Page 29 of Undeniable Temptation

He felt obliged to come running when they needed his help. Being needed at all was a bonus when his world seemed to be turning against him.

His cell rang again, Felicity’s name displaying on his screen.

“How far away are you?” Her voice was panicked, even more than it had been two minutes ago.

“I’m in the hall leading to your dressing room. Open the door and I’ll be there.”

The whoosh of air sounded up ahead, her head then peeking into the hall. She was pale, one hand gripping the door while the other latched onto the frame.

“Has something happened?”

“Nothing new, but we need to talk.”

She backed into the room, opening the door wide to let him in. He followed, jutting his chin in greeting at Hannah who sat on the make-up counter, her hands clutching the wood beneath her, her back to the mirror.

“Spill.” He eyed them both, back and forth as they stared at one another. They gave him nothing. No words. No expressions. Just overwhelming amounts of apprehension. “You’re not going to tell me you’re gay, are you?” he joked, even adding a chuckle to his voice to lighten the mood.

Neither of them laughed.

“Flick?” His pulse increased. The static in his head, too.

She met his gaze with a wince, then focused back on Hannah.

Oh, no. Hell, no.

He turned to Hannah, her fingers now holding the bench with a white-knuckled grip.

“You’re gay?”

She bit her lip and nodded.

Bam. That sucker punch hit him in the gut, almost buckling him. Gay wasn’t good. Not from his perspective. Not when they were trying to convince the world they were happily heterosexual.

“We’ve been together for almost a year.”

Ba-bam. This verbal swing landed lower, right between the thighs with emasculating effects.

“Why are you telling me this?” Why now, when he no longer had the ability to save himself from the social media backlash?

Felicity came up beside him, her gaze pleading. “Hannah’s been struggling to watch us from the sidelines. We’ve been fighting about it for weeks. We hoped telling you, and getting her involved, might make things easier.”

He stepped back, needing space as he scowled through the mess otherwise known as his life. “What does that even mean?” How had he missed all the signs?Christ. They’d shared his bed for the last week and he still hadn’t noticed. “Fuck me.”

He’d never been one to curse unnecessarily, but right now he wanted to shout expletives until he was diagnosed with Tourette’s. He was going to go on a fuck-a-thon, otherwise it would be a drink-a-thon and Leah was already on his back about liquor.

He couldn’t catch a break. He couldn’t even catch his breath through the ongoing carnage.

“Why are you angry?” Felicity went to Hannah’s side, the two of them huddling close.

“Why?” He started to pace, running his fingers through his hair and tugging on the strands in the hopes the pain would create clarity. “Have you looked at this from my perspective? Have you spared a thought on how brutal the media and public will be on a guy who couldn’t satisfy his wife, then hooked up with someone else months later, only to turn her gay?”

“You didn’t turn me.”

“Does anyone else know that?” He spread his arms wide. “Because Leah did a thorough check on you and certainly didn’t come up with the pussy preference.”

They balked and he couldn’t tell if it was from his word choice or his callous tone.

“I’ll be forever known as the guy who turns women gay.” If not publicly, he sure as shit wouldn’t come out unscathed once his friends found out. “Fuck.”

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