Heat Stroke (Beach Kingdom 2)

Life couldn’t get any better.

But it could get worse.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Jamie woke up with a bad feeling in his stomach.

He couldn’t explain it. At first. But when he cracked an eye open and realized he’d fallen asleep on Marcus’s couch and the sun was way past risen, panic crept into his bloodstream. Marcus was spooning him from behind on the plush, brown couch, both of them in their birthday suits. They’d fallen asleep watching a true crime series on Netflix and the screen wanted to know if they were still watching. Jamie’s boyfriend snored gently in his ear, completely gone from the world. Completely unaware that they’d overslept.

Jamie’s pulse kicked into high gear. He didn’t want Marcus to wake up and find him there. He didn’t want to see Marcus’s panic. The glow from last night was too perfect, too fresh, and Jamie wanted to live inside the bubble of it as long as possible. If Marcus woke up and got nervous, feeling compelled to explain again that his brother and father had keys, the bubble would burst and Jamie would remember he was a dirty little secret.

Just for now, he reminded himself, easing out of Marcus’s grip. You love each other. Stay positive. This was a unique situation and not some pattern. Jamie needed to remember that. But as he went around the living room and collected his clothes, dressing as quietly as possible, a voice in the back of his head repeated one word again and again. Wrong. Wrong.

Wrong.

Jamie shook his head resolutely and looked at Marcus, relieved when the sense of rightness rushed back in. That’s all it took. Looking at the man, picturing his grin, thinking of the words he’d whispered in Jamie’s ear before they fell asleep last night.

I need you. I’ve needed you forever.

Someday I’ll bring you to fucking Thailand for potstickers, Jamie. Watch me.

I love you so much it’s hard to breathe.

Reassured, Jamie shoved his feet into his boots and shot off a quick text to Rory, asking if he could come pick him up at the coffee shop down the street. Ubers were scarce this early on Sunday mornings in Long Beach and he didn’t feel like waiting. Rory would know Jamie had spent the night at Marcus’s place, but hopefully he wouldn’t lecture him again.

Jamie took a step toward the door—

And watched in horror as it opened.

A man stared back at him from the threshold and there was no doubt the man was Marcus’s brother. They had similar features, but this man—Joey—lacked Marcus’s amusement and earnestness. He stared at Jamie in confusion for a moment and was clearly poised to say something, but when his gaze landed on Marcus, who was sleeping naked, his mouth snapped shut. Understanding dawned in Joey’s expression and red suffused his cheeks.

Jamie went into salvage mode.

Because shit. Shit. This wasn’t good. And it was Jamie’s fault for falling asleep and not leaving when he should have. Goddammit. Now Marcus was about to be outed before he was ready. It might even be traumatic for him—and Jamie couldn’t let it happen. He had to do his best with this clusterfuck of a situation for Marcus’s sake.

Jamie held up a hand and approached Joey slowly, tipping his head toward the hallway. Can we talk? Jamie mouthed. Please?

The red on Joey’s face deepened, his expression nothing but a pure fuck you and Jamie should have cut his losses and left. He really should have. But he cared too much about the sleeping giant on the couch and this guy, Marcus’s brother, had just been caught off-guard and the whole situation was a recipe for someone to get hurt. Namely, Jamie’s boyfriend. And while Marcus had always been the protective one, Jamie was ready to fight to make sure Marcus came out in his own time, his own way.

Jamie closed the distance between him and Joey, dropping his voice low. “Look, if you’ll please just step outside with me for a minute—”

“You,” Joey returned, his voice just above a whisper. He jabbed the air in front of Jamie. “What the hell did you do to him? You’re the reason he’s been acting so fucking weird.”

Several responses to that jumped to the forefront of Jamie’s mind, but they all told a story that wasn’t his to tell. What the hell was he supposed to do here? He walked out into the hallway, relieved when Joey followed him, although he still appeared shell shocked. “I’m Marcus’s friend. I care about him a lot,” Jamie said quietly. “And I get that walking in a-and being blindsided by something you weren’t expecting…I get how hard that is—”

“Don’t fucking talk to me like you represent my brother. I don’t ever know who the hell you are.”

Jamie shook his head. “I’m not trying to do that at all.”