like to be ostracized. He grew up in small-town Perrysburg in Ohio and he’s known with certainty he was gay since the age of eight. He’s lived a life in the closet until he got outed by a football jock who was unwilling to admit to his own homosexuality when a few team members caught him with his pants down to his knees in front of Devin enjoying a blowjob.
Devin never recovered from the incident and he couldn’t set foot in his high school again without risking being stoned to death. One dark day, he packed all his belongings in a small backpack, broke the jar to his mother’s emergency grocery funds and climbed the stairs of a Greyhound bus to New York.
He was born Wyatt Sheridan, but by the time he landed his first important job in the fashion world, he was known as Devin Sinclair. Today, he’s the lead makeup artist on The Chat , aka The Talk for a younger audience.
“Darling, don’t you worry, we’re going to take good care of you.”
“Yeah, Devin is right. We’re here now to support you in your moment of need. Honey, in a few hours, you’ll be back to your old self.” My best friend forever, Amelia, walks in right behind Devin and flashes me a devilish grin when she lifts the bags of booze. “We’ve brought everything to make you forget you ever laid eyes on your fake-pilot scumbag.”
Amelia Carrington and I have been inseparable since we met in high school. We’ve shared everything since we were teenagers—growing pains, heartbreak, wins, joys, sadness and yes, men troubles. Since neither of us have siblings, we’ve always seen ourselves as soul sisters to the point where we both pursued Master’s degrees in journalism. In many ways, my friendship with Amelia saved my life after my parents’ tragic accident. We both work in our respective fields. I went into fashion, whereas Amelia became an online content manager at Prime News, one of the biggest cable news companies in the country.
“I can’t wait to hear the full story, but from what Devin and Amelia shared in the car, this guy is a piece of work.” Lexi is the last person to waltz into my place. She’s cladded in her usual nondescript head-to-toe baggy black outfit, but I’m too bummed out to give her a talking-to about style or lack thereof. Not to mention she’s the one carrying the cupcake boxes from Magnolia Bakery and I surely don’t want to get on her bad side. “Candy, I brought your favorite.”
“Seriously? They had truffle-flavored cupcakes?” I ask, excited by the idea of eating my humiliation away.
“Oh, yeah. Look at these sinful treats—I got you both devil’s food cupcakes filled with chocolate truffle and the white chocolate truffle counterparts. They’re calling out your name.” Lexi tempts me by slightly opening up a box to give me a peek of things to come.
“I don’t think I can only eat one.”
“Hun, I brought half a dozen of them.” Lexi has a heart of gold and it’s no wonder Devin considers her like his little sister.
Alexis MacPherson is the smartest person I know. She’s only a few years older than me, but she already holds a Master’s in finance from Simon Business School and a MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. I mean she’s a freaking brainiac, but she’s also a workaholic. I guess it’s to be expected when you’re one of the top female brokers on Wall Street under thirty, but the girl needs to live a little. Devin has taken Lexi under his wing since they both worked together at a hair salon many years ago and ever since then he’s considered her like the sister he’s never had.
Devin, Amelia and Lexi stand shoulder to shoulder on the other side of my small kitchen island like choir kids waiting for my cue to find out how devastated I am over Vince. I fling my gaze between my three best friends who are all silently pleading with me to say something.
I shrug before speaking. “I was never in love with the asshole, but I had never signed up to