“What were you saying about the High Line?” Trevor asks as he cuts into his pancakes.
“I thought we could go out and walk around a bit today.”
“Is that safe?”
Skyler frowns. “I could ask Mike to come with us if you want.”
Trevor didn’t mean safe as in,Are we going to get mugged?He meant it as in,What if people recognize us?
“No, you don’t have to,” he says. “I just, uh, don’t exactly want people to know I’m here.”
“With me,” Skyler adds bluntly.
“It’s not like that,” he lies.
God, here he is lying to this man who’s been nothing but good to him. He’s a horrible person. But he knows exactly what will happen if he and Skyler are spotted out in public together, the media frenzy it’ll stir up. Especially after Skyler already started the stirring by talking about him in that interview.
And thinking about the media makes Trevor think about all the problems they had back in the band days—the toll that being forced to keep their relationship a secret had taken on them. He knows how much he hurt Skyler bywantingto keep it a secret even when Skyler didn’t. When Skyler was ready to shout it to the world, completely unafraid of the consequences.
Skyler must know he’s lying now, but he doesn’t say anything to contradict him.
Trevor mumbles a, “Sorry,” as if that makes up for it. As if it makes up for anything.
“Hey.” Skyler drops his fork and takes Trevor’s hand in both of his. “I completely understand why you don’t want people to know you’re with me, and I’m not going to let you sit here and feel bad about it.”
He looks down at their hands, at his tucked away safely in Skyler’s slightly larger ones, and wishes, not for the first time, that they’d met under different circumstances. That neither of them had become famous. But that’s not fair to Skyler, who wears his fame so beautifully. And it wouldn’t be fair to deprive the world of the joy of watching Skyler James perform. Skyler was born for this life.
Trevor was born for… something else. He’s just not sure what.
“I do think checking out the city sounds fun,” he concedes. Because he can do this. He can take this step.
Skyler runs a thumb over his palm and then releases his hand, picking up his fork and casually spearing a piece of pancake like he doesn’t even realize how much he affects him. How his touch is what holds Trevor together. “I really think it’ll be fine,” he says. “I don’t get spotted here nearly as much as I do in L.A. There are so many people, and most are tourists staring up at the buildings, or locals trying to get around them to be where they need to be on time. And we can wear hats and sunglasses.”
When Trevor agrees to go out, Skyler attempts to hide his smile by bringing a huge bite of pancake up to his mouth, but Trevor sees it anyway.
They finish their breakfasts and then go to their rooms to change. Trevor grabs a long-sleeved shirt, hooks his sunglasses over the neck of it, and throws on a baseball cap.
When he steps into the hall, Skyler’s door is still closed, so he raps once with his knuckles. He only intends to let Skyler know he’s ready, but Skyler calls out, “Come in.”
Skyler’s standing at the large dresser, running his fingers over all his rings in a small ceramic tray. Trevor wonders what happened to the ring he got him. The first one. He got him multiple rings over the years, but the rest were just stuff he thought looked cool. That first one he’d had engraved with the heart and the date was special.
Naturally, Skyler stopped wearing it after they broke up—and yes, Trevor hates to admit that whenever he’s watched one of Skyler’s performances, he’s always looked for it on his finger, despite knowing it won’t be there. But did he get rid of it? Toss it in the trash like it meant nothing? And could Trevor blame him if he did? Trevor’s the one who threw away their entire relationship, after all.
He watches Skyler select one ring, a thick silver one with a creamy white stone, and slide it onto his index finger. It looks like an opal, which Trevor only knows because it’s his own birthstone.
Skyler turns to him with a smile. He kept on the clothes he had, but added a lightweight navy-blue zip-up hoodie, and his hair is now hidden under a graybeanie. “Ready,” he says. Then—“Oh, wait.” He turns back to the dresser and grabs a pair of sunglasses, putting them on before facing Trevor again. They’re bright red and heart-shaped, and he’s been photographed wearing them in public numerous times.
Trevor shakes his head fondly, because he looks adorable, but that’s too noticeable. “No. You need to put on boring ones like everyone else, please.”
He can’t see it, but he assumes Skyler rolls his eyes behind the glasses. Then with a sigh, Skyler says, “Fine.” He pulls them off and replaces them with a plain black pair. “Happy? Now I look like every other person out on the street.”
“Yes, I’m happy,” Trevor says.
But inside he’s thinking that no, Skyler could never look like that. Even trying to go incognito, he still gives off this aura of divineness.
Damn, that’s corny.
But it’s true. Skyler James is otherworldly, that’s for sure.
