Heat Stroke (Beach Kingdom 2)

“Wait.” Joey’s expression turned anxious. “Come on, man. I have to make this right. My brother is…broken. He won’t even get off the floor.”

“Don’t tell me this,” Jamie said loudly, his voice hoarse. “I don’t want to know. It’s not my problem anymore.”

“He just keeps watching Ghost, over and over. And the smell. Jesus Christ, the smell. We’re going to have to burn everything he owns.”

Jamie cleared his throat to camouflage the pitiful sound that climbed up his throat. Marcus watching Ghost on repeat, refusing to get off the floor. It was almost impossible to live with that knowledge. It flayed his skin. And more than anything, he just wanted to go live on the floor beside him. Side by side graves.

“Wait, but…” Jamie shook his head as the date occurred to him, reality creeping in past the gloomy haze that made up his current world. “He’s supposed to open the Main Squeeze on Monday morning. He has a huge stock delivery coming tomorrow.”

“No way it’s happening,” Joey scoffed. “I can’t even get him to eat or shower. No way in hell he’s opening a juice shop.”

“Yes, he is.” Jamie rapped a fist on the bar. “He’s opening that fucking shop. Do you know how hard he worked on those recipes? Finding all the right distributors? Painting and hauling garbage and creating cost evaluations?”

“No,” Joey answered simply. “I don’t know about any of it. You’re the only one who does.”

Jamie focused on inhaling, exhaling, but it was hard to do when he was thinking of Marcus on the ground. “That’s why you really came down here, isn’t it? This is about the shop.”

Joey didn’t deny it. “Look, I know I can’t ask you to get back together with Marcus. That’s between the two of you.” His eyes turned somewhat pleading. “But he needs something. A reason to get up and keep on fighting. Help me. I know you care about him enough not to let him lose this chance.”

Andrew bumped Jamie’s shoulder with his own. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do, Jamie.”

“I know.”

Jamie thought back to the day on the train. When he and Marcus were on their way to Monster Jam. Marcus in his backwards hat trying so hard not to look too long, sit too close…and failing. Always failing to stay away.

“What do you need my help with?”

“Um. You know, like, setting it up.”

“Setting what up? The tables?”

“Or maybe all of it?”

“Jesus Christ. Exactly how hard did you hit your head?”

“Come on, Jamie Prince. It’ll be fun.” Marcus’s elbow pressed into his side and lingered. “Only the smartest of the smart could pull it off—”

“Oh God,” Jamie interrupted. “Don’t do that. Don’t appeal to my superiority complex.”

“I have no choice. Everyone knows I’m a dumbass.” Marcus looked down and Jamie’s heart erupted, spurting blood all over the place. “I have the money saved, from working summers. My mom left me some, too. But I don’t have the smarts—”

“Who called you a dumbass?”

“You’ve called me a dumbass.”

Swallowing was impossible. Had he said that? Why? Jamie had the sudden urge to punch himself in the face. “If I have, I didn’t mean it.”

Marcus’s grinned slowly. “You didn’t?”

“No. You’re not a dumbass, you just have an uncomplicated point of view. Maybe everyone else is dumb.”

Jamie returned from the memory that must have been made a hundred years ago. Part of him had already been in love with Marcus that day on the train. Maybe all of him. He’d had so many opportunities to free himself of the hold they’d created on each other and he’d never been able to do it. After being kept a shameful secret and getting socked in the face—after reliving the past almost verbatim—Jamie should have had more than enough willpower to stay away now. If not for his sake, then for Rory’s.

But he could see Marcus’s optimism that day on the train, he could feel it. He could see Marcus painting the sign, see him chewing his lip while waiting for Jamie to give a verdict on a juice recipe…and Jamie knew if he let Marcus miss his opportunity, he would regret it. Forever. Could his heart handle one more spin through the blender?

He wasn’t sure. But he couldn’t stop himself from sliding toward the spinning blades.

“I have a key to the shop,” he said, clearing the rust from his throat. “I’ll help set the place up and get it running for opening day, but…it’s going to be just us. When it’s ready to go, I’ll leave and you can figure out how to bring him out of hiding.”

Joey was already nodding, relief passing over his face. “Fair enough. Thank you.”

“What can we do to help?” Rory asked, studying his knuckles. “Not that I don’t think this is bullshit.”

“We’ve got a few hours free the next two mornings,” Andrew said, nudging Rory. “We’ll come by then. In the meantime, why don’t you take the night off, Jamie? Sounds like you’ve got some work to do.”