Page 21 of Second to None

“Right. So.” He inhaled and lifted his chin. “I’m going to come out.”

CHAPTER6

Cass

Beverly Hills, Friday, August 15th

I wasn’t sure what I’d expected. A standing ovation? Hardly. But it wasn’tthis: Levi’s expression freezing over, eyes turning distant as his shoulders angled inward.

“Good for you,” he said quietly. It felt sincere, but something about it was off, an intangible wrongness to his tone and posture that made the back of my neck itch.

“Overdue, isn’t it?” I was speaking too quickly, words dripping like hot oil into a sizzling pan. “Should have done it years ago. When you asked me to. Maybe I wasn’t ready, but I should have done it anyway.”

“Cass…” Levi exhaled, face softening, and fell silent. A beat passed like that, his clear eyes studying me as I struggled to hold his gaze.

“It’s not an apology,” I said. “I know it doesn’t fix things—it’s not about that.”

“It’s a big deal, though.” His voice was gentle, still a little guarded. “Me, I didn’t have to do a big announcement, no grand public gesture, nothing like that. It’ll be different for you.”

“Yeah, I know.” God, was this an awful idea? Maybe I had no right to even ask. But if he said yes… If he said yes, I’d get the chance to show him how it could be. I raised my gaze from where it had fallen to my lap, channeling the confidence I’d learned to project. Not that he wouldn’t see right through me—he always had. “Did you see the fan pictures posted this morning?”

“Yeah. Mason showed me.” His eyes were steady. “You know what’s funny? That picture of us—my first thought was ‘this needs damage control.’”

Fuck. It took me a second to find the words. “I don’t think that’s funny.”

“Yeah, maybe.” He sighed, shifting slightly so his loose T-shirt slipped to expose one collarbone. I tried not to notice the bare skin of his thighs. Like this, hair unstyled and a softness to the curve of his mouth, he felt achingly familiar. “I didn’t mean to make you feel bad, you know. Sorry if I did.”

I still love you.

I didn’t say that—not even sure it was true. I loved the memory of us, of him, his sharp edges and gentle smiles, how he’d made the rest of the world go quiet. Naively, I’d thought it would be just a matter of time until I found that again. I’d been wrong.

No one compared. And if there was anything left between us, if there was even thesliverof a chance…

I needed to know.

“Guess what my first thought was?” I shot him a smile, allowing nervousness to bleed into my tone. “My first thought was ‘I hope there’ll be rumors.’”

A twitch around his eyes, no clearly discernible emotion. “About us?”

“Yeah. Lay the groundwork, you know? For when I come out. So it’ll be less of a surprise.” I kept watching him closely, drawing shallow breaths as I waited for something, anything.

“I guess that makes sense,” was all he gave me, painfully neutral. The arm’s length between us felt like miles.

All right, then. Time to take the plunge.

“I was thinking…” Jesus, why was this so fuckinghard? If he said no, then yeah, it would sting. But I could tell myself it was the situation he rejected, not me. “If you’re willing, of course. But you’re out by now, right? And the fans speculated about us before. It would be easy to revive that if we gave them some fuel for their fodder.”

The slightest raise of Levi’s eyebrows. Sunlight bleached the tips of his lashes to a wispy gold. “You mean a fake relationship?”

“Basically?” It sounded, well… selfish. It was. Just not in the way he probably thought. “I know it’d put you back in the spotlight, and I know that’s not something you’re keen on. But what if, in return, you get to pick one of your acts to open for me? On my next tour.”

He took a moment to respond. “That’s a big deal.”

Not a no. Certainly not a yes either.

I strove for a calm air. “Seems only fair, doesn’t it?”

Slowly, he shook his head. “It wouldn’t be such a hardship to help you out, Cass.”

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