Bubbly: Uncorked, #1

By Shea Balik

Raise your wine glasses high to toast the men of Dahlonia while they discover the secret to happiness – LOVE.

There was no doubt about it, Macalister Whitmore was as straight-laced as they came. He worked all the time, never did anything that would be considered fun, and almost always wore a suit and tie, even in the laid back southern town of Dahlonia, where the dress code tended to be jeans and t-shirts. It was how his parents raised him and Macalister was sure even a tanning salon couldn't change that.

David Wilson wanted to throttle his best friend for sending Mac to his tanning salon to try and loosen up the uptight lawyer. He had never met anyone that had actually worn a suit to a tanning salon before. What Mac needed was a doctor to remove that stick from his ass. Then again, if Mac continued to look down his nose at David, he would remove it himself.

Still, it seemed that opposites do attract, so they decide to give each other a chance.

Happily ever after may sound like a dream come true, but no one ever said it didn't come with pain and heartache. Will they walk away from each other, or walk through hell for the chance to pop some Bubbly and celebrate finding their happy ending?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Shea Balik
• Release date: Oct 19, 2017
• ISBN: 9781393333562

Shea Balik

Who is Shea Balik, you ask? Bestselling author of the Cedar Falls Series, Hart Medical Center Series, Miracle Series, and Paranormal Wars Series, Shea Balik has always had a vivid imagination with stories running around in her head. Often her stories are taken from observations of other people with her own spin. Traveling is one of her favorite ways of fulfilling her passion of people watching. You never know, one day you may spark her imagination for her next book. Whether at home or traveling she is usually in front of her computer writing or curled up with a good book. 

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Bubbly

Uncorked 1

Raise your wine glasses high to toast the men of Dahlonia while they discover the secret to happiness – LOVE.

There was no doubt about it, Macalister Whitmore was as straight-laced as they came. He worked all the time, never did anything that would be considered fun, and almost always wore a suit and tie, even in the laid back southern town of Dahlonia, where the dress code tended to be jeans and t-shirts. It was how his parents raised him and Macalister was sure even a tanning salon couldn’t change that.

David Wilson wanted to throttle his best friend for sending Mac to his tanning salon to try and loosen up the uptight lawyer. He had never met anyone that had actually worn a suit to a tanning salon before. What Mac needed was a doctor to remove that stick from his ass. Then again, if Mac continued to look down his nose at David, he would remove it himself.

Still, it seemed that opposites do attract, so they decide to give each other a chance.

Happily ever after may sound like a dream come true, but no one ever said it didn’t come with pain and heartache. Will they walk away from each other, or walk through hell for the chance to pop some Bubbly and celebrate finding their happy ending?

Copyright ©2019 Shea Balik

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Cover by: Harris Channing

Edited by: Avril Stepowski

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Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Epilogue

CHAPTER 1

I’ll be just a minute, a voice called from somewhere down the long hallway that led to the back.

The scent of cocoa butter permeated the small, overly festive shop.  For most, it was probably a typical scent one would expect to find at a tanning salon but for Macalister Whitmore, it made him want to turn and leave.  Not necessarily because of the scent itself, although, it was nauseating, but because Macalister didn’t want to be there to begin with.

It had started on his birthday last month when his bosses at the Twisted Vine got him a gift certificate to Tropical Beach Tanning.  Macalister assumed Andrew, the more quirky of the four men who owned the vineyard, had gotten it as a gag gift and Macalister would never have to step foot in a place like this.  It wasn’t until last week, when Andrew informed him he’d made Macalister an appointment at the tanning salon, that he realized his boss hadn’t been joking.

He’d tried to refuse, but, when it came to Andrew and the other three bosses, no wasn’t a word they accepted from their employees.  At least, not without a good reason.  Not wanting to go hadn’t been good enough for any of the four men.

Doing his best not to actually touch anything, Macalister glanced around at the gaudy décor.  Fake palm trees and Tiki torches were stuffed into every nook and cranny.  Paper lanterns were strung from the ceiling and cheap leis hung from every available surface.  It looked like the tropics had thrown up in the small space.

There was no way his bosses could have seriously thought Macalister would enjoy this place.  With Andrew leading this ridiculous gift, he wouldn’t be surprised if he was being filmed in order to provide entertainment to the four friends who had decided to start their own vineyard. Not that Macalister cared.  After years of being the butt of jokes, he’d gotten over it long ago.

Welcome to Tropical Beach.  What can I do for you today?

Macalister whirled around from eyeing the door debating if he should make his escape.  A man stood there in a floral tank top, jean shorts with an orange painted hibiscus covering most of the barely there material, and bright orange flip flops with a plastic flower on top of each foot.

The thing was, that wasn’t even the most bizarre thing about the man.  Macalister was having a hard time deciding if it was his deep purple hair that was styled into a broad Mohawk or the perfectly applied make-up that made his blue eyes pop that had drawn his gaze and caused his heart to beat a little faster and his dick to twitch in interest.

Wait. Pop?  Since when did Macalister think things like that?  He needed to get out of this place.  Just two minutes in here and already Macalister was turning into someone he didn’t recognize.

Are you going to speak or do I have to guess why you’re here? the strange man asked.  Then he waved his hand as if to say never mind and went to the cash register.  Since you’re in a tanning salon, I can only assume you want to try and tan that extremely pale skin.

That seemed to wake Macalister out of the daze he was in.  Actually, I think it was a mistake coming here.  He took a step back toward the door.  I’ll just go.

But the man was faster than Macalister would have thought in those flimsy flip flops.  Wait, the strange man said as he grabbed Macalister’s arm.  You just got here and I assume you didn’t just accidentally wander in, so why don’t you tell me what I can do for you?

The strength of the hand on him was startling.  Sure, the guy appeared to take good care of himself, but he wouldn’t have guessed him to be strong enough to stop Macalister.  He had a couple inches on the man, but not enough that would hinder him from leaning in and pressing his mouth against those lush lips.

Mentally shaking himself out of his odd thoughts, he tried to remember what he was just asked.  I, um, well...  Right, why he was there.

With long nails digging into Macalister just enough to hold him where he was or risk tearing a hole in his silk shirt, Macalister pulled out the gift card he’d been given.  My bosses got me this gift certificate, but as you can see, he waved a hand under his chin, as his face was the only place skin was showing since he was still wearing his suit, tanning isn’t my thing.

That was an understatement.  Macalister was often referred to as Casper because he was so white.

The cute man that had something akin to butterflies fluttering in his stomach took the gift card.  If Macalister had expected to have his arm released, he’d been sorely mistaken.  In fact, that firm grip dug in a bit further, as if the guy thought Macalister would bolt if he let go.

To be fair, that had been Macalister’s plan.  Instead he was pulled to the counter and a piece of paper was shoved at him. Just give me five minutes and I can have you checked in and on a tanning bed.  I promise, it won’t take long.  With your pale skin, you can’t lay on the bed more than a few minutes anyway.

A pen was pushed his way along with a look that dared him to refuse.  He wasn’t sure why, but Macalister started to fill out the form

My name is David Wilson, by the way, the man said as he peeked at the form and read Macalister’s name. It’s nice to meet you Mac.

Macalister ground his molars at the nickname.  He hated when people just assumed he didn’t mind them shortening his name.  It was a family name and he was proud to have it.  It’s Macalister, he let David know.

David stood there for a moment, then tilted his head.  After about thirty seconds he shook his head.  That’s what I said.

No, you called me Mac, Macalister informed him.

David waved his hand in the air as if it didn’t matter.  Close enough, he said.  Whirling away to a floor to ceiling bookcase that held a lot of bottles, David pulled a small packet out of a bin.  I’m going to give you a sample of my favorite tanning lotion.  If you like it, when you come back you can buy a bottle for the rest of your sessions.

The pen in Macalister’s hand stopped along with his brain. Rest of my sessions? he asked.  He’d assumed this was a one-time thing.  There was no way he was coming back.

All he could see was David’s purple hair as his head moved up and down.  Yeah.  The gift card was for a one-year membership.  Shiny orange lips, that matched the hibiscus on his shorts, smiled at him.  Once you try the tanning bed, you’ll be dying to come back.

I wouldn’t bet on that, Macalister murmured under his breath.

David laughed, the sound skipped around the store like tinkling chimes.  Stop thinking stupid things like that, Macalister silently chastised himself.  He was too straight-laced for those kinds of thoughts.

David laid the little suntan lotion packet on the counter and leaned across the surface until they were just inches apart.  I promise, I’ll be gentle with you for your first time, sexy.

When David winked at him with those long eyelashes of his, Macalister found himself having to remember how to breathe.  He didn’t know what was happening.  Never had he been so attracted to another person that he forgot himself.

Just like everything else in his orderly life, Macalister treated sex like a task to be done.  When he felt the urge to find someone to fulfill a few urges, he drove into Atlanta and went to one of the more discreet clubs.  It usually didn’t take long to find a willing partner to take into one of the back rooms.

He didn’t kiss, he didn’t overly touch, hell, he hardly spoke.  For him, it wasn’t necessary.  His encounters never lasted long enough to exchange names nor did he ever plan on calling the guy he hooked up with.  Relationships were messy and Macalister didn’t do messy.

So, why was his dick plumping up as he stared into David’s nearly violet eyes?  It must be the chemicals that were pumping through this place, they were eating away at his brain cells.  Determined to get out of there before they did any more damage, he shoved the filled out forms across the counter.

Done? David asked as he glanced at the three pages.  Good.  He came around the counter to where Macalister stood and took his hand.  Come with me, handsome.  We’ll get you all set up.

They were halfway down the hall that led toward the back of the store when Macalister realized he hadn’t even tried to pull his hand free.  Recognizing the mistake, he tugged it free, refusing to allow himself to become enmeshed with another person, especially someone the complete opposite of himself.

Here we are, David said as he walked into a tiny room that had just enough room for a person to stand next to what looked like a metal capsule.

Meticulously, yet quickly, David sprayed and wiped down the two glass portions that made up the inside of the bed.  Strip naked and put on that suntan lotion.  David gestured to the capsule.  Lay down, pull the top down and push this button here.  He pointed to a button along the top portion that Macalister was to pull down.

I have the timer set to four minutes and the bed will turn off automatically.  David moved to the doorway, forcing Macalister to either come further into the room or have David press against him