My chest went tight again.
Tomorrow. Me and Liam in a boat in front of everyone. After Thursday's scrimmage—the way the shell had lifted beneath us, the way our bodies had moved in synchronization so perfect it felt like one nervous system. The way he'd called megolden boybefore that power ten and I'd felt it in every nerve.
I pushed the thought away. Focus. Get through tonight.
The doors opened.
And there he was.
Liam walked in wearing a dark grey suit that fit him better than it should have—probably borrowed, but he wore it like he owned the room. Shoulders back. Confident. The scholarship kid who looked like he'd been born for places like this even though he'd been told his whole life he hadn't.
Emily on his arm.
My stomach dropped.
She looked beautiful. Blue dress that made her eyes brighter. Hair down in soft waves. Smiling up at him like he was the only person in the room.
And Liam looked like he'd rather be anywhere else.
The tension in his shoulders. The set of his jaw. The careful smile he gave Emily that didn't reach his eyes. The performance of ease that anyone else would have believed.
But I wasn't anyone else.
They moved through the crowd together. Emily's hand tucked into the crook of his elbow. Introducing him to people. Playing the perfect girlfriend or whatever they were.
And Liam was playing along.
"Alex." My father appeared at my elbow. "The Winthrop Foundation director is here. I need you to make a good impression."
"Of course."
I followed him across the room. Shook hands. Smiled. Made small talk about rowing and legacy and the future of the program.
All while tracking Liam and Emily in my peripheral vision.
They were with the Riverside contingent now. Tyler clapping Liam's back. Jace making Emily laugh.
Liam's eyes found mine across the room.
For half a second, everything else disappeared. Just him and me and the memory of Thursday's scrimmage. The way the boat had flown. The way we'd stood in the boathouse doorway afterward and almost said everything we couldn't say.
Then Emily touched his arm. Said something, and Liam's attention snapped back to her.
The moment shattered.
I turned back to the director, and forced myself to focus on whatever he was saying about alumni engagement.
Ten minutes. I made it through another ten minutes before the room felt like it was shrinking.
"Excuse me. I need to check on the catering."
I walked away before my father could object and headed toward the back hallway. Away from the crowd. Away from the sight of Liam with his arm around Emily's waist.
The hallway was quieter. Cooler. Exposed brick, no decoration—the working bones of the building. The air tasted different back here. Damp stone and old wood instead of cologne and money. I leaned against the wall and tried to breathe.
Tomorrow I had to get in a boat with him. Row in front of everyone. Pretend I didn't know what his body felt like moving with mine. Pretend I hadn't sat across from Ethan in our booth four days ago and said the words out loud for the first time in my life.
I'm gay.
