by Shea Balik
Jesse laid his hand on Zane’s and gave it a squeeze. “Sorry, Zane. I know you’d hoped they’d move on.”
He wasn’t sure why he even cared. His hometown of Cedar Falls wasn’t where he’d wanted to end up. But after he’d gotten the call from his parents that his mom had breast cancer, he knew he needed to be closer to her. The following day, he’d put in his two weeks’ notice and started packing to move back home.
It had been a surreal experience to return to small town life after having lived in Orlando for the last seven years. He’d known since he was six and helped his mom bake that he wanted to be a pastry chef. So, from the age of twelve he started saving his money to go to the best pastry school in the country, Le Cordon Blue in Orlando.
With help from his parents, that dream had become a reality when he hopped on a bus at the age of nineteen to start his training. If only the reality of becoming a pastry chef had been what he’d imagined, all his dreams would have come true.
In the end, it had been finding his two roommates that had made living in Orlando and working at job that didn’t allow him to be creative that had been Zane’s saving grace. Living with Jesse and Ethan had given him enough financial stability to save money. It wasn’t close to being sufficient for him open a bakery in Orlando, but in Cedar Falls, it had been more than enough.
He'd been surprised at just how big of a place he could afford. Instead of having to settle for a small bakery with hardly any room to make all the pastries he wanted, he’d been able to open the store of his dreams. After three months in Cedar Falls, Sweet Buns had become a reality.
Opening a new business in a town that was slowly dying had been a gamble. But Sweet Buns was thriving. Too bad the rest of Main Street wasn’t doing as well. The mayor, Donald Murphy, was old school. He wanted things to stay as they had been sixty years ago, even though the rest of the country was moving forward.
The city council wasn’t much better. How the casino had managed to get the permits to build on the outskirts of town without the mayor blocking it was a mystery — although, if Zane had to guess, money was involved. Not that the mayor was corrupt, but with a struggling town to run, money was becoming more and more scarce.
Several times he’d tried to talk to Mayor Murphy about hosting more events in town to bring in more tourists, like the surrounding towns did. But every time, the man brushed Zane off like a child.
Jesse snapped his fingers in front of Zane, bringing him back to the here and now. “Earth to Zane. You in there?”
Throwing the rag he’d been using at his friend’s head he laughed. “Yes, you dork. Just because this guy works for the casino doesn’t make him my enemy.” It did mean Zane would be steering clear of the man, but Jesse didn’t need to know that.
“Oh really?” Jesse asked. “Does that mean you don’t want to see the hottie’s picture?” Jesse waved his pink rhinestone encrusted smartphone in front of Zane’s face.
He leaned his hip against the counter, crossed his arms, and lifted his left eyebrow, giving Jesse his most stern gaze. “When are you going to grow up?”
Jesse grinned. “Never.”
They both started giggling like schoolgirls. That was what he loved about his friends, they made each other laugh. Jesse had been living in Orlando for a month when Zane had seen his ad for a roommate. They’d hit it off right away, often laughing at nothing at all.
Two months of living together had taught them they needed another roommate, because expenses were still too high. That was when they met their other best friend, Ethan. For seven years they had been inseparable. They shared everything, from clothes to makeup — although Jesse wore the most. Most of all they shared their happiness, laughter, heartaches, and tears.
When Zane announced he’d be moving back to Cedar Falls, his friends didn’t even hesitate. They announced they would be moving with him. Jesse had moved just a few weeks after Zane. Ethan had been ready to move with Jesse, but he’d received a call from his younger brother. Apparently, he’d been in some sort of accident and was in a full leg cast.
Ethan agreed to help his brother, promising his friends he’d move to Cedar Falls when his brother had gotten the cast removed. That had been six months ago. The last couple of phone calls had been very brief, and Ethan seemed different, but no matter how much Jesse and Zane had pressed, Ethan insisted everything was fine.
Zane had been debating going to visit Ethan to be sure everything was okay when Ethan finally called and said he’d be in Cedar Falls on Friday. Zane couldn’t wait to see him. It had been too long since the three of them had laughed all night long like they used to.
Zane grabbed the phone Jesse had been taunting him with. “Hey, give that back,” Jesse demanded as he tried to take it back. Even with the three-inch heels, Jesse, with his five-foot-five frame, didn’t stand a chance against Zane at five-nine, especially when Zane stretched his hand over his head. As best friends, he knew the code to get into Jesse’s phone, so he quickly punched it in while Jesse started to jump.
The fact that Jesse couldn’t have been jumping more than a few centimeters off the floor didn’t seem to faze his friend. Flipping to the pictures, Zane’s breath caught as the sexiest man alive filled the screen.
When he lowered his arm to get a closer look, Jesse grabbed his phone back. Not one to be mad, Jesse turned the screen so they both could see it. “Told you he was hot.”
Hot didn’t even begin to describe the man. Piercing blue eyes stared back at Zane, as if the man in the picture could see right into his soul. He had dark brown hair, cut short, yet long enough that Zane could bury his hands in it. Dark scruff covered his strong chin, giving him a commanding aura.
Zane felt his tongue run across his lips as he thought about getting a taste of those firm lips. A slight smile showed the start of dimples on Aidan’s cheeks that Zane would love to run his tongue over. He knew he’d been staring too long when he could see the smirk on Jesse’s face.
His friend’s dark eyes were fairly glittering with laughter. “So, maybe enemy wasn’t the right word, huh?”
Flipping his friend off who was now laughing outright at him, Zane asked, “Where did you get the picture?”
“Mary. She sold him the old Johnson house.” Jesse turned off his phone as several customers came through the door.
Zane greeted them before glancing at the clock. Time for the next rush. He said a quick good-bye to his friend before going back behind the counter.
With so many businesses closing or barely surviving, Zane was thankful his had been doing so well. He had to get to work every day at four in the morning to bake, but he preferred as much of his product be fresh as possible. Jesse and Ethan hated the mornings, but Zane loved the peace and quiet of that time of day.
He had three employees, and if business continued to be good for the next month, he’d seriously consider hiring a fourth. Cinnamon rolls made up a huge portion of his business, as did his cupcakes. He also made a variety of other pastries that sold well, but those two were his bread winners.
To go along with the pastries, he also sold coffee. Zane didn’t believe in doing things halfway. He had a full coffee bar with every coffee drink imaginable. With so many people liking caffeine, himself included, he refused to sell subpar coffee with his pastry creations.
When he’d decided to move back to Cedar Falls, he’d been worried about his future. He’d heard from his parents that Cedar Falls was going downhill. With his dream of owning his own bakery, it meant taking a huge gamble with his savings. But his parents and his friends had encouraged him to try.
He couldn’t deny he’d also worried about being accepted as a gay man. There were a few homophobic assholes, but for the most part, the people accepted him and didn’t blink an eye that he was gay. He knew he owed his mom for that. Even after he’d left for Orlando, she’d pushed the people of Cedar Falls into being more accepting.
Now if he could just get rid of that casino, all would right in his world.<
br />
CHAPTER 2
On edge as he drank his fifth cup of what could only be described as dark colored water instead of coffee, Aidan dialed his best friend and boss. It was probably a mistake to call the man, for Syn wasn’t one to listen to bitching, but Aidan was already over this Mayberry town.
Taking another sip as the phone rang, he grimaced at the horrible taste before tossing it in the garbage. No matter how hard he tried, there was no way he would be able to stomach the rest. What he wouldn’t do for a decent cup of coffee.
“Hey, Aidan. How’s small town life treating you?”
Syn’s chipper tone had Aidan grinding his teeth in aggravation. He’d only been there a week and he was already regretting his decision to take this job. Not that he had much of a choice, but he’d actually been thinking of taking the offer by Mr. Carlisle to run the casino after he finished building it.
He’d been lucky to have graduated at the top of his class from MIT when Syn had come looking for someone to train as a project manager. He’d flourished under the man’s tutelage. At first the moving around every eight months to a year had been great, but now he was ready for something different. He just wasn’t sure what. When the corporation he worked for offered to let him stay on and manage the casino property he seriously considered it.
Not anymore. Now that he had lived in Cedar Falls for a week he was relatively certain he’d go crazy if he moved there permanently. “I’m pretty sure the only thing they do here is watch the grass grow, because there sure as hell isn’t anything else to do.” Aidan winced as soon as the bitter words came out.
“I told you to take the Las Vegas job.” The “I told you so” was deserved but not something Aidan wanted to hear.
He had been to Las Vegas several years ago and just wasn’t interested in going back. Plus, the job had only been a remodel that would take six months at most. But more important, it hadn’t come with an offer to run the casino at the end and set down roots.
Looking down at the coffee cup he’d just thrown away he said, “They don’t even have a Starbucks in this town. How is there a town left in America that doesn’t have a Starbucks?”
Not that he’d really bothered to find a place that served good coffee. Either he got a cup from the gas station on his way to the construction site or he drank whatever was in the office trailer. But he had driven up and down the streets of the old failing town, and there hadn’t been a single Starbucks.
“Have you even bothered to walk down Main Street?” This was why he shouldn’t have called his mentor. Syn was too practical to put up with Aidan’s whining.
Grabbing his keys off his desk, he headed out to his car while talking to the one man he called friend. “Fine. I’ll go, but I’m calling you when I still don’t find anything.”
Syn laughed. “You do that, my friend. Since I have you on the phone, Mr. Carlisle wants an update.”
Aidan shook his head. “Seriously? I’ve only been here a week. What in the hell does he want to know?” Normally he gave a report every month, especially on a project this big.
“I know, but he’s concerned with the reluctant tone of the mayor in Cedar Falls.” Technically, they were outside the Cedar Falls city limits, but when building close to a town it was nice to have the town’s cooperation. So far, they hadn’t exactly gotten that.
Not that the mayor had done anything to force them out, but it was clear he wasn’t planning on encouraging the businesses in the area to work with the casino. It was a shame too, for with the casino there, Cedar Falls could become a destination instead of the dying town it currently was.
Without the mayor’s cooperation, it would mean more work for Aidan to talk with the local business owners. Not that he minded the extra work, but small towns often stuck by their mayor, which would make his job that much more difficult. “Okay, tell him I was just getting acclimated with the site this week. But I will spend a good amount of my time next week talking with the mayor and meeting the locals. I will have a report for him at the end of next week.”
He could hear Syn talking to someone else for a moment before he came back on the line. “Mr. Carlisle said that’s fine. Just remember to be nice,” Syn said before hanging up the phone.
Tossing the phone on the seat next to him, Aidan turned onto Main Street. He’d already driven the road once, but this time he needed to walk it, going into the various shops until he became more familiar with it.
Because Mr. Carlisle was asking for him to start greasing the wheels, he figured he’d start introducing himself. Normally, he liked meeting other people, but so far he hadn’t been treated very warmly. Even the construction crew, who should be thankful for the job when not much was being built in the area, was standoffish.
Pulling into the first parking space he came to, Aidan got out of his car. He scanned the surrounding buildings. Just beyond where he’d parked was the police station with city hall next to that.
Not wanting to engage the mayor until he’d had a chance to see the rest of the town and maybe meet some of the residents, Aidan walked right past both. Next was a building with several units of shops, yet half were empty. There was a café, but he didn’t want diner coffee if he could help it. Across the street were more empty shops, a doctor’s office, and a vet. So far this town really didn’t have a lot to offer. Turning off Main Street onto Peachtree, the other main road, he was dismayed to see it not faring much better.
At least there were a few shops open — a drugstore, a bookstore, and, lucky for him, a coffee shop. Walking a little faster he entered The Coffee House and inhaled deeply. The smell of burnt coffee was not promising, but that didn’t necessarily mean fresh coffee wouldn’t be served.
“Welcome to The Coffee House,” a somewhat pretty thirty-something blonde said when he walked in.
Already seeing the calculating look in her eyes as she checked him over and apparently liking what she saw, Aidan had to bite his tongue not to tell her that she was barking up the wrong tree. Not sure how gay-friendly the town was, he didn’t want to start off on the wrong foot by announcing his orientation.
Smiling back, he introduced himself. “Hi. I’m Aidan Dempsey.” He held out his hand, which she took a little too eagerly, coming out from behind the counter to get closer to him.
By the time she let go of it, he felt like he needed a shower with the way she was devouring him with her eyes. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Aidan. I’m Betty Sue. Are you new in town?”
He had planned to talk to the locals, but right now, he wished he could skip it. “Yes, I am. Actually, I just moved here to oversee the casino and hotel being built just outside of town.”
It was like he could see the cash signs in her eyes when she heard what he did. She even licked her lips in an effort to be seductive. Desperate to get out of there, he tried to come up with a way to do so as soon as possible.
“I’m in desperate need of a cup of coffee.” Hopefully, he could get her back behind the counter, allowing him to get out as soon as he got his coffee.
“Well, you came to the right place, sugar.” As she spoke, she placed her hand on his arm before moving back behind the counter to get his coffee. When she pulled out a ceramic mug instead of a to-go cup he inwardly cringed.
There was no way he was going to be able to stomach talking with her while he drank his coffee. “Actually, if you don’t mind, I would prefer a to-go cup. I still want to meet some of the store owners before I have to get back to the casino.”
She stuck out her lower lip in what he assumed was supposed to be a pout. If she wanted to use that more effectively, Betty Sue really needed to practice in the mirror. Of course, because she was using it on a gay man, it was a lot less effective. “I can tell you all about the others in this town. I insist you stay for a few minutes so we can get to know one another better.”
He sighed to himself but gave her a smile. “I would love to, Betty Sue.”
Leaning over the counter, showing her more-than-amp
le cleavage, she said, “I think we’re going to get along just fine.”
Aidan cringed when she turned around to pour his coffee. By the time she turned back around, his smile was back in place. He took a sip as she rung up his order and had to stop himself from spitting it right back out. Apparently, this was the coffee that he smelled burning when he walked in.
“That will be two fifty,” she told him.
It seemed like highway robbery considering how bad the coffee was, but Aidan paid it without complaint. How he was supposed to drink it was anyone’s guess. While she put his money in the register, he glanced around, hoping to find a way to dispose of the offending drink without her noticing.
Nothing.
Damn.
He jumped when he felt her hand back on his arm. While he was trying to find a way to discreetly dump the coffee, she’d managed to come back around the counter, practically plastering herself against his side.
He was going to kill Syn for suggesting this. Aidan never should have called him. Each moment since he’d dialed his friend’s number, he’d been regretting doing it. Now he was stuck with a fairly aggressive woman making a play for him while he tried to choke down his burned coffee.
Betty Sue started babbling about the various residents of Cedar Falls, but Aidan was too busy trying to talk himself into forcing the god-awful drink down his throat to pay her any attention. When she started rubbing herself against him, he tilted the cup up and downed the contents.
Aidan put down the mug on the counter and made his excuses. He kept walking backward, even though she tried to pull him back into the store. “I really have to get back to work.”
She stuck out her lower lip again. He almost laughed at how ridiculous she looked doing it. “Will you come back to see me?”
Horror filled him as he desperately tried to think of a way out of this mess he found himself in. “I don’t know when I’ll have time. I really am very busy, but it was nice to meet you.” Not waiting for her to respond he turned and briskly walked back down the street, grateful to have gotten away.