But Skyler goes on. “I could give it up. I have more money than I know what to do with already.”
Oh.He’s not joking.
Trevor frowns. Because. “That’s not what you want.”
Skyler’s eyes are piercing. “I want you.”
“Not the point.”
Skyler sounds reluctant when he admits, “No, it’s not what I want. I love performing.” He fixes Trevor with another intense look. “But I’d do it if it’s what it takes to makethiswork.”
“Except it wouldn’t work,” Trevor tells him, trying to ignore the way his heart races at Skyler offering to give up everything for him. “Because then you’d miss it and be miserable, and you’d end up resenting me.”
“I wouldn’t resent you.”
“You don’t know that.” He notices Skyler didn’t deny that he would miss it.
Skyler puts down the guitar and stands, but he doesn’t cross over to Trevor. “God, don’t you realize I’d do anything for you?”
Trevor needs to take a deep breath. “I do.” Hedoes.“But I’m not asking you to do that. I don’t want you to do that.”
Skyler just stands there looking defeated.
Trevor gets up, wanting to lighten the mood but unsure how. “Besides, it wouldn’t help much at this point,” he says. “Britney Spears hasn’t made music in forever, and the paps still harass her every time she steps outside.”
“Are you comparing me to Britney Spears?” Skyler asks, lip quirking up.
“It was the first example that came to mind.”
Skyler grins and then, with a deadpan delivery, tells Trevor to hit him one more time.
Trevor groans. “You are the absolute worst.”
“You love me.”
“I do.”
The tension’s already broken, but for good measure, he darts forward and grabs Skyler around the middle, bending him over so he can smack his ass.
Skyler yelps. “Oh my god, stop!”
“You asked for it,” he tells him.
Skyler is laughing so hard he’s shaking, but he manages to grab Trevor’s wrist before it can come down on his ass again. Then he spins around in his arms and kisses him.
It doesn’t get heated. Sometimes they go from zero to one hundred so fast, and other times they kiss like this simply for the sake of kissing. For the sake of pressing their feelings into each other’s mouths.
When they pull away, Trevor’s heart and his brain have sort of melted together. And maybe that’s what makes him say, “You can sing the song.”
He’s still a little bit scared of what people will think about it. But the look in Skyler’s eyes right now—the dazzling, sparkling awe and joy andlove—tells him he’s making the right choice.
SKYLER
“So Skyler, as I’msure everybody knows by now, you recently came out as gay. Congratulations, by the way. Now how do you think this will affect your career?”
That sounds like a backhanded way of asking,Do you think your album sales will suffer because you’re gay?But Skyler’s had more than enough media training to handle this, and he does his best to stay composed.
He knew the topic would come up, considering this is his first appearance since his initial coming out one, but hopefully they can keep this conversation brief. He’s mainly here for a performance more than an interview.
