How to Catch a Rival

by Ana Ashley

  “Traitors.”

  “Not at all,” Ellie said. “Charlie made us promise we’d send him some videos.”

  “Yes, he did.” Connor nodded.

  I shook my head in mock indignation, but in reality I’d never felt so part of something, and it made my chest swell. I needed to go back to my station before I started hugging everybody and ugly crying.

  Ugly crying didn’t go with my rainbow vest. Fact.

  As I walked back to my station I saw Wren standing next to it.

  “Hey,” he said. He smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes, and his fingers were doing a great job of wringing themselves into a knot.

  “Hey.”

  “Erm, my family wanted to come to support us,” he said.

  I looked at the bleachers in the direction Wren looked, and there, right on the front row, was Troy, Abi, and Jonas.

  Troy waved and I ran over to greet them.

  “Can’t believe you’re making me come to school on a non-school day,” Troy said, looking irritated.

  “Shut up, I know you come to school after hours all the time. And there’s no cake in the computer lab.” I winked.

  “What, we can eat your cupcakes when you’re finished?”

  “Yup.”

  “See, Mom? This is why I said we should come.”

  Both Abi and Jonas laughed. I gave Abi a quick hug and moved on to Jonas.

  “Hey, Jonas, how are you doing?”

  “I’m good, son, thank you for keeping things ticking along for me.”

  I gave him another hug and went back to my station with a frog in my throat. If only Jonas knew how much it meant to me every time he called me son, even if he himself didn’t mean anything by it.

  Wren looked a little calmer when I got back to the station, but I didn’t understand why he was still there. My confusion must have been clear because he said, “We’re sharing stations.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  By the time the challenge started the gym was full of spectators. I tried not to look at anyone. This wasn’t just about the rainbow color of the cupcake. I needed the flavor and texture to be good too.

  I willed my nerves away by replaying an interview I’d watched with Coco Chanel a few weeks ago in my head.

  Everything went silent around me but the voice of Coco talking about her new collection. Next thing I knew, my batter was done, colored, and the cupcakes went in the oven.

  The woman presenting the challenge made some comments about what she was observing, and the crowd was mostly silent. I looked around and saw my friends giving me a thumbs up. I smiled and waved at them.

  Next to me there was a crash, and it was the first time since I’d found out I was sharing the work space with Wren that I’d been aware of him there.

  His cheeks were flushed and he looked stressed. There was color inside the bowls, outside the bowls, and on his apron. Thankfully not on his face this time.

  I saw his hands shake as he spooned each color in turn inside the cupcake case, and then he put his tray in the oven.

  Once he was done, he put his hands on the worktop and stretched his back, taking a deep sigh. He looked at me with a strained smile and then we both looked at the other contestants.

  Everyone seemed to have their cupcakes in the oven too and were clearing up.

  There was a break in the competition once we took the cupcakes out to let them cool before they were decorated. The organizers had set up one of the locker rooms as a rest area for us.

  I took a bottle of water but ignored the various snacks on the table in the corner. Amy filled a plate and then sat next to me.

  “So glad they have food. I was so nervous I skipped dinner last night and didn’t have breakfast either.”

  An older man sat on a bench opposite us.

  “Why can’t we talk during the challenge? My wife helped me practice all the steps out loud. I’m sure I forgot something, but hey, I have six cupcake-looking stripy things in there.”

  I raised my water and Amy her plate. In the anticipation of the challenge I’d forgotten we were all very much amateurs.

  “I’m Phil by the way,” he said.

  “Hi, Phil, I’m Tom and this is Amy.”

  I didn’t see the other two contestants, a really young girl and an older woman. Wren sat away from us on his cellphone. As if he knew my eyes were on him, he looked up and frowned when his eyes met mine. I looked away and continued chatting to Amy and Phil.

  The decoration part of the challenge was fun. I’d seen this video on the internet on how to make a rainbow effect on buttercream and had practiced a little at home. It hadn’t always worked so I prayed it did now that it really counted.

  I sneaked a peak at Wren’s side of the station, and he looked more focused than earlier, but it looked like he was mixing the colors of the buttercream to make new colors. Had he run out of food coloring?

  We weren’t allowed to talk to each other so I did a little cough and he looked at me. I used my eyes to point at my tubes, and he gave me the tiniest smile and picked up the tubes that were right in the middle of the station. I hoped no one had noticed our communication.

  Once again the judging was done blind, so we went back to the locker room while the judges worked out their scores. This time Wren sat next to me but he kept to himself. I took that as his own way of thanking me for the buttercream save.

  His piping work was different from mine but the colors were right and I thought his cupcakes looked pretty and delicious. Amy’s looked stunning. She’d added glitter spray so her cupcakes were all shiny. Why hadn’t I thought of that?

  Never mind, I was still happy with how my attempt at rainbow swirls had come out.

  When we were called back for the results the gym hall was buzzing with excitement. There were cheers for the contestants, and I didn’t miss the mayor’s relief that no incidents had happened.

  “Ladies and gentleman. It has been indeed a colorful challenge, but we can all agree our contestants couldn’t have done it better. In fact, they should be very proud of themselves,” the presenter said, letting out a belly laugh at his own joke. “So without further ado let’s get the results.”

  The crowd stamped their feet on the bleachers like a drum roll.

  “In first place, and with a guaranteed place in the next round, we have…Tom Jones.”

  Had he said my name? Like for real? He must have because the cheers from Ben, Travis, Connor, and Ellie were loud enough I’d hear them from my apartment. I saw that Hannah had joined them and was waving with one hand while she had her cellphone pointed toward me, clearly filming the results.

  Amy came second and then Phil, and then the younger girl who was called Bea. My heart beat hard in my chest. I didn’t think Wren’s cupcakes looked all that bad. Even though we were technically rivals, there was part of me that didn’t want him to leave the competition just yet.

  “And the last person to join us for the next round is…Wren Mason.”

  There were cheers all round, no doubt from loyal Mason’s customers. He went back to his family, who were standing and cheering, and I went up the bleachers to celebrate with my cheerleaders.

  I hadn’t reached the second row when someone pulled me by my arm. It was the older lady, Gladys, who’d missed out on a place.

  “I’d like to congratulate you and also warn you.”

  “Thanks, and excuse me?”

  She looked over at Wren, who spotted me from the other side of the hall and waved.

  “I’d be careful of him if I were you. He made some comments earlier and I wouldn’t be surprised if he accused you of cheating.”

  I wanted to ask her what she meant, but a guy around my age interrupted us to take her home.

  14

  Wren

  Who would have known I’d spent most of my life competing against others? No one, because in that gym hall, with all those people watching, I’d lost it completely. Thank god for best friends and pep talks.

 
Aiden had calmed me down and reminded me I was used to finding focus while surrounded by people. He was right, and that’s what I’d done for the second half of the challenge.

  Unfortunately, somehow between the first and second half, a couple of my food coloring tubes had gone missing. I figured I’d mix the colors to make the ones I didn’t have, which would have worked out if I was trying to create anything that wasn’t a rainbow.

  I could have kissed Tom right there and then for helping me, but we weren’t allowed to talk. I’d gone through to the next round but it had been too close a call.

  After the results I’d wanted to thank Tom, but my dad had been getting tired so we’d gone home. I figured I could see Tom at the store the next day.

  I was in the shower when there was a persistent knock on the door. Worried that there may be something wrong with my dad, I got out of the shower and put a towel around my waist to go answer the door.

  As soon as I unlocked it the door pushed open and a whirlwind of Tom barreled in, stopping by the sofa that divided the kitchen and living area of the small space.

  “What kind of game are you playing?” Tom asked.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “I haven’t cheated, and I would never cheat, do you hear me?” He came at me, pointing his finger. He looked furious and for the life of me I had no clue what I’d done.

  “Do you think they’ll accuse us of cheating because I used your food coloring?”

  “What? No, they didn’t notice that.”

  “Then I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  He crossed his arms and pursed his lips and then huffed and put his hands on his hips.

  Suddenly, I was very aware that I was stood right in front of a man I was ridiculously attracted to and I was only wearing a towel. He didn’t seem to notice because he carried on.

  “Gladys warned me about you. Are you going to deny that you have plans to get me kicked out?”

  “You’re going to have to tell me a bit more about what’s behind this, and what the hell did Gladys tell you?”

  “Ha! Wouldn’t you want to know.”

  “Yes, actually. If I’m being accused of something I didn’t do, I deserve a chance to defend myself.”

  He seemed to think about it. His hands went back on his hips, and I bit the inside of my cheek so I wouldn’t smile. No doubt that wouldn’t have gone down well. And why the fuck was I getting aroused by his little display?

  “Gladys said you made some comments earlier about me, and she said I should be careful that you might accuse me of cheating.”

  It all made sense then. I took a deep breath and considered how to explain it in a way Tom would believe me. “She spoke to me earlier. Her grandson, Zack, was in the football team at school, but he was a year older than me. When he got kicked out of the team I got his place. I didn’t know at the time why he was kicked out, but his family had hopes he’d make it pro and blamed me for taking his spot.”

  “How would that be your fault?”

  “Coach Johnson was always very strict with us. If we wanted to be on the team we needed to get the grades too. I think Zack was struggling and apparently he cheated on a test to get the grades. Zack thought I was the one to tell Coach J. but I wasn’t.”

  Tom narrowed his eyes as if he was trying to absorb the information I’d just given him.

  “I’m sorry, Tom. Maybe Gladys was upset that she didn’t make it, but I swear, I would never cheat in a competition, and I would definitely never do anything to put your place in jeopardy.”

  He ran his hands through his hair, something I’d never seen him do before, and sat on the sofa. I sat next to him and reached out to touch his leg.

  “Are we okay?”

  He looked at me and suddenly his eyes went wide open.

  “You’re naked. How long have you been naked?”

  I chuckled. “All the time you’ve stood there?”

  His eyes roamed my body, and I swore I felt them on my skin as he kept looking down. My nipples hardened and my stomach tightened. I knew my secret was going to be out in moments, but I didn’t care anymore. In fact, I anticipated it with excitement.

  Tom’s breath became shallower as his eyes reached my waist. The towel had opened slightly but I was still covered up. Not for long though, because my cock was hardening at lightning speed and it wouldn’t be contained if he kept looking at me like that.

  “Tom.” My voice was croaky and lust-filled. His pupils were so dilated his eyes looked nearly black. He wanted me as much as I wanted him, and there was only one way to jump through the hurdle of my secret.

  Without thinking too much about it, I put one hand on the back of his neck and the other on his cheek and pressed my lips to his.

  Tom let out a little sigh, but the kiss didn’t last more than a few seconds before he pulled back. His chest was heaving and his mouth parted like he was trying to take a much-needed breath. “What was that?”

  “That was me kissing you, Tom.”

  “Why did you kiss me?”

  “Because I wanted to.”

  “Why?”

  “Do you want me to number the reasons?” I asked, raising my hands to count them out. “Number one: you’re sexy as fuck. Number two: I can’t resist when you’re all angry. Number three: you looked like you wanted it too. Number four: have I mentioned how much I wanted to? Number five—”

  I was interrupted by Tom throwing himself at me with such force I ended up lying on the couch with him on top of me. The kiss was a mix of angry and desperate, his hands were everywhere they could reach on my body, and I couldn’t stop the sound that came out when I opened my mouth and Tom plunged in.

  Tom tasted sweet, like he’d had one of the cupcakes we’d made earlier, and my head filled with thoughts of licking that fucking rainbow buttercream off his body.

  There was no hope in hell of keeping my towel closed. With every move of his hips my cock rubbed against the fabric of his pants. Tom was as hard as I was, and I was pretty sure he could feel me too.

  God, his lips were addictive, but I wanted more. I licked and kissed his cheek, moving slowly toward his neck where I couldn’t resist sucking the skin just behind his ear. He let out a little moan.

  “Hmm so good, I want to taste you everywhere,” I said, licking his Adam’s apple and paying attention to the other side of his neck.

  “This isn’t happening, right?”

  I chuckled. “Why do you say that?”

  He put his hands on my chest to prop himself up a little. “You’re not gay.”

  “I’m bi.”

  “But everybody thinks you’re straight. I mean, people don’t really talk about your sexuality behind your back, but I’ve never heard anyone mention you dating guys.”

  “That’s because I rarely dated before I went to college, and because I liked girls too, I guess I never felt the need to come out.”

  “Oh.”

  He sat up, leaving me completely exposed, in more ways than one. I grabbed the towel and covered myself up again.

  “I am going to come out to my family, but I guess I got too wrapped up with my life in San Diego and never got to it. Now the priority is making sure my dad is okay and keeping the store going.” I put a hand on his cheek, rubbing his soft skin. “But, Tom, I am going to come out, and I’m not saying it to make any kind of promises. I think it’s clear we’re both attracted to each other, so I just want you to know that I am into guys, you’re not the first, and I will tell my family when I’m ready.”

  There was reluctance in his eyes but I could see he wanted this as much as I did.

  “You don’t have to come out because of me.” He said the words but there was no conviction behind them.

  “You’re right, I will come out because I want to do it, for me, for my family, and for the future I want to have.”

  He nodded. “So all the times you looked like you couldn’t stand me—”

  I put my
finger on his lips. “It was because I wanted you.” And then replaced them with my mouth again.

  Tom’s smaller frame against mine was a perfect fit, as though we’d been made to spend the rest of our lives like this.

  I chased the errant thought from my head to focus on the here and now.

  “So you’re okay with me kissing you?”

  He nodded and smiled a truly genuine Tom smile.

  “There’s very little I’d be more okay with,” he said, sucking the skin on my neck, which would probably leave a mark. My cock throbbed at the thought.

  15

  Tom

  When I’d gone to Wren’s place the plan had been to get him to confess and find out if what Gladys had said was true. I couldn’t have predicted a more different kind of confession.

  Kissing Wren had been unexpected. Hell, I hadn’t seen it coming, especially as I hadn’t been the one to initiate it. If anything, I’d thought if it ever happened it would be because I’d finally let go of my self-restraint and gone for it, knowing the straight man would at best reject me gently.

  Wren was bisexual. It made sense now, the way he’d said we when he’d mentioned people come in all colors, shapes, and sizes when referring to LGBTQ people.

  The funny thing was, I think I already knew it, but hadn’t wanted to trust my gut feeling in case it was wrong.

  After our conversation I’d ended up once again on top of Wren, getting acquainted with his lips. We’d talked some more, while I’d explored every inch of his hard chest. The man had grooves and ridges that went on for days, and had I wanted to take things further there was nothing I’d love to do more than lick every single one of them.

  We’d both been very hard and I’d known it wouldn’t have taken much for both of us to come with a few expert strokes or licks, but it was too early. We’d just discovered…us, and I didn’t want the post-climax head to ruin the moment.

  After Wren had finally put some clothes on we’d watched a movie together and then I’d come home, where I’d gone straight to the shower to take care of my earlier problem, one that was still persistent when morning came. Pun intended.