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“It was pretty clear before Maine Event broke up that there was a rift between you two. But things seem to be better between you two now. Did you all keep in touch over the years?”

“No,” Skylar and Elena answered as they nervously laughed.

“Wow, really? You two seem close now. In fact, I’ve seen the pictures of you two out together for dinner, and you look quite comfortable together.”

Skylar knew exactly what she was insinuating, and she didn’t like it. Although she’d seen the pictures Carmen was referencing, Skylar didn’t know why they were being brought up. Well, that was a lie. She did know. In fact, if Elena or Skylar had been a man, she would have flat-out asked the question she was tiptoeing around. And that pissed Skylar off.

“Elena and I have put the past behind us and moved on for the sake of the band. Maine Event has always been and always will be important to us, and we wanted to come together for this tour for our fans.”

“And Skylar and I were friends for years before the band made it big, and I’m glad that we’ve been able to reconcile that relationship.”

“Me, too.”

“Interesting.” Carmen’s deadpan response told them that wasn’t the answer she wanted. “So, the rumors of you two dating are untrue, then?”

Skylar and Elena looked shocked at each other before looking at Riley. Although Riley didn’t know they were dating, Skylar knew she’d have their back. She quickly interjected.

“Let’s keep the focus on the tour, please.”

Carmen held up her hands. “I’m sorry if I overstepped. I’m just asking questions I see on social media.”

“Well, we are clearly not on the same social media pages because I’ve never heard that rumor.” Riley was holding her ground against the reporter. “And frankly, I think it’s very disrespectful to ask such a personal question when this is supposed to be an article about the band and the tour.”

Carmen gritted her teeth and nodded. “Fine.”

Skylar’s entire body was on fire. Suddenly, she worried that Carmen would include their responses in the article. She knew Riley would stop it if she could, but if any reporter insisted that, Skylar knew the rumors would start flying. And Skylar didn’t know what that would mean for her and Elena. Her stomach was in knots at the thought.

“I’m sorry if I overstepped. The chemistry is just evident, so I thought I’d try to get a lead.” Carmen shrugged. “But I guess not.”

“Definitely not,” Riley responded.

As the interview came to an end, Skylar didn’t dare look at Elena. She was too angry and upset to focus on anything and didn’t want to take it out on Elena. Skylar hated that she had to hide her relationship and that a reporter had the audacity to ask them if they were together just for the clickbait article. It angered Skylar more than she had anticipated.

Standing to leave, Skylar felt Elena’s hand on her arm.

“Sky.”

“I just,” Skylar sighed, not looking at Elena, “need a minute.”

Exiting the conference room, Skylar found her way out to the pool and was thankful to find it empty. She let out a huff of air as angry tears fell from her eyes. Being gay had never been easy, but she didn’t realize how hard it was to be gay in the spotlight. Especially when she was trying so hard to stay in the closet for Elena’s sake, Skylar wished she had a punching bag to let out her frustrations.

“Hey.” Riley’s voice startled her, and she turned to face her. “I just talked to Elena, and she told me everything.”

Skylar blinked a few times as she tried to process what Riley had just said. Had Elena really told her everything? Why would she do that?

“While I wished I’d known before that interview, I know now, and I can help you two navigate this.”

“I don’t want to make Elena come out before she’s ready.”

“She mentioned that, and I understand that. I’ll do my best to shut down any rumors I hear. I’ll try to set up some more interviews with reporters I personally know who will stay away from questions like that. That way, we can get out ahead of this and not give it a chance to grow. That should give you two some time to figure out what you want to do.”

“We just want to wait until after the tour to do anything. We don’t want it to overshadow the tour, which we both know it would.”

Riley nodded. “I know. I get that, too. But from now on, I really need to be made aware of things like this so I don’t let some pretentious reporter ask questions like that.”

“She was pretentious,” Skylar laughed. “And I will. We will. I’m sorry we didn’t tell you.”

“It’s okay. I get it.” Riley didn’t offer up any explanation for her response, and Skylar didn’t inquire. “I’m going to get ready for tonight. You should too.”