“It’s like a cabin retreat,” he says. “With a large security detail.”
“Where’s Kai?” My eyes dart across the background, but he’s nowhere to be found.
He assesses me for a few beats and clears his throat. “He’s outside. He’s doing okay. I’m teaching him how to fish.”
“Kai doesn’t fish,” I say. A pang of anxiety courses through me. Kai would feel bad for the fish, or the bait. Which means Asher’s hiding something. “Asher, tell me the truth. How is he?”
“We’re hanging in there. His grandpa is keeping an eye on him.” His face falls. “Don’t worry. My team will fix this.”
There’s a hint of resignation in his voice, and I hear the part that he doesn’t say. That his career as he knows it is over. No amount of money can buy his reputation back.
Fridayjust won an award, and Rosa told me that Asher hasn’t been invited to attend the ceremony with the rest ofthe cast. He’s been getting tons of hate online—from people who think he got together with Kai while Kai and I were still dating, which caused us to break up, but also from people who are just straight-up homophobic.
The studio behind the show might be worried about how this will affect ratings, and whether or not fans will boycott it. I wouldn’t be surprised if his character gets mysteriously killed next season. They won’t be able to pull it off, though. Rosa says she would threaten to quit.
“I’m going to make this right,” I say, attempting to swallow down my guilt.
This is all my fault. And I hate that I’m not doing anything.
“You can’t,” he says. A shadow crosses his features. “Sasha, don’t do anything rushed. Don’t tell them about the PR. Remember what I told you, that if you show them the real you, you’ll disappear? It serves no purpose for you to take the fall to save us. You’ll just doom your career.”
It’s exactly like what Marissa said, and yet—
“I don’t think that’s true,” I say. “I like the real you. And I like the real me.”
I don’t like Sassy. I wish she’d disappear.
“I like the real you, too.” Asher’s expression softens.
“Other people would like the real you, too,” I say. I like the Asher who spent the holidays baking cookies with my sister. The Asher who would make meal plans for his cat. The Asher who’s tender and a little shy and in love with my best friend.
“That’s… optimistic. Considering our current circumstances.”
“That’s not therealyou they’re seeing. You’re not a home-wrecker. Kai’s not a cheater,” I say, but Asher responds with a tired smile. “I’m sorry about all of this. It’s not just the fake rumors. You got outed in the worst possible way.”
“Well, it’s not the way I wanted to come out, but I would have done it eventually. Not because I care what people think, but because I don’t want to hide Kai.” He sighs. “I wish things were different. But it is what it is. Don’t overthink it.”
“If I hadn’t agreed to a PR relationship in the first place…”
“I told you. There’s nothing wrong with PR relationships,” he says. “And if you hadn’t agreed to it, I would have never met you and Kai. So, I, for one, am happy that you did.”
His words go down my throat like hot chocolate on a cold winter morning, warming me up on the inside. I guess I hadn’t thought of it that way. If Kai and I had never pretended to date, he and Asher would have never met.
“Even if it cost you your reputation?” I ask.Even if I ruined everything?Asher frowns, not understanding. “If you knew how it was going to go down, would you—”
“I’d do it all over again,” he says without a glimmer of hesitation. “He’s worth it. You’re worth it.”
I sink back against my pillows, breathing against the knot in my chest. I don’t know much about Asher’s love language, butI’d get canceled just to meet you all over againspeaks volumes about how he feels about Kai.
“How did they get that picture of you and Kai anyway? I know you’re careful.” The air in my lungs stills. I’ve been meaning to ask him, because there’s no way Asher would slip up like that.
He tenses, his expression darkening.
“I was going to call you when I knew for sure.” His eyes roam over my face, as if parsing something. “You’re right. Kai and I were careful. There was no one in that hallway when we kissed. My team looked into it. Someone hid a phone in a trash can, and that’s how they got the footage. Someone gave them a tip about where we were going to be, and they orchestrated the rest. Someone paid them to be there.”
“Someone paid for paparazzi to follow you? Wait, how did they know where you were?”
Kai went to New York to talk to Mia. I assume they flew private. Asher’s security team could have given them away, but his parents would know if it had been an inside job. It’s possible someone spotted them on the street, but how could the paparazzi get there so quickly? How did they even know Kai and Asher were dating?
