Jeffrey sits back dramatically, and Ezra winks at the camera, the audience outright screaming now. My phone starts to ping, but I ignore it. If it’s Madison and important, she’ll call. Everything else can wait.
“Well, good grief,” Jeffrey says.
Harper fans her face beside me. “Goodfuckinggrief is more like it.”
Ezra waits out everyone’s reactions, looking as if he has all the time in the world. Harper takes a sip of her wine. That wink of his, I’m more than certain, was for me.
Finally, Jeffrey rallies. “Excuse me if I seem a little shocked, but I’m not sure any of us saw this coming.”
“Because being queer is so unheard of?”
“No,” Jeffrey says easily. “Because you’ve always been touted as quite the ladies’ man in the media.”
I can see Ezra refraining from rolling his eyes. He’s never dated. Not exactly. But his public meetups with women, even friends, have been well publicized over the years. It’s part of the gig for someone as well-known as Ezra.
“Was all of that a cover?” Jeffrey asks, quite the bold question.
Ezra never loses his composure. “No. I’ve always been equal opportunity.”
Jeffrey holds a hand Ezra’s way. “So that makes you…”
“Bisexual. All my life. It’s not new. Not to me, at least.”
“Yet you’ve never been seen out with men.”
Ezra hums. “It’s not something I made public.”
“Until now,” Jeffrey points out. “And what about Naveen Arya? Is he an ex?”
“Of sorts.” Ezra’s smile makes it clear what he means by that. I can all too easily imagine Shawn in the wings having a coronary at that precise moment.
Jeffrey simply chuckles. “All right. Has Naveen been the only one?”
“My, my, Jeffrey. Quite the personal question, is it not?”
Jeffrey shrugs.
Ezra only makes him sweat for half a second before saying, “No, he wasn’t the only one. I fooled around a bit when I was younger. You know how it goes. But Naveen…he’s the only man I’ve been with since then.”
“Except for Grayson.”
Ezra smirks, which seems, to the audience, to answer the question. Even though he didn’t answer it at all.
“Speaking of Grayson,” Jeffrey goes on. “What’s his story? He was married before.”
“Yes, he was.”
Jeffrey waits, clearly expecting more, possibly about my own sexuality, but Ezra doesn’t give him anything. I snort, taking a sip of my wine.
“Is marriage something the two of you are interested in?” Jeffrey asks, pivoting.
Ezra shakes his head. “Nah. I never saw myself getting married, and Grayson doesn’t want that again. It’s not something either of us needs.”
“But you twoareserious?”
“If you’re asking if there’s anyone else for me, the answer is no.”
The audienceawws, and Jeffrey leans forward again. “Is this a new development? You two have been friends for quite sometime. Ever since you first filmed alongside one another twenty years ago, isn’t that right?”
