“Of course not,” Jonny said quickly, seeing a way back in. “But time went on, and it just didn’t seem so important in the end. How we met has never been as important as the relationship we built together.”
Mrs. Kincaid’s eyes softened. “Jonathan, you really are a blessing,” she said, and gave him a stiff hug. Over her shoulder I could see the relief on his face, and he even gave me a grin. “But you’ll come with me now and let me know about my lipstick, won’t you?” she said, pulling back, all business again.
It was time to own up. I stepped forward and said, “I just need a quick chat with Jonny, Mrs. Kincaid.”
She looked put out, but she nodded. “Alright. But do be quick, Jon; I’ll need to start welcoming guests soon to breakfast.”
“Mom,” Cooper chided gently, “Jon needs to greet them, too. Why don’t I come and cast an eye over your choices while we wait? I know a little more about this kind of thing than I used to…” He led her away with a sympathetic nod back to me.
“Oh, my God,” Jon said, once she was out of earshot. He sagged dramatically, grabbing at my shoulder. “How in the hell did she find out?” He fake-mopped his brow. “That was not a conversation I needed to have on my wedding day.”
“Hey, man,” Damon said, standing forward before I could take the blame. “I’m real sorry—it was me. It just slipped out. Didn’t realize it was a secret.”
Jon’s smile turned tight. “Oh,” he said. “Well. I’m sure you didn’t know.”
“It’s my fault,” I insisted. “I told Damon, and then he told Mrs. Kincaid before—”
“Damon?” Jon frowned. “Who’s Damon and why does everyone keep talking about him?”
Just at that moment, we were joined by the rest of the LA crew, all of them coming in together in a laughing gaggle. Xander Romano and his partner, Ben Ballard, had arrived that morning, and everyone was greeting each other and catching up. They made their way to us, followed by Seth and Tristan, Sebastian and Ezra, Oliver and Elliot, and Brandon and Heath.
It was a much bigger crowd than I’d intended for our confession.
“Jon!” Ben hugged him, followed by Xander, and then everyone crowded around congratulating Jonny on his big day. But the whole time, even while good-naturedly accepting the jokes about him tying the knot, he kept glancing at me with a puzzled expression, and I felt increasingly sick to the stomach.
“Okay,” he said, once the noise had died down, “but who’s Damon?”
Damon stepped forward. “Me. I’m…I’m Damon.”
Immediately, Brandon and Tristan shared a look.
Jon’s face stayed blank. “But,” he said after a few seconds, “you’re Shane.”
“I’m actually Damon,” Damon said apologetically. He looked at me. “Uh, Ty, you good?”
I wasn’t good. I wasn’t anything at all; after all the nerves and worries, I was stuck for words. I didn’t want to do this in front of everyone. It was supposed to be me and Jonny and Damon and Cooper, and us being really sorry for lying, and them laughing—just like Cooper had done with his mom—and saying it didn’t matter at all.
But with everyone staring at Damon, and then at me, it was turning into a huge fucking deal.
“The thing is,” Damon said, after an awkward silence where it became clear I couldn’t talk, “my name is actually Damon.”
Brandon crossed his arms. So did Tristan.
Things were getting out of control.
Damon went on, “You know what, we just need to come clean.” He put an arm around me and pulled me close.
His strength, his support, lifted me up. I could do this. I just had to say the words, get it done, and Jonny would be able to laugh it off and have a great wedding.
“He dumped me,” I said.
Jon frowned. “Damon dumped you?”
“No,” I snapped, starting to get a little desperate. Why couldn’t I be clear about this? What the fuck were words, even? “Shane dumped me.”
Brandon gave a little gasp of horror and glared at Damon.
“This isn’t Shane!” My voice was too loud, causing the rest of the arriving breakfast guests to stop and stare at where the noise was coming from. “This isn’t Shane,” I repeated at a more normal volume. “This is Damon.”
