Page 81 of The Reality of Wanting Him

“There does seem to be a lot of people here,” Liam responds casually as he looks out at the audience, playing into the teasing approach the producers wanted us to take. Sure, we could go the Jace and Kieran route and refuse to give them anything, but Liam and I have talked extensively about the benefits our popularity could bring the farm, so we’re willing to play along.

Plus, it’s kind of fun.

“Blake, I think we have to start with you, did youreallythink you were straight when you applied for the show? A lot of people online have speculated that you wouldn't have signed up at all if you weren’t at least open to the idea of being with a man.”

“Those people might be smarter than I am,” I joke. I’ve seen all of the backlash online, so this isn’t news to me. There were a lot of people, especially when only the first few episodes were released thathatedme. I was called every word for insensitive, biased, ignorant, sexist—you name it and someone was labeling me that way.

Luckily, after the first few episodes, I seemed to win people over with my willingness to adapt once I met Liam and loved him for him, regardless of his gender. Supporters for my “embraced bi-awakening” rose up to defend me, loudly praising our relationship for setting an example of people realizing their sexuality later in life. They particularly loved the way I came out to my friends at the hockey game and told them they could get out if they had a problem with me or Liam.

Then when news of the ultimatum came out, the fandom was split again. Some people still believed me saying that there’s no way I faked my feelings for Liam even if money was involved. But a lot of people assumed the worst like Liam initially did, so it will be interesting to see how tonight goes.

There was another group who said I was an actor, planted bythe show to boost ratings, and that there was no way someone could go from identifying as straight, to so publicly dating a man as quickly as I did, and the drama of the money only seemed to add fuel to their claims that everything was scripted.

I like to tell Liam that if there had been cameras in our room and those people could have seen the first time he fucked my face, then they would believe me, but he just shakes his head and laughs whenever I suggest it.

Universally though, my mother is hated by all. According to my father, she was livid when she found out there had been cameras in the room when she talked to Liam. That episode led to my parents separating, so I haven’t gotten many updates on her since then, which is perfectly fine with me.

“Well, Andy, can I be honest with you?” I ask sincerely, like there aren’t hundreds of people staring at us right now and cameras shooting from five different angles.

“Of course, Blake, we’re all friends here.”

“Absolutely,” I respond, just as cheesy, really getting into it now. “Well, the truth is, yes, I did believe I was straight. Maybe on some level, I was cool with the possibility of being with a man, but I wasn’t lying when I labeled myself that way. It’s what I believed to be true at the time. But the real motivator for me signing up for the show was the ultimatum my parents gave me. They threatened to cut me off, so I needed to be married, and I wasn’t particular about who I would be tying myself to. I just wanted to keep living my expensive life in the city the same way I always had.”

“We’ll come back to the ultimatum in a moment, but can you tell us a little more about when things changed for you? I think we all saw how heartbroken you were when Liam told you he couldn’t go through with the wedding.”

“Well, I think before I even met Liam, I was excited about the possibility of actually liking the person I could marry, which might sound like a basic requirement for a spouse, but when Itell you I went into this show with minimal expectations about my partner, that’s the truth.”

Andy laughs at my response, and I try my best to avoid looking over at Liam. I know I won’t be able to hold back the way I feel about him from my expression, and we want to keep people interested as I continue.

“When we met, obviously I had the moment of shock, realizing how stupid I’d been with my assumptions, but there was still that part of me that was really excited to see where things could go with the person I’d been talking to. I had to reevaluate some assumptions I’d made about myself as well, and at the end of the day, I’m actually really glad that I had the ultimatum as that initial excuse to keep seeing him.”

“So the ultimatum—I think everyone knows about it by now—luckily our dedicated camera crew caught the confrontation with your parents, as well as your mother’s conversation with Liam. Did you watch that part?” He pauses for me to nod before continuing. “Well, your dad made it seem like you were never really at risk of losing your money. Have there been any problems there?”

“No, I still have access to everything. I just have a much better purpose for spending it now,” I assure him with a huge grin, still avoiding looking at Liam.

“And do you still talk to your parents? You had some choice words to say about your mother.”

“My dad and I are working on a more honest and open style of communication. My mother and I haven’t spoken since what should have been my wedding day,” I answer honestly.

Andy nods solemnly. “Well, I’m happy to hear things seem to be improving with your father.” Then he sits up a bit straighter to dramatically look back and forth between Liam and I before pointing a finger at each of us and crossing to the other.

“Okay, okay, I think the real question we’ve all been dying to ask, is what the hell happened after Liam left? Have you twospoken before today? Was the truth about the ultimatum really enough to tear you apart forever?” Obviously Andy already knows we’re back together, but his voice cracks at his final question, really selling how emotionally invested he seems to be in our relationship.

“We’ve talked before today,” I say with a smirk.

“Aaaaaand?” Andy prompts desperately.

“And apparently I wasn’t clear enough when I tried to end things with Blake,” Liam says lightly, one corner of his mouth turned up as he holds in a laugh. “He showed up on my farm a few days later with his dog and all his packed bags, ready to move in with my dad. He said that I never actually broke things off with him, that I just told him I couldn’t marry him that day. I said something about needing to be with someone who chose me. So, he was choosing me and the life we had planned, and he promised to give me the time and space I needed to trust him again before we officially got back together.”

“Well… did it work?”

Liam finally shifts his gaze to meet mine, both of us smiling as we finally get to tell the crowd we’re together. “It did,” is all Liam has to say for the audience to erupt. People are cheering and clapping, someone shouts out that Liam shouldn’t have forgiven me, and someone else yells that they’ll marry me instead. It’s chaos for a few minutes while the show’s staff tries to calm the audience down.

They must cut to commercial, because a two-person couch is brought out and exchanged for Liam’s and my seats so that we can sit together at last. We weave our fingers together, placing them on Liam’s thigh, and eventually Andy is able to continue. “People certainly have strong opinions about you two. Has that made it difficult to navigate resuming your relationship?”

I nod at Liam to answer. “To be honest, we’ve been able to get to a point where we don’t care what anyone outside of our relationship has to say about it. We’re grateful for all the supportthat we’ve seen online and on all our social media. We’re actually planning to open the farm up as a family destination this fall, so we’re hoping that our new followers will help to spread the word, and maybe some will even come meet us to support the farm and all the new animals Blake has insisted on adopting,” he teases.

“That sounds fantastic, I know I’ll visit!”

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