Chapter 3
Shit! Colt ran across the Hawaiian bungalow to the kitchen stove, sliding to a stop as he
grabbed the boiling pot and pushed it off the burner. In his need to get everything just right for
Jace's arrival, he'd almost overcooked their dinner. Not good!
Colt glanced at the large clock that hung over the brightly painted turquoise and yellow
sideboard. Shit! Jace's plane just landed. He figured he had about twenty minutes before Jace got
through baggage claim and left the airport. The drive to the beach house would take another
thirty minutes. That gave Colt a little under an hour to shower, dress, and get the fire started. He
also needed to put the fish he'd purchased from the restaurant over the fire to warm, and he still
needed to set the table properly. In all the time Colt had to plan for Jace's arrival, he never
thought he'd be this far behind. Shit! Shit! Shit!
Dumping the seafood in the colander at the sink, he flung the pot on the stove and ran to the
bathroom. His hair would take the most time, but he desperately wanted to look his best for Jace.
Because Jace always looked so fucking hot. A grin he couldn't contain spread across his face as
he tore his T-shirt over his head and tossed it in the general direction of his suitcase. Excitement
filled his soul. Colt was happy. Seriously, emotionally happy for the first time in a long time,
maybe even ever, and didn't that just feel fan-fucking-tastic!
"Is he seriously not here?" Jace said aloud to no one as he stood at the front door to the
bungalow waiting for Colt to answer his knock. The doubt that plagued him for the last few days
reared its ugly head. He knocked again, this time using the side of his balled up fist to pound
against the wooden door. Jace stepped back on the porch and looked at the house, before
stepping forward again and sticking his ear to the door to listen inside. He saw and heard
nothing. No one was home.
Stop doubting everything. He wouldn't have fucked you, called you, texted over and over,
and flown you here as some sort of sick practical joke. Right? Jace stared at the house. Already
dusk outside, the night was coming on fast and Jace palmed his phone. Maybe he had the wrong
house. And he had absolutely no signal. Great!
So he knocked again, actually banging hard on the door this time. Five minutes later, he
steeled up his spine and moved. The pending dusk was turning full night, and if this was a
practical joke, it needed to go ahead and happen so everyone could get a good laugh and he
could find a ride back to the airport.
This certainly wouldn't be the first time he'd been on the receiving end of a cruel prank.
Nothing he hadn't endured before, many times over. Jocks, in his opinion, could be among the
worst homophobes. They always tried to one up the other in some kind of sick, dick measuring
contest to prove how alpha manly and hetero they were.
Jace left his bags on the front porch and walked the length of the well-kept bungalow. He
stepped cautiously off the porch, through the flowerbed, careful not to step on any of the colorful
blooms or mess up any of the tropical plants as he pressed his face against the dusty glass of the
window to peer inside. He searched for any movement.
Disappointed there had been no sign of Colt, he made his way back to the porch where he'd
left his bag. Jace stood there, his back to the door, mentally cussing himself for letting his guard
so far down. Was this the big end-of-college joke for the senior football players? He didn't doubt
it one bit. Going after a gay male cheerleader would provide endless hours of fun for those guys.
He gave in and looked up, giving the overhang of the porch a quick scan to see if there were any
cameras.
To say Jace had been made fun of quite a bit over years was an understatement. Jokes were
still a daily occurrence that never seemed to get old to those playing them. Hell, Jace traveled
regularly with bullying, testosterone-filled, mean-spirited jokers hiding behind the semblance of
a football team. Practical jokes and sexual orientation slurs were part of daily life, but it never
occurred to him Colt might have planned something like this.
Being abandoned in Hawaii… how was that even funny? Except there was no way he could
afford to get home. Colt had his return ticket. Everyone knew he didn't have a dime to his name.
Jace was on a straight up academic scholarship, with cheerleading footing the rest of the bill.
And, for whatever reason, his heart dropped. Jace had really started to believe Colt was truly into
him. What was he going to do now? Fuck!
Sounds other than the ocean pulled Jace's attention to the backyard. He took the stairs
down, his flips flops kicking up sand as he tracked his way to the back. On guard, he took in his
surroundings and noticed the next closest neighbor was still a distance away. He only knew there
was a neighbor because he could see the roof of a bungalow in the distance. The properties were
separated by dense tropical foliage. Jace rounded the corner to the back of the house, stopping
dead in his tracks. A grin came to his lips, and he stood there for just a moment, staring.
Colt was alone in the back, lighting tiki torches that illuminated the path from the back of
the house all the way down to the beach. His swim trunks hung low on his hips, and he was
shirtless. Jace watched the muscles flex in Colt's back as he lifted his arm to ignite the torch.
Damn! Jace studied Colt's profile as the guy turned and lit another wick. Intent on his task, Colt
hadn't noticed him staring.
"Hey," Jace called out, his grin growing bigger as he walked toward Colt. Colt startled and
spun around, almost dropping the lighter.
"Damn it! You're already here? Shit!" Jace stopped in his tracks. His smile faded instantly.
Maybe this was a practical joke after all. "I wanted to meet you at the front door, surprise you
with all of this. I thought I had ten more minutes!" Colt abandoned the lighting of the torches, his
bare feet sinking in the sand as he headed straight toward him. He wore a big sexy smile on his
face as he reached out to take Jace's duffel off his shoulder.
"Have you eaten yet?" Colt asked. Just like Jace had come to expect, Colt was the definition
of random emotion, jumping from one thought to the next, never really hanging on to any one
mood for too long. Colt leaned in for a quick kiss, slinging the duffel over his shoulder, and took
Jace's hand as if it was the most natural move in the world.
"No, you told me not to." Jace tried to catch up with everything going on around him.
"And you listened? See, you were made for me," Colt teased. He was back to humor, now
dragging Jace toward the house. Jace tried to look over the backyard, spotting a table set up close
to the water. Two chairs were anchored in the sand. A lit fire pit lay close by. "Are you tired? I
have this whole thing planned out here, but if you want to sleep, or something, go ahead. I can
wait."
"Did you do all this?" Jace asked and realized Colt was already walking them up the steps to
the back door. "Why are we going inside?"
"Well, maybe you don't listen so well after all. I'll have to remember that," Colt
deadpanned. "And to think I was so proud of our progress." He pulled Jace into his arms, steps
from the back door. "I made dinner for us. There's some beer out there. You like Corona, right?"
"How do you know that?" Jace asked. His attention fully on Colt's body pressed against his.
"I've traveled all over the world with you, cheer boy. I know what you drink. I know you
eat almost no meat, but tons of seafood. You like fresh, raw foods as opposed to cooked. See?"
Colt gave him a wink, clearly proud of his knowledge.
"How do you know that? You seriously keep shocking the hell out of me, Colt," Jace said.
Colt's grin widened as he took Jace's arms and wrapped them around his waist.
"Good. Now answer me? You ready to start this vacation, or are you tired or something?"
Colt asked. His expression turned thoughtful as he studied Jace's face.
"No, I'm definitely ready to start our vacation," Jace said, holding Colt tighter in his arms.
"Let's get you inside. I bought you a pair of island swim trunks. You don't have to wear
them, but I thought of you when I saw them. I thought we could share a room, but if you want
your own space, I can bunk in the other one," Colt said with another abrupt mood change; this
time from fun and flirty to tour guide.
Colt stepped from the embrace and took Jace's hand to pull him through the bungalow to a
back bedroom. Jace barely had time to absorb any of the details, they were moving so fast, but he
didn't miss a beat in the bedroom. His heart picked up the pace at the thought of Colt spending
so much time preparing for his arrival. Unlit candles were spread over every available surface.
There was an open bottle of wine chilling in a stew pot by the bed. Wild orchids, plumeria, and
hibiscus flowers were handpicked and placed all around the room, adding to the tropical decor.
Colt didn't seem to notice his pause. He dumped Jace's bag in the closet without much care. On
the bed was a pair of brightly-colored swim trunks, handpicked and waiting for him. The sweet
gesture didn't escape him.
"Here are the swim trunks I was telling you about." Colt motioned to the bed and turned
back toward him, his smile faded and his brow narrowed as he looked over to Jace. "Why are
you by the door? Do you want another room?" An expression of what must have been
disappointment crossed Colt's face, and there was another abrupt change in his posture. Jace was
growing to love all the moods of Colt.
"Thank you for the trunks. Did you do all this?" Jace slowly stepped inside. Impressed with
the visible effort and thought Colt obviously put into his arrival.
"Yeah?" he narrowed his brow again, clearly confused, and looked around the room. "You
don't like it?"
"Is it for me?" Jace asked, stopping when he stood directly in front of Colt.
"Yeah." This time Colt really looked confused. "Who else…"
"Do you do this kind of stuff all the time?" Jace inquired as he turned to the bed, scooping
up a bloom, bringing it to his nose. He shut his eyes, breathing in the sweet scent. For the first
time since Jace arrived, chatty Colt went silent. He opened his eyes, watching Colt intently.
"Do you not want to answer that question? It's okay if you've done this before. I'm just glad
you did it for me," Jace continued. He placed the flower back on one of the pillows and turned
his full attention to Colt.
"I haven't ever done this before. It's probably dumb. I just wanted it special for you. You've
made me happy. I always envisioned you laughing at me if I ever approached you. I can't
remember ever being this content before. I just wanted to give that back to you," Colt replied
quietly. He dropped his hands to the nonexistent pockets of his swim trunks, and when the
movement failed to achieve the desired result, he shoved them behind his back. "I want this to
happen between us. More than you know."
Jace stood in front of Colt, studying him, not missing the nervous fidget from the usually
overconfident Colton Michaels. Was he worried? Surely not! Jace's attention was immediately
drawn to Colt's mouth as his tongue darted out, leaving a wet trail across his lower lip, before he
began to worry the lip with his teeth. God, he was gorgeous.
They were closer to the same height than Jace first thought. They fit well together, and Jace
knew that for a fact. Colt's long dark lashes brushed his cheek when he blinked. When he
focused those ice blue eyes on him, Jace's heart melted. Every bit of resistance he'd used to keep
himself at even a small distance dissolved, and he reached up, taking Colt's face between his
hands.
"No one's ever done anything like this for me before, Colt. Thank you," Jace whispered as
he leaned forward initiating a kiss between them for the first time. He slanted his mouth over
Colt's, trying to gain entrance. They only really kissed once in their locker room experience.
The hours they'd spent on the phone together, the dozens and dozens of text messages,
combined with the effort Colt had gone to for him was better than any foreplay Jace had ever
received. Colt opened, and Jace manned up, making the move to tug Colt closer to him. Their
hips met, and he groaned at the contact, sliding his tongue forward at the same moment Colt
snaked his arms around his waist and fused their bodies together.
It was spontaneous combustion. Colt's hips rolled into Jace. They were both hard and ready.
The grinding of their cocks almost undid Jace. He thrust his tongue deeper into Colt's sweet
mouth, deepening the kiss as his hands slid down Colt's perfect ass.
And then he was sucking air. A second passed before he realized Colt wasn't still in the
kiss. Wait! What?
Colt reached forward and gave him a peck on the lips one last time before he dropped his
arms, releasing Jace from their embrace, and slowly backed away, completely severing all
contact between them. This was not in Jace's current game plan at all! Why was he gone? Jace
looked around, completely confused. What the hell just happened? Why aren't we in bed?
"I want to do this right this time. You change into the trunks, if you want, and come down to
the beach. I'm sorry I can't take you out on a date just yet, because… well, you know. But I can
spend time with you here, be with you right now, and that's what I want. Get dressed and come
outside," Colt said, now standing by the bedroom door. Jace didn't even have time to protest.
"Change! And stop looking like that. Let me do this right, Jace, baby," Colt said, and left the
bedroom, Jace still completely at a loss as to why they weren't already naked with their dicks in
each other's mouths. They should be having sex by now. When did that stop being the plan?
Jace gave in and adjusted his cock in his shorts. He was so hard he had to stick his hand
inside the waistband to fully adjust himself. His prick vehemently protested, but he wasn't going
to beg Colt to do him. Right? After reweighing that option, Jace finally turned back to the bed,
eyeing the swim trunks. Colt was right; the bright floral print did suit him.
