From somewhere behind Matt, Kyle called out, “Are youtwo at it again?”
“I’m going to kill him,” Vic promised. The fire inhis palm flared at the surge of emotion in his blood.
Matt closed Vic’s fist, extinguishing the flames, andplanted a quick kiss on the corner of Vic’s mouth. “Think happythoughts. For me? And try to keep the home fires down to a simmer,if you know what I mean.” With a grin, he added, “And hey, ifKyle’s lying about this boyfriend of his, you can always offer tolight the grill.”
* * * *
A half hour later, Vic stood near the grill, a coolerfull of ice and beer on the picnic table beside him. Every now andthen he slipped his hand into the cold ice as if retrieving a can,but he was just trying to keep down the flames that continued tobreak out across his palm like a bad case of hives. Matt leanedagainst the table in front of the cooler, hiding Vic’sflame-encrusted hand from the guests in the pool. How he would eatwithout drawing attention to himself—or char his burger beyondflavor—remained to be seen.
Kyle had disappeared into the house in search offood; with a flourish, he pushed open the sliding screen door thatseparated the deck from the kitchen, holding aloft a plate toppedwith raw burgers and hot dogs. “Guess who’s here?” he cried outwith a laugh.
The man following him was no one Vic knew. After theway Kyle had talked the guy up, Vic hadn’t known what to expect,but this wasn’t it. Short, a bit on the stocky side, with thicklegs that hinted at an athletic hobby like running or cycling, theman who carried the propane tank out onto the deck had a shock ofbleached hair two shades too light for his dusky skin and darkeyebrows. He had an earring in one ear, a diamond stud that winkedin the dying sunlight, and a hint of a gold tooth when he smiled atthe guys in the pool. That smile slipped when he saw Vic, andalmost shattered when he noticed Matt.
Matt’s hand clawed at Vic’s wrist. “Christ,” hewhispered. “Vic…”
Vic probed into Matt’s thoughts, amused at hislover’s reaction. ::Surprised at Kyle’s catch?:: hejoked.
::Jordan,:: Matt’s mind screamed. That oneword ricocheted between them, a name that curdled Vic’s blood.::Oh, my God, Vic, that’s Jordan. That’s the guy I used to know,the guy on the phone, Jordan—::
“Hey, Matthew,” Kyle’s boyfriend purred. An innocuoussmile slid across his face like oil over water. “What a surpriseseeing you here. Say, haven’t you dated everyone at this party? Orjust us three lucky bastards?”
In the cooler beside him, Vic clenched his handaround a cold beer can. He felt the power surge through him, feltthe fire flare to life; two seconds later, the cooler exploded in aspray of beer and sparks and ice.
* * * *
Chapter 16
Jordan.
Matt glanced at his former high school classmate andlooked away again, as if the sight of the man were too much forhim. Questions flooded his mind. Why here, now, after all thistime? And with Kyle, how…?
And, most important, what the fuck was Mattsupposed to say or do about it?
Before he could articulate any of these thoughts,could even begin to put them into words in his own mind let aloneask them out loud, the cooler erupted behind him. He caught thebrunt of it, ice and beer showering the back of his shirt as ifhe’d just won the championships and his teammates had dumped thecooler over his head to celebrate. Too late, he ducked; water andbooze trickled down the back of his neck, beneath his shirt,chilling his bare skin. He caught one glimpse of Jordan’s face,eyes wide at the sudden display of Vic’s power, then he turned,praying to God and all the saints above that his lover hadn’tspontaneously combusted along with the damn icebox.
For one long moment, the world was silent. In thepool, the water went as still as a sheet of silk. The laughter thathad brightened the day just moments before was gone, dried up. Eventhe birds in the trees didn’t dare make a sound. Everyone,everything, held its breath in the agonizing second it tookMatt to turn toward Vic. Please let him be all right, heprayed. His thoughts roared through him with the surge of blood inhis ears; far away he could hear a distant beat, Vic’s heart,thudding like a tribal drum signaling war. Please, God, ohplease, oh please…
When his eyes met Vic’s, the world rushed in aroundthem. Water splashed, laughter pierced the day, birds twittered inrelief. “Jesus,” Matt whispered, reaching for Vic. He found hislover already reaching back, and he fell into Vic’s one-armedembrace. Ignoring their wet clothing and the crowd, Matt pressedhis body against Vic’s. “Oh, God. What are you trying to do, giveme a heart attack? Don’t do that again.”
And then Kyle was there, stumbling among the icealready melting on the sidewalk. “Holy shit,” he gasped, lookingfrom Vic to Matt and back again as if waiting for one of them toexplain what had just happened. What could they say? Whatwould they say?
But Kyle’s mind must’ve pieced together what he sawwith what little facts he had. He dropped to his knees in front ofthe nearby gas grill and started to fiddle with the controls. “Oh,hell, man,” he blubbered, fear in his voice, “I’m so sorry. Damn.I’ve heard of this stuff happening, you know? Don’t turn the gasoff all the way, pressure builds up in an empty tank, whole thingblows to kingdom come. Good thing no one got hurt.”
The fact that the grill was fine, only the cooler hadexploded, didn’t seem to faze Kyle. Because it was as good anexplanation as any, Matt kept quiet. Glancing up at them, Kyleasked, “Ya’ll all right, right?”
“Yeah,” Matt said. His own voice sounded shaky, andhe cleared his throat to chase away the fear he heard in it. Hereached out for Vic even as he cuddled closer to his lover.::We’re all right.::
Vic’s hesitant reply startled him. ::Um, Matty,no.::
For the first time, Matt realized that Vic hugged himwith only one arm.
