Locked (PresLocke Series Book 2) (33 page)

“That’s a dirty play, Carly. How am I supposed to think when you have that photo up there?”

“Good point,” she said. “We’ll just pretend it’s not there.”

I looked out to the grinning faces, happy to see them enjoying themselves. “Sure. I can do that. Umm…what was the question again?” I joked.

Carly clapped her hands together, laughing. “How did you two meet?”

“Oh, that’s right. Well,” I started, and then scratched the side of my nose. “It’s a funny story, actually. And he tells it a little differently to me.”

“Does he?”

“Yes. I’m sure. But, uhh, I met him on our first day of
Insurrection 2
. I was driving to work and he was walking in the middle of the road, and, well…” I paused and gave the crowd my best
it wasn’t my fault
look as I ended, “I almost ran him over.”

“Wait, you almost ran him over?”

“Yeah.” I laughed.
 

“But he ended up dating you anyway?”

“What can I say?” I said with an arrogant grin. “I’m that charming.”

“Woohoo. We believe
that
. Don’t we?” Carly said, encouraging the masses to vocalize their thoughts, and when they all shouted a loud
yes
in unison, she looked back at me and waited for them to settle down again. “I have to confess, Ace. Just like everyone in here and out there, I’ve been watching and reading what I can get my hands on about the two of you. I’m not sure what it is that’s drawing us all in and wanting to know about this relationship but… Oh, who am I kidding? It’s because it’s
you
, Ace Locke, biggest movie star in the world, sex symbol, now telling us that you are an out and proud gay man in a committed relationship that has made this story explode. Then add in those sexy snapshots of you and Dylan in Vegas, and the amount of attention you two have received over the last few months is unheard of. How are you dealing with all of that?”

It was shocking to me that my chest hadn’t tightened in fear and my face wasn’t flushed at her words, but as I sat there thinking over Carly’s question, I realized for the first time that I was finally comfortable talking about this, and
that
was a powerful realization. It was also one other thing I could thank Dylan for. Helping me accept who I was right down to my very core.

“Well, it hasn’t been without incident, that’s for sure,” I said, and then shifted to put both of my feet flat and place my forearms on my knees. I steepled my fingers together and looked out at the crowd, who, I’d noticed, had gone eerily quiet as they awaited my next words. “For the last decade or so—longer, actually—I’ve chosen to live in the spotlight. That was a decision I made going into this industry, and one I would do over again if it meant leading me back to this exact place in my life, and this man. But I’ve made mistakes along the way—we all have. I spent years hiding who I was. But now that I’ve found Dylan, I don’t want to have to hide that. I don’t want to worry that someone will take a photo and wonder who he is. So, if that means coming out here and telling you all that I’m in love with him, then I am more than happy to do that. To share that.”

“I think that’s what’s so captivating,” Carly said. I cocked my head to look over at her, and she curled one of her legs under herself on the couch as if we were sitting in her living room, not her packed studio on live network television. “That you
are
being so open about this. I mean, granted, it’s been some time since the Vegas photos surfaced, but for a man who never once publicly acknowledged any relationship before, to hear you talk about Dylan is fascinating. This man has really changed you.”
 

I nodded and chewed on my lower lip. “You’re right. He has. He’s funny, smart, incredibly kind and self-aware, and”—I stopped and peered out at the enraptured faces staring back at me and gave a cheeky grin—“incredibly sexy, am I right?” One woman let out a “hell yeah
,
” and I pointed up at her. “See, she gets it.”
 

Carly chuckled. “Oh, I think we all get that.”

“I can’t describe him better than that. Our life is under a microscope. And there are days that are extremely difficult, and stories that are told that aren’t true. But all relationships come with problems—ours are just up for public consumption, and we know that. We are aware, and as long as we both know what’s real and what’s true then we can get through each day with most of our sanity, which is one of the reasons I’m here today. It was time to give voice to this relationship in the true sense of it. To give an honest narrative to what we share and who we are. And I thank you for letting me do that and be here.”

As the crowd erupted in applause, Carly laid her palm on my shoulder and squeezed. “You are fast becoming one of my favorite people in the world. Sit tight, everyone—we’ll be back after this commercial with more from Ace Locke and his upcoming movie role and where he sees himself and his new beau, Mr. Dylan Prescott, in the future.”
 

* * *

I DIDN’T THINK it was possible to feel as happy as I did right then while sitting in the green room of the
Carly Wilde Show
. But with every word and answer that came out of Ace’s mouth, my smile extended farther across my face. From the second he’d stepped out on that stage, Ace had the audience eating out of the palm of his hand, and they loved him. The tense line of his shoulders from earlier had vanished, and as he sat beside Carly on the couch, he talked to her and the crowd as if he were holding a casual conversation with me. It was as if he’d known them all for years, and every now and then just in case they forgot
who
they were all conversing with, Ace would aim his megawatt smile at them and toss out some of that movie-star arrogance, and boy did they go nuts over that.

My guy was incredible. It wasn’t as if I hadn’t known that before, but as I sat there watching people react to his mere presence, I really got it. Ace was…well, he was a true inspiration. When he spoke, these people in the crowd, and no doubt all over the country, were hanging on his every word. And it was easy to forget who he was when you were with him—he was just that affable.
 

Over the past few months, I’d come to realize firsthand that in regard to celebrities, the public viewed them as their own personal property. Their every move was up for grabs, their lives, entertainment for all us normal folk, because as far as we—
and yes, I lump myself in there too
—continued to put them up on pedestals, they would always be under scrutiny. But it was what they did with that fame, that notoriety and level of success, which really made them be loved or vilified. And it was as I listened to Carly discuss Ace’s choices, his decision to come out publicly and tell the world who he was and how it had impacted and helped others, that I really thought of him and his reach in the broader spectrum of things. In the world beyond just him and me. And damn if that didn’t make me proud to be the one on his arm.

I took a sip of the bottled water I’d grabbed from the bar, and then glanced up at the screen, where Ace was leaning across the couch and saying something in Carly’s ear. They’d just cut to commercial and someone had rushed in to touch up their makeup, but they must’ve been close to going back live, because everyone had vanished from the stage, Carly grinned at him and nodded, and then the show’s theme music rolled, the logo appeared, and they were back, the crowd clapping and shouting their excitement.

“Welcome back, everyone, and to those of you just now joining us, I’m here with Ace Locke, the star of
The Last Guttersnipe
,
Hard Throttle,
and
Original Bourbon
,
to name just a few, and he’s just wrapped up shooting the sequel to Ron King’s blockbuster hit
Insurrection
. Coincidently, the set of his latest movie
Insurrection 2
is also where Ace first met the new man in his life, the man we’re learning a little bit more about today from Ace himself. Isn’t that right?”

“It is,” Ace replied with an extremely satisfied smile, and my cheeks heated the same way they had when they’d plastered my billboard image on the massive screen behind him earlier. As the audience clapped and the camera zoomed back to encompass both Carly and Ace, I was amazed at how relaxed he was. He’d settled right into discussing his life and us, and that comfort and level of ease made my heart want to burst with happiness, because I knew how long a road Ace had traveled to get to that point.

“Okay,” Carly said. “Let’s cut to the chase and ask some of the questions I know we’re all
dying
to know. How long did you wait before you and Dylan first got together? Did you ask him out on a date?”

I chuckled at Ace’s expression then. His mouth opened once, twice, and then he laughed. A spontaneous burst of
oh shit
laughter, as he seemed to recall the first time we’d
gotten
together. He then settled somewhat and answered, “It was at my birthday party.”

“Oh!” Carly said, clasping her hands together, delighted by the seemingly innocent enough revelation. “So you asked him to be your date?”
 

“No,” Ace said, and shook his head. He then looked directly at the camera, and I knew that stare, that intense focus he’d just rediscovered, was all for me as he answered, “I wasn’t that bold.
He
asked me to come with him, and I did.”

Fuck, there is no
way
he just said that on national television.
But the smile that curled his mouth was one I knew all too well, and so was the spark in those blue eyes as the crowd went wild.
That cocky bastard
, I thought, chuckling to myself.
He is in so much trouble later.

“Ahh, so Dylan isn’t the shy, retiring type?”

Oh God.
I could only imagine what Ace would have to say about that.

“No,” he said. “I would never accuse him of being shy. There’s been a couple of occasions…but for the most part I would say, no. Not shy at all.”

“So…he wouldn’t mind if we got him out on stage with us today, then?”

Wait. What did she just say?
I shot to my feet as if I’d just been pinched on the ass. My eyes were wide and I was convinced my mouth had fallen so far open that my jaw might just be hitting the floor. But Carly kept on talking.

“I understand he’s here with you, waiting backstage. Do you think he’d mind coming out to discuss the movie you two are starring in together? It’s his first, right? I’d love to get an outsider’s take on what it was like watching
the
Ace Locke up close and personal.” Carly made sure to add a whole lot of innuendo to that final word, and when Ace began to laugh and look around at the crazed people now cheering
my
name, he rubbed a hand over his face and looked over at her.
 

“Yeah, okay. Let’s get him out here.”

No. Way. This is not— He did
not
just say yes to—

The door to the green room flew open and my eyes darted over to see Kelly motioning frantically with her hand to
hurry, hurry
,
but my feet were glued to the floor as she called out some words I couldn’t quite decipher. As my brain tried to keep up, two men raced in to attach something at my waist under my fitted grey vest, then attached—
oh fuck, that’s a mic
—to my black tie and Kelly was tugging on my wrist, saying, “Follow me.”

And with a final look to the TVs I’d been watching, I saw Ace on his feet and looking over his shoulder waiting for me as the crowd roared, and there was no way I would keep him waiting a minute longer.
 

29

GOBSMACKED

DYLAN WAS GOING to kill me. That was the first thought running through my brain, but my second was that it would be one hell of a way to go, because there was nothing in the world I wanted more right then than to see his face. Even if that meant seeing it in a room full of three hundred strangers and however many home viewers watching.
 

Talking about him for the last ten minutes had made me want to be near him again, to touch him, and knowing he was backstage waiting for me now made getting him out here the number one thing on my priority list.
 

I could hear the clapping and stomping of feet as the audience chanted, “
Dylan, Dylan, Dylan,
”
and I got up to head over to the door I had emerged from earlier. It all took less than two minutes, and then the door slid back and there he was.
And damn,
he was gorgeous.

He looked exactly the way I had left him in the green room. Perfectly put together in his pressed charcoal dress pants, a snug matching vest, and a light blue shirt with sleeves that were rolled to his elbows, and knotted at the base of his throat was an immaculate black tie. His light brown hair that had started to grow out up top had been highlighted with blond and styled back, and he didn’t have one ounce of makeup on his stunning face, but nothing could’ve been added to make him any more attractive than he was right then.
 

“Hi,” I said, and I knew my smile had to be big and foolish because I had an urge to wrap my arms around his waist and spin him around like an idiot, and when his lips curved and he said, “I’m going to kick your ass for this,” he might as well have said he loved me, as happy as it made me.

I reached my hand out to him, and as he slipped his fingers into mine I winked and turned to the studio full of people, who for several seconds there had completely disappeared, and they all got to their feet and greeted Dylan in the exact same way they’d welcomed me earlier.
 

We walked across the stage hand in hand, and when we got to Carly, her smile was enormous as she took a step forward, and I let go of Dylan for her to embrace him. Dylan returned the hug in true Daydream style. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek, and when she took a step back, Carly brought her fingers to her skin as if to test that he really had put his lips there, and I got it,
boy did I ever.
Dylan’s pure aura and energy was infectious. He radiated happiness and warmth to all those around him, and it was a true testament to Sunshine and Ziggy that their boy had the ability to be so open and loving with everything he’d gone through before them.