Chapter 6 #3
“Baby, coming out was for multiple reasons. It was because I could . Because it was the perfect opportunity to rub it in Harrison’s face.
But also because of you. Of us.” She held Darcy’s gaze with hers, refusing to let her look away.
“If you and I weren’t together, I wouldn’t have come out literally immediately after my contract was over.
Because it is such a big deal. And there has been a fallout.
And it has sucked in a lot of ways. But I know that you didn’t want to stay closeted. ”
Darcy’s eyebrows furrowed as she opened her mouth, and Juliet pressed her thumb over the supple swell of her lips. Giving her a knowing look.
Darcy never pressured her. She never even voiced those thoughts to Juliet. But Juliet knew Darcy, inside and out. She knew how much Darcy didn’t want to live a double life, but she did with Juliet because… because she loved her that much.
“I know you didn’t need us to come out right away; that’s not what I’m saying.
What I am saying is – I think about you.
Your wants and needs.” She searched Darcy’s eyes with her own, her heart flip-flopping in her chest at the fucking love in Darcy’s eyes.
And she really hoped Darcy already knew everything she was saying.
“It’s not just about you, either. I don’t want to hide you – hide us – away from the world.
I want to dance with you today at Blythe’s wedding.
I don’t want to see another picture of you and some stupid fucking man that you’ve talked to two times, and the conspiracy theories about how you two are dating. ”
The words dripped from her tongue in utter disgust.
Breaking up with Robbie really had been the best thing she could have done. Because she now knew without a doubt that she couldn’t have emotionally handled Darcy being in a fake relationship to the public eye.
There had been so many photos and headlines and so much damn gossip about the two of them over the last year and a half.
Ironically, very little about the two of them as a couple. Sure, on some forums and to a handful of sapphic women who made comments on social media. But they were always seen as conspiracy theories; there’d been nothing that ever gained traction. Deliberately so.
Whenever either of them had been seen with a man? That always went viral. Hetero-normativity struck again.
And, legally speaking, it had been far better for Juliet that no rumors had been going around.
But dear fucking lord, did she want to tear the eyes out of every man that people believed was with Darcy. Especially the handful of men that hit on her to make it all come full circle.
“You’re mine , Darcy Kincaid. I don’t want anyone else. And I can’t imagine coming out for or with anyone else.”
Theoretically, there were other women that were out there. There were other queer women in the industry. Juliet had slept with a fair share of them.
None of them were Darcy. None of them got her in every way.
Understood who she was, even when she wouldn’t – or couldn’t – say it aloud.
None of them made her laugh, earned her respect and adoration, or gave her honest-to-god butterflies.
None of them carried books around the house and left them all over; none of them pushed Juliet to be a better, more creative, well-read version of herself.
None of them loved her the way Darcy did, and she couldn’t see herself loving anyone the way she loved Darcy, either.
Simple as that.
No matter everything else that was crashing down around them, what they had together was worth it. And that was what she was going to focus on.
“Do you want to come to the Grammys with me?” She asked, searching Darcy’s stare. “That’s my final question.”
Darcy’s eyes narrowed at her, even as she reached up and hastily swiped away an errant tear that escaped in response to Juliet’s proclamation. “Ummm. I was always going to come to the Grammys; I have my own invitation, you know.”
Juliet huffed out an exasperated breath. “Yes, I am aware of that.” She used the hand she still had cupping Darcy’s jaw to angle her head down just enough, so they were staring so close at one another. “But do you want to come with me ?”
A slow smile, one that was outrageously, unfairly gorgeous, stole over Darcy’s face. “As in, be your date? Officially? Walking the red carpet together, hand-in-hand?”
Juliet’s stomach fluttered, a swarm of butterflies on the rise. Still, she didn’t look away. “Affirmative to all of the above.”
She and Darcy had been together for over two years. They’d lived together for over a year. They’d already written their entire album to debut together. They shared a life , yet they hadn’t been able to publicly share that life even at events for what had brought them together in the first place.
It was, objectively, ridiculous.
And it made her sad when she let herself go there.
She didn’t want that anymore. No matter what the rest of the aftermath of their coming out looked like, she didn’t want to have to pretend that Darcy wasn’t everything to her.
She didn’t want to have to catch herself and pull away when their hands brushed, instead of instinctively turning her hand over to catch Darcy’s fingers in her own.
“I would love to.”