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The silence stretches.
“I—” Zahra begins. “Do I even want you to explain to me what the fuck is happening here? Literally how is he evenhere,like, physically or geographically, andwhy—no, nope. Don’t answer that. Don’t tell me anything.” She unscrews the top of her thermos and takes a pull of coffee. “Oh my God, didIdo this? I never thought… when I set it up… oh myGod.”
Henry has pulled himself off the floor and put on a shirt, and his ears are bright red. “I think, perhaps, if it helps. It was. Er. Rather inevitable. At least for me. So you shouldn’t blame yourself.”
Alex looks at him, trying to think of something to add, when Zahra jabs a manicured finger into his shoulder.
“Well, I hope it wasfun,because if anyone ever finds out about this, we’re all fucked,” Zahra says. She points at Henry.“You too. Can I assume I don’t have to make you sign an NDA?”
“I’ve already signed one for him,” Alex offers up, while Henry’s ears turn from red to an alarming shade of purple. Six hours ago, he was sinking drowsily into Henry’s chest, and now he’s standing here half-naked, talking about the paperwork. He fucking hates paperwork. “I think that covers it.”
“Oh, wonderful,” Zahra says. “I’m so glad you thought this through. Great. How long has this been happening?”
“Since, um. New Year’s,” Alex says.
“New Year’s?”Zahra repeats, eyes wide. “This has been going on forseven months? That’s why you—Oh my God, I thought you were getting into international relations or something.”
“I mean, technically—”
“If you finish that sentence, I’m gonna spend tonight in jail.”
Alex winces. “Please don’t tell Mom.”
“Seriously?” she hisses. “You’re literally putting your dick inthe leader of a foreign state,who is aman,atthe biggest political event before the election,in a hotel full ofreporters,in a city full ofcameras,in a race close enough to fuckinghingeon some bullshit like this, like a manifestation of my fuckingstress dreams,and you’re asking menotto tell the president about it?”
“Um. Yeah? I haven’t, um, come out to her. Yet.”
Zahra blinks, presses her lips together, and makes a noise like she’s being strangled. “Listen,” she says. “We don’t have time to deal with this, and your mother has enough to manage without having to process her son’s fucking quarter-life NATO sexual crisis, so—I won’t tell her. But once the convention is over, you have to.”
“Okay,” Alex says on an exhale.
“Would it make any difference at all if I told you not to see him again?”
Alex looks over at Henry, looking rumpled and nauseated and terrified at the corner of the bed. “No.”
“God fucking dammit,” she says, rubbing the heel of her hand against her forehead. “Every time I see you, it takes another year off my life. I’m going downstairs, and you better be dressed and there in five minutes so we can try to save this goddamn campaign. Andyou”—she rounds on Henry—“you need to get back to fucking England now, and if anyone sees you leave, I will personally end you. Ask me if I’m afraid of the crown.”
“Duly noted,” he says in a faint voice.
Zahra fixes him with a final glare, turns on her heel, and stalks out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
NINE
“Okay,” he says.
His mother sits across the table, hands folded, looking at him expectantly. His palms are starting to sweat. The room is small, one of the lesser conference rooms in the West Wing. He knows he could have asked her to lunch or something, but, well, he kind of panicked.
He guesses he should just do it.
“I’ve been, um,” he starts. “I’ve been figuring some stuff out about myself, lately. And… I wanted to let you know, because you’re my mom, and I want you to be a part of my life, and I don’t want to hide things from you. And also it’s, um, relevant to the campaign, from an image perspective.”
“Okay,” Ellen says, her voice neutral.
“Okay,” he repeats. “All right. Um. So, I’ve realized I’m not straight. I’m actually bisexual.”
Her expression clears, and she laughs, unclasping her hands. “Oh, that’s it, sugar? God, I was worried it was gonna be something worse!” She reaches across the table, covering his hand with hers. “That’s great, baby. I’m so glad you told me.”
Alex smiles back, the anxious bubble in his chest shrinking slightly, but there’s one more bomb to drop. “Um. There’s something else. I kind of… met somebody.”
