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“Anytime, Peanut.”
Giving her father a kiss on the cheek, Skylar headed upstairs to get ready for her lunch date with Blake. Within the hour, she’d changed into a T-shirt, shorts, and sandals and let her hair down. They were meeting at Straight to Ale, and since they allowed dogs on the patio, Skylar decided to bring Atlas with her.
Blake was waiting on them when they arrived at the restaurant.
“Hey, Blake.”
“Skylar, hey!” They quickly hugged as Blake petted Atlas’s head. “Hey, Atlas.”
“I hope it’s okay that I brought him.”
“Of course it is. I’m sure you’ve missed him.”
Skylar followed Blake around to the patio entrance as they sat at a small table. Blake waved at the host to let them know they were out there. Atlas lay down on the cool concrete with a loud thud. They placed their drink and food orders quickly—iced teas and burgers for each of them—and leaned back into their chairs.
“So, how are things going with the tour? Are you excited?”
Despite the fact Skylar had previously told herself she wasn’t going to talk about Elena with anyone, she felt the floodgates start to open. She leaned across the table slightly as Blake did the same. When she spoke, she kept her voice low.
“Can I tell you something?”
“Of course,” Blake whispered back. “But why are we whispering?”
Skylar sat up straighter and nervously laughed. “I don’t know. I always feel like someone is listening.”
“I get that.”
“So, you know Elena, right? Elena Cruz?”
“Your bandmate?” Blake didn’t give her time to answer. “I mean, yeah, I know of her, but I don’t know her know her. Why?”
“Well, see,” Skylar inhaled sharply, “we kinda had a thing back in the day.”
“What?” Blake gasped before lowering her voice. “Holy shit. I mean, I knew there were rumors, but I didn’t think they were true. I would never speculate about that, just so you know.”
“I know. I’m not worried about that. I just really want and need to talk about this with someone, and I feel you get the whole being in the spotlight thing.”
“Boy, do I ever.”
“I don’t know how you deal with it. Especially not with Alexis and the kids.” Blake and her wife had an eight-year-old daughter as well as two twin babies. “I can’t imagine.”
“It’s not easy, but it’s worth it. I also haven’t been working as much since Alexis had the babies, so that’s helped to take the spotlight off me.”
“And here I am about to jump smack into the spotlight again.” Skylar sighed. “I just hate living under the microscope and always having to say and do the right thing so I don’t risk my career. That’s why Elena and I split. She didn’t want to come out of the closet, and I couldn’t force her, you know?”
“Oh, man, Skylar. I’m sorry. I had no idea.”
“That’s why Maine Event split up. I told her I wouldn’t stay in the closet for her, and she wouldn’t be out for me. I couldn’t keep doing that. It hurt. Hell, it still hurts. And being back with her now,” her voice trailed off slightly, “I don’t know how I’m going to make it through the tour.”
Blake kept her voice low as she asked, “Have you all, um, hooked up since you’ve been back with the band?”
“No.” Skylar firmly shook her head. “We have kissed, though. But we both agreed to keep our distance. Elena’s still not out, and I can’t go back into the closet for her. I know what that did to me then, and I won’t make that mistake twice. At least, I hope not.”
Blake’s eyes softened. “You still love her.”
Skylar blinked a few times. How had Blake picked up on that fact so quickly?
“I can tell by the way your eyes light up anytime you hear her name.”
