Archive of Our Own

Bryce thought that he had pretty thick skin. Rather, that's what he'd thought before signing himself up for the ego-deflating experience that was being on Love Island. Most people would assume that being accepted to participate in America's most famous reality dating show would be an ego boost more than anything, but that was proving to be very, very wrong.

Initially, he'd been excited about the opportunity. Love Island was notorious for picking extremely attractive people to participate, so being there at all was nothing to scoff at. Even the first day had gone great, with some of the most drop-dead gorgeous people Bryce had ever seen walking into the villa. Working in the modeling industry, he saw a lot of gorgeous people, so that was saying something.

Honestly, Bryce had felt pretty proud of himself. He hadn't fumbled his introduction, hadn't done anything embarrassing (though being called a simp by Kenzie had really toed the line), and he'd made quick friends with some of the other guys. He'd even secured himself a coupling with Trinity, who looked like some sort of Barbie doll come to life.

But that right there was when all the good luck he had was violently yanked away from him. 

It had been partially his fault. Despite the fact that Trinity was gorgeous and genuinely one of the kindest people in the villa, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was doing something wrong. He could only tell himself it was a slow-burn relationship so many times before the excuse started to fall flat, even to his own ears.

When it came down to it, and Ariana explained the red and green circles in front of them, he'd stepped on the red. He'd closed his eyes and hoped Trinity had been on the same page, concern over possibly hurting her dampened slightly by the fact that Zach had also decided to leave his coupling.

And, well, in the grand scheme of the extremely embarrassing night he'd been about to have, at least he had come out of it closer friends with Zach. 

The thing was: embarrassing moments happened every day, obviously. But holy shit, being rejected by a girl who was kissing his friend in the same bed on national television was a new fucking low.  

The constant knowledge that millions of people would eventually see whatever he did made everything about a thousand times worse. 

In the end, he couldn't hold it against Kayda for picking Zach, especially knowing he'd have done the same if he were a girl. The other man was charming as hell, even when he was just talking to the other male islanders. Bryce could only imagine how he'd act when he was actively trying to flirt with someone—not in the way Zach jokingly did with him.  

He'd gotten glimpses of it around the villa, most recently during the "Boss Bitch" challenge. Kayda seemed to understand what he liked well enough, seeing as he'd nearly folded over on himself after being called a good boy.  

But no matter what Zach liked or how he flirted, he always did it effortlessly.  

It never fell flat. It never ended with him embarrassed. 

He didn't even get dunked during the challenge, whereas Bryce had been dunked by his own coupling for "faking it." 

So the day was going less than great. It was just another wonderful experience to check off the Love Island bucket list.

And, trust him, the list was getting impressively long at this point. Rejected at a recoupling? Check. Publicly friend-zoned? Check. Dunked into a tank of slime because his romantic chemistry apparently wasn't convincing enough? Also check. 

Bryce was inside the villa post-challenge, trying to take the whole situation in stride and failing miserably. Having just finished scrubbing the pink goop from his hair and changing into his clothes for the afternoon, he passed by the confessional room. 

It was generally considered pretty bad form to listen in on confessionals, which was why he wasn't planning to stop.

That was, until he heard his name through the wall.

It was clearly Kenzie talking, as she was the last person yet to take a shower. She spoke just loudly enough to be heard through the villa door.

“Oh, you know what I thought when Trinity was kissing Bryce?”

He paused, staggering to an unintentional stop. 

He and Kenzie hadn't interacted much aside from the first day, so what could she possibly have to say about him?

“Like, damn,” the blonde continued loudly, “She was getting some of that turtle tongue!”

Oh.

Standing there for another second, Bryce tried to think of any possible way he could interpret that as a compliment.

The production crew inside laughed before asking her another question, but nothing specific was audible.

Turtle tongue, he mused, absentmindedly pressing his tongue against the roof of his mouth.

As he began walking down the hallway, he couldn't quite find the energy to feel embarrassed this time.  

It was just another thing he was doing wrong.

Later, Zach found him in the speakeasy. 

He hadn't been looking intentionally—why would he have been? —instead stumbling across Bryce while looking for a spot to talk with Kayda.

Zach walked into the room first, Kayda just a step behind. She looked mildly surprised at the sight of him occupying a known chat area, but quickly fixed a smile onto her face. 

"Hi, Bryce!" she said, glancing down the hallway behind her. "Are you meeting Trinity here?"

Zach was smiling as well, but his expression was slightly more bemused. 

"Yeah, mate. Why are you in here alone?" 

Maybe he should've lied to save face. Sure, millions of people would know within a couple of days that he was apparently a terrible kisser, but he didn't have to go around sharing that information with all the islanders.

The part that really sucked is how he’d believed that he’d redeemed himself during today’s challenge.

 Did it sting a bit that nobody picked him as their office crush? Sure.

But at least he'd taken the opportunity to show Trinity how he could make her feel if they grew their connection and intimacy over time. 

Unfortunately, there was now a really annoying voice in the back of his head telling him that Trinity might also think he was a terrible kisser and was just too polite to say anything.

The pit in his stomach stretched impossibly wider.

Suddenly remembering that two people were waiting for him to answer, Bryce quickly stood from the couch. He'd taken too long to come up with a response, his emotions probably showing on his face more clearly than he'd intended.  

"Nope, not waiting for anyone!" he said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood. "I was just enjoying the villa, you know? It has so many—uh, fun rooms." 

Kayda laughed politely, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. 

"That's true, but I do think this room is more well-known for being fun with a partner." 

Right. Which was probably what they had been coming in here to do.

Have fun, that is.

Zach looked away from her, his eyes flicking across Bryce's face with a small frown.

It was always a little hypnotizing when Zach looked at him for too long.

He was fantastic at maintaining eye contact, which usually left Bryce wondering how a man could have such ridiculously pretty eyes. 

"Are you alright?" Zach eventually asked, pulling Bryce back to reality. "Did something happen with Trinity?" 

It's fine, guys, Bryce thought cynically. Just dealing with the possibility that none of the girls on this island are actually attracted to me. 

"I'm fine," was all he said instead. 

He looked between the two of them. 

Truthfully, he did kind of want to talk to Zach about it. Maybe Zach's perspective would make him feel better or at least ground him in reality. But with Kayda there... 

It wasn't that Bryce didn't like her, because he definitely did. She genuinely seemed like a really nice person. But there was always the possibility that if you told one person something in the villa, eventually everyone would hear about it.

That just wasn't something he wanted to deal with right now.

Thinking that was probably a decent enough ending to the interaction, Bryce moved to leave the dim room.

“Oh!” 

Kayda straightened suddenly.

"Zach, I'm so sorry, I need to head back to the glam room." 

Zach's eyes finally left Bryce.

"You do?"  

She looked at him pointedly, raising her eyebrows just slightly.

"Yes. Remember? I told Aniya I'd help her with something before the bonfire. Can we chat later instead?" 

Something seemed to click.

"Oh!"

Zach nodded enthusiastically.

"Of course. I'll see you at the bonfire?"

She confirmed she would and, after offering Bryce another smile, disappeared down the hallway. 

Bryce really appreciated how casual she was with him, even after the debacle that was their bombshell date. 

Honestly, if anyone in this villa had their emotional intelligence maxed out, it was probably Kayda. She'd clearly realized Bryce was upset and had quietly given them an excuse to talk. 

"You're both sweet," Bryce started with a huff, "but I really am fine. You can go catch up with her if you want." 

Stepping fully into the room, Zach sat down on the couch and looked up at him skeptically.

"Yeah, maybe you are fine," he agreed, "but that doesn't mean something isn't bothering you."

“I—“ 

It wasn't like he usually hid things from his friends, but he did feel guilty for taking up Zach's time with Kayda.

Still, he'd apparently looked bothered enough that both of them had noticed.

He really didn’t want to drag the energy down, and if he was being honest, keeping it bottled up clearly wasn't helping. 

With a sigh, Bryce walked over and dropped onto the couch a few feet away.

He pushed his hair back from his face, trying to discern the best way to pose the situation.

"Do you think I'm a bad kisser?" 

When Zach froze, clearly not expecting the question, Bryce determined that that was probably not it.

After staring at him for a beat, the corner of Zach's mouth twitched upward. 

"Well," he said slowly, "I can't say I've kissed you enough to really know the answer to that."

"Hey, man, all you have to do is ask."

The joke came naturally, immediately falling into the familiar rhythm their conversations usually followed.

"But I mean..." Bryce hesitated. "I don't know." 

He brought his bottom lip in between his teeth in thought, not really knowing how to best get Zach’s perspective. 

"You saw me kissing the girls during the first challenge, right? We were standing at a ton of the same doors. Did my technique look weird to you?" 

Zach’s eyes flicked down to his mouth, presumably trying to remember what Bryce had looked like while kissing. It wasn't likely he'd remember, since Zach had to focus on the several women he was also kissing at the time. 

“What do you mean by weird?” he asked, looking back up.

“Weird like… comparable to a turtle.”

Zach's expression immediately shifted into complete confusion. 

“Sorry, I feel like I’m missing something.” He leaned forward, slightly lowering his voice, “Did someone tell you that you kiss like a turtle?” 

The genuine confusion in his voice eased some of Bryce's anxiety that Kenzie had gone around announcing her opinion to the entire villa.

He knew Zach wouldn’t tease him, so it felt a little easier to begrudgingly admit.

"I might've accidentally overheard Kenzie saying she thought I had a..." He grimaced. "'Turtle tongue.'" 

Zach stared.

Then his face twisted slightly.

"That's a bit rude, innit?"

Bryce shook his head. 

He didn’t want Kenzie to get any flak for sharing her opinion in private, considering that was the whole point of a confessional. 

"She didn't know I could hear her. I just wish I knew if I'm actually as bad as she made it sound." 

Zach nodded thoughtfully and rested his head against his fist. 

“Have you been told you’re a bad kisser before?”

Bryce thought about it. 

In past relationships, he'd always preferred being a little more in control when it came to intimacy. Maybe that made him too aggressive of a kisser?

None of his exes had ever complained. Then again, he couldn't specifically remember being complimented either. There was no way that many people secretly thought he was bad and simply never told him. 

Right?

He explained this thought process to Zach, who seemed to be genuinely considering the question. 

Bryce really appreciated that, even if it was a silly conversation to be having in your late twenties.

Never too late to learn something new, he guessed. 

Zach shifted, turning more fully toward him.

“I suppose you’d just have to kiss someone who’d be honest with you about what they think.”

The only problem with that was that asking Trinity if he was a good kisser would make him feel like a fucking middle schooler. 

Actually, asking anyone in the villa would make him feel pathetic—no matter how harsh that was. 

It was a lose-lose situation.

Bryce noticed Zach watching him sympathetically, almost as if he could tell Bryce was somehow making himself feel worse.

"Listen," Zach started, "I honestly don't think there's any one way to be a 'good kisser.' It's about compatibility. Some people like things slower. Some people like someone else taking control. It's a balance thing." 

While Bryce agreed with that on some level, there had to be bad kissers out there. Statistically speaking, somebody had to be at the bottom of the rankings.

And what if that somebody was him?

He’d never once heard any of the girls complain about Zach’s kissing, which wasn’t exactly surprising. 

During the door challenge, he’d remembered the feeling of watching Zach make out with Kenzie for the first time. He hadn’t meant to watch it in like—a weird way, but everyone was standing next to each other, and it became quickly apparent that it would be a daily occurrence. 

It’d all been a little hazy, going from islander to islander, watching everyone moving against each other after having only just met.

Like he’d said, he and Zach had been at a lot of the same doors together, so he had a front row seat to the way the other man would slowly work open the mouth of whichever girl he was kissing. 

In retrospect, maybe it’d been helpful that he’d watched so closely. Was there any way he could learn how to improve his kissing by understanding how Zach did it so well?

Zach had just mentioned his point about people liking different things, so Bryce asked, “What kind of stuff do you like?

Zach went still, eyes widening almost imperceptibly. 

Then, just as quickly, he laughed. 

"You definitely know what I like," he insisted, "I've talked about it enough around the villa."

Interestingly, he broke eye contact to glance toward the bottles lining the wall.

Bryce frowned, but he supposed that was true enough. He was fairly talkative about his preferences. 

"Okay. So you like when other people take control. That means you're compatible with people who do that, right?" 

Zach cleared his throat, nodding.

"Right."

"But there's no way every girl you've been with has been perfectly compatible with you. How do you account for that?" 

"I mean..." He sighed. "Yeah, obviously not. Compatibility is the most important thing, but you're right that there's some skill involved too."

He looked back at Bryce.

"I just don't think that's the problem here. I think you and Kenzie probably just weren't compatible."

And Bryce knew he was probably right. 

The problem was that the explanation wasn't nearly as satisfying as finding one thing to fix. Because if there was one magical thing to fix, then maybe everything else would fall into place too.

Maybe someone would actually want to pick him.

Maybe he'd stop feeling like something was off.

Deep down, he knew that wasn't how any of this worked.

It would just be nice if it were.

Zach studied him the same way he had earlier. 

More often than not, when Bryce went to look at Zach, he found dark eyes already looking back at him. There was a feeling of stability that settled in him when he looked at Zach, probably because he was the closest friend he had there. 

Bryce wondered what Zach saw when he looked at him.

His friend sighed, coming to a conclusion.

“This isn’t helping you, is it?”

Bryce shook his head. 

“Right.” 

Zach stood abruptly, clapping his hands together.

"Stand up."

"What—"

Without answering, Zach grabbed his shoulders and hauled him off the couch.

They ended up standing in the middle of the room.

Bryce stared at him.

Zach stared right back.

“Since you’re so convinced it’s a problem of skill, we’re gonna figure it out together.”

Bryce blinked.

Once.

Twice.

Very slowly.

Because he was suddenly pretty sure this conversation had just taken a turn he was not prepared for.

“I’m gonna help you practice.”

Bryce, honest-to-God, choked on the air he inhaled. For a solid several seconds, he was convinced he'd misheard. 

Actually, no.

For a solid several seconds, he was convinced he'd somehow signed up for a prank show instead of a dating show.

There was absolutely no way in hell Zach meant what Bryce thought he meant.

Then, after staring in shock for far longer than was socially acceptable, Bryce finally arrived at the only logical conclusion:

Zach was joking.

Obviously.

God, this turtle-tongue thing must have really be messing with his head if he'd failed to recognize Zach's usual play-flirting.

This was the first time Zach had genuinely caught him off guard.

"Right," Bryce snorted, "and let's couple up together at the next bonfire while we're at it."

He slapped Zach lightly on the shoulder.

"Jesus, dude. I didn't realize you were kidding for a second there."

He waited a beat for Zach to laugh as well, but he just tilted his head to the side, watching him as if Bryce was missing something obvious.

When it became clear Bryce wasn't arriving at whatever conclusion Zach wanted him to reach, Zach crossed his arms.

"I'm not joking."

His tone was completely serious.

Bryce's laughter died instantly.

The room suddenly felt a few degrees warmer.

“I’m really confused,” He admitted, giving one more second of pause before he asked, “Are you making fun of me?”

“What?”

Zach looked less pleased with himself.

“I wouldn’t do that.”

Which, yeah… he probably wouldn't. Zach never seemed to have anything mean to say to him, even in the most mortifying moments. Bryce felt a little guilty for having implied Zach was being malicious.

But if he wasn’t being malicious, then the only other reasoning was that he was being genuine. 

And that— that couldn't possibly be it.

“So,” he pauses, hoping Zach will correct him and clarify what he really means, “You’re offering to help me by… making out with me?”

To Zach's credit, he didn't even hesitate.

"Yeah. If you’re okay with that?"

Somehow, he looked completely unfazed.

What the hell was happening right now? Bryce genuinely wasn't sure anymore.

Had he hit his head during the challenge?

Was he currently unconscious somewhere, and this was all a very specific fever dream? 

"It’s Love Island,” Zach continued casually, “We kind of make out with like 6 different people every night.”

Bryce felt that there were actually some pretty distinct differences between the two situations. 

He opened his mouth.

Nothing came out.

Closed it again.

Tried once more.

"If I'm okay with that?" he finally repeated.

Zach looked entirely too amused. Which, somehow, that made the whole situation feel even more ridiculous.

Finally taking pity on him, Zach rolled his eyes.

“Mate, we don’t have to. It was just an idea,” then adds on, “Just practice. Nothing serious.”

Annoyingly, that somehow made it sound reasonable.

Just practice.

Nothing serious.

Bryce almost laughs at the absurdity of it all. They were on an island with a bunch of single, beautiful women, and Zach was suggesting they make out with each other instead.

This was yet another great example of how Zach could pitch literally anything, no matter how embarrassing, and always come out the other end completely unbothered. 

Bryce looked at him.

Then looked away.

Because no matter how many times he replayed the conversation in his head, the facts remained exactly the same.

Zach had offered.

Casually.

Like he was volunteering to help him study for a test.

And the worst part?

Bryce couldn't immediately think of a reason to say no.

It wasn’t like it was the worst idea in the world. Hell, he'd been the one asking for Zach's perspective in the first place.

What better way to get an honest opinion than firsthand experience?

But it was kind of a weird thing to do, wasn’t it? Making out with your male best friend as a straight guy, that is. Although maybe that was the best way to get an objective opinion. He did trust Zach’s opinion more than anyone else here…

After several long beats of silence, Bryce finally asked: 

“You’ll tell me honestly if you think I’m bad, right?”

Zach’s eyebrows lifted.

"Would kind of defeat the point if I lied to protect your feelings afterward."

Despite everything, Bryce laughed.

The tension in his shoulders loosened slightly.

"Right."

"Right."

For a moment, neither of them said anything.

And for some reason, that felt considerably more dangerous than the conversation had.

Then, Zach took a step closer to him. Bryce absentmindedly wondered how long they had until the bonfire. 

“First of all,” Zach started, placing his hands on either side of Bryce’s biceps, “you’ve gotta relax. You’re proper tense right now.” 

Bryce scoffed. “Well, obviously I’m not this tense with girls, dude. This specific situation is just making me nervous.” 

The corner of Zach’s mouth twitched up again.  

“Are you saying I make you nervous?” he prodded, looking more proud of himself than he should've. 

Bryce didn't entertain that with a response, so Zach continued.

“Second of all, don’t call the person you’re about to make out with ‘dude.’ Generally considered bad manners, that.”

“Well, no shit,” Bryce scoffed. “And if I’m not allowed to call you ‘dude’ during this, you aren’t allowed to call me ‘mate.’” 

“Fair enough.” Zach paused, considering something. “You’re sure you’re okay with this?” 

Was he okay making out with his best friend in an effort to prove he was a good kisser?  

He'd definitely done weirder things here and was sure to do worse as the challenges continued. There was a slight difference in that he was choosing to do this of his own volition, and it wasn't something thought up by the showrunners.  

He chose to ignore that fact, just as Zach clearly was. 

It technically was for the show. If he didn't get his act together for Trinity—or anyone else, if she decided to couple with someone different—he'd get his ass dumped off the island in no time. 

In the end, it wasn't like kissing the most attractive male islander was some terrible fate he was resigned to.

He was struck again by how absurd this whole situation was. Most people would've laughed at him, told him not to worry about it, and moved on. Instead, Zach was standing here trying to help him solve the problem like it actually mattered to him. 

He steeled himself and shook the tension out of his body.

“Yeah, I’m sure," he confirmed. "I’ll repay you later for helping me, somehow.”

Zach’s face softened.

“I’m doing this because you’re my friend. Don’t worry about it.”

The words shouldn't have hit him as hard as they had. Zach had been saying things like that all week—sitting with him after rough recouplings, checking in when he got in his own head, somehow always ending up next to him when things went sideways. 

As he let go of Bryce's arms, he felt his chest warm.

Both of Zach’s hands slid slowly upward from his biceps.

Bryce tried diligently to remember that this wasn't a big deal. His friend was just helping him out, nothing more and nothing less.

But with one of Zach’s palms settling against the side of his neck and the other coming up to cup his jaw, the focus he needed suddenly wasn't coming to him. At all.

Instead, his mind began circling around the size of the hands holding him in place.

It was interesting how different it felt to be held by a man compared to a woman. Zach was covering a lot more space than Bryce was used to.

“So, someone puts their hands here,” Zach muttered, his tone still casual but quieter than before, “where would you put yours?”  

Bryce realized then that his hands were still awkwardly hanging at his sides.

After a moment of consideration, Bryce decided to hold his waist.

A perfectly neutral resting place.

The first thing he noticed was how firm Zach’s torso felt.

The second—and considerably more interesting—thing he noticed was the way it dipped in slightly beneath his broader upper body.

It gave Bryce's hands a comfortable place to settle, which unfortunately left his mouth feeling a little dry.

“Yeah, perfect,” he heard Zach say. “This obviously isn’t the part Kenz was talking about.”

Bryce made a sound of acknowledgment, chewing on his bottom lip.

He'd obviously noticed before how nice Zach's figure was, but being able to touch him was kind of a whole new level.

Zach was saying something, but Bryce had accidentally missed the first part while thinking about his waist.

Maybe he was saying something about partner preferences again?

In his own words, Zach liked to be “used and abused,” which was—a crazy thing to share with what was a group of strangers at the time, but more power to him.

How did Zach’s past partners play into those preferences?

Without really thinking about it, Bryce absentmindedly tightened his grip on Zach’s waist and pulled him a little closer.

Whatever Zach had been saying was cut off by a quiet inhale as he glanced down at where Bryce was holding him.

His lips parted slightly, which Bryce wouldn't have noticed if their faces hadn't already been inches apart.

The pads of Zach’s fingers pressed more into his shoulder.

“Sorry,” he said with a cringe, realizing he'd gripped down tighter than was probably comfortable. “I didn’t mean to cut you off. What were you saying?” 

Zach didn't respond for a second as they both stared at Bryce's offending hands.

When Bryce looked back up, Zach met his gaze accusingly.

“Yeah, you didn’t hear a single word I said, did you?”

“I did not.”

Zach pursed his lips in an attempt to hide a growing smile.

“You’re distracted by something?”

It sounded more like a statement than a question.

Why did his brain feel this foggy over the way Zach's voice sounded?

Almost as if he knew exactly what Bryce was thinking, Zach added, “Your body’s reacting the way it always does to another person. Don’t overthink it.”

Bryce turned that over in his head as he swayed slightly in place.

It felt a little different, but not as much as it should have. It probably should've felt more detached, more casual, and definitely less... something.

The hand that had been resting on his jaw centered him, pulling his attention back to the man standing in front of him. 

For all Zach's talk about technique, Bryce wasn't entirely convinced either of them were thinking about that anymore.

The points of contact between them felt like they were buzzing as Zach leaned forward, lips nearly touching his.

“Stop overthinking it,” he murmured, like that settled it, before closing the last bit of distance between them.

Bryce let him.

Zach was warm and soft, slowly working their mouths together and open. Somehow, all the noise in Bryce's head faded into the background. It was a slow, languid push that immediately felt so fucking good.

The feeling of Zach’s stubble against his mouth made him feel lightheaded and feverish, gripping his waist tighter in an effort to ground himself. At the same time, Zach’s mouth opened further, a low groan escaping. Bryce swallowed the sound hungrily, letting his head be guided to the side into a more comfortable position.

Bryce didn't try to deepen the kiss further at first, still worried that he'd go overboard and fuck it up. The last thing he wanted was to ruin this by trying too hard. So he let Zach set the pace, following his lead and hoping that, for once, he wasn't getting it wrong.

The longer it went on, the harder it became to hold on to that worry. Zach didn't seem frustrated or impatient. If anything, he seemed content to take things slowly, giving Bryce time to settle into it.

After a while, Zach shifted slightly. One of Bryce's hands was gently guided away from his waist and upward until it came to rest near the base of Zach's neck.

Zach didn't pull back. He just stayed there with him, steady—close enough that Bryce could feel the warmth of his throat under his hand.

Something tightened in him when he realized what Zach was letting him do.

Hoping to whatever god was out there that he was reading the situation correctly, he thumbed over Zach’s jugular and pressed down lightly, just enough to feel for a reaction.

The kiss broke for a millisecond as Zach’s mouth loosened, exhaling hotly between them—

—and then he pushed back in.

Taking it as a clear signal to do more, Bryce thought, fuck it, and deepened the kiss, licking into Zach’s mouth.

It was wet and hot as Zach’s tongue met his, unhurried. He made no effort whatsoever to take control or push him back—just letting Bryce explore, steady under his hands like he was exactly where he wanted to be.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he quietly wondered at what point Zach would have a good enough understanding of how he kissed to give his judgment. 

That voice was largely being drowned out by the much louder running monologue of holy fuck, what am I doing, holy shit.

Bryce had made out with a lot of the female islanders, and he was really struggling to come to terms with the fact that Zach was currently trumping most of those experiences.

During challenges, they only had so much time to kiss before they had to stop for timing’s sake. This was easily the longest he’d been able to consecutively kiss someone, and it definitely helped that Zach was so good at it. 

The longer they stood there, the warm lighting of the speakeasy humming above them, the more he felt he was getting lost. It was also becoming increasingly evident that this was the most private, drawn-out kiss he'd been able to have in weeks. 

There were no islanders cheering around them, no Ariana stopping them so they could move on to the next couple. 

It was just them. 

Just Zach, who was becoming progressively more pliant under Bryce’s touch.

The bottles lining the wall next to him clinked together softly.

Bryce's brain filed the sound away as something vaguely important before immediately getting distracted again.

A second later, his back hit the wall.

He jolted, accidentally pulling away. He hadn't even realized they'd been moving backwards.

The sudden break gave Bryce his first real chance to look at him. He searched for some sign that Zach was feeling even a fraction as wrecked as he was. 

Zach stood in front of him, eyes slightly unfocused. Something like fire burned in Bryce's torso at the sight of him. His mouth was damp, his pupils blown wide, and his perfectly ironed shirt was wrinkled where Bryce had been holding it.

Fucking finally, he looked a little messed up. 

Bryce stared at him as long as he could, trying to take in every detail.

He had no clue how long they'd been standing there, breathing shallowly, before Zach finally broke the silence.

"Fuck, you're a fantastic kisser. I have no idea what she's talking about.”

His voice sounded marginally different than usual. Ragged around the edges. 

It took Bryce a second to comprehend what he'd said, realizing the "she" Zach meant was Kenzie.

Right.

His thoughts were completely scrambled, so he ran his hands down his face. It didn't do much to help.

"You alright?" Zach asked, moving back an inch.

He genuinely sounded a bit concerned, which made Bryce's heart stutter. There was a line between his brows that Bryce suddenly had the ridiculous urge to smooth away.

“Yeah, just— woah.”

Zach let out a surprised laugh, then nodded.

“High praise.”

Bryce couldn't quite bring himself to look directly at Zach, settling for a point somewhere over his shoulder instead. 

He should probably say something: thank Zach for his help, ask for specific feedback, tell him he was the best kisser Bryce had ever met.

Instead, his attention drifted upward. He found himself oddly fixated on Zach's hair.

It still sat perfectly on top of his head in soft black curls. Bryce was suddenly overcome with the need to mess it up somehow.

Which was ridiculous.

They'd already gotten what they came here for. Zach had answered his question. The conversation should probably be over.

And yet Bryce found himself searching for an excuse to stay exactly where he was.

To keep touching him.

Unfortunately, he couldn't think of a single one.

So, having no excuse beyond simply wanting to, Bryce reached out.

Zach's eyes tracked Bryce's hand as his fingers settled into the hair at the back of his head. Then, Bryce waited. Waited for any sign that Zach wanted him to stop or pull away.

Instead, Zach met his eyes, slightly confused and leaned into his hand. 

Bryce took a slow, steadying inhale.

For a second, he simply held him there.

Then he tugged.

The reaction was immediate, Zach's breath catching in his throat.

"Ah—"

His eyes fluttered closed, just for a second, before opening them again half lidded.

“Please do that again," he asked shakily.

Bryce clamped his teeth together, a full-body shiver running down his spine.

Asking wasn't exactly the word for it.

Zach sounded like he needed it. 

His voice sounded so pretty like that, wanting Bryce to pull his hair.

Not Kayda, not some bombshell, but him. How had he gone so long without hearing that?

The feeling settled over him slowly, replacing some of the uncertainty that had been following him around all day.

He loosened his hold on Zach’s hair, switching back to gentle combing.

“Sorry, what was that?” Bryce questioned.

Zach just blinked at him before letting out a short, disbelieving laugh.

“You definitely heard me the first time.”

Bryce hoped he wasn’t testing his luck with this. Based on what he’d seen around the villa, this should be something Zach would like.

Don’t ask him to clarify when this had become about Zach. Several things he hadn’t known about himself before were becoming extremely obvious in hindsight.

“I mean, I did,” he relented, “but I’m not going to pull your hair until you ask me again.”

Something flickered in Zach's eyes as he bit his cheek.

“I already told you that you were a good kisser,” he reiterated. “What else are you getting out of this?”

Bryce took a deep breath as Zach searched his expression. 

It would've been easy to answer with something like curiosity. Validation. Closure. Something along those lines.

But none of those would've been true.

Instead, what came out was,

“Nothing. I just want to hear you ask.”

For a second, Zach forgot to smile. 

The easy confidence he'd been carrying for the last several minutes melted into something Bryce couldn't quite place.

And just like that, Bryce knew he'd said the right thing.

Bryce's thumb traced absently through the curls at the back of his head, and when Zach smiled again, it looked different.

Then he leaned in close enough that Bryce felt the words against his skin.

“Please, love?”

Heat pooled low in Bryce's stomach.

Before the logical part of his brain could convince him otherwise, he turned the both of them around. 

The instant he had Zach pushed up against the wall; their mouths were slotted back together—kissing considerably sloppier than they had been before.

All pretenses gone, his free hand quickly found its way under Zach’s shirt. The expanse of skin warm was from the tropical Fiji weather.

His abdomen was taut as he almost imperceptibly arched into the touch.

There was a whole fucking laundry list of things his brain was supplying for him to do in response to feeling Zach shift against him. Unfortunately, they probably wouldn’t have time for all of that right now.

Instead, trying to stay true to his word, Bryce resumed carding his fingers through Zach’s hair. It was becoming gradually more difficult to remember where one mouth ended and the other started, breathing against each other heavily.

When he'd woken up this morning, the absolute last thing Bryce expected was that he’d end up earnestly making out with Zach. 

Well—okay, the “last” thing to happen was maybe a bit of an exaggeration. Of course, they teased each other a lot, and yes, maybe they were far touchier with each other than they were with anyone else. In Bryce’s defense, he really had thought himself to be straight.

As he stood there shoving his tongue into another man’s mouth, it was clear that perspective was outdated.

It wasn't like he was upset about this new revelation—how could he be when it was happening with Zach—but it really had felt like it came out of nowhere. He’d never felt like this about another guy before.

The rhythm they’d found was comfortable, but it was starting to slow down, which was not the goal. 

Bryce shifted his footing and guided Zach's head to the side with another pull. 

Breaking away from his mouth, he trailed downward, mouthing at the line of his neck as he went. 

"God damn," Zach huffed out shakily. "You're just perfect, aren't you?"

Warmth bloomed behind his ribs at the compliment, with that same heady feeling from earlier returning. It was easily the nicest thing anyone had said to him there. 

After feeling so fucking lost in his own head, the words hit with almost embarrassing force.  

Bryce found the pulse point on Zach’s neck, biting down on it lightly. After the compliment, he found himself wanting to give something back. He sucked at the sore spot in hopes of making Zach feel half as good as he did. 

Judging by the choked noise Zach let out, hips twitching forward, Bryce had been successful. 

There was something unfair about how much Bryce wanted Zach's approval. He'd known the guy for less than a week. That shouldn't have been enough time for his opinion to matter this much. 

Still working his way along Zach's neck, Bryce helpfully slotted his thigh in between his legs. 

“Bryce,” he groaned, rolling forward without a moment's hesitation. 

The sound of his name in Zach’s voice made Bryce’s already tightening shorts feel even more limiting.

“I can't believe you actually agreed to this,” he started. “I mean—I'm glad you did, but I wasn't sure—fuck—if you were actually interested.”

Bryce moved to a new spot on his neck, intent on proving how interested he really was. He still felt a little bad about the idea that he'd been flirting back without realizing Zach was serious.

Luckily, it was hard to feel bad for long when Zach was actively grinding against his leg.

“Literally everyone’s going to see those love bites if you keep that up,” he rambled, which was apparently what he did when his mouth was otherwise unoccupied.

Bryce pulled back to look him in the eye.

“Should I stop?”

“No, please don’t,” he huffed, taking Bryce’s face in his hands and bringing their mouths together again. 

He can’t help but laugh against Zach’s lips, taking a moment to peck him a couple times instead of fully kissing him.

Zach catches his eye, clearly amused.

“I’m sorry, are you laughing at me?” he asked in mock offense, poking Bryce in the side. “I've been trying to make this happen for days now. I think I'm allowed to be a little desperate.” 

That was the thing that really got him. Not the flirting. Not the kissing. The fact that Zach had wanted this too. 

“Four whole days,” Bryce teased, trying his best not to start laughing again. “How did you ever survive?”

“I don't know! You kept letting me flirt with you all the time,” he complained. “I'm lucky this worked somehow.” 

And what a wonder that was. 

At least it hadn't taken him their whole time in the villa to realize his feelings for Zach were more than platonic. The first week was a really good record, considering last season's couples had been all over the place right up until the end. 

Still, it was a lot to take in. 

Bryce looked toward the camera that was set up in the other corner of the room. Unfortunately, this was the exact kind of thing production loved to see. The debauchery of it all didn’t matter, but there were a lot of things going through his head right now that he would’ve rather figured out not on national television. 

There were probably a hundred conversations they still needed to have. About Trinity. About Kayda. But with Zach standing in front of him smiling like that, none of it felt particularly urgent.

As they were about to lean back in, hoping to resume what they'd been doing before, when the sound of heels clicking against wood echoed down the hall.

“Zach! Bryce!” someone called with a quick knock. “This is your only warning to stop whatever you might be doing before I walk in!” 

Bryce blinked slowly as Zach stepped away, untangling their limbs and not-so-subtly adjusting his pants.

A second later, the door opened for Kayda to peek inside hesitantly. She stopped short when she spotted them, a knowing grin spreading across her face.

“Looks like you two had fun.”

Zach shot Kayda a look that would have been intimidating if he wasn't fighting a smile.

Bryce stared at them in shock for a second before a horrifying possibility occurred to him.

Zach had definitely told her.

Right?

Because the alternative was that their flirting had apparently been obvious to everyone except him.

Wait—was that why she’d lied about needing to help Aniya?

Ignoring Bryce's obvious inner turmoil, she turned to Zach. “So sorry to interrupt, by the way, but they're waiting for us at the bonfire.”

“Oh shit, is it that late already?” Bryce cursed, trying his best to fix his clothes and hair into something resembling presentability. 

He glanced over at Zach’s neck where several hickeys are already showing. 

Oops.

Kayda double-checked that both of them were ready before leading the way to the bonfire.

Bryce lingered for a second before following. He'd hoped they could have a little more time—enough to figure out whatever had just happened between them. Enough to ask the questions still bouncing around his head.

Or, selfishly, enough to keep his fingers in Zach's hair for another few minutes.

As they walked back toward the group, Zach nudged him with his shoulder and sent him another smile. For a brief second, Bryce remembered the first night in the villa. How easy it had been to talk to Zach. How quickly he'd become the person Bryce looked for in every room. Somewhere along the way, that had apparently developed into something new. 

Bryce supposed it wasn’t such a bad outcome. It was impossible to predict what would happen next, but if they were lucky, they’d have the whole summer to figure it out.