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After the whirlwind of an entrance, I expected to walk into a club like any of the others I’d been to in my early twenties. But the inside of this place was maybe the fanciest building I’d ever been inside in my life.
“Good God,” Jax said, still holding my hand.
It was a retro lounge straight out of the movies. Shiny gold chairs, gleaming light fixtures, and so much marble I couldn’t even imagine the work it must have taken to do all of the custom installations. Even the ceiling was a work of art, with intricate beams all leading down to the showstopper of the room: a theatrical stage with a big white projector screen that would be showcasing the first episode of The Fixer Brothers tonight before the party. Tons of little gold round tables filled the space, each one with its own little glowing candle at the center.
“I feel like I just stepped into The Great Gatsby or something,” Shawn said.
“It’s amazing,” I agreed. “What do they usually use this place for?”
“Fancy piano lounge and bar,” Rush said. “I came to this place once right when I first moved back to Colorado. It’s absolutely wild.”
A minute after we’d been let inside and ushered to our “VIP table” near the front of the room, they started letting in special guests and then, finally, the fans. People streamed in, each one of them seemingly just as amazed by the venue as we were.
“I’m taking you here sometime,” Jax said, turning toward me and putting his hands on my waist. “Maybe for our next date. You know, when we don’t have to be here for the premiere of your TV show, it’ll probably be a lot less nerve wracking.”
I felt a pang in my chest.
For our next date. Our next date that we weren’t supposed to be going on, if we were really going to be staging a breakup after tonight’s premiere.
A part of me knew I should tell Jax what Kim had said to me. But I couldn’t bring myself to get the words out. Jax’s eyes glittered with excitement, and as he held me close, so sweetly, it felt impossible to tell him that Kim wanted all of this to come to an end.
A quiet jealousy reared up in me as I saw Shawn and Nathan both enjoying their own real, beautiful relationships. I’d been envious of other people in love before, many, many times. But something about it hit harder now.
And I knew it was because I’d gotten a taste of how good it could be with Jax.
“The beautiful couple,” a young guy said, walking up to me and Jax. “I’m the event photographer for the venue. Would you mind posing for a few photos?
The guy had red hair and an easy smile. He was eyeing both of us like he’d rather lick us than take our photo, and for a brief moment I was flattered. He called us gorgeous while he snapped away on his camera.
“Thank you very much,” the guy said, then hesitated for a moment. “Actually, I’m not supposed to do this, but would you mind if I got a quick phone selfie with you guys? Don’t tell my boss.”
“Of course. Get in here,” Jax said.
After taking the photo, he gushed to us.
“Jax, you’re actually the reason I finally came out as gay. It was only a few weeks ago. I’d been pretending to be straight for a long time, but I finally took a shot and asked my crush out.”
Jax was absolutely fucking glowing. I’d never seen him look so proud of anything in his life—which was saying a lot, because Jax took a lot of pride in all of the things he did.
“That’s incredible,” Jax told him. “We inspired you?”
“Of course,” the young redhead said. “I mean, like, everyone thought you were straight, and some of those idiots online even said your relationship was a stunt. I always knew it was real, though. True love has no rules, right?”
In a night full of little gut punches, hearing him say that was the kicker.
True love.
I’d never felt such a potent mixture of guilt and pride. It was a weird sensation, knowing we’d helped someone and deceived him, all in one fell swoop.
Jax was blushing a little. “Right,” he said. “Thank you so much, ah—”
“Tyler,” he said, reaching out for a quick hug.
“Tyler. Thank you,” Jax said, and I could tell he was slightly flustered, too.
He hugged both of us and then picked up his camera again, heading over to Kace and Nathan to ask for some photos.
“He was sweet,” I said.
Jax nodded, but he had a faraway look in his eyes. “Yeah.”
I could sense it in an instant. Jax felt as awful as I did. It was one thing to have lied to everyone about our relationship when it was all just photos and videos online—it felt so different to meet actual fans, people whose lives we had affected, in any way. Did good deeds matter, when they were built on a lie?
