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“Really?” I frown. “What did the articles say?”
“They’re saying you’re a fake queer since you were out with a man. Don’t worry, Lydia already told everyone he’s your bodyguard, and you were grabbing a snack after the show,” she says, then leaves abruptly.
I hover over the sink for a few long moments. A fake queer? Really? Turning on the faucet, I splash the bright blue water onto my face and slap my cheeks. I’ve always been comfortable with my sexuality, but it was naïve to assume that in the year 3000, we’d get over our prejudices. More alarming is how nonchalant Margot’s become when delivering bad news.
We’ve been friends since fleeing Luna together, and I love Margot, but there are moments in our relationship where I question if she even loves me back. And I don’t think that’s healthy, but I don’t have the time to find a new therapist and explore any of these thoughts. So, I let them drain down the sink with my foamy toothpaste saliva and slip into my bedroom to throw on my ragged old hoodie.
Waiting for me by the door, Margot brings up her terminal and clicks her tongue. “Star Princess Kallista has been angering her fans lately by not putting out a statement over her sexuality, which has been hotly disputed for two months, ever since a photograph of her kissing a woman in a night club surfaced.”
I zip my hoodie up all the way, pull on the hood, and grind out, “Okay, you really don’t have to read it, Go. I get it. People are pissed. Did they even say anything about my show?”
Margot waves a hand, dismissing me. “Kal. I think you’re going to have to put out a statement. It’s like Lydia says, it’s only making things worse. Just tell them you’re not gay.”
When I don’t say anything for a long moment, her eyes widen.
“You’re … oh, shit. Are you? Gay? Well, fuck me, this complicates things….”
I work my jaw until it hurts, then say, “I’m not gay.”
Margot exhales a sigh of relief.
“I’m bisexual,” I explain. “As in. I like both. Men and … women.”
Margot’s glare is so sharp it could cut glass. “I know what bisexual means. I’m not stupid. So then tell everyone that. I’m sure your male fanbase will be thrilled to hear it. It might even make them like you more.”
My skin crawls at her words, and I ball my hands into fists. “No. Absolutely not. First of all, that’s so deHumanizing. Second, I’m not outing myself just to save face. Forcing myself out of the closet is not an option.”
But Margot doesn’t even seem to be listening to me. She taps a few lines on her flashing terminal screen and sighs at the fresh set of headlines.
I sling my bag over my shoulder and brush past her on the way out the door. If she isn’t going to listen to me, then I’m not going to waste my breath. Eventually, I’ll be ready to tell the world about myself. But not right now. And I definitely don’t owe anything to a public that doesn’t even seem to respect me.
24XAVIAN
Kallista is in a bad mood this morning, which means she’s already seen the headlines. When I read them over my coffee, I was ready to storm into HAHA Entertainment’s offices and demand a retraction. But the last thing Kallista needs right now is a crazy bodyguard defending her honor. She’s an adult, and this is just a job, I remind myself. Still, the headlines this morning were just so … so invasive. So accusatory. So entitled.
I don’t know how she stands it without ripping out all her hair. Then again, she hasn’t looked healthy a single day since I’ve met her, and this is probably why.
A few feet from me, Margot paces the lobby in her heels, click-clicking with every step as she tries again and again to call someone on her terminal. Zeddie came down with a bad case of food poisoning last night, leaving us scrambling for a replacement driver.
“I can get Aiken to take us over,” I suggest. “He can be here in an hour if he misses traffic and uses the Delta-Five Leygate”
The majority of space travel is done by leygate jumping. Enormous technological advancements created by Humanity ages ago when they were still living on Earth. Taking a gate is like taking a super highway across the stars. Fun, fast, and a lot easier than real highways.
Kallista flashes me an appreciative smile, while Margot stops dead in her tracks. “Who is Aiken, again?”
She doesn’t need to know he’s my bounty hunter partner, right? “He’s my best friend. He has the fastest ship on Terra. I guarantee you he can make good time. We won’t miss any of Kallista’s appointments if we leave now.”
Margot glances to Kal. She shrugs.
“Do it,” Margot says, then strides away toward the café, no doubt in search of a drink stronger than coffee. It hasn’t slipped my notice that ever since Nocturne, she’s been hitting the bar more often. She’s also been more on edge. I wouldn’t usually care about her feelings, since she never takes Kallista’s into consideration, but it’s affecting her moods. Which, in turn, is affecting the way she treats Kal.
While Kallista lingers nearby, I call Aiken, explain the situation to him, and promise him a personal meet and greet with Kal to sweeten the deal. He’s in, of course.
I drop the call and approach Kallista while she stares out the lobby windows. “It’s not a problem. He just wants an autograph. And a picture. And maybe a hug, if you can swing it,” I add, wincing.
Kallista smiles. “Of course. That’s no problem. He’s doing us a huge favor. Can we offer him some credits, though?”
“No. No, trust me. All he wants is to meet you.”
