Five spoke to the camera. “Welcome back to Five Parker at Five. Make some noise! Have I got a line up for you today! We’re going to be talking to key political figures for some of America’s most conservative towns, asking them, ‘What do you plan to do to make your town more inclusive?’ So, don’t go anywhere. This is your host, Five Parker, and I’m here for the gangbang!”
The audience cheered raucously and a jazz ensemble played a jaunty tune to send them to commercial break. Cee-Cee scrunched up her face in a half-smile and pointed at the screen. “Who is this guy?”
Bryan chuckled at her facial expression. “Someone Gina lined up. I had heard of him before she mentioned him, but I never paid much attention to his show.”
“He’s pretty flamboyant,” Cee-Cee said nervously. Bryan shook his head and told her not to worry about it.
“I vetted Gina’s questions. They were solid.” Cee-Cee whistled low. Based on the question of the day, she had a feeling things might not go according to the script.
“This feels like a hot seat. Got any plans for how to get him out of there if this guy brings the heat?” she whispered.
Bryan nodded. “Yep. We send you out there.”
“Wait, what?!”
“You’re his ex-girlfriend. Credibility in the flesh.”
Cee-Cee groaned and dropped her head. “I should’ve known you were insisting I be here for a reason.”
“I’m just kidding, Cora-Lynn,” Bryan laughed at her appalled look. “Phoenix Briton is a big boy, and this ain’t his first rodeo. But the way you’re worried about him, I’d say you still care.”
“You know better. Phoenix and I only dated because he felt having a serious relationship would help his campaign.”
“That’s not exactly what I saw. I saw two young people sparking at each other from the moment they met.”
She giggled. “Well, you should get your eyes checked. Phoenix and I were just friends.”
“I guess that’s why when you fake broke up, you stopped talking to him for real, then.”
* * *
Across town at his hotel room, Ashley was tuned in to the interview, too. After a long day sitting with his dad at the hospital, he needed to unwind, and the TV buzzing softly in the background helped him sleep. He had flipped to the Five Parker at Five Show on a whim only to discover Phoenix was part of the lineup for the night.
He muttered to himself, “Just my luck. I get to watch him tell the world what great buds we are.” His cellphone rang just as Phoenix introduced himself and started chatting with Five. “Hello?” Ashley answered the phone.
“Tell me you’re watching that interview.”
“Tegan?” He hadn’t talked to his former manager since he had tricked her into introducing him to her photographer and gotten the original pictures from him. Ashley sat forward on the bed with a nervous rush of butterflies. Why was she calling and what did she know about this interview?
“Tell me you’re watching. I want you to see this. We’re about to skewer your boy!”
“What are you talking about?” A cold finger of dread inched down his spine. He swallowed and shifted the phone to the other ear. Ashley watched Phoenix on television channeling his trademark charm to win over the studio audience and even getting Five Parker laughing.
Five was notorious for being a hardass who put people on the spot with uncomfortable questions. That was part of the reason Ashley hadn’t accepted his request for an interview. He’d be back on the circuit soon enough, though. His father was in hospice care now. Reginald Harold didn’t have much time left, and Ashley would start touring again as soon as he saw his father laid to rest.
“I’m talking about ruining Phoenix Briton and fixing your career. You were dragging your feet on getting those pictures out there, so I decided to talk to Five Parker about our friend Mayor Phoenix Briton to let him know exactly what sort of questions to ask.” Tegan laughed softly over the phone, but Ashley was anything but amused.
“Tegan. What did you do?”
At the menacing growl that edged his voice, Tegan paused. “I did what you wanted me to do. I created a scandal for you.”
“Oh, god.” Ashley squeezed the bridge of his nose and dropped his head back. “Please tell me you didn’t leak any information about my relationship with Phoenix to Five Parker.”
“I told him everything. About you and Cee-Cee and Phoenix. You know what a hot topic polyamorous relationships are right now? You’ll be a trendsetter after this! It’s the quickest, easiest way to get the information out to as many people as possible. This is what you wanted.”
“No. No, it’s not. Damn it, Tegan! I told you I would handle this! You don’t even work for me anymore.”
Tegan snapped back, “What about the pictures? You asked me to get them for you, and I did. I assumed you wanted my help.”
“I destroyed those fucking pictures! You should have never had someone spying on me in the firsts place! I have half a mind to press charges, but that would be a waste of my time!”
“You did what?!”
“Look, don’t do me any more favors. If I don’t ask you to do it, just don’t do it. Pretend like you don’t even know me.”
“Don’t bother asking. This is the last time I’ll stick out my neck for you.”
“What exactly did you tell Five Parker to ask,” he ground out.
“See for yourself. I don’t have to answer to you. I no longer work for you.”
The dial tone quickly followed, and Ashley threw the phone onto the bed with a frustrated, muted scream. He couldn’t just sit there and watch the man he loved lose everything he had worked for. He had to get to Phoenix. Hopefully he could get to the studio before it was too late; but, barring that, he had to let him know that he hadn’t had a part in any of this. Ashley grabbed his keys to the rental car and jetted out the door.
Phoenix would never forgive him. Inadvertently, this was Ashley’s fault.
* * *
Phoenix crossed his ankle over his knee as he answered Five Parker’s question about his childhood growing up in a small town. “You know, in a small town everybody knows everybody. Usually on a first name basis.” He had his answers memorized. Five was to stick to a select set of questions vetted by Gina Lafitte and Bryan Friedman’s team. He was confident this uncomfortable mess would be over with soon. Phoenix was sweating bullets nevertheless. He hated live interviews.
“And what about your parents? Would you say they’re conservative? Liberal? Like, how would they take it if you came out of the closet?”
Phoenix tried not to show his shock at this incredible break with the script. “I, uh…Ha! Well, let’s see. I’ve never been in the closet, unless it’s to get out something to wear.”
“Yes, indeed! That’s a good one! And you were named Most Stylish last year, so I guess staying in the closet is working for you. But tell me this. Is it hard to be yourself when you’re in the spotlight all the time? I mean, I don’t imagine a man like you having difficulty picking up guys, but do you find you have to tread lightly?”
“No, I don’t-I don’t pick up guys.” Phoenix shifted in his chair with a tight smile planted on his face, but his eyes fired daggers at Five Parker.
The loquacious talk show host looked unperturbed. “C’mon! What about Ashley Terrence? Rumor has it the two of you are inseparable. I hear he’s a good friend of yours, right?” Five glanced down at the cue cards in his hand, and Phoenix bit his bottom lip, wondering how the man had gotten his information.
But he breathed a sigh of relief as he realized that by talking about Ashley they were back on solid ground. He could talk about his friendship with the rock star. That was the whole reason he was here.
“Yeah, Ashley Terrence is a close friend of mine. I have friends from all walks of life. I believe in inclusiveness, and I’m secure enough in my identity not to be homophobic. Um, Ashley’s also close friends with my former girlfriend, Cora-Lynn Carson. The three of us were inseparable.”
“Aw, your former girlfriend. Yeah, I heard something about the two of you splitting up. That had to be tough for you. Happened right before or after that cruise the three of you went on.”
Phoenix couldn’t hide the sadness that crept into his voice at the mention of the cruise. It didn’t even occur to him that Five Parker shouldn’t know shit about that cruise. What he felt was honest and unmistakable heartache. “W-we broke up recently, but it feels like it was yesterday. Hell, I’m still raw. I’m still kind of shocked by how it all went down. Still, uh, recovering. I don’t think I’ll ever get over them—it. The break up.”
* * *
“Do you see this?” Cee-Cee hissed. “He’s floundering! Why is that bastard asking him questions about our break up? I thought this was supposed to be political commentary!” Cee-Cee kept her gaze pointed at the screen, shaking her head at what was being asked. She stole a glance at her uncle, and he looked as perplexed as she felt.
“None of this was on the list of questions we gave him.”
“But are you sure Gina gave him the questions? You never know with her. She had her own agenda going,” Cee-Cee murmured, concerned. She winced as Phoenix took another verbal blow that implied he was gay. “This is a disaster waiting to happen, Uncle Bryan.”
“Let’s see where it goes. Don’t give up hope yet.”
She sighed and leaned back in her chair, arms crossed.
“Well, I’m not gay,” said Phoenix on the screen.
“Now, hang on a second. I’m not calling you gay. I’m just saying. My source is a friend of Ashley’s, and she tells me the two of you, quote, ‘Go out all the time. It’s obvious they are very much in love with one another.’ I’m not one for labels myself, darling.” Five Parker grinned mischievously. “I’m simply trying to figure out how a guy like you can run a town like yours. I mean, do they know?”
Cee-Cee covered her face and dropped her head on the table. “He is going to shit a brick when this interview is over.” Her voice was muffled and distressed.
“He’s going to fire the firm,” Bryan worried. “He’s going to fire the fucking firm after this.”
* * *
Up front, Phoenix stared at the stage floor. This son of a bitch was trying to goad him into saying something he hadn’t come here to say. And who was his source? Phoenix frowned. There was no getting around this or out of this, other than to end the interview. They still had two minutes to go. He could keep denying and having the same questions thrown back at him in a different way, or he could come clean and really take the wind out of his father’s sails.
Wallace Briton believed the people of this town couldn’t handle having a bisexual man representing them, but deep in his heart Phoenix was sure that wasn’t true. He had his worries and concerns about his image. However, did he really think they’d burn him at the stake?
His mother had told him he deserved to be happy and who he dated was nobody’s business, but she had also told him keeping secrets could make the people he cared about feel he didn’t have any faith in them or himself.
On the other hand, Cee-Cee had broken up with him, and he hadn’t seen or heard from Ashley since the cruise; so he had nothing to gain for saying he had been with them both. He could stick to the plan. He should stick to the plan.
Yet he could picture Ashley and Cee-Cee somewhere watching this and seeing confirmation that he had never really cared about them. Phoenix couldn’t live with that. He opened his mouth to speak and there was nothing left to say but the truth.
“You know what? Five, I do care about Ashley. I love him very much. In fact, I dare say he’s the only man that I have ever fallen in love with. But what does that have to do with my leadership abilities? I’ve been in office and proven my merit, and I’ve advanced my community. I think that matters much more than who I go to bed with.”
The set went quiet as everyone stared at him, stunned. Phoenix’s heart hammered in his chest. What he was doing went against everything he knew about politics, but he was tired. He was tired of hiding. He had lost two of the most important people in life, just as he had feared he would, all because he hadn’t done this in the first place.
“I love Ashley Terrence,” said Phoenix Briton. “As much as I’m in love with Cora-Lynn Carson. And if you want to know what I’m doing to make my town as diverse and inclusive as our country should be, well, this is it. I’m an example of the fact that you can come from a small town where everybody knows everybody, where your secrets aren’t safe, and you can come out and be yourself because small town doesn’t mean small-minded. I have confidence in my townspeople. They’re no small-minded people, and I’m proud to call myself their mayor. I hope they’re proud to have me, too.”
The audience erupted with applause. It was unexpected, and the loud outpouring of support made his heart pound fearfully as much as the confession had. These people who didn’t know him felt like he had done something praiseworthy. Five Parker stared at him with a stunned expression and set his cue cards aside, smiling.
“Well, then.” Five gestured with his hands for the audience to calm down, but the cheers got louder. Phoenix sat back and felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulder. “Alright, now!” The jazz ensemble played a tune, and Phoenix chuckled. Five shrugged and grinned. “They love you, man. America loves you right now.”
Chapter 38
Phoenix wanted to think he had done the right thing. He tapped the floor of the stage restlessly with his foot and interlocked his fingers to keep his hands from shaking. He felt like he had swallowed a handful of fairies who were playing tag on his insides. The hot studio lights beaming down on them from above had him sweating, and he could hardly hear above the thunderous response from the studio audience until finally the crowd was gotten under control.
The studio audience applause died down to the hushed conversations of about a hundred people, still amplified by the fact that they were talking simultaneously. Phoenix tugged on the collar of his shirt and stared at the exit. This was the longest three-minute interview ever. Wasn’t it time for him to leave yet?
Five Parker’s shrewd gaze pinned him to the couch, and Phoenix had a feeling that the talk show host had gotten more out of this interview than he had hoped for. He looked surprised and pleased, but Phoenix suddenly understood that this was supposed to be a crucifixion. Whoever the man’s source was had given Five enough ammo about his relationship with Ashley to nail Phoenix to the cross. So, who was the source?
His jaw tightened as he clenched his teeth. Gina Lafitte didn’t know anything about his relationship with Ashley. No one knew anything about his relationship with Ashley, except Cee-Cee. She wouldn’t do that to me. He briefly closed his eyes. Would she?
“How do you feel right now?” asked Five. “Don’t you feel lighter now that you can be yourself?”
Those were the words that echoed in Phoenix’s head when he finally escaped the lights and cameras, briskly walking back to the greenroom. As soon as he entered backstage, Bryan Friedman stepped out with a troubled expression.
“Mr. Mayor, he broke script, and I take full responsibility. I am so sorry you had to go through that,” Bryan leaned in close to whisper. Phoenix nodded and shook his head at the same time. He clasped Bryan’s hand in a firm shake and patted him on the back.
“We’ll take care of it. Your people can go now. I’m heading out.”
“Phoenix!”
He whipped around at someone calling his name. Ashley pushed past the guard trying to keep him out and rushed to him. Phoenix’s first instinct was to subtly shake his head to let Ashley know to keep it non-intimate, but Phoenix froze as everyone looked from him to Ashley. The world knew. Don’t you feel lighter now that you can be yourself? No, he didn’t. He felt like he had been goaded into revealing personal information that really wasn’t anyone else’s business, but now that the world knew, to hell with pretenses.
Ashley grabbed him in a hug, and Phoenix slowly slid his arms around
his waist, resting his forehead against the side of his face. The embrace was very brief, but it recharged him. Ashley discreetly brushed his lips over Phoenix’s neck. “Did you hear?” Phoenix asked.
“I got here on the tail end. Phoenix, we need to talk. I think my ex-manager fed Five Parker information about us,” he whispered. He clutched Phoenix by the shoulders and looked him in the eyes. “Are you okay?” he asked quietly. Phoenix nodded, clasping Ashley’s forearm and squeezing comfortingly. He didn’t realize his facial expression was that of a man who was trying to be brave in the most terrifying situation of his life.
So it wasn’t Cee-Cee, thank goodness, Phoenix thought. It didn’t seem like something she would do. He sighed. It didn’t matter now anyway. It was done. He had done it.
“I was just about to leave. You coming?” Phoenix beckoned for him to follow him to the greenroom. But when Cee-Cee stepped out with the other PR-ISM staff and her eyes locked with his, he held out his hand to her, hoping. Cee-Cee hesitated. “Dinner?” he extended the invitation.
She looked down at her feet and glanced away but finally tossed her raven hair out of her face and nodded. “Yeah, dinner sounds great.”
Phoenix collected his things, and the three exited the building in search of dinner and a place for Phoenix to lick his wounds. However, before Phoenix reached his car, he heard footsteps running behind him and turned to investigate. He saw Five Parker in pursuit and paused. Handing his keys to Ashley, he said, “You guys go ahead. I’ll meet you at the car.”
“I drove,” Cee-Cee reminded him. “What about my car? Are we gonna leave it here?”
“Yeah, I drove, too.”
“We’ll come back for your cars. Let me just see what he wants so I can get away from here.”
“Phoenix Briton,” Five called out. Ashley and Cee-Cee reluctantly left him, and Phoenix half-smiled at the talk show host.
MMF BISEXUAL ROMANCE: Phoenix Running Page 29