“No diving back into the closet now, pet,” he whispers.
I can’t stop smiling. “No going back. Only forward.” I kiss him again just for good measure, in case anyone missed it the first couple of times.
At the end of the song everyone cheers again as Leo dips me and kisses me.
No, absolutelynogoing back.
* * *
You haveno idea how good it feels to be able to walk off that stage with my hand openly clamped around Leo’s. Even my worries about the next step cannot dim the shine in my soul over this achievement.
Jordan and Casey-Marie quietly left the stage during our dance to round up Stella and Ellis and move them backstage along with my parents, off to the side and out of view of the cameras and crowd.
After Leo gets off the phone with his parents in California, we face my family.
A dark mask clouds my father’s face and digs deep furrows across his brow. Mom looks like she’s in shock and Stella and Ellis look downright angry.
“Mom. Dad. Sis,” I say while ignoring Ellis, because fuck that dude. “This is Leo Cruz, and I’m marrying him. You’ve spent time with him over the years. I’ve been in love with Leo for the better part of twenty years. He’s stood by me through it all, even when he couldn’t tell anyone about us because I was too terrified to come out. He’s a good man. He’s former Secret Service, and he’s President Samuels’ deputy chief of staff. He was her body man even before she was elected POTUS.”
I’m kind of glad for the Secret Service detail surrounding us considering my sister’s and brother-in-law’s expressions.
Leo, however, looks as cool as ever. He extends his hand to my father. “Mr. Woodley, I’m sorry we couldn’t tell you the full truth before but I respected Elliot’s wishes to keep our relationship a secret until he was ready to come out.”
My dad stares at Leo’s hand for a moment before his mask crumbles and he finally shakes with him, as does Mom, who actually brings it in for a belated if not slightly uncomfortable and stiff hug.
That’s when I release a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.
It’s obvious that Stella won’t be gracious. I see the face of the spoiled brat who’s an expert at pitching exactly the right tantrum to get her way and who usually succeeds. “You couldn’t have told us thisbeforenow? You make us find out with the rest of the world? What thehell, Elliot?”
“Leo didn’t know I was going to propose to him tonight. I was going to do it shortly after the election, but on that day there was a shooting and all hell broke loose and interrupted my plans. I’m done pretending I’m something I’m not. America elected me twice without knowing I was gay. Obviously being gay has no impact on my ability to do my job. Butnotbeing able to be with the man I love is an unnecessary stress onme.”
Stella starts to go off but Mom’s hand shoots out and clamps around Stella’s arm so hard her fingers dig in and her knuckles turn white. “No,” Mom says, her voice barely a whisper. “You willnotdo this here. You willnotcause a spectacle for your brother.”
“Me? He just fucking came out andproposedto aguyin front of the whole damnworld! How thefuckam I supposed to explain to the people I work for that my brother’sgay?”
“And it’shisnight, Stella,” she says. “You don’t have to like or agree with this, but I willnothave people thinking we’re bigots. Youwillhold your tongue, at least until he’s out of office.”
She looks infuriated and turns to our father. “Dad—”
“Listen to your mother for once in your fucking life,” he wearily says.
My eyes widen, as do Stella’s.
I can count on exactly two fingers the number of times I’veeverheard Dad use that word, including this moment, and the other time was when he smashed his hand while trying to unstick a rusted bolt from a piece of machinery.
Stella yanks her arm free from Mom’s grip and turns on me. “You’re a selfish fucking asshole, Elliot. Sothisis why you fought me tooth and nail and never let me fix you up with anyone, huh?”
“Yeah, part of the reason. Besides, I knew you and Grace wanted to use me for political gain and I wasn’t letting you drag me into a scandal.”
“You lied to me when you said you were dating a woman!”
“No, I didn’t. I never said I was dating a woman, or used pronouns. YouassumedI meant a woman. That’s ayouproblem, not a me problem. And don’t get all self-righteous about lying, Stella. You getpaidto lie for a living.”
Stella crosses her arms over her chest and shakes her head. For a moment, I see the stubborn toddler who used to defy my parents just to be difficult, or the bratty little sister who’d refuse to listen to me if she thought something wasn’t fair.
The wily teenager who threw me under the bus more times than I can count. “I’m not giving you my blessing.”
“Not asking for it,” Leo simply says. “Don’t need or want it, either. I’m marrying Elliot. Now that it’s out in the open I can quit hiding my feelings for him. If you want to speak out against us, that’s fine.”
