by M. J. O'Shea
Chapter 9
Frozen — The International Ice Cream Challenge
Welcome to Burned, where we find fresh new cooking talent… and a few culinary disasters! Last week Chase’s delicious pear, goat cheese, and macadamia tart wowed the judges with its simple beauty. But our lovely Jenna didn’t find the right balance between salty and sweet. Her after-school smoked pistachio and dried cranberry pavlovas left the judges wondering what they were supposed to think. They decided to think Jenna was Burned. Only seven more contestants to go!
This week our contestants get frozen and have to wow the judges with incredible ice creams and internationally inspired flavors. Each contestant will draw a country of inspiration and take a few minutes to research before the buzzer rings!
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?
It was warm out on the roof, warmer than it had been most of the time they’d been there so far, and breezy and calming. Chase needed a hell of a lot of calming if he was expected to breathe anytime soon.
It was Thursday, and they’d just finished shooting the second task of the week. Chase was alone on the roof, but that was exactly what he wanted, honestly. He’d had a long day. Everyone had. The judges had been picky as hell while judging the tasks, and of fucking course he’d had to work with Clarissa, who he could’ve sworn was waiting for him to mess up somehow. It had been one of the most unpleasant weeks he’d had in a long time. Even the camaraderie that the remaining cast had built up, well, most of them, at least, had been overshadowed by the heaviness of all the lame shit that had gone down.
Chase could’ve sworn they were messing with things to get arguments and drama. Putting people together who didn’t work well with each other, making sure the challenges fit really easily with some people’s strengths and not others, and then judging the people who’d done well when they were too safe. It was just bullshit all around. He was glad they were more than halfway through filming. With the exception of Kai, Chase was quite over the whole experience.
He heard the door from the stairs creak open and sighed a little. Chase had been looking forward to some downtime, and while he really liked a lot of his costars, he didn’t feel like talking to pretty much any of them. He’d needed the quiet to recharge and get ready to face everything with their main challenge in the morning. They were being thrown straight into it without a break, which sucked, because he really needed time to recharge his batteries.
When he craned his head back to look, he realized it was just Kai, and smiled a little, relieved. He didn’t need downtime enough that he wasn’t happy to see Kai. While most of him wanted to get the damn show over with, there was a part of him that was counting down the number of days he and Kai had left. If they both made it to the finale, that was. Not very many was the total. Chase didn’t like to think about it.
“I’m glad it’s you,” he said quietly when Kai came up and slid into the chaise behind him. He must’ve somehow known how tired Chase was because he pulled him into his chest and just hugged quietly. “I wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone.”
“I’m nobody?” Kai teased. His voice was gentle and soft in Chase’s ear. Chase burrowed into him happily.
“You know you’re not nobody. I just don’t have to be, like, on for you. You know?” He liked that they could relax with each other.
Kai kissed the back of his head and ran his hands up under Chase’s shirt. “Yeah, I know. It’s hard sometimes having to put on a show constantly. You okay?”
“I’m fine. Just worried about tomorrow. The closer we get, the less of a chance that I’m going to make it through.”
Kai’s hands just rubbed comfortingly on Chase’s belly, up and down, soft but not tickly. If he weren’t so keyed up, it would probably put him to sleep.
“You’ll be fine. I have a feeling.”
“You have a feeling.” Chase rolled his eyes. Fondly. He hoped. “But this week, with Clarissa being her usual self. I don’t know. I didn’t like getting stuck with her for the mini challenges. Maybe it was a bad omen. Maybe I have a feeling too.”
“You didn’t lose any time, did you?”
Chase shook his head. Kai kissed the back of it. “Then really, don’t worry. You’re going to be amazing tomorrow no matter what it is. The judges will love you. They already think you’re adorable.”
Chase chuckled. “I’m not adorable.”
“We’re not going to argue about that. You know how cute you are, and you know you’ve got that country charm thing going on. I swear they’d have kicked me off already if they could because I seem like such a jerk on camera.”
Chase didn’t see jerk. He did see intimidating and a little standoffish, which was so weird because that was nothing like the Kai he knew at all, but still. He kind of got where Kai was coming from. The fans weren’t going to root for him because he seemed to have it all and the confidence to boot.
“I still think you’re going to win.” Chase had seen Kai as the winner from day one. Other people were probably just as good, but he’d always seemed unstoppable.
“Thanks, babe.”
Kai kissed little nibbly kisses from Chase’s ear down the side of his jaw. It was sweet and soft, just like everything they’d had lately. He blushed thinking about it. Well, almost everything.
The night before, things had gotten a little intense again. Chase didn’t know where it was coming from, the need to hold him down and tell him what to do and destroy him. It wasn’t an instinct Chase had ever had before. It was a little disconcerting.
“Kai?” Chase asked.
“Yeah?” Kai kissed his neck.
“Does it freak you out when I get all… like that. In bed?”
“Like what?” Kai asked.
Chase knew Kai wasn’t oblivious. He had to know exactly what Chase was talking about. Maybe he was just making him say it out loud. Maybe he needed to hear it out loud too, get his own kind of reassurance that Chase was thinking and feeling everything he did. “Like… that. Like controlling or whatever. Does that freak you out?”
“No,” Kai said. “I don’t think so, at least. I think it’s hot when you tell me what to do. If I didn’t like it, I’d have told you a long time ago, babe. Well.” He chuckled. “Not long, I suppose. We haven’t had that many chances to even try.”
“So you’re okay with it?”
“I said I was,” Kai reminded him gently. “To be honest, I think I’d be okay with a lot more. If it was you I was doing it with.”
“Is….” Chase felt supremely awkward. “Is that something you like?” He’d never really talked about sex much with his exes. Not when they weren’t already in the middle of it, anyway, and things had never gotten so heated like they did with him and Kai. He didn’t know how to step forward.
“Yeah, I think it is. It’s not something I’ve done a lot before, but with you, I’ve liked it…. Well, yeah. I like it.”
Chase nodded and tried to turn his head so he could look at Kai’s eyes. He finally ended up shuffling his whole body around so he was on his belly, holding himself up with his hands. Kai had his hair down, all soft and sexy around his head in an inky black curtain. His eyes crinkled at the corners and glowed in the lights from the rooftop fixtures and his skin kind of glowed too, copper gold and gorgeous. Chase hadn’t ever seen anyone as beautiful as him. He never got enough chances to look at him. Just look.
Kai lifted his head for a kiss. “You look gorgeous tonight. You looked gorgeous all day. Couldn’t keep my eyes off of you. I barely made it through the challenges.”
Chase couldn’t help it. He leaned over and kissed Kai. The kiss was supposed to be soft, just a moment in the warm darkness, but it got steamy quickly.
Things tended to happen like that between them. Kai released the back of the chaise and pulled Chase down on top of him as soon as it was flat. He wound his fingers through Chase’s hair and deepened the kiss.
It was heaven, kissing like that out in the fresh air. It was even better when they were in their bed, naked. Chase was tired as hell, but he wanted that with Kai tonight. He wanted to try more, to give Kai what he needed. He wasn’t quite sure what to do, but things seemed to have come naturally for the two of them when they were together.
“I want you,” Kai muttered, like he’d been in Chase’s brain and picked that out right as Chase was thinking it.
“Yeah. Me too. So much.” Chase tried to pull himself up, drag Kai off the chaise and down to the spot where he needed him.
“Not up here,” Kai said with a soft chuckle. “We can’t do this on the roof.”
“Then where? Down with the rest of the cast?” Chase growled. He wanted Kai. “Nobody’s going to come up here. It’s late.” He reached up and tugged on Kai’s hair, gently at first, but then a little harder. Kai moaned and his breathing quickened. Chase knew how much Kai loved it. He was happy to oblige.
“You want it right out in the open?” Kai asked. His voice was a little teasing, yes, but at the same time it was truly incredulous. Chase didn’t blame him. The whole thing was nothing if not out of character. A big part of Chase liked the idea that someone could come and see them. He shocked himself with the things he was not only willing but interested in doing with Kai. The Chase he’d always been would’ve never even thought about doing anything like that in public.
“Should I go put something in front of the door?” Kai asked.
Chase shook his head. “I think we’ll be fine,” he said.
Kai raised his eyebrows but kissed his way down Chase’s stomach. Chase felt the thrill, metallic and hot in his veins. Sure, they could’ve snuck back down into the condo, into their empty room. Closed the door, locked it. But he didn’t want to. He arched his back when Kai sucked a love bite onto his hip. The cool breeze blew over his wet, exposed skin.
“That feels good,” he muttered. He knew Kai wasn’t even doing anything yet. Not really. But he felt sexy and debauched in a way that he hadn’t even when he and Kai were in his apartment.
“You want more?” Kai asked.
He knew the answer, he had to, so he must’ve just needed to hear Chase say it. Chase didn’t mind.
“Yes. I want you to suck me,” he said. It was still a thrill to just say it like that. To tell Kai what to do and know Kai wanted to listen.
“If you say so,” Kai muttered. He pulled on the button to Chase’s jeans until it popped open. Then he drew the zipper down slowly, slowly, nudging Chase’s briefs aside, following the line of his skin with pillow-soft lips.
“I say so,” Chase said.
Kai gave him one more glossy-lipped slow smile, then tugged Chase’s briefs and jeans the rest of the way off and gave him exactly what he was asking for.
Chase had to jam a fist into his mouth to keep from screaming.
* * *
Back in the studio again. Fantastic. Chase had been looking forward to it less and less as the weeks went by. It was only the other things about it, the friends he’d made, seeing another part of the country, Kai, that made it worth it. Other than that, he’d have been on a plane home days ago. He knew he had no chance of winning. Of course, being known as the guy who quit wasn’t exactly good for business either. A part of him was excited for when it would be all over. Another part of him knew what he was leaving behind when he went home, and he wasn’t quite ready for that yet.
“Hey, you cool?” Kai asked. He’d sat right next to Chase for once on the shuttle in the dark predawn. Chase wanted to cuddle up to him and kiss his neck. He did a little bit. Nobody in the cast cared, anyway.
“I’m just not in the mood for this today. I don’t have a good feeling about it.”
Kai nuzzled Chase’s hair with his generous mouth. “You’re gonna be fine, babe.”
Chase wondered when they’d gotten to the “babe” stage. Not that he had a problem with it. He loved that Kai felt comfortable enough to call him that and comfortable enough to smile when Chase called him similar.
“Welcome, chefs,” Diego said when they arrived at the studio. He looked smarmy as usual, and far too put-together for this early in the morning. Chase wasn’t impressed. Diego strutted around the kitchens like he always did: expensive suit, slicked-back hair, expensively cheap charm. Chase mostly tried to ignore him and get himself in game mode. Sometimes it was easier than others. “Today you’ll be drawing inspiration from nearby and far away. You’ll be crafting a classic American treat with international flavors.”
Chase’s back was sweating. The lights were hot, he hated the pressure of waiting, and the verdict rarely went in his favor.
“Today you’ll be making ice cream.”
Are you kidding me? Chase smiled hard. For once the odds were in his favor. The people around him clapped him on the back. He tried not to let it go to his head, but it was so him. Everything about it.
“Each of you will draw a country of origin from my lucky pot,” Diego continued. “Chase, you’re first.”
* * *
Kai didn’t know what to do with confident Chase. In a way it was kind of hot, but Chase’s new attitude hit him somewhere in the gut, and it wasn’t exactly the world’s best feeling. Kai watched Chase grin and make his rounds of the final few contestants, happy, laughing, ready to kick some ass. Kai stood at his cooking station, unsure of how things were, how they should be, and how he was supposed to act around new, confident Chase. He wanted his unsure, adorable country boy back.
It was like Chase from the bedroom, his Chase who was so hot and so in control, was suddenly out there for everyone to see. It was one of the most uncomfortable things Kai had ever experienced, like people could see what he saw when they were alone. Like everyone knew how much he liked it when Chase held him down.
They all settled as Diego got out the pot they’d be drawing their inspiration countries from.
Kai’s name was called third. He drew out Morocco with relief. He could make some lovely ice creams with Moroccan flavors. That would be easy. He’d just have to make sure he didn’t play it safe.
Chase had gotten Brazil, which Kai thought he’d do pretty well at. Instead of his usual shy smile, he grinned at Diego and the others as he got back in line. He even high-fived a few of them. It made Kai’s belly flip. Usually that flip was good, the fuzzy feeling around the edges, but he didn’t like feeling it in public. Not at all.
When the buzzer went off, everyone but Louis and Al, who had to start later, booked it to the ingredients table. Chase crowded in like some giant puppy, going for all sorts of tropical fruits and spices.
“Jesus,” Kai snapped. “There are other people, you know?”
He kind of meant it. He could tell Chase thought it was just for show, and he played along with a semiserious glare. “There are other sides on the table, you know?” he mocked.
Kai didn’t reply. He simply grabbed what he thought he’d end up using and made it back to his station.
* * *
The challenge was long. It felt both like he had barely enough time to make his ice cream, but at the same time like the seconds on the clock ground along at the slowest speed he could imagine. It had never been like that before. Challenge days usually flew by, some combination of panic and way too much to do making the minutes and hours disappear in huge chunks. Chase was over at his station, working with a smile like there wasn’t a single thing to worry about in the world. He looked so calm. So in control. Kai’s belly fluttered again, and he forced himself to look down at his station. He had to get it done.
He mixed his ingredients and dropped them into the ice cream maker. Kai had used lots of different Middle Eastern spices in the ice cream and had added dried dates and nuts to it as well. It should come out deliciously. He wasn’t mu
ch of an ice cream expert, other than knowing he liked to eat it. It was a bit of a Hail Mary at that point.
Kai got his presentation ready. There wasn’t much time to do it after the timer on the ice cream maker went off. He decided to make Moravian spice cookie bowls; they’d look beautiful and add to the flavor of his ice cream. There was more than enough time on the clock and he had the ingredients to do it. Why not impress the judges a little bit? After all, it was why he was there. Kai looked around at the others. Some had their ice creams in the makers and were relaxed, and some were still desperately chopping ingredients to go in. Kai felt secure in his choices, and judging by the level of panic around the room, he was going to be fine.
He mixed the ingredients for his cookies, rolled them out, cut them into rounds, and used an oversized muffin pan to drape the shells and bake them so they’d come out as beautiful little bowls. He figured he’d use some of the herbs he’d gotten out as a garnish, maybe a date or two, and be good to go. It might not be the most ambitious ice cream in the room, but it would be one of the best tasting, and he’d make it beautiful.
Everything was great until he opened his ice cream maker and inside was a huge disaster. What was in there was barely ice cream. It was more like a cold, milky soup. Maybe soft serve in the most generous of terms. Kai panicked. He only had minutes to dish it up into his cookie bowls and garnish it. He checked the clock again. Maybe a few minutes in the blast freezer, and then he could plate it. It wouldn’t make for the best consistency, but he didn’t have a choice.
Kai ran his tub of near-ice cream to the blast freezer and chucked it in. He got everything ready so he could plate at the very last minute The ice cream was still very, very soft when he got it out, but at least it could be called ice cream. Sort of. He dished it into his cookie bowls, garnished it, and hoped for the best.
