“Does it really matter whether or not the whole world knows we’re together?” Trevor asked.
Yes.
No.
Skyler didn’t know.
All he knew was that, since he’d met him, Trevor had never disappointed him before. Until now. “So what it comes down to,” he said slowly, “is you’re not willing to risk our careers, but you’re willing to risk us.”
“What? I didn’t say that.” Trevor reached out and took his hand, tangling their fingers together loosely. “I’m not risking us.”
He frowned. “I think you might be. Because I don’t know how much longer I can do it like this.”
Trevor’s hand went slack before dropping away. He swallowed visibly, and then—“Are you giving me an ultimatum?”
“No.” Skyler’s heart felt heavy like it was filled with sludge. “Not yet.”
He wasn’t trying to be mean or dramatic—he was only being honest. Because he couldn’t be any other way with Trevor. Nothing bad had ever come from telling Trevor exactly what he was thinking and feeling.
But this time the pain was evident in Trevor’s eyes before his face suddenly hardened. And Skyler had never seen Trevor look at him that way.
“Screw you,” Trevor spit out. “You’re doing all of this over some cheesy song lyrics. Grow up.”
Skyler opened his mouth, but he couldn’t make a sound. He couldn’t move. All he could do was stand there numbly as Trevor stepped around him and walked out the dressing room door.
How did this happen?
He wasn’t sure how long it took him to come back to himself, but the moment he did, he wanted to go after Trevor and apologize. Tell him he was right, that Skyler was being childish, and he hadn’t meant anything he’d said. Except when he turned for the door, something stopped him.
Hehadmeant it when he’d said he would risk everything for their relationship.
And he could still hear Trevor’s voice ringing in his head.
Trevor saying that he wouldn’t.
TREVOR
Trevor lay face-down onthe couch in Oli’s dressing room while Oli gathered his stuff and threw everything haphazardly into his bag. Oli was chattering on excitedly about how well their show had gone, but Trevor was barely listening. He couldn’t believe he’d talked to Skyler like that.
Not that it was an excuse, but he’d been worried about what Skyler had done.
He’d been feeling the tension building on this tour in a way it hadn’t before. The more he or Skyler messed up, the more management intervened with some new bullshit. He wasn’t sure Skyler quite realized the consequences of his actions all the time, and Trevor only wanted to protect him, as well as himself and the rest of the guys too. They’d likely yet to see the full extent of the control management had over them.
A sock hit him on the back of the head, bringing his attention back to Oli. He made a face as he threw it back. “What was that for?”
“Not that I don’t enjoy your oh-so-cheerful company, but are you going to tell me what you’re doing in here hanging out with me instead of being attached at the hip with your lover boy?”
Trevor rolled his eyes. “We don’t have to spend every second together.”
“But youdo,” Oli pressed. “So what’s wrong?”
“We were—I mean, I needed to… I don’t know.”
“Okay…” Oli gave him an eye roll of his own, then went back to packing his bag, but Trevor could tell he was still willing to listen.
He didn’t know why it was so hard for him to admit he and Skyler had had a fight. It was normal for couples to fight sometimes. But he shouldn’t have walked out. He should have handled it better.
“I think being in the closet is really getting to him,” he offered after a minute.
