“Anyone ever tell you you have exactly the right personality for a journalist?” Danny asked.
Eliot wanted to laugh, but the answer was no. No one had ever told him that. He’d had to prove himself time and time again, no one had ever said he was a natural.
It shouldn’t have meant so much to hear it from someone who didn’t even work in the industry, but for whatever reason, it did. All he’d ever wanted was a scrap of approval.
“Actually, you’re the first,” Eliot admitted. “So thank you.”
“Oh.” Danny glanced down at the countertop before meeting Eliot’s eyes again. “Well, you do. But, uh, I need you to sign a non-disclosure agreement before I tell you why you’re really here.”
“Seriously?” Eliot raised an eyebrow. He couldn’t imagine Danny having an NDA-level secret at all, least of all one that he’d want to tell Eliot. What was the point? A journalist who’d been sworn to secrecy was useless.
“Seriously,” Danny confirmed. “And I get it if you don’t wanna do that, and there’s no hard feelings between us if you don’t. But you’re curious, right?”
Eliot considered for a moment, and then sighed. Hewascurious. That was why he was here. To give up over having to sign his name on a piece of paper seemed like a waste.
Even if he couldn’t tell anyone else what he was about to find out, he’d know for himself.
He couldn’t work out why Danny would bother telling him if he was going to have to keep it a secret, but that only made his curiosity all the more intense.
He had to know. There was no other option in his mind.
“Bring on the paperwork,” Eliot said. “I’m actually dying to know.”
Danny walked to the other end of the counter and collected a stack of papers and a pen. “I assume you’ve seen one of these before? It’s pretty standard.”
“Keep your secrets or you’ll sue me until my nose bleeds. I know.” Eliot nodded. He skimmed the papers for any weird clauses, and on finding none, scrawled his signature on the dotted line.
A smart man would probably have read the paperwork more thoroughly, but Eliot was too desperate to know. Besides, he couldn’t imagine Danny going out of his way to hurt him. That didn’t seem to be the other man’s style.
“Okay. Tell me everything.” He leaned forward, butterflies exploding in his stomach. This had to be good.
Danny took a deep breath, running his fingers through his hair. “Uh. I’m having a little trouble coming up with the right words here, so I’ll be blunt. I want you to pretend to date me.”
Eliot blinked at him, blood rushing in his ears.
Danny wanted him to date him?
No, Danny wanted him topretendto date him.
Eliot wasn’t even sure what that meant. He wanted a fake boyfriend, maybe?
But what the hell for? He could have had any gay man he wanted and probably quite a few straight ones.
“I’m not entirely sure what you’re proposing,” Eliot said, trying to buy himself a few more seconds to analyze the situation.
“You don’t have to make a decision right this second,” Danny assured him, apparently seeing right through the tactic. “Let me explain myself, okay, and then you can decide. Or you can even go away and tell me later, whatever works for you. I know this is a weird idea, but hear me out?”
Eliot bit his lip, trying not to think about how cute Danny was when he was flustered. Underneath his self-confident exterior, there was a much more complex man.
“I’m listening.” Eliot shifted to make himself more comfortable, scooting closer to the counter.
“Okay, well, I’m retiring at the end of this season. That’s a secret, and it’s kind of sudden and unexpected, so I’m in a weird spot right now. I probably shouldn’t have come out, but I didn’t want to be yet another guy who comes out once they’re done. I wanted to be brave about it, even if it’s a little too late for that. Anyway, point is, athletes live on advertising and endorsements once they retire, right?”
“If you say so,” Eliot said, having never thought about it before. He’d assumed they just made obscene amounts of money during their career and lived on the interest.
“Right, well, the thing is, the brands who specifically want a gay man at the front of their campaigns don’t want just anyone. They need him to have a cute boyfriend, minimum, so they can run the love angle instead of just, y’know, gay people are also accomplished human beings. You would make me a more appealing prospect. Or so my manager says, anyway, and he’s never steered me wrong before.”
Eliot’s head spun. This was so much to take in, such a huge thing to be asked. He still wasn’t sure exactlywhathe was being asked.
