“In the dungeon, when I told you about the issue around equal marriage? What we did, being such a public affair now, creates a major statement to our citizens—an important statement. Considering you are a gay man yourself, and your own country’s history with the subject, I’m sure you understand the importance of this parliament vote coming up in December.”
“I totally understand. Hell, we’ve had that battle in America, and it came down to a Supreme Court ruling to get it through.”
“Yes, well, this is a particularly personal issue for me…”
“Because you’re bi?”
“That too, but for so many more reasons—to do with my family and country. I wasn’t supposed to address the subject publicly, but as you can see, that’s happened, and now we’ve done the honorable thing by representing the right side of this debate.”
“I’m happy to have helped.”
“But would you be happy to help me more, if you thought you could?”
“If you need me to fill out some sort of poll or something…”
His forehead scrunched up. “A little more than that. I told my brother, the King, that we were together…romantically.”
My mouth dropped open. “You what?”
“I said you’re my boyfriend.”
I could hardly process the thought. “Are you some sort of pathological liar?”
“No…and yes…just for today, though. I figured if we were together, if we did things boyfriends do, then it would be impossible for our people to look away and not acknowledge our relationship, and my family couldn’t ignore the subject anymore. And in the process maybe influence the people to encourage the parliament to make the right decision on this.”
“When you say, ‘Do the things boyfriends do,’ you mean like everything?”
His eyes widened, and he threw his hands before him. “No, no, no. Like, pretend things.”
“Oh.” My tone was laced with disappointment, and he seemed to catch on, his eyebrows pulling together in surprise.
“Not that I don’t think you are a very attractive man, which you are, but this would be more of a publicity stunt that I would be asking you to agree to help me with.”
“Publicity stunt.”
It reminded me of when my bro, Jace, and his boyfriend first got together. Jace had been such an Internet sensation due to a photo of him that had gone viral, and Dax wound up getting roped into the whole thing as soon as they started messing around.
“So I would have to do, like, interviews, talk shows, and magazine stuff?”
“Yes, you’d have to do all that, as my boyfriend. But even just being seen together would be good.”
“Basically the Meghan Markle of Parlaisa?”
He closed his eyes and nodded, as though embarrassed to admit it. “Obviously, the early Duchess of Sussex, before she and Harry wed, but fair enough.”
I considered what he was suggesting. “I have school in a few weeks. I have to go back for—”
“That’s fine. I could come to you. If anything, it will make it more difficult for the press to get to you while we’re getting our stories straight. You said you live where—this Fever Falls place?”
“You’d come to Fever Falls?”
“Of course. I travel all over the world. Why wouldn’t I come there?”
I chuckled at the thought of bringing a prince back home with me. Oh, the shit I got myself into. “But just pretending. We’re not actually doing anything else?”
“No, and we couldn’t do anything else, to be clear.” He said that very sternly. “I do think you’re very attractive, but I wouldn’t want to do anything that could jeopardize this far more important cause. It would be a job. I would compensate you for your time. Say, fifteen thousand dollars.”
“Fifteen thousand dollars?” I said, unable to disguise my excitement.
