Steam (Homecoming Hearts #4)(35)

But when Trent thought of sweet Ashby’s face, his innocent smile and sparkling eyes, he couldn’t bear the thought of hurting him. Was an easier life with the tabloids and bloggers worth putting before Ashby?

Fuck anyone who thought less of Trent if he dated a guy. Blake and Raiden had both thrown their sexuality in people’s faces. Blake very publicly so.

No. Trent was going to choose his friend over anything, even if they were telling a little white lie.

He leaned into Kiefer, looking him unflinchingly in the eye. Trent quirked the corner of his mouth into a sneer. “Go find another cute twink who isn’t repulsed by you,” he said softly. “Ashby is nobody’s property. He’s not interested in you, so leave him – and us – the fuck alone.”

Marlin yapped in agreement.

Trent didn’t bother looking back at Kiefer or his cronies as he marched away, heading for the door to take Merlin to his cabin for a while. Trent was aware that Kiefer had the power to make life difficult for his dad, but Trent knew firsthand what a stubborn old bastard his dad could be. Let Kiefer try and pick a fight with him.

But if Trent was going to be serious about this whole ‘dating Ashby’ thing, he had a real decision to make.

Because you brought your other half to weddings. And if he didn’t take Ashby this weekend where there would be press coverage, there was a chance Kiefer could find out. Let alone the idea of leaving Ashby alone for three days with him around made Trent very nervous.

He let himself into his cabin and took a deep breath. It looked like if he was going to keep up this charade, he was going to have to go whole hog with it.

The question was, what would Ashby think of this idea?





15





Ashby





“I’m sorry, but you want to do what?”

Ashby blinked at Trent across the table. Trent had been unusually quiet during their snowboarding session that afternoon, even for him. Then he’d suggested they grab a hot drink to warm themselves up again, where he’d casually asked Ashby to be his date at a wedding.

Well, not really. He’d explained about running into Kiefer again and how the lie had gotten out of hand. But Ashby couldn’t help but think it would have been easier to come up with another solution.

Trent shifted his bulk in the slightly too-small chair. “I know, it’s crazy,” he mumbled, twisting his coffee cup around. “You don’t have to.”

The thing was, it was nothing for Ashby to buy plane tickets at the last minute. He could pick up a new suit and afford a hotel room. It was more the implication that Trent was willing to lie, not just to Kiefer, but the world at large.

“You want to pretend to your friends?” he said.

Trent quickly shook his head. “No,” he said. “I was going to say that we were friends. That’s, um, true. Right?”

It was adorable to see a normally big, confident hunk look at Ashby like he was at his mercy. His trust and respect after such a short amount of time put Gordon and Ashby’s other exes to shame.

“Of course we’re friends,” Ashby said, laying a hand on Trent’s hand for a second. “But it’s a big deal to even flirt with the idea of coming out of the closet. You won’t be able to undo this if people get wind of it.”

Trent shrugged. “So?” he said. “I don’t see anything shameful in being bi. If people want to flip their fucking minds over it, I don’t care. I’m the dumb idiot who pretended to be your boyfriend. If we have to keep that up to keep you safe, I’d love to have you be my plus one.” He gave Ashby a tight smile. “Besides, this way you get to meet my best buds. If we’re going to be friends, that would be cool, right?”

Ashby was dumbstruck. Trent wanted to be friends for real? Not just for the next week or two? And he wanted him to meet his friends? More to the point, he didn’t care if people called him gay or bi?

Well, he wasn’t. He could ride out the rumors, then go back to his real life. He wouldn’t really be coming out of the closet.

Ashby wasn’t sure how he felt about being a part of such a large fib. He couldn’t help but feel it would make a mockery of him and other queer people. However, Trent was only doing it to try and keep him safe from that repulsive creep.

“So,” he said slowly. “We’d just be going as friends? Well…that could be fun, couldn’t it?” He smiled, warming to the idea. Because Trent wasn’t asking him as a cruel joke or anything after all. “I do love weddings.”

“Yeah?” said Trent, brightening. “So, you’ll consider it?”

“Sure,” said Ashby. “Why not? You only live once, right? But won’t your friends be put out by a last minute extra guest?”

For some reason, Trent laughed. “They’ve been desperate for me to bring a date, so there’s a place for you,” he said. “But, to be honest, the idea of bringing a friend is so much better. We can dance and eat cake and drink Champagne.”

An unhelpful thought crept into Ashby’s mind that maybe…just maybe…if Trent was willing to go further with this fallacy, there could be a grain of truth to it. After all, if he was repulsed by the idea of holding hands and cuddling with a guy, he wouldn’t do it. Right?

Ashby decided to be as honest as the situation allowed. He smiled and took a sip of weak tea. “If you really don’t care about people gossiping, I’ll be honored to come along as your friend. I actually think it’s pretty admirable that you wouldn’t care what people think of your sexuality.”