The bell rings again, and I stare at his face through the screen. Still so handsome, so perfect. And I stare too long because before I know what’s happening, he’s punching in the code to the house. The one I didn’t change. The lock beeps and disengages and he pushes the door open. His eyes widen when he sees me standing feet from him.
“Oh, I—” he starts.
“Sorry. I was in the other room,” I say quickly.
“It’s okay,” he says simply, stepping right up to me. “But we need to talk.”
He’s exuding confidence… which is odd for him. Don’t get me wrong, it looks good on him, but what does this mean for me?
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” I step back, trying to hold his gaze but it hurts. So, I blink and stare at a spot on the wall past his head.
“We do, Harmon. I know why you did it.”
I shake my head. “No, I—”
“I heard Oliver talking on the phone today. I don’t know all the details, but I know enough. It has something to do with him, right? He threatened you?”
“Cassius,” I breathe out. “This isn’t your problem. Please don’t get involved.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Harmon. This is my problem. Because I love you, and I am not giving up on this. Tell me what happened. Let me help.”
“It doesn’t matter. There’s nothing to be done.”
“You’re wrong!” He throws his arms up, letting out a humorless laugh. “Harmon, you’ve done so much for me since we’ve met.” He takes a step forward, toward me, putting his hand on my chest. The heat of his palm burns through my shirt, searing my skin. “Now let me help you. Please.”
“There is nothing you can do,” I state firmly, but my voice shakes.
“If you think you’re protecting me, you’re not. All you’re doing is hurting me.”
My chest aches. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
The words spill out of me.
“Then tell me what is going on so we can fix this.Together.” His eyes plead with me, but I can’t make my mouth work. This is too dangerous. There is too much at stake.
“We can’t do this,” I say, pushing his arm off me. It takes everything in me to do it, but I have to. I can’t think straight with him touching me.
His brow furrows. “Let me guess,” he says in a harsh tone. “I pieced a lot of it together as I drove here. Stop me when I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure I’m solid.” He steps back a safe distance so we can see each other fully. “Someone, I’m guessing Oliver, threatened to expose your sexuality, which he said would ruin your company. And see, I thought that was enough at first, because of everything you told me about your childhood. I can see how that would affect you, but there had to be more. It couldn’t bejustthat. So, then I came to the conclusion: it involved me. Oliver found something out about us, right? And not us as in dating, but before. The contract. He threatened to out you? Tell everyone what you do in your spare time? Drag me through the mud, too?”
My breaths are coming in shallow pants and my head is dizzy.
“I’m going to be sick,” I mutter.
The disappointment and confidence in his tone is… new. I’ve never heard that from him before, but it’s what I deserve. I let him down. I did this. I failed him, and I did it willingly. I could have chosen to fight, but instead, I rolled over and took it.
“Am I close?” he asks, his voice raising.
I say nothing, and that’s answer enough.
He takes a step toward me again, lowering his voice. “Did you ever, for even a second, consider what coming out might mean for your company?”
The emotion there… it’s raw, deep. He’s hurt. So hurt and it’s all because of me.
“Yes,” I blurt. “That’s why I had to stop this.”
“And I’m going out on a limb here and saying that every scenario you came up with was negative, right?” he snaps. “You’d lose customers. Money. Investors, too, maybe? Employees?”
With each point, he steps toward me and I step back until I’m at the wall.