He doesn’t take me for granted. If anything, I know there’s a part of him convinced that it’s only a matter of time before I tire of him and move on to someone else who’s easier to deal with.
Which is the farthest thing from the truth.
Alone with me, he’s honest and open, stripped bare and ripped apart, able to process a life that comes at him hard from all directions. The public sees an honest, honorable, capable, brilliant, and handsome lawmaker who has the potential to go places.
Hidden in my apartment and curled up in my arms in my bed, I see the shell of a man terrified to be outed, thinking he’ll lose everything if he is.
Maybe it’s an impossible dream, to hope he’ll one day come out and embrace what we have.
Surviving the impossible is kind of what I’ve already done, though.
Waiting out my terrified boyfriend is nothing, compared to that.
* * * *
The address is a townhouse in a small gated community. Chris opens the door as I’m making my way up the walk. He greets me with a hug.
“Thanks for coming on such short notice, Leo. I’ll need your discretion today. You’ll have to sign an NDA.”
“Sure. What’s up?”
He leads me inside, where I pull up short when I see US Senator ShaeLynn Samuels of Florida sitting there on the sofa, along with former TV anchor Kevin Markos.
Holy shit.
“Senator Samuels,” I manage. She’s already the Democrat frontrunner for next year’s presidential election. Kevin Markos is her campaign manager. Rumor has it he’ll likely be appointed her chief of staff, if she’s elected.
Ihopeshe’s elected. I despise Fullmer and want him to be a one-termer.
Fucker never so much as called me after the plane crash, and never called the families of the other men, as far as I know. Staffers for the then-senator sent sympathy cards, but not very presidential of him, considering lives were lost working on his fucking campaign.
He sure as hell didn’t hesitate to invoke us in speeches and interviews as a campaign prop, however.
Samuels stands, smiling. “Leo. Chris has spoken very highly of you. Nice to finally meet you.” She walks over to shake hands with me, as does Kevin Markos.
There can be very few reasons I was called here today.
I look at Chris, my pulse spiking as I struggle to rein in my eager hope. “Just say it.”
He slowly nods in that way he’s always had. “You’ll sign an NDA?”
“Absolutely. Get me the form and a pen.”
Kevin hands them to me. I don’t even read the damn thing before scribbling my name on the line. If I can’t trust Chris over this, I have no business being here in the first place.
With that handled, Chris gets right to the point. “Shae’s body man. For the election, and once she’s in office.”
“Yes.”
He smiles. “You need to hear the details.”
“Do Ireally, Chris?”
“You do,” the senator says. “Because it’s…complicated.”
I see the way Chris looks at Kevin Markos, and then I realize…
Oh, shit.
