing when it blinks back two a.m. at him. He's got to be at work by nine and at the rate his thoughts are going, he'll be obsessing over this new development all night if he doesn't stop himself.

Kendall shuts off the lights and crawls under the covers. With the same amount of practiced single-mindedness Kendall uses when he leaves a city without saying anything to anyone, he closes his eyes and focuses on the darkness until he fades off into sleep.

XxX

The next morning is a rush of crafting cheesecakes and dabbling with the recipes left behind for cakes. Kendall knows the dark german chocolate will be a thousand times better in the cake recipe that Logan left for him than the shit milk chocolate recommended, but convincing Griffin of that takes the majority of the morning.

By the time Griffin begrudgingly tells him to go on break, Kendall's sweating and pissed. He's made half a dozen desserts and they're all fantastic, he's sure of that, and even after Griffin admits that they're really good, he still says customers will want what they're used to.

They're used to shit, but Griffin doesn't necessarily take kindly to hearing that.

Lunch time rolls around and Kendall would rather eat dirt than eat anything made in Griffin's kitchen. He shucks off the apron and tosses on a hoodie to hide the flour stains and leaves the restaurant, only barely stopping himself from flipping the entire staff off when he leaves.

He swipes the back of his hand across his forehead, brushing the sweat there away. He squints in the bright sunlight and gives it about two seconds of thought before crossing the street and going into Brooke's.

The bell above the door rings and even though he knows it's unlikely, Kendall feels as if every head in the place swings to him.

He blinks, then glares, and then saunters over to the corner-most booth and throws himself into it.

A bubbling waitress appears almost instantly.

"You're new." She says, grinning. "I'm Stephanie, your waitress today."

Kendall softens his glare because he might be a prick, but he's not going to be rude to the staff. He keeps enough of it on to appear unapproachable, though. "Menu?"

She offers him one, unfazed by his gruff tone. He takes it and then shrugs. "What's good?"

She hums and taps a finger to her lips. "I like the burger the best. Classic, easy." She kisses her pinched fingers. "Magnificent."

He bites back a smile. "Yeah, sure. Fries and a coke, too."

"Perfect!" She takes the menu from him and grins again. "Coming right up."

Stephanie bounces away. He watches her dart off to the kitchen, then looks around the rest of the place.

So. This is where James works.

He brushes the thought aside instantly. He didn't come here because of James or last night or anything like that-just because he's thought about the way James sounded all night, plaguing his dreams, doesn't mean he came here for that. He just needed food and this was close enough to be a good option for his lunch break.

The place is in desperate need of a makeover. He knew that just from looking outside, but being inside makes it all the more obvious. It's almost shameful that the place is so outdated. Kendall's worked in dozens of restaurants across the country and barely any of them looked this bad with an owner who cared so much.

Not that he knows how much James cares, but he can kind of guess. Their first meeting didn't inspire a lot of "I don't care" vibes.

It's not exactly bustling and it's definitely not as busy as Savory Arts was when he left, but the place isn't doing too badly. There are some people there and they all seem jovial and happy and the place does smell pretty amazing. Kendall's willing to bet his pastries are twice as good as anything this joint's got, but the food smells great and that's not something Kendall would willingly say about Savory Arts.

There's something about this place that Kendall can't quite put his finger on. It's not necessarily the atmosphere and it's not necessarily not. It's just something about the place that feels...comforting.

It feels like when he's driving sixty down an empty interstate on his way to somewhere new-feels like no expectations and like he's not bothering with anything or anyone but himself. It feels selfish in the best way possible.

His food comes, breaking his musings, and Stephanie sets it down with more flourish than is strictly necessary. He thanks her and digs in.

He understands instantly why James cares so much about this place.

The food should be simple and greasy and completely unremarkable. It's a cheap burger in a small town in Kansas. But it's...it's really good and reminds Kendall instantly why some people stick around places.

James must love to cook. He must love the heat of the kitchen the way that Kendall sometimes loves the heat of the oven; the feeling of creating something so pleasurable, so brief.

He eats the meal with few breaks, his focus singularly narrowed on the experience of understanding someone from tasting what they've created.

It reminds him of baking with his grandmother when he was young; the smell of cinnamon and the feeling of dough giving way beneath his kneading knuckles.

He doesn't know how a goddamn burger has done it, but he realizes instantly that he picked the wrong team by going into Savory Arts that day.

It's not until he's polished off the last bite and chased it down with a long pull of his coke, that Kendall realizes he's being watched.

He looks up and locks eyes with James.

James stands at the kitchen door, long legs crossed and his arms folded across his chest. He's wearing a half apron tied around his waist and the button up is pushed up to his elbows. His brown hair is messy but not half as messy as it had been last night. Kendall feels alight with the look.

The attraction between them is nearly as strong as the hatred between their restaurants. The two contradicting feelings bristle against one another, even from across the room.

Kendall's eyes drop to scan James before darting back up, a magnet unable to avoid James' hazel eyes. The dome of silence between them crashes with the contact and then James is crossing the room and sliding into the seat across his.

Kendall is thankful for the seclusion of the corner booth he chose when James settles in front of him.

The man holds his shoulders straight and his face is blank, but it's also burning bright red and he swallows over and over again as if regaining his strength. Kendall thinks it must have taken quite a bit for the man to gather his confidence to cross the room.

They might not have spoken much last night, or ever, but Kendall's pretty sure confidently sliding into a booth of the guy you fooled around with in your truck last night isn't something James has done often.

"Hey." Kendall leans back in the booth, trying to pretend like he hadn't been thinking about how much he liked the way James moved or sounded or cooked for the past twenty-four hours. He lets his face relax into a smirking impassivity, something he mastered at sixteen and hasn't quite let go of yet.

James' lips flicker down into a frown before smoothing them out again. "You're at my restaurant."

Kendall raises an eyebrow, not bothering to respond with words. What could he say? Who cares? Is that okay? Sorry? He doesn't want to get into any of those options.

James looks around before letting his eyes fall back to Kendall's. It seems as accidental as it does effortless and Kendall decidedly does not feel his pulse quicken.

He doesn't know what the fuck it is about this guy that keeps him looking. He doesn't mean to stare but then he can't stop. Maybe it's that this town is boring as shit otherwise, or that his boss told him not to get with the guy as if he's a child, or maybe it's because something underneath James' skin is begging for Kendall to draw it out with his tongue and teeth.

His skin flashes with heat at the thought and from the way James squirms a bit in his seat, James thinks he might be thinking along a similar line.

"What can I help you with?" Kendall asks, as if he's not the one that came to Brooke's in the first place.

James blinks at him. "Nothing."

It's not necessarily a harsh statement, but it bothers him all the same. "Good."

"Good." James repeats. Then he shakes his head. "You're the enemy."

Kendall feels his eyebrows climbs his forehead. He opens his mouth before letting it fall shut. He's the enemy?

"I am not."

"You are." James insists. He leans forwards, arms on the tables, his fingers intertwined. It gives him a serious demeanor, as if he's not saying the stupidest shit. "You're my enemy."

Kendall mimics his stance, because he's making fun of him and definitely not because it lets them lean close enough that he can see the flecks in James' eyes.

"And why is that?" Kendall asks, his voice dipping low and his eyes flickering across James' face. James' breath hitches and his eyes narrow in on Kendall's neck where he knows dark marks are bruised into his skin. It gives him the smallest thrill inside his chest to see the way James' pupils blow, just a little wider. "Because I'm Griffin's pastry chef?"

"Yes." James has drawn his gaze away from Kendall's neck, and Kendall can't help the grin that pulls his lips wide.

"Didn't seem like I was your enemy last night." Kendall manages to keep his voice low, but the indignant squeak James makes gives the topic away. He's pretty sure he sees Stephanie flicking a curious look their way.

"That," James says, "is not what I'm talking about."

Kendall lets his tongue slip out to wet his bottom lip. James' eyes track it. "What are you talking about then?"

"You're why Griffin is doing better." James says after a moment of silence, having spent that time dragging his focus from Kendall's lips. It feels akin to victory.

"I don't give a shit about Griffin." As an afterthought, he adds, "Or this dumbass rivalry."

"You're a part of this rivalry now."

"I'm really not."

"Oh, but you are. I've been told your pastries are the best in town."

Pleasure so surprising shoots through him. Kendall freezes his muscles to stop himself from visibly preening under the attention. Momentarily, he stunned silent from the reaction he had. He knows he's a really good pastry chef; it's why he gets away with half the shit he does.

He's been told a dozen times by a dozen different people in a dozen different places that his stuff is the best in town. But something about the way James says it, respectfully and begrudgingly all at once, forces something to unravel inside of Kendall.

He hates it, so he glares just to compensate. "I don't give a shit," He repeats, "about this dumbass rivalry."

James stares at him hard. Then, quietly, "Prove it."

"How?"

"Spy for me." James says, laughing a little. It's a joke, and James knows it and Kendall knows it.

Again, Kendall only thinks about the decision for two seconds before aligning himself with James.

"Sure." He agrees. He aims for flippant but the agreement itself denies flippancy.

James' eyes widen. He gapes at Kendall for nearly a full minute before, dumbly, asking, "What?"

Kendall leans closer again. They'd both straightened through the conversation, but now, they both move towards each other, as if falling into the space. "I'll be your spy."

"You will?"

"Yes." Kendall licks his lips. James is way too busy staring at him without blinking to even notice this time and somehow, it endears him to Kendall.

"I...I was kidding." James mutters.

Kendall shrugs. "So what? Griffin's a jackass. And I'm not your enemy."

He doesn't know why it matters to him that James knows it. Sure, the guy is hot as hell, but clearly being his so-called enemy doesn't prevent anything from happening between them.

The bar last night proved that they could consider each other indifferently and still have a real nice time. Also, the entire concept of having an enemy when they're just goddamn chefs in restaurants is laughable. It's a childish idea that Kendall really shouldn't even be entertaining, let alone interacting with.

So it doesn't matter how James considers him-enemy, stranger, friend, something else. Kendall doesn't care about this guy and he doesn't really care about his job. He's only here for a few weeks, two months tops, before he's saved enough cash to get the hell out of this goddamn town. So, however James considers him, it really, truly doesn't matter.

He swallows anyway, waiting a bit too breathlessly to find out what James will say.

James considers him and it takes more effort not to squirm under James' scrutiny than Kendall is happy admitting to. After a bout of silence, the only thing breaking through their quiet interaction being the occasional scrape of a plate or ding of the bell above the door, James nods.

"Okay." He says. "Welcome to the team."

"The team?"

"The Brooke's team." James elaborates. "The Anti-Griffin Team."

Kendall shakes his head. "Um...okay."

A smile breaks across James' face. It shifts something on him, eases the tension he was holding. It looks good on him and Kendall nearly smiles back. He wants to glare. Instead, he smirks. It's the only compromise his body and mind can make at the moment.

"How was the food?"

Insanely fucking incredible. "Pretty good." He says.

James' shoulders rise as if he gave the compliment that he'd wanted instead of the half-hearted one he'd shot out. "Good. I'm glad."

For some reason, it makes Kendall feel like a dick that he didn't actually tell the whole truth with the compliment. So he adds, "I can see why Griffin's worried."

James' mouth opens and he looks...bright.

They look at one another a bit too long, too much staring and too much quiet. It feels acutely nice and Kendall breaks it when he realizes that. Something bubbles in his throat and he has to tear his gaze fully away from the man. He looks around for a clock. There isn't one in sight.

"It's half past two." James supplies when Kendall huffs out in frustration.

His head snaps up. "Shit, I'm late."

James reaches across the table and pulls Kendall's plate to him before standing, gathering the dirty dishes. "Can't have that. Need my spy to have a job."

Kendall rolls his eyes, grabbing the hoodie he'd discarded earlier and throwing it on again. He hesitates before standing. James fills the space by sending him a little three finger wave around the empty glass in his hand and then turns, heading back to the door that must lead to the kitchen.

Kendall puts the money on the table for his meal and stands up, carefully away of the waitress and several patrons eyes on him as he weaves his way through the restaurant. He darts out as inconspicuous as he can, trying to keep a blank mask over his expression.

The bite of cold outside refreshes him. He doesn't know what the fuck is wrong with him or why he's so hellbent on making poor decisions. Every one of his interactions with James goes against what he sets out to do.

Sure, James is hot. His brunet hair and broad shoulders give him that good, old All-American look that Kendall has been known to go after. It doesn't help the guy is also shy and adorable as hell and almost endearing in a way.

So he's a hot, bumbling shy guy and Kendall's a cynical asshole who has a type. He's never really been one to act crazy over a cute guy before, but, fuck it. Poplar is boring as hell, his boss is an asshole, and if he wants to go a little crazy for the hot guy next door, fuck it, he will.

The walk back to Savory Arts is slow, especially considering he's over ten minutes late from his lunch break. When he gets there, Griffin's red-faced and yelling and Kendall decided that, yeah, he really doesn't mind helping sabotage the guy the best he can.

And if that means he gets to see James a little more, maybe get to have a repeat performance of last night, or even something more, in an actual bed, well... Kendall isn't going to complain about that.

The space inside his chest feels like a balloon. Every ding of the bell puffs a huge breath of air into it, letting it grow larger and larger completely unchecked. He can't control it or stop the inflation; he can only let his chest puff out further each time.

He knows the only options are Kendall walking through the door, tying the end of the balloon off so it's safely blown; or, Kendall continues to not show up, and the balloon keeps getting blown with air until it pops.

The door opens; it's Dak, back from making a deposit at the bank down the road. The balloon grows and James tries hard not to glare at his friend for not being who he wanted him to be.

"Boss man." Dak says, grinning. He is entirely unaffected by James' bad mood and James pretends not to know why. "I see you're still watching the door."

"I'm always watching the door, Dak." He says a little harshly. "I like to know who's in my restaurant."

"Uh-huh, sure." Dak responds as Stephanie comes from behind the counter, hopping onto a stool. It's twenty minutes to closing time and no one has come into the restaurant for half an hour, something that's both worrisome and relieving.

James' nerves feel like they've been fried, sauteed in a pan like onions. He feels them quivering and shriveled, like one small thing could set them ablaze.

Dak wraps an arm around Stephanie's shoulder, handing James a receipt. He pockets it without looking. He'll add it to the books later and makes sure everything adds up. For now, he just wants his friends to drop the subject before it becomes an actual subject.

Stephanie looks between her boyfriend and boss, lips twitching. She's not above openly mocking them, as last week proved when James couldn't help himself from sliding into Kendall's booth.

The guy had just come into his restaurant only a few hours after their...evening together. The curiosity and anticipation had nearly choked him and when the rush died down, James just had to figure out why he was there.

He hadn't even thought about how Stephanie would be watching. About how Dak would have figured it out when he hadn't returned to the kitchen. He just wanted to be closer to Kendall.

Just to figure out why he was here, of course. James doesn't care or...God, he doesn't like him or anything. In fact, James is pretty sure he hates him. He just hates him and really would like to mess around with him again. The two things, James decides, don't have to be mutually exclusive.

James taps his fingers against the counter-top, forcing his head to stop snapping towards the door. He doesn't need to keep looking. It's been five days since Kendall came in, all charming and hot, and agreed to spy on Griffin for him. It was just a joke and even though James kind of thought they were serious, clearly it didn't become anything genuine. Since he hasn't come in again since that day, James needs to just move on. Kendall isn't interested.

James sighs. Dak looks up from the conversation he's having with Stephanie and gives him a knowing look.

He would rather Dak still be bugging him about Kyle. At least he doesn't actually care about that.

Guilt flares in his stomach. It deflates the balloon a little, at least, refocusing him on the shame. He shouldn't be thinking this much about a guy he literally just met. Clearly, Kendall isn't into him. He was just a convenient guy for Kendall to screw and James kind of okay with that. It was good. Really good, surprisingly, overwhelmingly good.

That doesn't matter though because Kendall doesn't like him that way and he only broke up with Kyle a few weeks ago. He needs to stop forgetting about that.

"You guys get going." James breaks himself from the spell descending over him. He feels a little nauseous and he just wants to clean up, do the paperwork that needs to be done, and go to bed.

Stephanie frowns, exchanging a glance with Dak. "We can stay. Help clean up."

"No." James straightens up and goes to grab a rag from behind the counter. "You guys get out of here."

"We were thinking about going down to see Carlos at the bar." Dak says. "You should come join us."

The idea of stepping foot back into the bar after what happened last time sends a rush of heat up James' spine. He shakes his head fervently. "No, I've got things to do here."

"Oh, come on." Stephanie tries. "It's been ages since we've all been out together."

James clenches his fists around the rag, swallowing. He tries to shake the obvious discomfort of his expression and shrugs. "Maybe next time. Tell Carlos I said hey."

Dak, at least, doesn't push, opting to send James a sad smile. "Come on, Steph. See you later, Jay."

James waves them off. The bell above the door dings when they leave and once it shuts completely, James can't help but sag in relief.

The whole week had spent his nerves. Every day, hoping he'd see Kendall, then being annoyed that he was hoping to see Kendall in the first place. Friday came way too slowly and he's thankful that tomorrow, Dak and Stephanie are going to open without him for the first few hours.

Reaching behind the counter, James turns the radio on. It's already programmed to an old rock station and the music blares loudly through the speakers. He doesn't really play music when the customers are here, definitely not anything this loud or rowdy, but it helps make the time go a little faster when he's by himself.

He wipes down the counter before moving onto the tables, cleaning them slowly while he plans his morning off. He thinks maybe he's watch the episodes he has saved on his DVR while in his sweats and eat as much pizza as the delivery guy feels comfortable leaving for one person.

He gets a little lost in the fantasy of it, stacking chairs and thoroughly enjoying the idea of sleeping a full eight hours later tonight.

He actually gets so lost into it that it takes him a full five seconds to notice that the door is opening. The bell goes off and James doesn't even hear it, only recognizing that the room is disturbed when a gust of cold air breaks his concentration.

James turns towards the door, and freezes when he sees who has entered.

Done! So, it looks like both James and Kendall are in deep, even though they're kind of in denial about it. :P

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the chapter, as well as if you happened to have a favorite part/moment!

Again, I hope you all enjoyed! The next chapter will be up within the next few days, so you won't have to wait too long for that!

Until then!

-Epically Obsessed