Written by: Dallas Walsh

"I…I just can't believe that you're actually here," Justin "Leaf" Matthews tells his mother, Jacqueline, as they are getting her settled in the large suite she is renting at the Barracuda Blue. Earlier, Jaqueline surprised Leaf, and Arrow, by arriving at the resort.

Jacqueline chuckles back to her son as she puts her large suite case into the closet. "The truth is, Justin, I didn't want to tell you that I was coming because I know that you would have tried to convince me not to come. But after hearing that you moved out of the home you and Arrow made for each other, I knew I had to come see what was really going on with my son."

Leaf uneasily smiles back to her. For the last few years, Jacqueline has been a big support of his relationship with Arrow; she always felt like they were a good match, and even got on board with their nicknames for each other since they both have the same birthname: Justin. Deep down, however, he knows that part of the reason why Jacqueline has been a supported of the relationship is because of the financial stability that has come with the relationship. Growing up, Leaf wasn't exactly well off, and together, he and Arrow have built a stable life. Jacqueline, especially, has liked seeing how Orvilla has promised Arrow a more powerful position within Meccanica, which means even more money would be rolling in.

When Jacqueline was only 19 years old when she pregnant with Leaf. His father abandoned her, and she was left raising Justin on his own. She went from one waitressing job to another until she was able to land an administrative assistant role to a CEO of a company was creating technology that helped create the first smart phone. Of course, this meant that the CEO, Davidson Matthews, became incredibly wealthy, which is why Jacqueline pursed a relationship with him. Within a few weeks, they were engaged, and they were married within a few months. At the time, Justin was in high school, and working towards gaining a scholarship with tennis to get into college. Justin was thrilled that Davidson and Jacqueline married as he finally felt like he had a family. As a result, Davidson formally adopted Justin to be his son, which is why he also has the same sur name. However, Justin has been very proud of not taking too much money from his parents as he wanted to work his way into the world on his own, which is why he was thrilled to get the tennis coaching position after his knee injury cut his own tennis career short.

Leaf nervously chuckles back to his mother. "I am not sure that there is much to tell," he tells her, finally breaking the silence between them. "Some relationships are not meant to be."

"If that is true, then how do you explain this?" Jacqueline asks him as she opens her phone and shows him a picture of the cover of the Hawaiian Hacker, which exposed Leaf and Liam's affair. "How could you sleep with another man behind Arrow's back?"

"There's more to the story than what meets the eye," Leaf explains to her. "It's a long, and rather dark, story."

"I am here to support you," Jacqueline comes up to her son and grabs his hand. "Whatever you need, Leaf, I am here for you. So, how about you go down stairs and grab us a table at Café Tropical, order us a bottle of wine, I'll freshen up and join you?"

"Sounds like a plan, Mom."

/\/\/\

Leaf moves into the Café and sees an open table. He makes a beeline for the table but is intersected by Liam, who feels his blood boil at the sight of the man that he slept with recently. Liam is still reeling over the fact that he heard Leaf and Arrow discussing Orvilla's plan; this means, that Leaf knew about her plan to get him into a sex scandal. What Liam doesn't know, is how involved he really is.

"Liam, uh, hi," Leaf gulps back to him. He hasn't seen Leaf since the night of the gala as he has purposely avoided him at the Thornton mansion, where he has been staying.

"We need to talk," Liam explains to him. "I…I heard you last night at the gala."

Leaf arches his eyebrow back to him. "What do you mean by that? What did you hear?"

"You and Arrow," Liam begins to tell him before he turns and points to a spot on the pool deck. "You two were talking right there. And you know what? You admitted to knowing about Orvilla's plan, Leaf! You knew that my Aunt was plotting against me, and my siblings, to stay in control."

"I…I can explain," Leaf tells him. "I know what it seems like."

"It seems like you came on to me because you had an agenda! You fucked me so you could film it, sell it to the Hacker, and ruin my life!"

"No, no, no," Leaf pulls Liam off into a corner so no other guests will hear their conversation. "You have it all wrong. I…I knew that Arrow wanted me to seduce you, but I had no idea about the camera. You have to believe me, Liam. Part of the reason that I am so furious with Arrow is because I have felt like our privacy was violated."

"It was!" Liam huffs back to him. He looks back at Leaf and senses that he is telling the truth. He has known Leaf for some time and feels like he can sense it. "But…God help me, but I believe you."

"Thank God," Leaf breathes a sigh of relief. "Look, my mother showed up unexpectedly and I'm having a drink with her, but I think we should continue this conversation and clear the air between us? Let's meet in an hour or so?"

"I'd like that," Liam nods back to him. "And this time, we are both completely honest, okay?"

"Absolutely."

/\/\/\

Justin "Arrow" Williams steps off the elevator on the third floor of the Barracuda Blue and heads straight for the CEO office. He has to talk to Orvilla because his life has gone from bad to worse and he isn't sure how much more he can take it. He hates that Leaf has moved out of their cabin and into the Thornton mansion; Leaf isn't even willing to discuss the idea of getting back together.

"Morning," he announces as he opens the door to the office and he sees Orvilla sitting behind her large desk. "Anything I need to know about with the resort today?"

Orvilla looks up from her laptop as she takes her large glasses off. "No, business as usual. Anything you need to inform me of?"

"Nothing that I can't handle," Arrow replies to her as he pours himself a cup of coffee. "There is something that I need from you, however."

"Yes? What is it, Justin?"

"My relationship with Leaf is a disaster," he turns around and sighs heavily to her. "I know you told me that I just need to give Leaf time and space, but it doesn't seem to be working. He has moved out and doesn't want to talk to me."

"Oh Justin," Orvilla comes up to him and puts her hand on his shoulder. "You and Leaf have been together a while now. Maybe take this time to see if there are any other fish in the sea?"

"You want me to date other men?" Arrow asks her in shock. "That's your solution?"

"I do not believe there is a simple solution here," Orvilla replies to him. "The fact is, I still believe that Leaf just needs time to realize what he is missing without you. And in the meantime, there's no reason why you can't have some fun of your own. You know, burn off some of this pent-up tension that you have."

"I want this to be corrected," Arrow tells Orvilla. "You and I need to come up with a concrete plan to make this right once and for all, and that is something you're going to have to do for me, considering everything I have done for you."

/\/\/\

About an hour later, Liam moves back into Café Tropical as he is looking to finish his conversation with Leaf. He sees Leaf sitting alone at a table, so he approaches his former tennis coach.

"Hey, are you still with your Mom?"

Leaf looks up from the beer that is in front of him. "She just went back to her suite," Leaf tells him. "She's exhausted from her travel."

"I bet," Liam says as he sits across from him. "I'm looking forward to meeting her, actually."

"Oh yea?" Leaf asks back with a chuckle. "She can be a lot to handle sometimes, but I love her."

"You're lucky to have her," Liam replies. "You know my history with Kymberlynne."

Leaf chuckles back to him. "That I do," he nods to him. "So, you said earlier that you believe me. Is that still the case? You don't believe that I knew about the camera filming us when we had sex?"

"I believe you," Liam nods. "I could tell the way that you looked at me; I've known you for a long time, I trust you, Leaf."

"Good," Leaf licks his lips together. "Because I feel like we are this together."

"Although, you did agree to seduce me," Liam reminds him as Leaf feels his cheeks flush with embarrassment.

"I mean," he gulps back to him. "When Arrow presented the idea of fucking you, I can't deny that I was interested."

"I could tell," Liam winks back to him. "I don't know what the future holds, but I do know that I was attracted to you."

"Was? As in past tense?" Leaf asks him with a chuckle.

Liam leans over and kisses Liam on the lips, just as Arrow walks in and sees them. He quickly bolts out the café, furious with what he just witnessed.

"I guess it's not just in the past," Liam tells him as their lips part. "It's still very much in the present."

/\/\/\

A short time later, Arrow is in the gym using the punching bag. After he saw Liam and Leaf share a kiss, he wanted to come to the gym to blow off some steam. He is furious that he has lost Leaf because of this plan that Orvilla came up with; he knows the reasons behind it, but he still hates that it has gone this far. And now, that Leaf is kissing Liam on his own will, is a sign that he might have lost him forever.

He throws another uppercut at the bag just as Leaf walks into the gym, as he just finished a tennis practice with one of the guests. Leaf pauses when he sees Arrow grab the bag to stop it from swinging back and forth. The former lovers lock eyes with one another.

"What are you doing in here?" Arrow asks Leaf quickly.

"I just finished a practice with a guest. Mr. Platten from suite 403," Leaf reveals to him.

"Oh right, I remember him planning that with the front desk," Arrow tells him.

"You needed to blow off some steam, I take it?" Leaf asks him back. "It's not often you come in here."

"After what I saw earlier, yea, I did."

"What did you see?"

"You and Liam," Arrow admits to him. "You were kissing in Café Tropical. All this talk that it was just an one-time thing and nothing is going on between you two was all a load of bullshit."

Leaf nervously chuckles back to him. "I am free to kiss whomever I want," he informs Arrow. "In case you have forgotten, I ended our relationship because of what you did, Arrow. So don't stand there and act self-righteous with me. Am I with Liam? No, but am I attracted to him? Yea, I am. But whatever happens, it's been me and Liam. So do me a favor, and mind your own business. And remember, you created this, so if you're looking for someone to blame, take a damn long hard look in the mirror, Arrow."

/\/\/\

The following day, Jacqueline is sitting on a lounger by the pool in a bright red bikini. She wants to spend the day lounging so she can start to feel like she is on a vacation. Her mind, however, is racing about what she saw yesterday. She and Leaf had caught up at the Café Tropical before she excused herself to retire back to her suite. Once she was there, however, she realized that she left her small clutch purse at the table, so she went back down to the restaurant, but she paused when she saw Arrow peering in the Café. She managed to look over his shoulder and she saw Leaf kissing another man, the same man that were in the tabloid photos, Liam.

She knows that her son has always taken a lot of pride in the fact that he hasn't accepted a lot of money from her or Davidson and she has admired how he and Arrow have built a strong life together. That being said, she knows that Leaf gets into a serious relationship with Liam Thornton, his entire future will change and be secured.

As she takes a sip of her pina colada, she realizes that she has to change her tune about her desire to have Leaf and Arrow reunite; she would like nothing more than to know that her son's future is secure, and Liam is the man to do that for him.

"Morning, seems like you're making yourself a home," Leaf says as he comes up to her as he is wearing white shorts and a polo shirt. "I have some tennis lessons to give this morning."

"It is best to do those in the morning before it gets too hot, I suppose."

"I get booked through out the day, it is more important that I stay hydrated," he tells her as he sits next to her. "How was your first night at the Barracuda Blue?"

"Very well," she nods back to him. "I can see why this place is one of the most expensive resorts in the world. Every last detail was planned perfectly."

"It is pretty magical," Leaf agrees with her. "I am lucky to be working here, that's for sure."

"You know," she looks over at her son before she takes another sip of her morning cocktail. "I saw something yesterday completely by accident by I haven't been able to stop thinking about it."

"Oh no," Leaf chuckles to her. "What did you see? Surely not a cockroach."

"Oh god, no," she giggles back to him. "After our drink, I retired to my suite. But when I got there, I realized I forgot my clutch, so I came back down to get it, only I saw you and Liam kissing."

"Oh God," Leaf groans back to her. "Arrow also saw the kiss and he was not happy."

She tilts her head back to him. "I can understand why; he is trying to get you back. But, Justin, what is that you want? Do you want Arrow back, or are you interested in being with Liam?"

"I, uh, I don't know," Leaf admits to his mother. "Everything has happened so quickly, I feel like my head is spinning, if I am honest with you."

"I can understand that," Jacqueline says as she sits up in the lounger. "But, you have to start thinking about your future, Leaf. And, do you want my opinion?"

"Of course."

"Liam could be the key to you having a safe and secure future," she whispers to him.

He arches his eyebrow back to her. "What are you talking about?"

"He's a Thornton," she whispers back to him. "That comes with a certain level of comfort. No different than me and Davidson."

"You want me with Liam because of his money?" Leaf asks her in shock.

"You don't have to answer me right now but I do want you think about this," she informs him. "You might never have to worry about working or losing another job ever again, Leaf."

/\/\/\

In the locker room off the gym, Marco takes off his shirt and throws it into the locker. He then pulls down his jeans and puts them into the locker as well. He pulls out his red lifeguard shorts and bends over to put them on.

Just then, Kelvin walks into the locker room and sees his crush bent over putting on his shorts. Marco's soft member and ball sack can be seen which causes Kelvin to get a little hot under the collar.

He sets his bag down which causes Marco to realize that he's no longer alone. He pulls up his shorts quickly and turns around to see Kelvin.

"Kelvin," he gulps back to him. "I…I didn't realize that you were in here."

"Yea, sorry," Kelvin nods back to him. "I got here early to use the gym before my shift begins. I'm guessing you're about to start your first shift?"

"You guessed it," he tells him. "Guessing you enjoyed that view?"

Kevlin feels his cheeks flush back to him. "I can't deny that I didn't. But don't worry, you've made it very clear that we can only be friends because you are holding out hope for you and Liam."

"Ugh, I don't know about that," Marco reveals to him as he puts the rest of his belongings into the locker. He grabs his sunglasses and puts them on before he closes the locker for the final time.

"Oh? What has happened?"

"You haven't heard?" Marco asks him as Kelvin shrugs back to him. "Everyone is talking about it; apparently, Liam and Leaf kissed yesterday at Café Tropical. I'm not sure that their affair was a onetime thing."

"Oh," Kelvin looks back at him. "I'm sorry. I know how much you wanted to be with Liam. But…I don't know, maybe it's just not meant to be?"

"Yea, maybe," Marco quips back. "Anyways, I have to get to the pool deck. Have a good work out man."

"Thanks, stud."

Once the door to the gym is closed, Kelvin feels the bulge in his pants start to grow as he thinks about seeing Marco nude and knowing that he might have a chance with him after all.

"I think I'll skip the workout and head to a stall to take of this instead," he whispers to himself as he rushes away, desperate to unleash his throbbing member.

/\/\/\

Arrow moves into the main office at the Barracuda Blue and breathes a sigh of relief when he realizes that Orvilla hasn't arrived for the day. He didn't sleep very well the previous night as his mind was racing over the fact that he saw Liam and Leaf share a kiss; on top of that, when he confronted Leaf, he told him that he could be with whomever he wanted. He feels like he is losing Leaf with every second that passes.

Which is why he came up with a plan. He knows that it is a risky thing to do but he feels like this might be his last, and only, chance to save his relationship with Leaf. He moves behind Orvilla's desk and picks up the phone that rests on the desk. He, then, looks at his IPhone and dials the number that he sees on the screen.

"Uh, yes, good morning," he says when a person answers the phone. "I'd…I'd like to speak to Mr. Raj Gill, please."

Just then, the door to the office opens and Orvilla appears. She, immediately, arches her eyebrow at the sight of Arrow behind her desk but she pauses when she hears him on the phone.

"Yes, Mr. Gill," he says into the phone. "I know this isn't common practice, but I had to speak to you about some information that I have."

There is another pause while Raj responds to Arrow. "This is regarding Mr. Liam Thornton and a Mr. Justin Matthews; you had suspended them from the tour following their romantic involvement."

"Yes, I realize that they have told that nothing else was going on between them, but yesterday, at the Barracuda Blue, they shared a kiss; multiple people would be able to verify this as witnesses. So, Mr. Gill, I do believe that there is more going on between them than what you first realized and I thought I should let you know before this makes your tour look worse than what it already does."

At the door, Orvilla gets a grin on her face. She is thrilled that Arrow is, finally, making a bold move to try to get Leaf back. It is certainly something she would do, so she feels like a part of her is rubbing off on him.

He hangs up the phone and looks over at Orvilla. "You…you heard that?"

"I did," Orvilla smiles as she moves closer to the desk. "And Justin, I am so very proud of you."

"You…you are?"

"I am," she says as she moves around to him and pulls him into a hug. "You're finally making things happen instead of waiting for them to happen. This is exactly what I would have done."

"Thank you," they exit their embrace. "I just hope it pays off."

"When Liam realizes that his career is over, he will realize that it is Leaf's fault and he will want nothing more to do with him. And then…"

"Leaf will come home to me."

"Exactly!" Orvilla clasps her hands together. "Let's have a glass of champagne to celebrate! Oh, this is simply marvelous!"

/\/\/\

The following day, Liam is packing back and forth in the living room of the Thornton mansion. He recalls how the previous afternoon, he got a call from Raj Gill, who requested to see both him and Leaf. The last time they saw Raj, he suspended both them from the tour; neither one had heard from him since, so the fact that they are getting a call from Raj now leaves Liam feeling worried about what could have happened.

"Hey, any word from Raj yet?" Leaf asks as he moves into the living room.

"None," Liam turns to face him. "What could he want? It wasn't that long ago that he suspended us."

"I have no idea," Leaf shrugs his shoulders. "Maybe the initial investigation is over and they are lifting the suspension?"

"Oh God, I would love that," Liam tells him as he moves closer to Leaf. They look into one another eyes for a moment and are about to kiss when Kymberlynne enters.

"Sonia told me that Raj Gill is coming by this morning," she announces, interrupting the gaze between the two men. "What does he want, Liam? Are you going to be returning to the tour?"

"Geez Kymberlynne, if I knew that, we wouldn't be having this meeting, would we?" Liam quips back to her.

"Very funny," she turns to him after she pours a cup of coffee. "Anyways, I am here to support you, with whatever you need."

Liam rolls his eyes back to her. "I really wish you would just go," he admits to her. "The last time Raj was here, you almost ruined everything with that mouth of yours."

"I promise, I'll keep to myself."

Before anyone can say anything else, Sonia emerges at the doorway. "Pardon me, but a Mr. Raj Gill is here."

"Thank you, please let him in," Kymberlynne responds to the maid.

Within a few seconds, Raj Gill is standing in the living room. He looks at Kymberlynne with an uneasy smile before he turns his attention to Liam and Leaf, who look at one another with a gulp.

"Mr. Gill, thanks for stopping by. What is this all about? Our suspension?" Liam asks him quickly.

"Yes, yes it does," Raj nods back to him. "Yesterday morning, we received an anonymous tip that you two were seeing kissing at the Barracuda Blue. Now, this came as a complete shock to me since last time I was here you both indicated that there was nothing further going on between you two."

"There…there isn't," Leaf quickly stutters back to him. "This is all a huge misunderstanding!"

"He's right," Liam tries to tell him quickly.

"I'm afraid, with the number of witnesses that collaborated this story, I have no choice…neither one of you will be welcomed back to the tour due to violation of this policy. I am very sorry, but by end of day tomorrow, all of your information and statistics will be removed from our website. I wish you nothing but the best of luck in your future endeavors. "

Raj turns to leave but Kymberlynne rushes after him in a scurry. "Mr. Gill, please there must be something that I can do to change your mind…"

Once Kymberlynne and Raj are in the foyer, Liam and Leaf turn to one another. "This is just fucking great," Liam huffs back to him. "At first I thought that this suspension was temporary, but now we've been kicked out! What the hell are we going to do?"

"Okay," Leaf tries to remain calm. "Not the news we wanted, obviously. But, look, I am still a tennis coach at the Barracuda Blue. I make a good earning there."

"And? What about me?"

Leaf moves closer to him as he thinks about what Jacqueline told him. "Well, this means that you and I, well," he leans in and kisses Liam on the lips. "We could try that?"

"I like that," Liam softens his tone as he looks back at Leaf. "But I still need a job. A passion."

"Meccanica," Leaf replies to him. "You could run your family's company."

/\/\/\

A short time later, Leaf is rushing out to the pool deck to find his mother, who is still lounging by the pool. She has, since, put a sarong around herself to keep herself from burning, but she has refreshed her cocktail.

"You're still out here?" Leaf asks as he sits next to his mother on a free lounger. "I thought you might have went inside to escape the sun."

"I had the umbrella open for a while," Jacqueline admits to him. "I want to go home with a nice tan to show that I was on a vacation."

"That's fair," he chuckles back to her. "I…something has happened that you should know about."

Jacqueline arches her eyebrow as Kelvin appears close to them. He ends up staying within ear shot so he can hear the conversation unfold.

"What's happened Justin?"

"Someone saw Liam and I kiss yesterday and called Raj Gill to inform him."

"Who is Raj Gill?" Jacqueline asks him quickly.

"Oh sorry, you won't know the name," Leaf shakes his head back to her. "He's the head of the human resources on the tennis tour. Because Liam and I told him that nothing was happening when the Hawaiian Hacker posted it's story, we were suspended for three months. But since someone told him about the kiss, we aren't welcome back to the tour."

"What?" Jacqueline gasps back to him, as Kelvin arches his eyebrow behind him. "What are you going to do now?"

"Well, I have my job here, at the Barracuda Blue. And Liam, he could, potentially, run Meccanica, or at least have a position within the company," Leaf explains to his mother.

"You know what this means, don't you?" Jacqueline looks at him with intent. "Our idea that you should pursue Liam to secure your future, it's even more important now. You have to be with Liam, Justin. You must make this relationship work."

Behind them, Kelvin stands in shock. He can't believe that Leaf might be pursuing Liam for financial gain. He, also, has no idea what he should do with this information.

/\/\/\

A short time later, Kelvin is moving back into the Barracuda Blue main lobby. His mind is racing over what he just discovered. He still can't believe that Leaf might be pursuing Liam for financial gain. What's more jarring, is that he hadn't realized that Leaf and Liam were shunned from the tennis tour all together.

He races towards the staff room, which is located behind the front desk, but ends up running into Marco, who was headed to the pool. The collision makes them stutter back from one another.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry," Kelvin manages to say once he catches his balance. "Are you okay, Marco?"

"Yea, I'm fine," Marco manages to say as he fixes his shirt. "Where you headed in such a rush? What is going on with you, Kelvin?"

Kelvin gulps back to him. He and Marco have shared a lot of the last few months, including helping uncover the truth about the source at the tabloid, which helped Liam. That, sort of, backfired against him, however, as Marco and Liam kissed after. Suddenly, in that moment, Kelvin realizes that if he doesn't tell anyone what he heard, he could have a way to be with Marco. If Liam and Leaf become serious, it would leave Marco single, and left to be pursued.

"Carson asked to see me," Kelvin lies to him quickly. "I was just heading to his office to see him."

"Ah, okay, as long it was nothing more serious."

"Nope," Kelvin shakes his head back to him. "Nothing serious at all."