Don’t be like that,he thought.He’s just doing what’s best for both of you.
“I get that,” he said. “Do you think they’ll be okay with it?”
Mikey shrugged.
“If they’re not, they’re going to have to figure out a way to be. I love you, Luke Carter, and I’m not going to let you get away from me a second time.”
Luke looked away so Mikey wouldn’t see just how much his words affected him.
“Hey,” Mikey said, “I mean it, okay? I’m going to do everything in my power to look out for us. I promise.”
Luke gave him what he hoped was a reassuring smile. He was pretty sure, based on the look on Mikey’s face, it came out as more of a grimace.
“I trust you,” he said, pouring all of his belief in Mikey into his tone. “Really. I’ve just been burned so many times, and I don’t want our relationship to turn into another press debacle for either of us.”
“Trust me. I’m going to put Damian on it. If anyone can keep this going the way we want it to, if anyone can keep control of the narrative, it’s Damian.”
Luke could tell there was a whole lot more about Damian Mikey wasn’t telling, but he decided not to push it for now. If Mikey had faith in the guy, then he would, too.
They parted ways shortly after, and as Luke drove off–not sure yet where he was going to go for the rest of the day–his heart was breaking a little.
“Hey,” Mikey said, giving him another tender kiss, “don’t have such a long face. We’ll be back together soon. Promise.”
“I’m gonna hold you to that,” Luke said, and then Mikey was gone, back into the hotel.
See you soon, Mikey Smiles,he thought.
CHAPTER 28
MIKEY—2015
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Mikey had known, deep down, Damian was going to respond like this, but he wasn’t sure he could’ve been prepared for just how vehemently dismissive he was of the relationship taking shape between Mikey and Luke. The minute Mikey told him what had happened between the two of them, and about their boyfriend status, his face twisted up like he’d bitten into something either sour or rotten.
“What?” Mikey demanded. “You’ve been after me to get a boyfriend because it would be good publicity. Well, now I have. I thought you’d be happy.”
Damian just scowled. “I didn’t mean to jump into bed with a disgraced country singer,” he snapped. “And I think you know that. I meant find someone worthy of you and who’ll help your image. God, do I have to do everything?”
Mikey didn’t like the way Damian was speaking, and it made him think something sinister was going on, something just under the surface. He couldn’t quite put his finger on what was going on, but he knew it was there, lurking just out of sight.
“Just promise me you won’t do anything mean,” he blurted out.
“What kind of mean gay do you take me for?” Damian asked, batting his eyes in exaggerated innocence.
The kind of mean gay you are,Mikey thought.
“I don’t know,” he said. “It’s just…you seem so dead set against our relationship. I don’t want you to do something to damage it.”
“Oh, you sweet summer child,” Damian said, “if I wanted to destroy your relationship with Luke, there’s nothing you could do to stop me.” He huffed out a long-suffering sigh. “Very well. If you want to go down this road, then who am I to stop you? You’re a big boy. You can make your own decisions about who you date and when.”
Mikey narrowed his eyes and then looked at Tricia, to see what she might have to say. She just blew a bubble with her gum, though.
“Oh come on,” he said. “I know you have to have an opinion. You have an opinion about literally everything I do.”
She just shrugged, though. “I already said I think he’s hot. And if he makes you happy, then you should go for it. I mean, who knows? The two of you having a romance might even make this whole concert worth it, and if it works, then the memoir will sell more, and then your album will also sell more. It seems like a pretty decent win-win for all of us.”
Mikey didn’t like to look a gift horse in the mouth, but everything seemed just a bit too easy. Tricia, of course, was always going to take the path of least resistance, because she didn’t like confrontations. Damian, though…he just didn’t trust Damian not to actually do something spiteful.
