by M. J. O'Shea
“Do you trust me?”
Chase laughed. “Not in the slightest.”
Kai pouted, then grinned back. “Good answer. Well, there’s a tasting menu for two, which we could obviously share. It’s five courses and really good.”
Nodding, Chase set his menu down. “That sounds good to me.”
“Are you sure you can last five courses with me?”
He was flirting again. Flirting. Kai barely recognized the easy line, slick-smile version of himself. He wondered if he could get another rise out of Chase.
“I can hold my own,” Chase said, leaning back in his chair and tipping his beer to his lips.
And he could, of course. Kai wouldn’t be interested in him if there weren’t a spine underneath all of that sweetness, some grit and determination and steel. Chase wouldn’t have made it so far on Burned if he didn’t have that. Wouldn’t make it much further if he didn’t start showing it.
“So,” Kai said. “Cherry pie.”
“Do you have a problem with my food?” Chase snapped.
“Not at all,” Kai said quickly, holding his hands up. “Sorry if it came across that way.”
Chase nodded, obviously not all the way placated by Kai’s words. Kai decided to try harder.
“You do interesting things,” he said. “Cherry pie with black pepper. Ice cream with homemade pretzels. That’s not your everyday, run-of-the-mill dessert, you know?”
“I know,” Chase said. “That’s why I’m on the show.” He winked.
Damn. Kai liked that wink more than he wanted to admit. “Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why do you do what you do?”
“The cooking part, or the twist?”
“Both,” Kai said, and grinned.
“Well, I like classic American flavors mixed with influences from other countries. Like mixing the pie cherries with an Italian liquor.” He shook his head. “I’m going off topic already.”
“That’s fine,” Kai said with a laugh. “The judges seem to like what you do.”
Chase shrugged and smiled. “They liked the pie just fine.”
“Just fine? Nicolette ate practically the whole thing.”
“No she didn’t—” Chase started to protest, but Kai cut him off again.
“Emilio looked like he wanted to eat it off your ass, and Basil—”
“Basil hated it,” Chase interrupted.
“He said it was sophisticated and complex.”
“What does that even mean?”
Kai wanted to bang his head against the table in bemused frustration. “It means you create stuff that’s modern and adult and tastes good and has interesting flavor combinations. Are you sniggering at me saying ‘adult’ in relation to a pie?”
Chase snorted. “It would be cream-filled, right?”
“You’re such a dork.” Kai laughed. “Go on. How did you get into making ice cream?”
“Well, my grandmother bought me an ice cream maker for my tenth birthday,” Chase said, obviously easy with this story. It sounded like it had been told many times before. “So I started there. I used to make a batch a few times a year, for birthdays and stuff, big family get-togethers. It was my thing, you know? Aunt Jodie used to make her pasta salad, and I’d make ice cream.”
“Sounds like my kind of family get-together,” Kai said with a grin.
“Right?” Chase laughed. “I did sort of okay in school, then went on to culinary school after college because I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I picked up a business course when I was an undergraduate; then I inherited some money from the same grandmother who bought me the ice cream maker when she passed away. My mom was the one who suggested I put it toward my own shop.”
“And you did?”
“Yeah. It was a lot of work at first, trying to build up something that people wanted to go to. That was something my mom was really insistent on when we were building the business plan—it needed to be a place that actually serves the local community. During the week we’re open from eleven until six. Then on the weekends and in the summer we’re open until eleven at night to catch all of the late night people. I’ve only done one summer so far. That was pretty intense.” Chase chuckled.
“It sounds like you know what you’re doing,” Kai said. “Tell me about the ice cream, though.”
The first course arrived just as Kai finished his beer, and he gratefully swapped his empty bottle for a plate of shellfish in a delicate sauce: mussels, langoustines, scallops, and calamari.
“Same again?” their server asked, gesturing to the beers.
Kai nodded. “Please.”
As they started on the food, Chase painted a picture of the world he’d built for himself, the long hours and desperate moments, trying to make the books balance for the first few months until the business became profitable. With a little encouragement, he told Kai about his kitchen catastrophes, including his attempt at green tea sorbet, which had been an unequivocal disaster. Kai thought it sounded good and was determined to put a recipe together for Chase to use.
Conversation through the first three courses flew, a natural back-and-forth where Kai managed to chip away at the shy shell of his Mr. Wisconsin. By the time they were served with chocolate torte—one plate, two spoons—Kai had slowed down on the beer and was enjoying a completely different kind of buzz.
Chase was sweet and charming, his manners were adorable, and the little edge—a little spike of something bitchy and caustic that came to the surface when Kai prodded hard enough—was fucking hot. Despite what people would think, based on his exterior, Chase wasn’t one to roll over and play doormat. He was sharp and intelligent, and Kai wanted him in bed. Immediately.
That wasn’t likely to happen, though, not when they were sharing a room with two other guys. That sort of affected things, Kai mused as they each dug into one side of the torte and made identical, eyes-rolling-in-pleasure expressions at the rich sweetness.
“Damn, that’s good,” Chase said.
“I make it better,” Kai replied, licking the back of the spoon. “They didn’t put enough coffee in it. The new guy needs a few lessons.”
Chase laughed, loud and bright, and glanced into the kitchen where Kai’s former colleagues frantically worked.
As Chase made satisfied humming noises, Kai imagined him stretched out in bed, naked, legs spread. He wondered if Chase would make the same noises when his cock was down Kai’s throat. Interesting.
Just before the glasses of champagne were served, the grand finale to the menu, Chase excused himself to the bathroom and Kai quickly took care of the bill. He didn’t want to split it on principle. All it took was Chase’s slightly wobbly return and his admission, “I think I’m a bit drunk, you know,” and Kai dragged him out of the restaurant.
“What about the check?”
“It’s taken care of.”
“Kai.”
Chase stopped and pulled Kai to a halt too. He had big, baleful, puppy-dog eyes, and Kai sighed heavily.
“Yes?”
“Did you pay for all that? You didn’t have to. It must have been a lot.”
It wasn’t—he’d been given employee discount. After a kiss on his old favorite server’s cheek, it had been nearly free. “If I paid, then I can call this a date and hope for a kiss at the end of it.”
Chase blushed. Kai wasn’t sure if the alcohol had something to do with it.
Since it was nearly midnight and they would undoubtedly be woken early in the morning, Kai headed straight back to the apartment, squashing the impulse to drive through his old neighborhood. Chase was as quiet on the return journey as he’d been on the way out, which was cute, and he was definitely a little tipsy.
After pulling into a space in the building’s parking lot, Kai turned to Chase and startled when his vision was suddenly obstructed and another pair of lips were pressed hard against his own. He barely had chance to respond before Chase was pulling away again, heat dancing over his che
eks.
“Sorry,” he mumbled and groped for the door, then slid out of the car.
“Wait, wait,” Kai said, struggling with his seat belt, then stumbling as he raced around the front of the car before Chase got away. He managed to catch hold of Chase’s wrist, and held him in place. “That was nice. I just wasn’t expecting it.”
Chase didn’t look convinced. His bottom lip was caught under his top teeth. To make absolutely sure his point came across, Kai let go of the wrist and put his hands on Chase’s waist instead, then leaned in and kissed him slowly. Carefully. The kiss was a gentle press of lips on lips, Kai waiting until Chase broke first before he parted his lips and invited more.
When Chase gripped his elbows, Kai licked at the seam of his lips and flicked his tongue inside, taking the kiss to the next level. He tasted sharp, sweet champagne on Chase’s tongue. It was delicious, made even more so because of the great evening they’d spent together.
For long minutes they exchanged these slow, intense kisses, carefully working each other up even though there was nowhere left to go. Not that night, anyway. Not until they had some time alone. Kai licked at Chase’s full bottom lip again and then Chase broke away, laughing softly, and pressed his forehead to Kai’s.
“Mm.” Kai hummed and let his hands wander down to gently grope at Chase’s ass. “This is nice.”
“Very,” Chase agreed. Then his tongue was back in Kai’s mouth.
The fact that they were in a semipublic parking lot made no difference to him. His usual reservations about dating publicly didn’t seem to be rearing their heads at all. With his hands on Chase’s ass, Kai rocked and ground their hips together, pushing and taking and teasing. Time passed—he wasn’t sure how much—and the taste of another man in his mouth for the first time in too long was good. So fucking good.
“We should get upstairs.”
Kai groaned softly and gave Chase’s ass one last squeeze. “Yeah.”
“I just don’t want to get caught.”
Grinning, Kai kissed him on the corner of his mouth and laced their fingers together. He locked the car, then led them over to the elevator. As they rode up to the top floor, Chase dropped his head to Kai’s shoulder.
“We need to keep this quiet, don’t we? Cause of contracts and dating clauses and stuff?”
He didn’t need to qualify what “this” was. He was more comfortable with that anyway. Kai sighed and kissed the top of Chase’s head.
“Yeah. I think it’s probably for the best.”
“Okay.”
Chapter 4
New York, New York — The Cheesecake Challenge
Welcome to Burned, where we find fresh new cooking talent… and a few culinary disasters!
Last week Javier went down in flames when his butternut squash and spiced apple pie didn’t overwhelm our discerning judges with taste and originality while Al hit it big with his black bottom salted caramel pie. The other chefs were sad to see Javier go, but the show must go on!
This week our chefs battle it out over a dessert classic… cheesecake! Our contestants must create a decadent and unique cheesecake that’s delicious and out of the box. A lofty challenge, but hopefully a sweet one.
Our grand prize winner gets a year of pastry training in Paris, a whole kitchen’s worth of top-of-the-line commercial tools and appliances, and a hundred thousand dollars for his or her own business.
With stakes this big, we ask the one question on everyone’s mind: Do these chefs have what it takes to rise to the top? Or will they get Burned?
Chase didn’t get why they had to have such early mornings, not when he wanted to spend them curled up in his swanky bed right across from Kai. He looked sweet when he slept, young, the way he looked when they were alone the night before and pretty much the opposite of his battle face, which was a little scary, to tell the truth. It was almost easy for Chase to pretend not to like him when they were in the studio kitchens. He was so intense in there. It wasn’t a surprise Kai had already won a mini challenge. He’d probably win a few main challenges too. Or the whole thing. Chase could easily see that happening.
Chase’s belly was already in a knot, thinking of the week, their one day off, the challenges ahead. Kai. He nearly groaned.
Mornings. So not his thing, and so not necessary.
He silenced his alarm and wandered out into the hallway of the condo he shared with the other contestants. Bryant Tower was a lot more sophisticated than anything he’d ever lived in, that was for sure, with views of the beach in the distance and the Hollywood Hills. But some days he missed his old loft in the historical part of Madison, with its old scarred wood floors and tall industrial ceilings. And his cat. He missed his cat. He hoped Princess Peaches wasn’t being a pest for his sister. He hadn’t had a chance to talk to either of them much in the past two weeks.
Chase thought back and realized this was the longest he’d gone without talking to either one of his siblings since he’d gone to Europe after high school. He figured he needed to give them a call. At least Ruby. She was the one who was dealing with Princess Peaches on a daily basis. Maybe Brian too. He was in the middle of his last year in college and getting ready to take the LSAT. He probably needed a talk from his big bro. They’d always been close.
The bathroom was open for once. It seemed nobody else wanted to get up either. Chase found his toothbrush and started brushing sleepily. They had a good fifty minutes before the shuttle came to drag them to the studio. He hoped to spend as much of it in silence as he possibly could.
“Morning.” Chase was momentarily startled when sleep-warmed tanned arms slid around his waist. Okay, Kai was better than silence.
“Hi there.” Chase smiled into the mirror and leaned over to rinse out his mouth. He turned and gave Kai a shy, minty kiss. They’d only exchanged a couple of them since they’d kissed the first time on their date the night before. Chase could barely believe it. He’d been on a date. He’d come here hoping for a great experience, hopefully even a top-three finish. He’d never expected to find someone he really liked. And he really, really liked Kai.
“Can we just go back to bed?” Kai grumbled. He dug his face into Chase’s neck like they’d been cuddling for years instead of, well, never before. Chase wasn’t going to turn down a cuddle. He loved relaxed, away-from-the-kitchen Kai. He was so easy to be around after he’d dropped the showoff act.
“No,” he said, but he slid his hands up Kai’s back anyway. “Besides, Aaron snores.”
Kai chuckled into Chase’s neck. “No kidding. I was about to lose my mind last night.”
“I’m going to grab a shower. Get dressed, and I’ll make us some eggs and toast when I’m done.”
Kai answered him with another kiss. Chase decided he could get used to Kai’s kisses very easily.
By the time Chase got back to the room, Aaron was up and gone and Kai was wandering around shirtless. Chase didn’t know why Kai was half-naked, but he wasn’t about to complain. Sure, they’d only had one official date, but he was allowed to look if Kai wanted to show.
“Hey,” Chase said with a smile. “This doesn’t look like dressed to me. No eggs for you.”
Kai turned. He still had his hair down, loose and silky against his shoulders. It was mostly straight, but there was the tiniest bit of a wave. Chase could easily picture him with a pair of board shorts in the ocean. That seemed more like the Kai Chase was getting to know than Mr. Intensity in the kitchen.
“I’m hungry, though.” He smiled at Chase, and Chase felt his insides wobble. “Can I have another kiss?”
It took three steps to cross the room, three steps to be in Kai’s arms, golden and warm and strong. Kai threaded his fingers into Chase’s hair and kissed him. He was still all soft and sleepy, and he smelled good.
“I think we should skip filming today,” Kai said. “Just hang here and make out.”
Chase knew he was joking, so he laughed and punched him lightly in the stomach.
“Sure.
I’ll just give the producers a call and let them know we’re not going to make it. I’m sure they’ll understand.” He pulled away from Kai and tossed him a shirt. “Get dressed. I’ll eat your eggs if you’re not out in time.”
* * *
It was intimidating to walk into the studio. Always. Even if it wasn’t the day, it was still a lot. It wasn’t the day of the main challenge of the week—they had nearly the whole week to wait for that—but still. Every week there had been little challenges throughout that bought them more time or the first pick at ingredients come Friday. Chase hadn’t gotten any of those the week before. He’d luckily managed to make something the judges liked anyway. Or liked-ish. He was determined to win at least one of the mini challenges this week. Chase figured he could use all the help he could get.
The cameras weren’t on yet, so everyone was relaxed in the lounge area where they typically waited for the judges to debate. Mostly everyone was relaxed, at least. Clarissa Darling, self-anointed Cupcake Diva, looked about as tightly wound as she ever did. As soon as the cameras were rolling, she’d be all sweetness and light, but Chase had figured out really quickly that was an act. He’d also figured out he needed to stay the hell away from her. Clarissa looked like she could take someone out with one of her pseudo-sweet stares. Dreya had shown up in her typical weird outfit and frayed head wrap. She was over in the corner doing some sort of meditation. Chase thought it was better if he didn’t ask questions. So far that seemed to be the best method with Dreya. He’d asked her once what she was doing. When she’d said something about her chi, he’d just backed away slowly.
Kai was on the other side of the room with big teddy bear Al and Breon, who Chase was more than a little intimidated by. If he hadn’t spent the night before kissing Kai, he’d probably be pretty damn intimidated by him too. They both had their signature brand of passion around food. Chase didn’t know what to do with that. He couldn’t really hear what they were talking about, but from the various phrases he caught, he assumed they were trying to predict what the main challenge for the week was going to be.
