“No, we haven’t been able to find a time that matches both our schedules yet,” Drew said, more annoyed with her than he wanted to be. If felt cheap for him to be upset with his girlfriend for not paying attention to him when he wanted to break up with her. At the same time, he resented having to initiate the conversation at all. Jessica had to know that things were more or less over between them and had been for a while.
“I hope you two can work something out soon,” she said, walking around him and heading for the door. “The sooner you can get that film deal booked, the sooner I’ll be able to use it as leverage to get Judith to set up meetings for me about some of the projects I want to do. I have my eye on a sponsorship with Gucci, and you’re my ace in the hole to get it.”
Drew was floored. He’d known Jessica was ambitious, but he’d never thought she was shallow. Instead of forcing the conversation that needed to happen between then, he just stood there, wondering if her attitude was something new or if she’d always been that way and he’d just missed it.
“Oh, before I forget,” she said coming back to him as soon as he reached the door. She lifted to her toes and gave him a quick kiss. “I missed you,” she said with a smile, then kissed him again before making a beeline for the door.
By the time Drew recovered from his shock enough to say, “Missed you, too,” Jessica was already out the door. All he could do was stand there and wonder what happened.
One thing was certain. Any lingering horniness he’d had after his brief text conversation with Lee was totally gone.
He wanted to text Lee again or call him and talk about what had just happened. He hated feeling vulnerable, and the whole notion that he’d missed how ruthless Jessica was for all the years they’d spent together definitely made him feel vulnerable. But something about calling his fake boyfriend, with whom he’d shared a very real and spectacular orgasm just two nights before, and who he had some seriously unresolved feelings for, didn’t feel right.
There was someone he could call who he trusted with his life, though.
He headed back into his bedroom, pulling his phone from his back pocket. He sat on the end of the bed straight away, toed off his shoes, and dialed Abby.
“Let me guess,” Abby answered without a greeting. “Jessica is back in London.”
“Yes, she is,” Drew said, sighing and rubbing a hand over her face.
“Did she tell you all about Darius Carter?”
“Yep. As soon as I walked through the door, she launched into a whole monologue about her time filming and how great it was and how all sorts of opportunities are about to open up for her because of my relationship with Lee.”
He didn’t need to explain anything more than that. His tone of voice did all the work for him. Abby knew him, and Jessica, well enough to read between all the lines. He skipped right to asking, “So how is your boyfriend these days?”
There was so much more to the question than met the eyes, to the point where Drew felt a slippery feeling in his gut before he could start telling the story.
Abby already knew everything.
“You’ve always known, haven’t you,” he said instead of answering directly.
“Known what?” Abby asked with super-false innocence.
“That I’m—” The words caught in Drew’s throat. He’d barely been able to admit the truth to himself in the last few days. It felt huge to say it out loud.
And that annoyed the hell out of him. He’d always been an ally and a champion of the queer community. He’d played more than one queer character and owed his fame to the community. It felt like a personal failing that he was struggling with his identity instead of embracing it without question.
“Yes, I’ve always known,” Abby said kindly after a long silence. “I knew when we were in high school.”
The unexpected relief of someone understanding something so core about him was more than Drew could have hoped for. “Then why didn’t you tell me?” he demanded with a burst of humor.
Abby laughed. “You weren’t ready,” he said. “You’ve got way too much going on in your life right now. And I always assumed that you just knew you were bi on some level.”
There it was. The secret he hadn’t known he was keeping, out in the open.
He flopped back to lie on the bed, staring at the ceiling. “I really don’t know what to do,” he confessed, both horrified at how vulnerable he felt and excited that he could be so open with someone. “All I know is that I really like Lee and—” He paused, but figured if he was in by a tip, he might as well just thrust all the way in. “We got each other off the other night.”
“Brilliant!” Abby exclaimed, then burst into laughter. “I had a sense that you two would be good together.”
“You’re not at all weirded out about this?” Drew asked. “About me wanting to be with a guy?”
“Are you weirded out?” Abby asked in turn.
“Actually, yeah,” Drew said honestly. “I never thought I’d find myself here.”
“Where is here?” Abby asked frankly.