Lexie practically skids to a stop beside us, her breathing fast. She grabs Kira’s free hand and tries to compose herself.
“Kira–” she hesitates. “Kira–they–”She can’t seem to say it.
“What’s wrong?” I demand, not enjoying the suspense.
“They know about Janessa,” she whispers. “And last night.”
“Last night?” I ask, at the same time that Kira goes pale and sways on her feet like she just got lightheaded. “At the fundraiser? What happened last night?” I ask as I hold her up.
Oh wait…“Do they know about me and Young-gi?”
Or, shit, me and Gregory and Leonard? Shit, I ruin everything. My stomach flips because I want to protect Kira but I’m the reason this is happening-
“No, no, no,” Kira whispers desperately, hiding her face from the room. “This is all my fault.”
“No, Kira, I’m so sorry,” I try to console her.
“It was Brian,” Lexie hisses, interrupting me. “He must’ve sent someone to follow you, Kira. He posted it to his socials just before the party started. He knew you wouldn’t see it until it was too late. He wanted to embarrass you.”
Wait…She’s not acting like this is about me getting caught beating the shit out of rich idiots and then getting fucked in the rain.
“What exactly are we talking about here?” I ask, but Kira’s already pulling out her phone, desperately swiping through her apps, opening her socials and searching for Brian’s profile.
And there, big and bold in his most recent post, is a photo of Kira and Janessa kissing against a window, the rain from the storm last night vivid against the glass. The lighting is low, intimate, but there’s no way to mistake who it is. The words ‘CHEATING SLUT’ are written in large yellow text along the bottom of the photo. It scrolls to the side, showing a photo of me and Kira at the same fundraiser as I kiss her knuckles, and the word ‘CUCK’ is slapped across my face.
My nerves simmer down immediately, a calm sense of knowledge settling inside me. Brian’s going to regret this. That’s all that really matters now.
“He wanted to humiliate Tommy, and you Kira,” Lexie says. “He-he, what a jerk! I can’t believe this, let’s get out of here–”
“No,” I say, stopping them before they can face the room, who is watching us avidly. “No. Where is Janessa right now?”
“She was going to be my guest,” Lexie says. “But we saw the post on the way over. She’s waiting in the car out front for us.”
“Tell her to come in.”
Both girls look at me like I’m insane.
“Tommy, what are you saying? I just want to leave,” Kira whispers to me, sounding so achingly forlorn.
I take her hands back in mine and stare into her eyes, trying to show her how serious I am, trying to show her how much conviction I have. “Kira, I know this won’t be the easy way out, but you’re not helpless. I know that Young-gi just wants to protect you, and so do I, but our ruse is up. There’s no saving this now. It’s over. This is ending. But we can end it on our terms.Have Janessa come inside. She can smile, I’ll smile, and I’ll pass you to her like I was in on it all along. Like I’ve always known. Who gives a shit what they say about me? About you? They’ll wonder if we’re open, if we’re poly, but it won’t matter because it’s up to us how we spin this. Don’t let Brian win. We’re going to come out on top.”
“Tommy, I don’t know if I can.”
“I know you can,” I say emphatically. “All I wanted was to shield you from my mistake, from the drama I caused at the lake. But this is something we can’t hide, so let’s not hide it. The only way to beat a bully is to ignore them. This can’t bother you. This isn’t a secret, this isn’t a shameful thing. It’s just you, and who you love. Didn’t you say you wanted to be with Janessa in the open? That you didn’t want to hide her? Our engagement was in the way of that. But if we were in an open relationship, sure it’s a bit scandalous–but you can be with Janessa from now on. And I can just, you know, fade into the background until I’m gone. And that was the goal, wasn’t it?”
Lexie is nodding, and texting furiously. “Janessa says she’s in. She can spin it, she has way more followers than he does. She’s already making a post about how he’s being homophobic and bigoted by outing you before you were ready, and how Tommy was supportive of you being bisexual. She wants to go for it.”
Kira swallows hard, and I pull her into a hug. She clings to me, and nods against my chest. “Alright, fine.”
“She’s coming in,” Lexie says, looking a little more eager now, instead of scared. Her eyes narrow and she scans the gossiping crowd. An evil, vindictive smile curves her lips and she has to hide it by looking at me. “They’re going to be so confused and scandalized by this.”
“But powerless,” I say when Kira flinches. “Because we’re not hiding anything at all.”
The crowd parts, and Janessa glides toward us like she’s walking on water, made of liquid beauty. I turn Kira to face her, and her lips part and her eyes widen. Janessa is stunning.
She walks confidently up to us, puts a hand on my cheek and leans in to air-kiss both sides of my face. Her smile is slow and seductive and her eyes are knowing. I smirk at her.
“Janessa,” I greet her.
