“Ah, I see. One more word: No.” I stepped around her toward the stage ramp.
“Jayd!” Debbie trailed after me. “George Maren is gay. He’s a veteran reporter. He’s done articles forRolling Stoneand—”
“And I was very clear. I’m not making some big ‘I’m Gay’ announcement. No way.”
“He’s willing to let you control the narrative! I don’t think you understand what a big deal this is.” She tugged at my elbow with her long-taloned hand. “You can spend the whole time talking about your commitment to charity. You can talk about basketball—”
“I don’t know the first thing about basketball.”
“You can play this any way you want.”
I stopped and turned to face her. “I don’t want toplay it. I just want to live my life. Play my music.” I hesitated. “I’m in love, Debbie.”
“Oh good God. Tell me it’s not the guy from the bar!”
“No… though I hear he’s actually really nice. I’m in love with my best friend. A guy from this island on the west coast of Florida that’s so tiny, it doesn’t have a direct bridge to the mainland anymore. A guy who…” Oh, why not be honest? If I ever planned to tell anyone about this, Debbie had to hear it first. “A guy who cared about me so much, he married my sister so she could get on his health insurance so I wouldn’t have to quit music to take care of her. The guy who inspiredConstellations. And that album is the only statement I want to make to the world about him or my sexuality. I don’t want to invite anyone to start speculating about me.”
“Jayd, darling, you’re adorable. You do realize that people already speculate about you, right? Who you date, boxers or briefs, Olivia Merry or not. They misinterpret your lyrics. They make up stories for ratings. You don’thaveto give the media an entree, darling. Rats climb in through the drains.”
“Yeah, well, if I did make a statement, they’d come after my boyfriend. I amnotletting that happen.”
“You want to protect him. Because you’re a protective sort of person.”
“Exactly,” I agreed instantly. Then I frowned. This wasn’t the same thing as wanting to protect Aimee, though. Aimee hadn’t wanted or needed my protection. Rafe, on the other hand…
Uh. Wait.Wasit the same thing?
I rubbed my forehead. I could feel my sleepless night catching up to me. “I don’t owe anyone anything,” I said staunchly, reciting Rafe’s words from the day before. “I just want to make music.”
“No one ever said you owe it tothem, silly. You owe it to yourself and to your partner to dispel all the wild speculation and tell the truth. You know, it’s ironic that you want to hold back with this,” she remarked coolly. “You have a rare gift for writing lyrics that are honest and universally understood. In fact, I’ve had several acts approach me about the possibility of you writing material for them—”
“Seriously?” I wrinkled my forehead and wondered if one of them was Chet and the Newsmen. “Look, I’m not ready to make any decisions right now, okay? I have to think about this. Process it.”
“Of course. And find out what your boyfriend thinks.”
“No, I’m pretty sure I know whathethinks. But he doesn’t understand how bad it can get with the media.”
Though her forehead was incapable of wrinkling, I could sense Debbie’s exasperation. “Jayd, sweetheart, what exactly do you think my job is? I’m not just a pretty face who takes twenty percent. If the media goes after your boyfriend, I’ll personally ensure that headsroll.I would have clapped back already onyourbehalf, if you hadn’t tied my hands.”
“Oh.” I had done that, hadn’t I?
“Tomorrow. George Maren.” She nodded firmly and glanced down at her phone. “Okay, fifteen minutes to showtime. You ready?”
“Uh… No?” I laughed weakly. “You go on. I’m gonna hang back for a minute.”
I felt raw and way too vulnerable to head backstage yet. Like my thick skin had been exfoliated by other people’s feelings or something. I’d been gearing myself up for a battle—to keep my privacy, to protect Rafe and our fledgling relationship—only to find that people were really supportive. That theycared, way more than I’d ever thought they did, and they wanted me to make my own choices.
It was really anticlimactic.
But missing Rafe was like an aching tooth. I wanted him with me. Holding my hand. Calming me down. Smiling that smile where one side of his mouth hitched up higher than the other, while his dancing eyes teased me without a word. Reminding me that we were a team.
When my phone began vibrating in my hand over and over again, I almost tossed the damn thing away, because I couldn’t handle one morefeelingat that moment. But I glanced down in case Rafe needed me…
And saw my phone had exploded with texts.
Gage:Welcome to the inaugural meeting of Whispering Key’s Jayd Rollins Fan Club!
Littlejohn:Dang it, Gage. We said I was gonna do the welcome message! We freakin’ voted. Uncool, bro.
