DJ: Any advice for any teens feeling that way?
LP: Yeah, don’t do what Robbie does! But seriously, if you’re struggling, get help. I know it sounds cheesy, but there are so many places available for help. You just have to ask around or look for them.
DJ: So we’re approaching the end of season one. Can you give us any hints on what’s in store for Robbie for the rest of the season?
LP: I wish I could tell you, but they’re keeping it all under wraps! I do know that we’ll see more of Robbie and the trouble he’s in, and we’ll find out a little more about why he’s doing what he’s doing. He’s definitely headed for some drama if something doesn’t change soon.
DJ: Well, thanks for chatting with us, Levi. We can’t wait to see more of you on Coconut Cove.
LP: Thanks, Devon. It’s a wild ride, and I’m really glad I’m on it!
“AWWW, LOOK at the poor ickle princess. Too hot for you to handle, is it?”
Levi glared up at Howie from his position on a lounge chair by the pool. The doctor had insisted that he take a couple days off, just to be on the safe side. In the meantime, he was supposed to stay out of the heat, which was why he’d dragged the chair into the shade and hooked up a fan to blow on him. He couldn’t be inside the Orchid Palms anymore. After a day of being cooped up in the hotel that housed the cast and crew, he’d been ready to lose his mind.
“Wow. Is your hair supposed to be that color, Howard? I mean, maybe it’s just the glare from the sun, but green is not your color. Dude, wow.”
“What?” Howie immediately touched his signature blond locks and scowled. He turned and stormed back into the hotel.
Levi only felt slightly evil about making Eugenia deal with the diva. She handled him the best out of everyone, though, and Levi happened to overhear her saying the night before that Howie was due for more highlights. He sent her a quick text that promised a vat of coffee for his crime.
The pool was surrounded by a courtyard filled with palm trees and other tropical flowers. There was just enough of a breeze coming in from the ocean for Levi to smell the salty air as he relaxed on the lounge chair. He closed his eyes and tried to follow the doctor’s orders to take it easy, but he had an itch under his skin. He wanted to do something, and lying around wasn’t on the list.
He was saved from dying of boredom when Whitney and Lorelei came out of the hotel moments later, both snickering under their breath. Whitney waved as they wandered over to him. Levi tried not to stare but failed miserably. He just hoped Whitney didn’t notice.
“Green hair, Levi? Really?” Whitney chuckled.
Levi shrugged and wiggled his eyebrows. No one understood his evil streak as well as Whit.
“You wearing sunscreen?” Lorelei gave him that look of hers, and Levi couldn’t hide his grin.
“Yes, Mom. Because even though I’m in the shade, the sun could reflect off the water.”
“Good boy.” She smirked and dropped her bag on his lap. “Hold this for me, would ya?”
With a sassy grin, she jumped into the pool and began swimming laps. Levi shook his head and laughed.
Whitney dragged a couple of chairs over before taking Lorelei’s stuff and putting it on one of them.
“You okay?”
“Yeah. Feeling a lot better. And, you know, sorry I was an ass the other day. It was pretty impressive that you knew exactly what to do.”
Whitney shrugged. “I could tell something was wrong. I’m glad it wasn’t any worse.”
He dropped his sunglasses onto his chair and pulled off his tank top. Levi couldn’t drag his gaze away. When Whitney jumped into the pool, his blond hair and golden skin shone in the bright Florida sun. Damn. Too bad Whitney had never given him a second glance. Sure, they bantered and had a few laughs, but it had never gone any further. In fact, as much as they’d teased the wardrobe designer about his ill-fated hookup with a reporter at the beginning of the season, Levi didn’t remember any other rumors floating around about Whitney.
Not that he wanted the gossip, exactly. But he would like to know if Whit was interested. Then again, it was pretty clear that he wasn’t. Levi pushed back a sigh. Man, he was feeling really sorry for himself today. He stole another glance at Whitney’s body in the pool as he caught Lorelei and dunked her. She sputtered and splashed at him as they both laughed and tried to tackle each other in the water.
It didn’t help when Flynn and his boyfriend, Seth, showed up moments later, grinning stupidly at each other before jumping into the pool together. Flynn, the actor who played Mack, the new kid in Coconut Cove, had found love in the form of a bartender at the local bar where the cast and crew hung out. Levi tried not to be jealous, especially as Seth easily avoided Whitney’s attempts to dunk him by scooping Whitney up and tossing him a good few feet away.
Flynn burst out laughing as Whitney climbed out of the pool, threatening retaliation. They’d turned their attentions to each other, though, so he rolled his eyes at the pair of them as they splashed around in the water. They all knew where their games were leading. Right back up to Flynn’s room, where they’d disappear for a few hours before emerging with even bigger stupid grins. God, it would be nice to get laid. Levi eyed Whitney up and down as he walked over to the lounge chair. He stretched out—long legs, slim waist, hairless chest, perfect neck….
Ugh. Levi rolled onto his stomach to hide the growing bulge in his swim trunks.
“You okay?” Whitney asked.
“Uh, yeah?”
“You just groaned or something, like you were in pain.”
“Not unless you consider gagging over Flynn and Seth’s giddiness pain.”
Whitney snorted. It was the most indelicate sound Levi had ever heard Whitney make. He’d even seen Whitney drunk and singing at the top of his lungs, and still there’d been something restrained about him. Something held back. Levi wanted to find out what that something was. Could he be any more pitiful?
“They are sickeningly sweet. And hey, at least the photographers got tired of hanging around. That’s a bonus. We don’t have to be on our guard quite as much.”
“No more picking up journalists, though, huh?”
Whitney glared at him before putting his sunglasses on and pushing them into place. “Shut up.”
Levi snickered and lowered his head onto his arms. At least he could still watch Whitney without it being quite so obvious.
“Hey, you want to go down to the Pirate’s Booty with us for dinner later?”
“Yeah, sure,” Levi answered. “But don’t let me drink. I swear, I want nothing more than a margarita, but it would be a really bad idea.”
“Still not feeling the best, huh?”
Levi huffed out an annoyed breath. “It’s so stupid.”
“Oh sure. Dehydrated and overheated to the point I thought you were going to pass out. Super stupid.”
Levi didn’t have to see Whitney’s eyes to know he’d rolled them. It was one of his signature looks, not that Levi had cataloged them or anything.
“Speaking of, I’ve probably been out here long enough.” Levi sighed and pushed himself to his feet. “If we’re going out later, I’d better take advantage of the AC for a while.”
“Okay. I’ll come get you before we go. Get some rest.”
“Yes, Mom.”
“Hey! That’s Lorelei’s title, not mine.”
“Could have fooled me,” Levi answered with a wink.
He gathered up his things and went back to his room. He’d somehow managed to end up with one of the coveted end rooms. Not that he cared either way, but he did enjoy the extra windows. He’d nicknamed his room the parrot suite, considering every piece of decor in the room had one of the brightly colored birds on it somewhere. Even the armoire that held the television and his video game console had the birds carved into it.
Levi wasn’t a huge fan of the decor, but everything down here seemed to have a theme. Tropical colors were everywhere, from the paint on the houses to the flowers
that bloomed in and around the buildings. If bright green-and-orange parrots didn’t fit that bill, he didn’t know what did. He settled down for a nice long session of blowing things up on one of his video games and let the air conditioner do its job of keeping his body temperature down. He also chugged the required bottle of sports drink to make sure he replenished his electrolytes. He felt like an idiot for getting so bad, and even worse for letting Whitney see him at his worst.
He must have dozed off, because he woke up to knocking on his door and a crick in his neck. A quick glance at the television showed his game in sleep mode. Damn, he was really more tired than he realized.
He opened the door to find a beaming Whitney on the other side.
“You ready?”
“Uh, no?” Levi ran his hand over his face and tried to wake up. “I fell asleep.”
“Well, come on. We’re celebrating!”
“Yeah?” Levi held the door open for Whitney and went over to the closet to find something better to wear than his swim trunks and a tank top.
Whitney came up behind him and put the khaki shorts he’d pulled out back in the closet. “No. I hate those shorts. They do nothing for your ass. Here. Wear these.”
He shoved a pair of plaid shorts into Levi’s hand and then waded through his T-shirts before pulling one off a hanger and handing it over.
Levi huffed and took the clothes while Whitney sent him a sheepish grin.
“Sorry. Hazard of the business.”
“I don’t care.” Levi went into the bathroom and stripped off his tank top. “Saves me from having to think about it. So what are we celebrating?” he called back into the bedroom.
He splashed some cold water on his face before pulling on the navy blue T-shirt Whit had picked out for him.
“You aren’t going to believe this. The dress Charlotte wore in this week’s episode? Yeah. Totally sold out within twenty-four hours.”
“That’s awesome.”
Levi changed shorts and walked back into the room to find Whitney grinning at him.
“You have no idea what that means, do you?”
“Nope. But I’m guessing it’s good.” Levi rolled his head from side to side, trying to loosen up the tense muscles.
“It is. That means that more designers will want you guys wearing their clothes. The bigger we get, the more choices I get. I love my job some days. And what’s wrong with your neck?”
“Must have slept funny.”
Whit sighed. “I swear, you need a keeper. Sit in the chair.”
“It’s not a big deal. I’m fine.”
“Is it in your rule book that you argue with everything I say? Like, did you sign a contract? Or do you just enjoy annoying me?”
“Um….”
“Sit.”
“Okay, okay. Sheesh.”
Levi plopped down in the chair. Whitney came around behind him and grabbed his shoulders. He dug his thumbs into the tense muscles. Exquisite pain shot down Levi’s arms, and he groaned.
“Too hard?”
“Perfect.”
Whit continued his massage for several minutes until Levi’s muscles relaxed. He gave one last squeeze before rubbing his hands down Levi’s upper arms.
“There. All better. Now, come on. I’m starving.”
“Well then, I’d better hurry.” Levi grabbed his wallet and slipped into his flip-flops for the walk down to the bar. “Besides, we’ve got a sold-out dress to, uh, honor. I’ll buy you dinner.”
Whitney grinned again.
Man, he could get used to that expression. And he was turning into the biggest sap on the planet. Whitney hooked his arm through Levi’s as they made the walk down the back streets to the bar. He let his imagination go wild, liking the idea of anyone seeing them together assuming they were a couple. Whit chattered on about dresses and sales and designers for the entire walk, and Levi couldn’t keep from smiling.
They made it down to the Pirate’s Booty, and Levi looked around for the rest of their friends. No one else had made it to the bar yet.
“Who else is coming?” Levi asked.
“Uh, well, it’s just us, actually.”
“Oh.”
Whitney shrugged. “Someone will probably turn up, though.”
“Well, they can get their own table. We’re celebrating.”
As usual, the bar was crowded with tourists. They were led to a table along the wall, and Levi sank gratefully into the chair. He rolled his shoulders and grinned when he realized his muscles weren’t nearly as tense as they’d been before.
“You have magic fingers.”
“So I’ve been told.” Whitney wiggled his eyebrows before plucking a menu from the stand on the table. “I have no idea what I want to eat.”
“Me either.” Levi grabbed his own menu and eyed the choices.
The waiter dropped off ice waters and ran over the day’s specials. He wandered off again, and Levi grinned at Whitney.
“Oysters. Let’s get ’em.”
“You only want oysters because they’re supposed to make people horny. Is this an attempt to get into my pants?”
“That depends. Will it work?”
“It might. Let’s get them and see what happens.”
Levi laughed and decided to order grilled salmon and a side salad. Their trainer would kick his ass if he didn’t start eating better, and Levi had no intentions of getting on Rio’s bad side. After Whitney ordered, Levi held up his water glass and eyed Whitney until he picked up his own.
“To Whitney, an amazing friend and wardrobe designer. May you sell a million more dresses.”
They clinked glasses as Whitney blushed.
“It’s not really my goal, you know.”
“To what?”
“Sell a million dresses or whatever.”
“It isn’t?” Levi asked.
“I just want….” Whitney’s voice trailed off, and his blush deepened.
“Well?”
“It doesn’t matter. But thank you. I’m glad I got to celebrate with you.”
Chapter Three
TV TIFFANY here, and boy, are things hot in Coconut Cove. I mean, have you seen Robbie in that sexy leather jacket of his? Who wants to strip it off of him? Anyone? I think that boy just needs someone to love, and I have a feeling there will be a lot of volunteers. In other news, is it just me, or is there a little trouble in paradise for Mack and Kelly, our sweetheart couple? I mean, Kelly seems to be spending a lot of time with Hudson—not that I blame him a bit. Have you seen him without his shirt on? And Mack is getting to know other hotties in the Cove. Hmm, I wonder if Mack likes a bad boy in leather. Now that’s a make-out session I’d love to see! What about all you Tiffers out there? Who do you want to see get steamy before the season ends?
WHEN LEVI arrived in wardrobe the next morning, he found Whitney with Robbie’s leather jacket in his hands. He couldn’t hold back his groan. “No more hot leather. Please. I’m begging you.”
Whitney looked up at him with a grin. “Never fear, Whitney’s here.”
“You did not just say that.”
“Shut up and strip.”
“What?”
“We’ve got to get you in costume, idiot. Take your clothes off.”
Normally, Whitney shooed whoever was dressing to one of the screens in the corner of the room. Most of them weren’t all that modest, but it was nice not to have to worry about someone walking in. Whitney went over to the rack where Robbie’s wardrobe was hanging and pulled clothes off for the day’s scene.
Levi took off his shirt and shorts before draping them over the back of a chair. Whit would store them for him until he was done for the day and came back to change into his own clothes.
When Whitney turned around, his mouth fell open. Then he turned a really adorable shade of pink. Not that Levi planned to point that out to him. Whitney’s eyes came back to Levi’s face from where they’d been plastered at his crotch.
“See something you like?”
Levi grinned. “Finally, progress.”
“What?” Whitney handed over the clothes and looked quickly away.
“You finally noticed me.”
“I’ve noticed you plenty. But today, I noticed you’re a DC fan.”
Levi blinked. “A what?”
“Never mind.”
With a puzzled frown, Levi glanced down. He was wearing his Flash underwear. The bright red ones with the lightning bolt right across his dick. Ah. DC. As in DC Comics. Check.
“Yeah, I’m a DC fan.”
Whitney didn’t seem impressed. “Here. Go behind the screen and get dressed. And don’t come out until I say you can.”
Levi complied and went to get into his Robbie costume. He heard a weird crunching noise coming from the other side of the screen.
“What are you doing?”
“Are you dressed?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, come on out.”
“Whit, you’re being really weird.”
Levi went back into the main room and found Whitney standing with Robbie’s leather coat in hand. Levi groaned.
“Turn around.”
“God, you’re bossy today.”
“You say that every day. You think you’ll stop one of these days?”
“No.”
“Then do what you’re told.”
“Who peed in your Cheerios?”
“You did. Shut up and turn around.”
Levi saluted before spinning around. Whitney held the sleeves of the jacket at his arms, and Levi helped by shrugging it on. Whitney spun him around and zipped the jacket up.
Before he could protest, a cold chill hit his back. “What the hell?”
Whitney circled him, tugging the jacket into a better position.
Ice cold hit his back again. “Holy shit, Whit. What is that?”
“Ice packs. I sewed pockets into the lining of the back.”
Levi pushed his hands against the leather on his back and felt the cold patches. “That’s… I don’t even know what to say.”
When He Was Bad Page 2