His Tiny Sun

Chapter 29 - Recipe For Disaster （Beach Saga, Part 1）

CHAPTER 29

Recipe For Disaster (Beach Saga, Part 1)

Eric tapped his fingers on the steering wheel of his car to the rhythm of the music on the radio. He’d bought brand-new clothes for the occasion—an expensive-looking polo and khaki shorts—and wore a striking smile on his face, which in turn put Alan in a good mood too. As for Marina, well, Alan suspected that she’d only tagged along to keep an eye on Eric. She certainly wasn’t looking forward to spending the day with two men who’d succeeded where she hadn’t: by winning Eric’s heart, even if temporarily.

Marina wore her sole colorful piece of clothing—a yellow dress with a sunflower pattern, Eric’s birthday gift from last year. She looked amazing in it, albeit a little awkward. The vibrant outfit was worlds away from Marina’s usual jeans and loose T-shirts in varying shades of ‘dark’. She’d opted to wear her grandmother’s straw hat as well, and had styled her hair in a side braid.

At a glance, the illusion was perfect; nobody would suspect that she had no desire to be there. Well, until she opened her mouth to talk, probably. She wasn’t very good at pretending, which was one of the things that Alan liked most about her.

Alan gazed out the open window with a smile. The warm breeze caressed his face as they drove through a wealthy people’s haven, each habitation more magnificent than the last. Every property had a gorgeous front yard with lush trees, manicured shrubs, and decorative water features, making it seem as though they were browsing the covers of expensive landscaping magazines. It was a lot of beauty to take in.

Alan still wasn’t entirely certain he wanted to see Flavien again, but Jonah had at least reassured him on that front when they spoke on the phone.

‘He’s just a socially awkward weirdo who likes to fish for attention.’

Alan did his research—or rather, stalked Flavien’s social media accounts to figure out a list of topics he might enjoy discussing—but nothing much had come out of it. Everything about Flavien was artificial and overdone, so it was nearly impossible to know the man behind the extravagance. Flavien also seemed to have wiped every single piece of evidence that he even existed over four years ago, apart from one picture Alan accidentally uncovered while digging deeper.

The discovery had surprised Alan greatly. Just like him, Flavien used to be a nerdy loser.

It wasn’t exactly something Alan could bring up in a casual conversation, but perhaps it would help him understand Flavien better.

Seeing a parallel with Jonah—who didn’t seem to have an online presence until recently—Alan had taken the risk of making a web search for local news stories that happened over four years ago. As it turned out, Flavien’s parents won a ton of money in the lottery, then invested it, and made even more.

That was another thing Flavien and Alan had in common, he’d mused grimly. In his case, however, his fortune had come at the cost of losing his entire family. It was nowhere near as much as Flavien’s wealth, but Alan had a butt-load of investments to his name all the same, which allowed him to subsist without ever having to work.

Not that he wanted such an existence in the long term. Alan aspired to find a way to make the world a better place. Perhaps through volunteering, once he was done with university.

Alan mentally shook himself. He had to stop thinking about Flavien. He wasn’t the only person who would be there today.

Jonah had mentioned that Sean and Isabel were excited to see him again, which made Alan giddy. Their first meeting had been promising, only for the night to end in vomit and tears because Alan had let his morbid curiosity get the better of him.He’d learned his lesson, and he was grateful for a second chance at getting to know Jonah’s friends. He would never let this happen again.

Alan knew to wait until he was home to make such investigations now.

Eric slowed down his car as they approached a breathtaking two-story house. It looked like an old rustic home they’d find in the middle of nowhere, but with discerning features that made its price tag evident, such as gigantic windows covering most of its facade, and an impeccable wrought iron fence.

Beautiful vines climbed its stone walls, and immense trees stood around it, casting shade across the building and making it look like a refuge from everything .

Its front yard didn’t look as manicured as the others, but upon closer inspection, it seemed to have been intentional. Perhaps it was the landscaping equivalent of mock-distressed clothes and artificially styled bed heads, Alan figured.

Eric made a turn into a long driveway, at the end of which was already parked a red car. Alan’s heart fluttered; they’d unknowingly been right behind Jonah and his friends.

Jonah was leaning over the trunk of his car and handing bags over to Sean, who was putting them on the ground under the scrutiny of a snack-eating Isabel. Jonah was wearing an immaculate white tank top that hugged him in all the right places—which meant everywhere—and simple, charcoal colored shorts with a faint pattern Alan couldn’t discern from afar.

In other words, Jonah’s outfit was the opposite of Alan’s, who was wearing his favorite ice cream cone shorts and his pinkest T-shirt, both loose enough to conceal the fact that he had nothing to boast about.

Time seemed to slow down as Jonah straightened back up and turned to look at them. His hair swayed gently in the soft breeze, rays of sunlight filtering through the thick canopy of leaves to come shine in his mesmerizing eyes, which gave Alan the kind of look that never failed to make his heart skip a beat.

How handsome could a man be?

Unable to resist the temptation, Alan unbuckled his seat belt, got out of Eric’s car, sprinted in Jonah’s direction, and leapt into his arms.

Jonah caught him effortlessly, twirling him around just like in the movies, while Alan giggled and kicked his feet. They shared a long, tender kiss, then Jonah gently put him back down. “I’m happy to see you too,” Jonah said with a chuckle, before adding in a murmur, “I’ll need your help to survive this.”

Alan stood on his tiptoes to whisper into his ear, “Touch your nose three times if you need me to come to your rescue.”

“I may take you up on your offer.”

“Hi, I’m Eric,” Eric said loudly, reminding Alan that there were, in fact, other people standing nearby.

Isabel was wearing a strikingly colorful dress with a pattern of what looked like dancing fruit, which Alan was dying to take a closer look at. Her hair was up in a messy bun, and she wore giant red sunglasses that made her look like a diva. As for Sean, he wore unremarkable brown shorts, and a blue T-shirt on which was printed a joke about the size of his penis.

It made Alan wonder whether baking penis-shaped cookies, rather than dinosaur ones, would have been a good idea after all. Something to keep in mind for future occasions.

Greetings were exchanged, after which they all took their bags and made their way toward the entrance, Eric in the lead. He rang the doorbell and immediately let himself in, like he was a long-term family friend. It surprised Alan at first, but then he remembered whose home they were stepping into.

“Perfectly on time!” Flavien exclaimed, motioning for everyone to come in. He was wearing a loose forest green lace dress that flowed around him as he moved, the fabric contrasting strikingly with his red hair. He had no eyeliner accentuating his eyes this time—probably because they’d soon be soaking in the bay—but his gaze was just as intense as it crossed Alan’s, before settling on Eric.

“Eric. It is so nice to see you,” Flavien drawled, fake kissing both of his cheeks. Alan had never understood that greeting method. Why not give real kisses? Or even better: none at all?

“Marina, I presume? I have heard so much about you. All good—I promise I promise.”

Marina held her hand out, stopping Flavien from coming closer. “Nice to meet you. Thanks for the invite,” she said as she shook his hand, her enthusiasm inversely proportional to Flavien’s. Calm, composed, introverted. As always.

Flavien looked at Alan next, his smile becoming a shade of confusing as he leaned close to pretend to kiss his cheeks. He smelled like pi?a colada. “It’s a pleasure to see you again, Adrian.”

“Uh—”

“His name is Alan ,” Eric and Jonah chimed in at the same time.

Flavien pressed his fingers against his mouth with an apologetic look on his face. “I’m so sorry, darling. You must think I’m a jerk.”

“No, it’s fine,” Alan said with an awkward chuckle. “I’m also bad at remembering names.” It wasn’t true, but he wished to conclude this uncomfortable interaction posthaste.

“A sweetheart indeed,” Flavien trailed off, before addressing Jonah, “Jonah. How long has it been? ”

Huh?

“You saw me the other day,” Jonah replied, visibly tensing as Flavien invaded his personal space.

“Hey, man,” Sean said as he pushed Jonah aside, Isabel right at his heels.

Alan smiled inwardly; they’d probably made a deal with Jonah to come to his rescue when needed. Or maybe they just had an internalJonah -tastrophy detector, and their survival instincts had kicked in.

Sean and Isabel wrapped their arms around Flavien, turning themselves into a big hug sandwich. There was nothing confusing about the smile Flavien had on his face as he hugged them back.

Maybe he just doesn’t like me.

“Alright,” Flavien said, clapping his hands together. “Keep your shoes on. Grab your bags. I’ll show you to your rooms.”

Jonah’s eyes narrowed. “Our rooms?”

“Well, of course— oh , did I not tell you I was also hosting a brunch tomorrow morning? No matter”—he made a dismissive hand gesture—“I’ll lend you some of my clothes to wear.”

“No need,” Jonah grumbled.

Flavien chose that moment to wrap his arm around Jonah’s shoulders and pull him into a side hug, demonstrating that he possessed no sense of self-preservation. “You two will be sleeping downstairs.” He shielded his mouth with his hand and added suggestively, making no effort whatsoever not to be overheard by the others, “So you can have some privacy.”

Alan’s face caught on fire, and he didn’t register a word of what Flavien said next. Jonah did, it seemed, as he nodded and accompanied him toward the stairs. Alan swiftly followed, avoiding everybody else’s gaze.

The stairs led to a vast room, which seemed to have been built exclusively to hold social gatherings. To their left, a bar took up an entire wall. It was flanked by a beer fridge and a wine cabinet, both full to the brim. The shelves on the wall displayed an immense variety of liquor bottles, against which reflected the light of the neon sign hanging just above them. It said ‘Follow Your Dreams’.

It reminded Alan of the picture Flavien had posted on social media with that very caption. The one in which the only fabric in sight was a washcloth placed across his genitals .

Alan didn’t quite pay attention to the room’s other features as they walked across it, focused as he was on trying to wipe that image from his head. He only took note of a massive pool table, three sofas, and a humongous TV flanked by equally humongous speakers.

Flavien truly had a disturbing effect on Alan; he found that he couldn’t remember what the first floor looked like. If the basement was any indication of what to expect, though, he would have to prepare himself to be thoroughly impressed—and potentially uncomfortable.

It was easy to imagine why Eric had been hesitant to end things with Flavien…

Alan felt awful as the thought crossed his mind. Surely Eric had enjoyed Flavien’s company, not just the luxury and comfort he provided.

Right?

Flavien opened two beautiful French doors with a flourish. “This shall be your quarters for the night; please make yourselves at home.” He leaned close to Jonah again, this time winking at Alan. “The bathtub is very comfortable.”

Alan’s face caught on fire for a second time.

“Thanks,” Jonah said, looking halfway between annoyed and pleased.

“Thank you for your hospitality,” Alan said with his kindest possible smile—surely, a wink meant Flavien didn’t hate him, right? “I’m delighted to be here.”

“And I am delighted to have you both here,” Flavien said “I’ll go show the others to their rooms now. Come join us as soon as you’re ready. The weather is gorgeous; we shan’t waste it by staying indoors, n’est-ce pas 12 ?”

Alan watched Flavien saunter away. As soon as he was out of earshot, Alan gave Jonah a big smile. “This is so nice,” he whispered. “It’s like we’re at a hotel.”

Jonah put his bag down on the bed. “Hm. Except, if we were at a hotel, I would at least have brought a toothbrush.”

“You can use mine,” Alan said as he put his backpack on the floor next to the bed. “I don’t understand, though; why didn’t he tell you any of this?”

“Because he knew I would have declined.”

Alan’s heart sank. “Oh…would you rather go back home tonight instead?”

Jonah looked around their room, which was nearly as big as Alan’s entire apartment.

With Flavien out of sight, Alan was finally able to take in his surroundings, which were quite pleasing to the eye. The room reminded him of those all-inclusive resort ads he sometimes saw online, one of which had sparked inspiration for one of his erotica shorts at one point. Alan suspected this one would as well.

The furniture and decor elements were of varying shades of gray, with white and cobalt blue accents peppered all across. Immediately beyond the see-through French doors was a seating area with a sofa and a large chair, next to a small dining set. The arrangement shielded the rest of the room from view, providing privacy despite the transparent entrance. Not that Alan thought someone would come downstairs to check on them, but he was determined to make the most of his privacy with Jonah tonight—if he agreed to stay—and would hate for the fear of getting caught in the act to ruin the moment.

Set back from the entrance, an otherworldly comfortable-looking king-size bed occupied one side of the room. On the opposite side, positioned for a direct view from the bed but hidden from the doorway, was the bathtub Flavien had mentioned. Luxurious-looking towels were at their disposal, as well as a bunch of bottles Alan was itching to go sniff.

A door at the far end of the room was slightly ajar, giving them a peek at their private bathroom, which appeared to be three times the size of Alan’s. Next to it was a gorgeously sculpted armoire, and a full-length mirror that took up nearly half of the wall.

The only thing missing was a kitchen, but Alan presumed that people like Flavien didn’t usually make their own meals.

Jonah smiled as their gazes met in the mirror, which Alan noted was also in direct view of the bed. All he would have to do tonight was to twist his head to look into it.

Warmth stirred in Alan’s lower-abdomen as he thought of everything he was going to see in that mirror tonight…if only Jonah agreed to stay.

“Nah,” Jonah answered, at last. “I won’t say no to a little privacy, even if it means spending more time with a bunch of annoying people.”

Alan closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around Jonah’s shoulders, then stood on his tiptoes to give him a kiss. “You won’t regret it,” he purred, his skin tingling with excitement as his mind flooded with images of their joined bodies.

They still had a full day ahead of them, however, so Alan pulled away and took a deep, composing breath. “We should go back upstairs,” he said reluctantly.

Jonah also took an audible breath. “Sunscreen first.”

“Yes, doctor.”

Jonah narrowed his eyes as he grabbed a bottle from his bag. “I thought we’d established that those words were too dangerous to be said out loud.”

Alan placed his hand in front of his mouth and giggled. “Sorry—”

He failed to complete his sentence as his tongue suddenly swam in an overproduction of saliva at the sight of Jonah’s bare chest.

Alan watched, mesmerized, as Jonah’s hands journeyed across his muscular arms, chest, and stomach—rubbing, rubbing, rubbing the creamy white substance into his delectable skin.How would Alan survive the day with such a dreamy body within touching distance?

Alan was in for a rough time fighting off awkward boners.

“Wanna do my back?” Jonah asked as he handed Alan the bottle.

Alan squirted a generous amount of product into his palm, exhaling another composing breath as Jonah turned around to give him access to his back. Alan put the bottle on the nightstand, then ran his hand along Jonah’s spine to transfer the sunscreen to his skin, granting him a small shiver from Jonah.

With a smile, Alan started rubbing the lotion across Jonah’s firm muscles, the heavenly scent making his mouth water even more. His movements bordered caresses as Alan spread the sunscreen, slowly, sensually, spending more time than necessary on the spots that elicited a groan of delight from Jonah.

“Are you trying to convince me not to leave this room?” Jonah asked, his voice low and husky .

Alan pressed kisses along his spine, grimacing at the taste—just because the sunscreen smelled delicious didn’t mean it was. Thankfully, Jonah couldn’t see his face. “Is it working?”

“I’ll let you decide for yourself,” Jonah said as he snatched the bottle. “Your turn.”

Alan’s face caught on fire for a third time. Although he’d promised not to doubt Jonah’s attraction to him, he still felt uncomfortable exposing himself like this. It wasn’t the same while they were in the act , thankfully; the physically intimate moments he shared with Jonah were so intoxicating, it made him forget to be anxious.

Alan took off his shirt and threw it on the bed under Jonah’s heavy-lidded gaze, then turned around to give him access to his back. If only Alan could see himself through Jonah’s eyes, then it would be much easier to believe his words. But instead, Alan was stuck with his own eyes and his own brain, which were constantly bullying him.

Alan gasped at the sensation of cold lotion touching his skin, then closed his eyes as he started melting underneath Jonah’s dexterous fingers. He groaned and sighed, his anxiety fading away as Jonah subjected him to the same treatment Alan had given him, but with an extra dose of fondling.

“Your verdict?” Jonah murmured into his ear as he massaged his shoulders.

“Mm…I think I need more hands-on experience.”

Jonah let go of Alan’s shoulders to get more sunscreen, then wrapped his arms around Alan from behind, pulling him flush against his bare chest. Alan groaned as Jonah’s hands found his abdomen and swiftly got to work, exploring every inch of the skin he hadn’t yet spoiled with his touch. His fingers grazed Alan’s nipples, his lips coming to rest against his neck, before planting soft kisses all the way up to his ear. “And now?” Jonah whispered, pressing his erection against Alan’s ass.

Alan nodded, his lips parting from his heavy breathing, which quickened as Jonah’s fingers slipped underneath the waistband of his shorts. “T-they’re waiting for us. Upstairs.”

“We can make it quick,” Jonah purred into his ear.

Alan turned around, their faces nearly crashing together as they claimed each other’s lips, both of their hands finding their way down the other’s shorts like magnets. They shared a wild, deep, heated kiss—the kind that never failed to turn Alan into a panting mess, and made him wonder if he could climax from that sensation alone. He licked and nibbled on Jonah’s bottom lip, struggling not to moan as their hands moved increasingly faster, blissful ecstasy building and building and building—

“—coming?”

Alan and Jonah froze, their eyes open wide as they listened to the sounds of someone—probably Eric—coming down the stairs. Thinking quickly, Alan grabbed the sunscreen and stuck his head in the door frame, wiggling the bottle in the air. “In a sec! We’re putting on sunscreen.”

“‘Kay. I’ll be waiting for you at the top of the stairs.”

Alan took refuge back into the room and pressed his forehead against Jonah’s chest, taking a few deep breaths to tame his racing heart—and his raging erection. Eric couldn’t have picked a worse timing…

…Actually, it would have been much worse if he’d walked down the stairs just a few minutes later. Alan would rather not hear Eric’s voice calling for him while having an orgasm.

“D’you think he still wants to be punched in the face?” Jonah whispered, his tense fingers digging into Alan’s back. “Because I really, really want to punch him in the face right now.”

Alan tried very hard to take Eric’s defense, but for once, he failed.