SEVEN MILES

There"s a weird kind of almost-tension between Kieran and Miles. It feels like the aftermath of an argument, where hackles are still slowly settling and you"re not quite sure if you can go back to joking yet.

The only problem there is that, unless Miles missed something, he and Kieran didn"t have any kind of argument.

Regardless, Kieran is on the opposite side of the boat, nose buried in his script, and he hasn"t said a word to Miles. If it wasn"t for his weird gut feeling, Miles would assume Kieran is just preparing for the shoot. But it feels like there"s a space between the two of them that"s slowly eating away at the ground beneath Miles" feet, and he has no idea what to do about it.

Maybe it"s because he invited Ethan along?

Kieran hasn"t really been subtle about the fact that he"s not Ethan"s biggest fan, but Miles doesn"t really understand why. Sure, Ethan has shit taste in men, but almost marrying a murderer shouldn"t be cause for Kieran to carry a grudge against Ethan.

It"s not like Ethan knew.

Miles is jolted from his thoughts when the boat comes to a bumpy stop. He"s been standing at the front of the boat, but when he looks toward the back, he realizes that the jolt had been the boat docking. Nerves flood his stomach as it all becomes that much more real. There"s a flurry of movement as they tie off, everyone gathering their belongings and stretching their legs, making their way off the boat and onto the sun-warmed wood of the dock.

Miles sees Kieran stretching his arms above his head as they make it off the dock, and he decides that there"s no reason to feel weird. He starts marching over, planning to tell Kieran he"s excited, maybe ask for acting tips or something, but before he gets close enough to call out Kieran"s name, Octavia beats him to it and calls Kieran over.

He stops in his tracks on the white sand beach, a sigh falling from his lips as Kieran turns toward Octavia"s voice, making his way over to her. It seems like he didn"t see Miles at all.

Miles tries not to let it sting too badly. He has other things to focus on. He"s an actor now, and he"s in the most gorgeous place he"s ever seen in his life. The beach is an endless stretch of fine, bright white sand, the water crystal clear. Even from here, he can see brightly colored fish swimming about in the shallows. There are bungalows off to his left with a bunch of people milling around them. He assumes that"s where everyone will be staying for the shoot, and he"s excited about it.

Off to his right, way down the beach, he can see the face of a massive mansion sitting close to the water"s edge. There"s a landing strip for planes and a helicopter pad by the mansion too, and Miles feels kind of lightheaded at the thought of anyone having that much money.

The whole place looks like something you only see in the movies.

Miles doesn"t have a moment to laugh at himself for the thought before Ethan pops up, wrapping his arms around Miles in a tight hug. Everyone"s assistants got to the island a few days ago to get everything set up and get briefed on plans.

Miles pulls himself out of Ethan"s grip, smiling nervously at him.

"Ethan, hey," he says, shifting his backpack on his shoulder.

The rest of his luggage came with Ethan, and should hopefully be all set up in his room.

"Miles, holy shit, this is going to be so cool," Ethan squeals, tugging on Miles" hand and leading him toward the bungalows. "I"ll show you all the cool spots once we get you settled in. I"m so excited to spend time with you here, it"s so gorgeous."

Miles shoots Ethan a warning look, pulling his hand free of Ethan"s grasp, but Ethan ignores it. He does seem to truly just be excited, and Miles knows Ethan well enough to know how touchy he gets when he"s pumped up. He hopes that"s all this is—he really doesn"t want to have to try to handle advances from Ethan while juggling everything else.

The bungalows aren"t far from the dock, and Ethan leads Miles to one on the far end, opening the glass door with a grand flourish and a wide grin.

It"s bigger than he expected, honestly. The bed looks plush, and he has a view straight out onto the beach, his very own little sunning chair set up out front. Miles walks in, unable to stop himself from grinning, and drops his backpack onto the chair by the front door. He feels like he"s on vacation, really, and it"s kind of crazy to think that he"s getting paid to be here. Not only that, but he"s acting in a movie here.

When did his life get this crazy?

"So this is your home away from home," Ethan says, arms wide to gesture to the space. "Nothing too crazy, but mine is right next door if you need anything."

He shoots Miles an exaggerated wink with that last statement, biting his bottom lip and grinning widely. Miles sighs at him and crosses his arms over his chest. It"s kind of hard to really be upset since he still feels a bit like a kid in a candy store, but he knows if he doesn"t stop Ethan now, the man will keep pushing.

"Ethan," he says, his tone scolding.

Ethan immediately raises his hands in surrender, his teasing grin morphing into something more innocent.

"I"m just playing around, swear," Ethan promises. "I"m just so excited about everything. I promise I"ll behave. I wasn"t lying before, I really am a different person."

Miles looks at him for a few moments longer before rolling his eyes teasingly. He uncrosses his arms and checks his pockets for his phone and wallet. Octavia said that anything they needed on the island would be covered on the company"s tab, but Miles had picked up some cash before they left so he could at least tip people.

"Is there anything I need to do right now?"

"Not a thing," Ethan tells him. "Just relax for a bit. There"s a welcoming party later, but that"s not until, like, dinner time."

That"s good, honestly. It"ll give Miles some time to get into the groove of it all. Maybe he"ll even manage to work out some of the anxiety starting to build in his stomach.

"Cool, I think I want to go explore for a bit," Miles says, suddenly desperate for some fresh air and silence.

"That sounds like fun! I"ll show you around, there"s a really cool little—"

"No, I just want to wander for a bit," Miles cuts him off, already halfway out the door. "Sorry. I just want to get my head on straight. I"ll stay on the beaten path, promise."

Ethan looks upset for a moment, disappointment written on his face, but he shakes it off quickly.

"Sure thing, I"ll be around," he says, smiling widely. "Do you have sunscreen? Can"t have that pretty face getting burned before shoots."

Miles rolls his eyes, but pats his front pocket and grins back.

"Still got some left from the boat ride over."

He leaves Ethan standing there in his bungalow with a little wave. As soon as he"s in the open air, he feels like it"s easier to breathe. The anxiety is still there, but it doesn"t feel like it"s growing so rapidly anymore. He has no idea how he"s supposed to do all of this, not really. He has no clue how to get anywhere near Blackwood, no acting experience, and he somehow has to stop Kieran from realizing he"s head over heels for him for a second time.

Miles takes a deep breath and wanders down the beach for a bit, enjoying the sight and the smell of the open ocean. He slips his shoes off and cuffs his jeans above his ankles, stepping into the tide as it laps at the sand. The water is cooler than expected, but it"s a nice contrast to the warmth of the sun.

He walks for a while longer, just taking in the beauty of everything; the lush, vibrant trees that grow wildly around everything, the sweet-smelling flowers hanging from branches, with their petals falling to lay atop the sand. Somewhere down the beach, he stumbles across a little Tiki bar in a clearing. He hesitates for a moment, considering what the best course of action would be, but figures he might as well.

Doing his best to brush the sand off his feet, he slips his shoes back on and wanders closer. The place looks like a permanent installation, so maybe the regulars or an employee might know something about Blackwood. Sure, he"s only been here for half an hour at most, but he has to start somewhere.

There are a few tables scattered in the sand outside of the bar, parasols offering shade from the sun. No one is actually at the bar, though, and everyone sitting at the tables looks like part of the film crew, so Miles sidles up to the bar and takes a seat.

The bartender smiles as he sits down before strolling over and leaning against the counter.

"What can I get you?" he asks.

"Something to cool me down?" Miles requests, smiling bashfully. "Not too sweet, though."

The bartender laughs as he pulls bottles from the shelves behind him and a glass from beneath the counter.

"Not too sweet, of course," he says with a grin. "You"re plenty sweet yourself."

Miles nearly groans at that. You"d think a bartender would know some better pickup lines. He bites back an unimpressed laugh and an eye roll and instead leans forward on the bar top with a wide, innocent smile. He can totally lean into the bright-eyed, mystified new guy vibe. He"d rather do that than flirt with some random bartender and get scolded by Octavia or something.

They"d all been told very firmly that they were absolutely not allowed to flirt with, kiss, or sleep with anyone on the island. She didn"t like dealing with PR scandals, and she"d told them all she"d take it out of their paycheck.

"How long have you worked here?" Miles asks, glancing around in assumed awe. "Everything is so pretty! Is this whole island really owned by some billionaire?

The bartender laughs at him softly, kind of condescendingly, actually. He slides Miles a cute little cocktail with two paper umbrellas and three different kinds of fruit skewered on top. Miles takes a sip and does his best not to cringe at how sweet it is.

"I"ve been here about three years," the bartender says, slinging a towel over his shoulder.

Miles takes a sip of his drink to avoid laughing at how pompous he looks.

"Mr. Blackwood owns the island—Desmond Blackwood," he continues. Miles tries to look suitably impressed. "He"s an old money guy, media tycoon. His family started up a bunch of different production companies back in the day, so he"s raking it in now."

Miles hems and haws, raising his brows in interest as the guy talks. He already knows all of this, but at least it"s proving that the bartender is loose-lipped. If he knows anything actually useful, Miles is willing to suffer through an awful cocktail for it.

"Wow," Miles gasps, leaning his head on his hand and fluttering his lashes at the bartender. "You must have so many cool stories about him."

He"s laying it on kind of thick, but the bartender seems to be eating it up. He shrugs and leans in closer to Miles.

"He"s a real private guy. No one sees much of him, really." He draws himself up then and straightens his spine. "Of course, I bartend for all his parties, so I see him pretty regularly."

Miles lets his jaw drop open a bit and hopes he"s not going overboard with his reactions. The bartender seems thrilled with it all, though, so Miles doesn"t think he has to worry too much.

"So he just stays holed up in his mansion all the time?" Miles asks, sliding his gaze off to where he can just barely see the top of the roof of the mansion through the trees. "That sounds so lonely."

The bartender laughs, shaking his head.

"I don"t think there"s a way to be lonely or bored in that place, especially not with that much money," he chuckles. "He did have this super exclusive safari zone built by the mansion, stocked it with all kinds of animals. Mr. Blackwood goes out there sometimes, I guess when he"s bored. Rumor has it that employees who get in trouble get fed to the animals out there."

Miles laughs in response, but his stomach drops. He busies himself with finishing off his cocktail in lieu of responding. He really hopes this guy is just running some awful blackmail ring or something.

He doesn"t think he has it in him to deal with a psycho killer again.