The Making of Matt (18 page)

I noted the time and it was after lunch already. I decided if Ryder wasn’t back within half an hour I would call him and tell him to hurry his ass up. As a precaution, I called Alex and asked him to wait for a delivery due at the club late afternoon. It was a blatant lie, but hopefully he’d forgive me when he saw what I’d planned for him.

An alert sounded on the security monitor and I raced downstairs to see how big a dent Ryder had made in my credit card. When I reached the main living space I found Ryder waddling toward the kitchen with so many bags in his arms I couldn’t see his face.

“There’s more in the car,” he said, lowering the bags onto the island.

“
More
?”

“You start unpacking and I’ll go grab it.”

I began with the grocery bags, removing a ton of ingredients I wouldn’t have a clue what to do with. Potatoes, lettuce, salmon, strawberries… He must’ve bought out the whole freakin’ store.

“Ready for the pièce de résistance?” Ryder reentered the room and put a fuck-ton more bags down on the floor. Then he picked up a large, flat, circular bag. Intrigued, I walked over him and watched as he unfastened the zipper and pulled out something which resembled a tent. “Stand back.”

With a mere flick of his wrist, the tent sprang to life, settling fully assembled on the floor instantaneously.

“That’s ingenious.”

“Right? There’re pegs too to stop it blowing away but even
you
should be able to figure out how to use them.”

“I’m not sure how to take that.”

“Well it was meant as an insult so maybe start there.”

“Funny. Jackass.” I scowled at him but he didn’t notice, too busy delving into the other bags. “I got candles, flowers, napkins, lights…” he continued, naming things as he removed them from the bag.

“And where do you suggest I plug lights in?”

“They’re solar powered. I’ve thought of everything.” He really had. “Champagne, baby wipes, condoms…”

“Oh.” Anxiety spiked in my gut. It never failed to surprise me. If you could get a degree in sex I’d have passed with honors years ago. Yet here I was at twenty-nine years old, feeling more nervous than when I lost my virginity at fifteen.

“They’re just in case. As is this lube,” he added, plucking it from the same bag. “Oh, oh, oh!” he sang, spinning around and reaching for the picnic basket behind him. “Check this out.” Lifting it up onto the counter, he flipped the lid. “It comes with plates, bowls, cups,
and
cutlery and even has these handy little dividers.”

I gave it a quick glance over, nodded, and returned to the grocery bags.

“Is that it?” he pressed, his voice laced with offence.

“It’s a basket. What do you want me to say?”

“It’s the motherfucking
king
of baskets. Did you not hear what I said about the dividers?”

I shrugged. “Does it prepare the food, clean up afterwards and then finish me off with a blowjob?”

“No but-”

“Then it’s just a basket.”

Ryder made a weird huffing slash tut sound. “You make a really crappy gay person. You’re letting the side down.”

When late afternoon rolled around I considered forgiving Ryder for massacring my balls. He really had thought of everything and on top of that provided us with a basketful of food that looked more elegant than any bazillion star restaurant I’d ever eaten in. I attempted to help but he’d bat my hand away so I took a long bath instead before calling Ashley for a baby update. She was three days overdue and her exhaustion was evident in her crabby tone. We arranged to meet, providing she hadn’t popped, tomorrow afternoon. I planned to tell her about Alex and could only hope the shock didn’t send her into labor. I wanted to be as far away as humanly possible when that happened. From what I’d seen on TV, giving birth was like something straight out of a horror movie.

“We should go and start setting things up soon,” Ryder suggested when I rejoined him in the kitchen. “Which beach are you taking him to?”

“Sahara’s Cove just off of Laguna.”

“That’s like a ninety minute drive from here.”

“But it’s beautiful. And secluded. I’m planning to ask Saw if he’ll bring Alex to me.”

“Better get right on that. He has a meeting in the studio today.”

Shit.
“Right. I’ll do it now.”

**********

Down at the beach a couple of hours later, I felt like a spare part as Ryder worked to set everything up. At least the tent didn’t need setting up seeing as we couldn’t get the damn thing to fit back in its bag. It turned out to be the deciding factor in which car I drove today, given that, fully erected, it would only fit in the back of my SUV. Much like he had at the club, Ryder had taken complete control. Thinking back to when I first met him as Elle’s assistant on our last UK tour, I’d never have guessed he would become such an invaluable part of my life. Honestly, I thought he was a prick in the beginning; over confident, loud, and a bigger attitude than mine.

“You want to be careful doing that,” Ryder said, clapping the sand off his hands. “You could damage your last brain cell.”

“Huh?”

“Thinking,” he explained, snickering. “Anything good?”

“I was actually thinking about how you grew on me. Like mold.”

“Gee, thanks. Pass me that bag.” He nodded toward the backpack by my feet. Picking it up, I tossed it to him and he ducked like it was a freakin’ grenade. “Think we need to go over the definition of
pass.
”

Unzipping the bag, Ryder pulled out a bag of various sized candles. While he started dotting them around the sand, I teased my phone out of my pocket to check the time and discovered a text from Sawyer waiting for me.

“They’re setting off soon,” I told Ryder as I read the words on the screen. Folding my arms across my chest, I admired the scene he’d set. The orange tent rested against a striking stone backdrop, looking out onto the ocean. We chose a spot that wasn’t cluttered with rocks and pebbles, though strands of seaweed and unusual shells decorated the sand in front of us. He’d arranged the candles into a heart shape, leaving enough room for us to sit inside its perimeter with our picnic, and despite the cheese factor, it made me smile. “This is perfect. Maybe
you
should date him.”

“He’s too tall for me. I’d need a step just to kiss him.”

I laughed. Ryder was indeed quite the shortass. “You brought matches, right?”

Slapping a hand to his chest, Ryder answered, “It hurts that you doubt me.” He pulled a lighter from his pocket. “Not much of a breeze but I’d light them last minute anyway.”

“Sure.” I nodded. “I can’t thank you enough for all of this.”

“Does that mean I’m forgiven?”

“
No
.” I would pay that motherfucker back if it was the last thing I ever did.

Laughing, Ryder took his e-cigarette out of his pocket and, pressing the button, sucked in a long drag. I liked to think his nonchalance was an act and deep down he was shaking with fear about my revenge. With nothing left to do but wait, we sat on a rock big enough for both of us and watched the soft waves effervesce as they rolled onto the shore while chatting about random nonsense. The two hours it took for my cell to ping with the news of Sawyer and Alex’s arrival seemed more like two days. I’d been away from Alex for just hours and my chest already ached for him.

Ryder scurried around his love heart creation, igniting the candles one by one, and then we jogged toward the steps that led to the road. When we reached the top he continued on to Sawyer’s car, passing Alex who strode over to me with a look of intrigue settled on his face. The sight of him made my breath catch in my throat.

Delicious.
That’s the first word that came into my mind. He closed in on me slowly, wearing black slacks and a button-down shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, the exact same shade of blue as his eyes.

“Are we visiting someone?” he asked when he reached me, his face curious as he motioned to the houses around us with his hand.

“No. Just you and me,” I said, holding my hand out for him. He took it, interlocking our fingers.

I tugged gently on his hand, guiding him down the steps. We walked side by side as I led him along the trail that led to our tent. The candles hadn’t reached maximum effect, given that dusk was only just beginning to settle, but as they flickered in the gentle breeze sweeping in from the ocean, they still looked pretty damn awesome.

“Welcome to your date, Alex,” I said, turning to face him when we reached our campsite.

“It’s like something out of a movie,” he whispered, his voice dripping with awe. “It’s stunning.”

“I can’t take all the credit,” I confessed, stepping over the wall of candles and lowering myself onto the blanket in the center. “Ryder’s been amazing.”

Alex joined me on the ground, crossing his legs in front of him. Flipping the lid on the picnic basket, I removed two champagne glasses and set them down on the blanket. They wobbled on the uneven surface and Alex steadied them with his fingers.

“Didn’t really think this part through,” I said, lifting the champagne out of the ice bucket that was now filled with water. It dripped onto my knees as I removed the cork with a loud pop, the bubbles foaming into the neck of the bottle and dribbling out and over my knuckles. “You hungry?” I asked, pouring a glass for Alex and then myself.

“Starving. Sawyer forbid me from eating anything.”

“Luckily for you, I have the king of picnic baskets here.”

I downed my glass of champagne in three gulps, thinking I’d have preferred a beer, before taking out different tubs of food. As Alex removed the lids one at a time, I noticed Ryder had used one of his precious dividers and dedicated a section of the basket to breakfast foods for the morning.

“Wow. This smells delicious,” Alex said, letting his nose linger over the potato salad. “There’s no way
you
made this,” he teased, picking out a piece of diced potato and tossing it in his mouth.

I couldn’t argue with him. “No, but I did make the main course.”

Alex’s lips twisted into a crooked smile. He watched me with suspicion as I unpeeled the foil from my creation. “Are those-”

“Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches,” I finished for him. “Crafted by my own fair hands.”

If Alex had smiled any wider, his lips would’ve split. He reached out and took one of the triangles before taking a generous bite. “This is quite possibly the best P and J sandwich I’ve ever tasted.” He wiped the crumbs from the corner of his mouth. “You’ll have to give me the recipe sometime.”

“Family secret,” I joked, tapping the side of my nose.

“This is…amazing,” Alex breathed, gazing out onto the water.

“I’m glad,” I said, exhaling a sigh of relief. “I wasn’t sure if you’d think it was lame.”

Stretching across, Alex took my hands in his. “Nothing or nowhere with you could be lame. But this? This is perfect.”

“Come for a swim with me,” I suggested, jumping to my feet and un-popping the buttons on my white shirt. The sky a dark gray now, I studied his face in the flickering candlelight, his smile beaming through the shadows.

“I don’t have shorts. Or did you think of that?”

“Oh, I thought about it. Just decided I’d rather have you naked.” I winked as I wriggled out of my pants. Raising each leg in turn, I removed my shoes and socks, leaving them in a pile with the rest of my things.

Knowing he’d follow, I ran toward the water, gasping when I immersed myself in it. It was cold, like always, despite the hot day we’d had. I stopped when the salty water rose to my shoulders, dunking my head under and then shaking the excess droplets from my hair. My heart raced, air catching in my throat, when I saw Alex in the distance, removing his last sock. Padding through the sand, his dick was hard as he neared the ocean. I couldn’t help thinking the shock of the cool water would soften it, at least until I got my hands on him.

“Holy crap!” He squealed when the water hit his chest. He waded over to me, splashing the water up and down his arms.

“Let me warm you up,” I said, curling my fingers around his neck.

I kissed along his jaw, inhaling the fresh scent of tea-tree bodywash and cologne. His stubble grazed mine as I worked my way to his mouth, sucking his bottom lip between my teeth and nibbling gently. He moaned and pressed his body to mine, the movement splashing water onto my cheeks.

My fingers wandered down his back, settling on his ass and gripping it firmly. We kissed hungrily, licking and sucking and panting for air. I felt his cock growing again between our bodies, hugging my own and making me shiver in desperation. I wanted this moment with him to last forever, but if I didn’t stop now it would be over in seconds. Forcing myself to break away from him, I flipped onto my stomach and started swimming away.

“Catch me if you can!” I called over my shoulder, using my legs to gain speed.

I heard a splash as Alex ducked under and I kept my momentum until I reached water levels that were too deep to stand in. Thinking I’d had enough of a head start, I paused, bobbing on the surface, only to find Alex right behind me. Extending an arm above my head, I went to swim away, but he caught my leg, wrapping his strong fingers around my ankle and pulling me into him.