My first single, “Isolation,” hit number one on the charts almost immediately, while Henry sat at number two with “Belonging.” Three months later, his single “That Night” took the top spot, while mine, “Another Day,” sat right beneath it.
Less than a year later, Henry held me on his arm as we swept nearly every category we had been nominated for at the Grammys. It was the same night we made the announcement that, from that point on, we were strictly solo artists. We expected backlash, but if there was any, we didn’t feel it. Both of our sophomore albums were certified diamond, securing our spot not just in the music industry, but at the forefront of it all.
Henry was my best friend for a ton of reasons, only one of them being his agreeing to go to the VIP meet-and-greet without even needing an explanation.
“Do you have Carter with you? Or do you need me to send Devon for security?” I asked.
“I’m good. Don’t worry about me, sweetheart,” he replied warmly.
With a huge smile, I gave Stewart a thumbs-up. His reply was a string of expletives.
“I owe you. You want to go out tonight after the concert?”
“Nah. But you can pay me back in other ways,” he murmured suggestively.
“How’s that?” I whispered, playing along.
He cleared his throat dramatically. “Don't play games. You know what I want.”
“No. I'm honestly clueless.” I walked over to the mirror, scrunching my long, brown curls back into shape then adding more makeup to cover the dark circles under my eyes.
“Levee,” he scoffed before blurting out, “Let me fuck your bass player.”
I burst out laughing. “Henry! He’s straight.”
“So? I thought I was straight once too.”
“You are such a liar. You were never straight.”
“This is probably true, but come on, Levee. Just tell me I can try,” he pleaded.
There was no point in telling him no.
“Sure. By all means…go for it. Make sure you say hello to his fiancée first though,” I teased.
Henry didn’t find it humorous. “Damn it. Why is heterosexuality such a cock block?”
“It really is.”
And it really was for Henry. He was tall, with a lean, muscular body that even I couldn't help but notice on occasion. Women adored him even though he was openly gay. However, Henry's biggest problem in the love department was his obsession with straight men. I couldn’t even count the number of times Henry’s heart had been broken by a guy who he’d convinced to give him a chance but ultimately went right back to women.
“All right, babe. I need to get dressed. Tell Stewy I’ll meet him at the venue in an hour. Ask him if he wants a little action during the show tonight.”
I smiled before calling over my shoulder, “Hey, Stewart. Henry wants to know if you want some man-loving?”
It was supposed to be a joke, but Stewart took an angry step forward, his eyes boiling with rage. “I swear to God! I’m a married man. He starts spreading that shit around…” He paused to run a hand through his thinning hair.
Still holding my phone to my ear, I gasped. “Oh God, please tell me you didn’t really hook up with Stewart.”
Henry burst into laughter. “Fuck no! But he hates me already, so I figure why not pretend? Drives him fucking nuts.”
It was my turn to laugh. Stewart continued to fume.
“Okay, go get dressed. I’ll see you in a few hours,” I told him while straightening my long dress and preparing to go back out.
Henry’s gentle voice caught me before I hung up. “Hey, Levee. Do me a favor. Take it easy, okay? You’ve got a show tonight. I know you want to be there…but don’t get lost in the past. They aren’t Lizzy.”
He was wrong.
They were.
Every single one of them.
I didn’t tell him that though. Instead, I replied, “Thank you.”
He sighed at my non-answer. “See you tonight, babe.”
“Yeah. Tonight.” I dropped my phone into my bag and began rummaging through the boxes of CDs and T-shirts we’d brought to give away. “Are we out of the copies of Dichotomy that Henry signed?” I asked.