Heat Stroke (Beach Kingdom 2)

And Jamie was in the perfect mood to give him one.

He still had Marcus’s whisker burn on his jaw and cheeks from last night and…fuck it, he was as raw on the inside as hamburger meat. Their conversation last night had taken a turn he didn’t expect and he’d been forced to relive that evening from so long ago. He’d gone home last night feeling like an exposed nerve, not only because he’d talked about Chris. Out loud. For the first time in years.

No, Jamie was exposed because he could no longer pretend he hadn’t fallen for Marcus. He missed him when they were farther than two feet apart. Even the distance from behind the bar to the entrance where Marcus checked IDs had stretched last night. And God, that had been before that kiss on the boardwalk. That completely unrestrained kiss that had given Jamie a glimpse of what a relationship out in the open with Marcus could be like, before ripping it back. Marcus might as well have branded him in the center of his chest.

While Andrew sputtered and tried to form a sentence, Jamie massaged the bridge of his nose and counted his breaths. What planet was this? Jamie Prince, scholar, was all twisted up and angst-ridden over a CrossFit enthusiast with a naked lady arm tattoo. This was bullshit.

And he couldn’t deny his heart squeezed every time he thought of the tortured way Marcus looked when he climbed out of the Uber last night.

Now, feeling eyes on his back, Jamie sighed and turned around, waving at Marcus where he sat in the closest chair, which he’d requested this morning from Andrew.

Marcus’s chest puffed up and he waved back.

This summer was never going to end.

Part of him—obviously his masochistic side—didn’t want it to.

“Who is she going on a date with?”

“I didn’t catch the lucky man’s name.”

“When was this?”

“Saturday night.”

“And you’re only telling me now?”

“It’s Sunday.” Jamie tilted his head to the side. “What would you have done about it, A? You can’t play house with Jiya forever. It has always been the two of you. Andrew and Jiya. But…she genuinely thinks you’re just friends. Why would she believe any differently when you’ve never asked her to be more?”

Andrew closed his eyes, his voice coming out strangled. “You know why I can’t.”

A chill settled on Jamie’s shoulders and both of them looked around the beach on reflex, making sure nobody was in earshot. “The three of us are the only ones who know about Dad. That’s how it’s going to stay.”

“Yeah? Wait ten seconds then look over at the boardwalk.”

Jamie reared back with a frown at the unexpected order, but did as his brother asked, going about it casually as possible. It took Jamie a few beats to figure out what Andrew was attempting to call his attention to. Leaning up against the railing, there was a familiar man in a police uniform. Jamie recognized him from the bar.

He was watching them.

What the fuck?

Knowing something important was at play, Jamie ignored the sudden layer of clammy sweat on his skin and returned his attention to Andrew. “What the hell is going on?”

Time ticked by and Jamie thought Andrew was going to keep the information to himself, but he eventually spoke. “I don’t know. He’s been hanging around the bar. Yesterday I saw him pass by the house.”

“And you’re only telling me this now?”

“It’s Sunday,” Andrew said, throwing Jamie’s words back in his face.

They traded a smirk.

“You think it’s because of Rory?” Jamie asked. “He’s been staying out of trouble.”

“I don’t think it’s Rory.” Andrew picked up his clipboard and consulted it, but Jamie didn’t think he was seeing it at all. “I think it’s—”

Jamie made a sound to cut him off. “It’s not.”

His brother only looked slightly reassured. He tucked the clipboard under his arm and circled around to face Marcus’s chair. “Please tell me I don’t have to worry about this thing between you and Marcus, Jamie.”

They weren’t talking about the cop anymore. That was obvious. “Relax. I’m helping Marcus achieve his dreams of entrepreneurial juicing.”

“Is that a sex thing?”

“Jesus Christ.” Jamie dipped his shoulder and nudged Andrew off balance. “He’s opening a juice shop called the Main Squeeze.”

“Which also sounds like a sex thing.”

“Good lord. You need to get laid, A.”

Andrew laughed, but there were shadows in his eyes. “Who has time for that?” He stabbed the air with a finger. “If you say Jiya, I’ll assign you and Marcus the same fucking chair for a month.”

“Oh…yeah.” Jamie cleared his throat. “Please, don’t. That would be torture.”

“Real convincing,” Andrew returned with a snort.

Jamie regarded his brother, taking note of the tension in his shoulders. It had been there when he arrived, but it was far more pronounced now. “Talk to Jiya. Tell her how you feel.”

Andrew was already shaking his head, his Adam’s apple coasting up and down. “These hands aren’t fit to touch that girl. And you know it.”