“You,” Obiora confessed, a little shyly. “I’m in love with you.”
“Oh,” Ejiro gasped. His pupils blew wide. He was trembling. It felt like he was flying. “Obiora,” he said desperately, clutching his other hand like it was a lifeline. The hand Obiora had on his cheek burned like a brand.
“You don’t have to say anything,” Obiora reassured quickly, his thumb still stroking. “I just—going out with Sophia today just really cemented it for me; I don’t want to go on any more dates with people unless they’re with you.”
Ejiro felt himself flush from his head to his toes. He felt like he was floating high above the clouds, so high he didn’t ever want to come back down.
It was time to be brave.
“If you’re leaving, then I’m leaving, too,” he blurted, heart pounding.
“Ejiro—” Obiora began, a little worriedly, even though his eyes were bright with joy.
“No,” Ejiro interrupted, letting Obiora’s obvious happiness spur him on. He tried to shift closer, but there was nowhere to go unless he twisted his body away, and he didn’t want to take his eyes off Obiora’s for one second. He settled for squeezing Obiora’s hand instead, using his other hand to cup over Obiora’s hand on his cheek, curling his fingers possessively over it. “If you aren’t here, then I don’t have any reason to stay either. For some time now, probably since Venice—or even longer than that—” He laughed a little self-consciously. “I’ve only been here because of you.”
“Fuck,” Obiora whispered. He was staring at Ejiro’s mouth, his eyes burning. Ejiro automatically licked his lips, biting back a sound of lust when Obiora’s eyes followed the movement, his own tongue darting out to mimic it.
Obiora sounded hoarse, distracted as he muttered, “Wait—we have to—we have to think about this.” He blinked, shook his head, and tore his eyes away from Ejiro’s mouth and back to his eyes. “I didn’t tell them who you were. If you decide to quit out of the blue right now, then everyone is going to put two and two together. Is that what you want?”
Ejiro’s first instinct was to say yes, but Obiora shook his head, stopping him.
“Think about it, Ejiro. Even if the episodes won’t come out for a few months after this, it’ll still be on National TV—on Netflicks, for that matter. You’ll essentially be coming out to the world. Are you … are you okay with that?”
Ejiro froze. The thought filled him with bone-chilling fear. He hadn’t even thought about coming out to Ajiri and Blessing, to his friends at home—oh God, his mum.
But some part of him must’ve known—why else would he have wanted him and Obiora to stay in the competition for as long as possible? Some part of him must’ve subconsciously realised that going back to the real world didn’t just mean admitting his feelings for Obiora, it also meant coming out to his friends and family. And he was far from ready for that.
“Oh God,” he repeated. His eyes burned, and his hands began to tremble. His heart broke to pieces when he realised couldn’t do it—he couldn’t. He wanted to be brave, he wanted to be with Obiora, but he couldn’t—he wasn’t—
“Ejiro.” Obiora pressed their foreheads together. He freed his second hand so he had Ejiro’s face cupped in his hands, both his thumbs stroking in rhythm across his cheeks. “Baby, breathe for me.”
Ejiro sucked in a sharp breath, the endearment, falling sweet like honey from Obiora’s lips, managing to immediately push down his panic.
“Yeah. That’s it,” Obiora encouraged, his voice gentle, his eyes closed.
Ejiro stared at Obiora’s eyelashes, his nose and mouth, the dimple in his cheek. He basked in the heat in his cheeks from the warmth of Obiora’s hands on his face, and felt like he was freefalling.
“You okay, baby?” Obiora asked softly, his eyelids fluttering open, dark eyes locking with his.
It hit Ejiro like a punch to the stomach.
He was falling in love.
“Yes,” Ejiro managed to say when he registered Obiora’s question, his voice barely wobbling, as if his world hadn’t just been rocked down to its foundations by his revelation. “I’m good. I’m okay. I’m … wonderful.” The last word came out a sigh.
Obiora pulled back a bit, only a little, so their faces were still intimately close. “Yeah?” he said, a little playfully. His eyes kept darting to Ejiro’s mouth.
Ejiro’s own eyes dropped to Obiora’s lips. “Mhm.”
“You don’t have to do anything, you know?” Obiora said, his voice husky. “You can just play along until Sophia eliminates you, then—”
“But I want you,” Ejiro interrupted, hoarse with need. “I don’t want to wait anymore.”
“Oh God. I love you.”
Ejiro shivered. “Obiora,” he whispered, too afraid to return the words; they still felt too new, too raw.
Obiora didn’t seem to mind. “Baby, I don’t want you to force yourself out of the closet when you’re obviously not ready. Your feelings come first, Ejiro.”
