Page 76 of The Wiener Across the Way

“Fine.” Skeeter’s voice was grating and grave. “Big Marine has decided that you’ve breached your contract. They’re citing that you cancelled shows without their permission, add that to being past due on the date for your next album, and they’re done. I told you they were pissed, but you didn’t listen. You had to go to a football game.”

An icy dread seeped into my psyche. She was trying to blame this on me. Kelsey was going to need another new phone because I was about to smash this one. Except she looked like she was on the verge of fainting again. She’d gone pale and her pupils were like little pinpricks. “What does this mean for the tour and my contract with them?”

“They’re pulling the plug, Kelsey. The rest of the tour’s canceled and so is your next album. You’re done.”

“But I thought they understood I needed more time to work on the songs for the next album.” Her voice was barely a whisper. “And the shows were sold out arenas. I was going to do them. I was going to leave for Texas tomorrow morning.”

She looked at me, and my heart sank clear through my stomach, dropped down to the floor, and rolled away. This was my fault. I was the one who’d made her take the week off. I’d thrown our phones in the lake and insisted we ignore the world for a few days. But what really hurt me was not how much I’d fucked up her career. It was the tears threatening to overwhelm her.

“It’s too late. Maybe if I’d been able to get a hold of you a few days ago, but now? We’re all screwed.”

The call ended, leaving us in a heavy silence. Kelsey exhaled deeply, the burden of what had just happened still lingering in the air.

After Skeeter’s call, a heavy cloud seemed to hang over us. Kelsey, with tears threatening to spill over, nodded at mysuggestion to call it a night. The weight of the day’s revelations was too much, and we needed some respite, however brief.

Pooh, sensing the somber mood, whined until I picked her up as we made our way upstairs. I could tell Kelsey was lost in her thoughts, her shoulders slumped, a stark contrast to the vibrant woman I knew. I hated seeing her like this, but I had to respect her need to process everything in her own time.

We went to bed in silence, the usual comfort of being in each other’s arms overshadowed by the day’s events. I held her close, hoping to offer some solace through my presence, but the tension in her body was palpable. I stroked her hair until she fell asleep, but she slept fitfully and shallow.

The morning sun brought no relief. We woke to the sound of my family congregated downstairs, their voices a cacophony of concern and confusion.

“Looks like we’ve got company,” I muttered, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

Kelsey groaned softly, burying her face in the pillow. “I’m not ready for this.”

I kissed the top of her head. “I know, but we can’t hide up here forever. Let’s face this together.”

Hand in hand, with Pooh trotting along behind us, we descended the stairs to find my entire family in my living room. Dad, all my brothers, Jules, and Trixie, their expressions a mix of worry and support.

“What’s going on?” I asked, bracing myself for more unwelcome news. The entire family only showed up if we were celebrating or something bad had happened. Otherwise, we were just in and out and around each other’s lives like normal.

Dad stepped forward, his face serious. “Tell us straight, right here, right now. Is this relationship fake?”

Oh shit. Pooh growled at him, but he just scooped the little dog up and held her like a baby, giving her belly scratches. If thiswasn’t such a serious question I had to answer, I’d be worried I’d just been usurped as Wiener the Pooh’s favorite Kingman. “No, Dad.”

But at the same time as I said that, Kelsey blurted out, “It started out that way, but it isn’t now.”

Every eye in the room flicked back and forth between the two of us. Then the room erupted with everyone asking a different question. My dad whistled and everyone shut up. Then he raised one eyebrow and said, “Explain.”

Jules tossed her phone to me. She was the only one who knew about the NDA. Her screen showed a page with a big headline in red that said “Romance or Showmance? An insider in Kelsey Best’s camp reveals an agreement between the couple to engage in a fake relationship!”

Kelsey looked at the phone and then up at me. “I think we’d better come clean.”

I shook my head. “No, you’re the one I need to come clean with Kels.”

“What?” She took the tiniest step back. Fuck. First, I fucked up her career, and now I was about to fuck up our relationship. In front of my entire family. I was ready to beat myself up just like I did when I screwed up playing ball or didn’t get a shoe sponsorship, but this wasn’t a game or any other kind of competition. And it was time to step up.

Because that’s what Kingmans did.

“I never signed that agreement. I never even read it. My agent told me your people wanted to do that whole showmance thing, have us go out on a few dates or whatever, to get the press off your back about your ex, or whatever, but I never agreed to it, Kelsey.”

“But then, how, why did you come to the concert, and then to Aspen, and all the other appearances we made?” She frownedand got a little wrinkle in the middle of her brows. “I don’t understand.”

But what killed me is the way she wrapped her arms around herself, shielding herself from what she thought was coming, that our relationship was a lie. She was protecting herself from my dumb-fuckery. I should be the one to protect her from the rest of the world. She shook her head and took another step away.

Double fuck. I gave her that space even though all I wanted to do was throw her over my shoulder and drag her away from all of this. I had to pray that my words would be enough, which I wasn’t even close to sure about, because what I knew how to do best was use my body to make my way in the world.

I took a deep breath and spilled out the truth. “I took advantage of the fact that you gave me those tickets to get to talk to you again. I know you only called me because you thought I’d agreed to the fake relationship thing, and I thought if I showed you that I was falling for you for real that it wouldn’t matter. I should have told you right from the beginning, and I fucked up, and?—”

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