“Great,” Jessica went on, beautifully oblivious. “So, we all totally need to go out tonight. The rumors have reared their ugly heads since I got back here, and we all need to show the press that the three of us are besties and that you and Drew are as strong as ever.”
Lee immediately understood all the reasons Drew had sounded tense. He felt the same twist of resentment over the way both of them were being used to feed social media. But he still answered, “Yeah, that’s great. Just tell me where you want to meet and when.”
Jessica used about eight times as many words as she needed to tell him she’d made a reservation for them at one of the hottest, Michelin-starred restaurants in London. It was the kind of place most people had to make reservations months in advance for, but she’d managed to score a table for three at seven that evening.
As soon as she gave Lee all the details, she handed the phone back to Drew.
“I’m sorry about her,” Drew said in a low voice.
“It’s okay,” Lee said. “I can’t say I know Jessica like you know her, but I think I get where she’s coming from, at least.”
“I don’t know if I actually know her after all,” Drew said, sounding tired and stressed out.
That sent Lee’s protectiveness into overdrive. “I don’t want to step in where I’m not needed, but do you, er, need any help…telling her things?”
“I might,” Drew admitted. Lee felt like he would have said more, but he could hear Jessica trying to talk to him. “Sorry. I’ve got to deal with this. We’ll see you in a couple hours.”
The call ended, and Lee went right to work figuring out what to wear to the sort of restaurant where they were going. He’d had to rethink his whole wardrobe once all the pictures of him started showing up online.
Thinking of clothes made him think of Dan. His brother would have gotten the biggest kick out of the craziness that Lee’s life had become since dating Drew. Dan had been gay, too, and much more into the club scene than Lee had ever been. He would have known exactly how Lee should dress and deport himself for the press.
Maybe Dan would have made the perfect bestie for Jessica.
Thoughts of his brother combined with concern for Drew put Lee in a weird mood. By the time he arrived at the restaurant, he wasn’t sure he would have the appetite for high-level gourmet food. Or for public attention, but Jessica had other plans, of course.
“You two need to sit closer,” she hissed over the table once they were seated. “You’re boyfriends, after all. You need to really look like it.”
“Um—” Lee just looked at Drew, who had seemed more exhausted than usual and was wearing just a hint of concealer to hide the dark circles under his eyes.
“Just do it,” Drew said quietly, looking around the restaurant. They’d been seated near enough to a window that people were pausing on the street to stare at them.
“Are you sure we shouldn’t ask for a different table?” Lee asked, glancing from Drew to Jessica.
“Absolutely not.” Jessica put her foot down. “The world needs to see you two together, and to see me being the supportive best friend.”
I frowned. Jessica couldn’t be all bad, but the way she talked about things, the way she interacted with Drew, felt more like she was playing out a script for some rom-com instead of dealing with real life.
“Are you comfortable with this?” I asked Drew.
“Yeah, it’s fine,” Drew lied with a not particularly convincing smile.
“He’s fine,” Jessica snapped. “Don’t worry about him. Just look cozy and in love and everything will work out the way it’s supposed to.”
Lee stopped just short of asking, “Supposed to for who?”
The good news was that the food was as delicious as Lee had always imagined fare at a Michelin-starred restaurant would be. Better still, Drew seemed to loosen up after the first course and really got into the pageantry of how each dish was presented as the meal went on.
“Stuff like this is insane,” he said, cutting into a glazed rib that was so tender he could have cut it with the side of his fork. “I’ve always thought haute cuisine is fascinating, and after all the research I did forChoppedI fell in love with concept menus even more. But this is out of this world.”
“Did you get a chance to eat at Michelin restaurants during that filming?” I asked, genuinely curious and wanting to have a real conversation.
“No, he didn’t,” Jessica answered, sounding a little sullen. “I tried to get him reservations back then, because I knew he loves this kind of thing, but this is the first time I’ve actually been able to get a table.”
Lee considered that. It was tempting to cast Jessica as the flighty, selfish girlfriend who only wanted Drew for what he could do for her, but at moments like these, when she revealed a caring side, it was harder to dismiss her. Which made it all themore difficult to know what was growing between him and Drew behind her back.
The meal was great, and the entire evening might have been able to be classified as lovely, but things went pear-shaped as soon as they left the restaurant.
“Oh my gosh, are you Drew Oberlin?” a woman who looked to be part of some sort of hen party approached them on the sidewalk.