by M. J. O'Shea
The beach was empty other than them. Perfect, as far as Kai was concerned. Just a crescent-shaped stretch of sand, some black rocks, and scrubby greenery holding back the dunes. It was so different than what he knew at home, but he loved it. Kai took his shoes off as soon as they were off the rocky path from the parking strip and squished his toes into the sand. Home. The beach felt like home.
“This is gorgeous,” Chase said. He stared out at the ocean for a long time, eyes huge and awed. “I mean, you see it in pictures, but I’d never imagined it would look like this up close.”
“This is your first trip to the Pacific, isn’t it? I remember you saying that.”
Chase nodded. “This is the closest I’ve been to any ocean. Mostly I’ve just seen it from the roof of our building.”
“Oh, babe. You should’ve said. I would’ve brought you out here sooner.” He couldn’t even imagine. The thought of not being near the ocean was… just impossible. He wouldn’t know what to do with himself if there wasn’t a beach nearby. Kai slung his arm around Chase’s shoulders. He marveled at how easy it was. One benefit of not being at home. Someday he figured he’d be comfortable enough to tell his family he dated men. Maybe.
“It’s okay.” Chase gave him a big smile. “I’m gonna go put my feet in.”
Kai grinned. “Race you there!”
Kai wished it were a warm enough day to get in the water completely. He supposed for Chase, who’d come from snow, snow, and more snow, it probably was, but Kai was perfectly happy to sprint along the foamy waterline with a laughing Chase until they were tired and out of breath, one good trip from falling into the breakers.
“I need to start surfing more,” Kai said. “I’m out of shape.”
Chase eyed his abs under the snug white T-shirt he’d pulled on that morning. “Yeah. You’re in awful shape.” He rolled his eyes. “My workouts for most of my life were like farm things. Building fences, tossing feed.”
Kai wasn’t surprised. He’d always pictured Chase in the middle of some farm, idyllic and green, maybe with some black-and-white spotted cows and a red barn.
“What kind of farm does your family have again?”
Chase chuckled. “Organic dairy. Of course.”
“Of course.” Spotted cows and a red barn and all, Kai imagined. He couldn’t believe just how right he’d been about Chase’s background. It was kind of nice to deal with someone so transparent after the cutthroat world that was a five-star restaurant.
“I use my family’s dairy to make all my ice creams at the shop,” Chase said. “I want my ice cream ingredients to be organic and locally sourced, and I know that way exactly where my milk came from and what quality it is.”
“What’s happening at your shop right now?” Kai asked. Since he’d flat-out quit his job to focus on the competition, he couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have a business waiting for him when it was all over. And probably a bunch of fires to put out, since no matter how hard someone else tried, they weren’t the owner.
Chase gave him this sweet little smile. One he hadn’t seen before. “Ruby’s doing a great job with it from what she and my mom have told me.”
“Ruby?”
“Sister. One year younger.”
Oh. That made sense. It was his family smile. “Does she look like you?” Kai asked. He had this picture in his head of a family of big, blond Viking types, wholesome and golden on the farm. Of course, nobody’s life was a Ralph Lauren catalog.
“She does, actually. So does Brian. We’re all carbon copies of our parents.”
Okay, so maybe Chase’s life was a Ralph Lauren catalog, complete with an organic dairy farm, pink cheeks, and a bunch of plaid flannel shirts. Probably.
They collapsed on the beach a safe distance from the crashing waves. It wasn’t warm enough for bathing suits only, but it was a perfect day for T-shirts and shorts, digging their toes into warm sand and getting some sun for once, rather than the over-bright stifling lights of the studio.
“Have you ever climbed the rocks over there?” Chase asked. He pointed at the outcrop in the distance.
The way they’d hiked down to the beach from the parking strip had been fairly gentle, more of a path than anything else, worn down from years of more adventurous beachgoers. The other side of the beach was a rocky outcrop that rose straight up from the water. Kai hadn’t thought about hiking it. He wasn’t sure why.
“No, but my favorite beach back home has a cliff a lot like that one. I’ve hiked out on it a bunch of times. It’s pretty exhilarating to be up that high.”
Chase chuckled. “I’d probably be crawling along on my stomach. All the hills here are so weird. I’m used to flat, flat, and more flat.”
“And cows.”
He snorted. It was more adorable than it should be. “Yes. And cows.”
“You miss it?”
“The cows?” Chase looked confused.
“Home.” Kai chuckled. “Do you miss home?”
Chase looked like he was considering his answer. “I don’t miss Wisconsin, if that’s what you mean. It’s freezing cold there right now, and I’ve been in my building for two years and I still don’t know anyone. But I kind of miss normal day-to-day life and my family for sure. I know I’ll go back to it as soon as this is over. I just hope it gets some exposure for the shop once it airs.”
“That’s all you want?”
Chase shrugged. “It would be nice to get the grand prize, but I’m not going to kid myself. Look at everyone else here. Look at you. If I beat you, there’s something wrong with the world.”
Kai wanted to kiss him. He wanted to push Chase down into the sand and kiss him for hours with the wind blowing lightly over them and the water crashing in the background. He’d never kissed a guy on the beach before, and he’d spent his whole life on beaches. If there was one guy to kiss, it would be Chase.
He rolled over until he was nearly all the way on top of Chase, and dove in for a deep, smacking kiss.
Chase smiled. “What was that for?”
“For being humble and sweet. For loving your family and where you came from. I’ve gotten used to it out here, I think. There aren’t people like you in the city. Not really.”
Chase returned the kiss. It was just as deep and passionate, maybe even a little more so. Kai found himself wanting to roll back and let Chase cover him with all those golden limbs. He was so used to being in control that it felt good to let someone else take over for a while.
“What was that for?” he echoed when Chase pulled away to take a breath.
“For thinking I’m sweet and liking that about me. I don’t necessarily think it’s a good quality in these parts.”
“It’s never bad to be a nice guy.” Kai hated that Chase was worried about it. “I mean, in our situation it can get you into trouble, but don’t ever think it’s a defect.”
“That’s why I kissed you.” Chase kissed him again, slower and less commanding than before, but still Kai felt it all the way to the base of his spine. “Thank you.”
* * *
Chase wasn’t ready for the final challenge. He’d had a rough week with the mini challenges and the producers breathing down his neck to fight with Kai. He’d had a rough week all around except for that one perfect afternoon at the beach. He wasn’t looking forward to a long day of pressure and the hope that he could perform. Chase was starting to learn that pressure wasn’t his best motivator. Far from it.
There were a lot more people than usual when the dwindling cast strolled into the kitchen studios. Suits. There were a lot of suits. Tommy was there as well, staring down the contestants and muttering things to the row of suits with tablets and clipboards and judgmental, measuring looks.
“This is going to be a blast,” Polly muttered at him. She looked like he felt. Worn out and wary at the wall of official types staring at them.
Chase couldn’t agree more. “I hope all the brass get out of here before we start filming,” he whispered back.
The idea of all of them staring at him while he tried to get his challenge done was enough to make him want to crawl behind one of the cook stations and toss his breakfast up real quick-like before the timers started.
They did the usual hair, makeup, and standing around for about five hundred years before the filming started. Chase hadn’t ever been a fan of standing around. Or anything that involved long bouts of waiting. Turned out for every stressful moment they had been pushing themselves to finish in the allotted time, there were three times as many moments of pure, utter boredom, standing around to hurry up and then to wait some more. He was very grateful he wasn’t in television full-time. He didn’t know if his nerves could take it.
When it seemed like a thousand years had passed, Diego came in front of them, the cameras were turned on, and it was time to begin.
“You’ve all had a trying week,” Diego said. “You had to make mousse and pound cake in your mini challenges, and you all probably wondered how those two things would fit together in our week’s final challenge. And this is how. Your challenge is trifles, moist layers of cakes, custards, and unique ingredients put together beautifully.”
Everyone murmured as Diego’s announcement died down in the cavernous kitchens. Trifles. Not bad. Chase figured he could layer cake and custard to make something delicious.
Diego held up his hand. “Trifles are simple desserts, and this week we’re not going to add any other stipulations. The only thing you need to think about is they have to be Burned level. We want creativity, we want perfect flavors, amazing textures, and surprises. Make the judges want to keep eating after their first few bites, keep them excited. You have five minutes to plan, and then the first chefs will be buzzed to the ingredients table.
Chase closed his eyes.
Trifles. Unique. How can I make it unique?
He hadn’t done anything with chocolate yet… but Chase wasn’t a huge fan of chocolate. It wouldn’t be easy to work with it and come up with something amazing. There hadn’t been a lot of use of heat yet. He could incorporate some cayenne or chili powder. He kept that thought in his head while he thought of other flavors he could add. The buzzer went off and the first group of chefs hurried to the table to grab ingredients. Chase had to wait. And wait. And wait. It was so hard to watch everyone start, grab ingredients he might use, turn their ovens on, get a head start. He was ready to jump out of his skin.
The buzzer finally went off, and Chase leaped off the stool he’d been perched on and jogged with Louis, who’d also blown a challenge, to the table. There wasn’t a lot left. Chase instinctively went for the pumpkin puree and some apples. He had spices back at his cook station. Cayenne and cardamom and cinnamon. He knew what he was going to do. Chase went through the rest of the table and picked up bits he knew he’d need, and hurried back to his station. He had to get started and fast.
The cake was going to be the hardest to get done on time. He started with that. He wanted to do a soft, moist cake, flavored with the spices to give the trifle a subtle heat. He’d balance that with the crispness of a custard cut through with a sharp apple sauce and a few other little twists. There was a lot to do, and he was already thirty minutes behind the others.
Two hours left….
He had a lot of work to do: get the cake in the oven, make his apple custard, candy the pecans, make his bourbon syrup and whipped cream. There was a lot to do, and he didn’t know if he could get it all done on time. Chase put his head down and kept working.
One hour left….
The cake was out of the oven, still hot, but it smelled perfect, and the tiny corner Chase tasted had been exactly what he wanted. He had his bourbon syrup—bourbon, maple syrup, and cayenne powder—reducing on the stovetop, and his pralines were coming out really well. Everything at his station smelled amazing. He’d been running so behind after having to wait forever to start. He hadn’t managed to glare at Kai very much, and there certainly hadn’t been time for any verbal bitching. He was lucky if he got his trifle finished on time.
* * *
For some reason it took the judges forever to get themselves ready and in position to be filmed tasting the desserts, which was time Chase spent panicking, looking around the room at everyone else’s creations, then panicking some more.
Polly had made a mint chocolate trifle that looked so much fun; dark chocolate biscuit layers, bright white peppermint cream, a lighter chocolate mousse, and mint leaves on top to garnish. It was bright and sexy and cool, something that said she still enjoyed cooking and creating interesting twists on classic flavors.
Al, who was stationed just in front of Chase, had gone with a deconstructed banana cream pie—banana, vanilla custard, whipped cream, and shortbread cookies. Kai had gone with cappuccino and cherry, hot and sophisticated, and Chase felt his gut clench as he looked back at his own dessert. This wasn’t him. It wasn’t the sort of food he made at home, and it wasn’t the sort of food he came here to make. Spending so much time trying to impress the judges had taken him away from what he came here to do.
“Chase?”
And he’d been called up first. Great.
“Your presentation is good,” Emilio said, turning the dish around so he could see it from all angles. “You’ve got nice defined layers here, and the colors are nice. It looks very appetizing.”
“Thank you,” Chase murmured. He waited silently while Basil dug his spoon into the dish and took a large mouthful of all the layers together. Nicolette and Emilio tried it too, eating just one bite before setting their spoons down.
“This isn’t a bad effort, Chase,” Nicolette said. “It’s well made. Fine.”
“Fine isn’t good enough here,” Basil told Chase sharply. “I’m not a judge on Burned to taste average food. I’m here to sample top-line cooking, and this isn’t it.”
“I’m afraid I agree,” Emilio added. “It’s perfectly acceptable, Chase, but something I might expect from my grandmother at Thanksgiving. Not a chef of your caliber.”
Chase nodded, mumbled his thanks again, then took the dish back to his station.
Not good enough. He vowed to himself that if he got through and didn’t choke at the judges’ altar, he’d try harder, work more intelligently, make better food. Basil hadn’t come there to taste average food? Well, Chase hadn’t come there to make average food.
He watched sullenly as the others all had their moment in the spotlight. Then they were dismissed while the judges deliberated. Instead of going back to the small room set aside for them, Chase ducked into the bathroom and hid there for ten minutes, then waited on the stairs until they were called back in for final judging. He didn’t have the energy, or a stable enough stomach, to handle the others right now.
Diego started to speak, finally, going through the whole spiel with the prizes and what the challenge had entailed. Again. He didn’t know why the viewers needed to be reminded about five times an episode, but he supposed that was why he wasn’t a television writer.
Finally, he got to the good stuff.
“This week’s final challenge was both easy and hard. There were quite a few outstanding trifle desserts, but we can have only one challenge winner, and that winner is Jenna. Congratulations!” Diego tossed Jenna one of his slick smiles. “The judges loved the fresh flavors of your gluten-free key lime and Meyer lemon trifle. You mixed sour and sweet together perfectly, and your textures of cake and custard were spot on.” Jenna smiled and bowed her head in thanks.
“Not everyone can come out on top. There are some low scores as well. Chase and Sylvia, please step forward. Chase.” Chase’s heart went straight into his throat. He was one of the low scores? “Your trifle was delicious but safe. We know you’re capable of more than a hodgepodge of autumn flavors. Sylvia, you tried to go out on a limb this week and it didn’t pay off. Your trifle was a little weird—and not in a good way. The judges didn’t know if it was even a dessert. Between tasty but too safe and a poorly executed risk, the judges have decided to save….�
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Chase’s heart stuck in his chest. He hadn’t had a damn bit of luck that week. None at all. He started wondering if he had to pack his bags already and hightail it home, or maybe just pretend for another week and hang around on the beach, which he’d loved. He wasn’t ready to—
“Chase.” Diego looked at him gravely. “You’re still in, Chase. That means Sylvia, you’re burned.”
Thank fucking God.
Chase leaned over and gave Sylvia a long hug. He’d miss her. A lot. Other than Kai, he’d spoken to her the most. Everyone else was still a little intimidating. Sylvia hugged him back and waved at the others while she walked behind the partition into the backstage area. Supposedly that was the last of her, but he knew they’d all see her for a final good-bye dinner. That’s how it had worked with the others, at least.
He couldn’t believe it. He was still there. By the skin of his teeth, maybe, but he wasn’t gone yet. For a few minutes back there he’d thought that he was really gone. The judges rarely picked the safe option over the risky one. Chase rubbed at his temples. He saw Kai in the corner, pretending not to grin, and Chase vowed not to get that close to elimination again. If he even had a choice in the matter.
Later, when the cameras were off and nobody was around, Kai hugged him for a really long time. Chase felt himself melting into Kai’s skin.
“I was really worried there for a minute. You can’t leave, okay?”
Chase chuckled into Kai’s neck. “Okay. I won’t suck again.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I do. I’m not ready to say good-bye.” It had only been a few weeks, but Chase was starting to wonder when he was going to be ready to say good-bye. If ever.
Chapter 7
Life is Like a Box of Chocolates — The Chocolate Week
