Epilogue
. . .
Not Your Golden Boy, the groundbreaking collaboration album from Nikky Smith and Harry Bayonne released to almost instant classic status. The buzz surrounding it before release more or less guaranteed that the lead single that gave the album its name would be a number one hit.
“Harry Bayonne is back!” every entertainment outlet and music industry publication proclaimed.
“Nikky Smith proves once again that he is so much more than a one-trick pony,” they also blasted across every legacy and internet media channel available.
“Between his Oscar-nominated performance in Peter Lubavitch’s drama He Who Waits and his musical collaboration with husband Harry Bayonne, he proves himself to be a rare Renaissance man who can conquer whatever genre he sets his sights on. ”
“And yet, he remains humble,” Drew laughed as he finished reading the stellar article at the modest party he and Lee had thrown together to celebrate the success of both the album and his own television series, Sleuth, which was gaining him as much recognition as Nikky’s Oscar nod and Nikky and Harry’s album.
Nikky blushed and lowered his head, leaning heavily against Harry, who had an arm around him as they sat chatting with friends on the rooftop terrace of one of London’s finest private venues. “Humble is Nikky’s middle name,” Harry laughed.
“I thought it was Sergei,” Charlotte teased him with a wink.
“It’s not,” Nikky said, unable to stop grinning. “I don’t have a middle name, actually. My mother didn’t think I needed one.”
It was a minor miracle that he could talk about his mother in front of a small crowd of people without feeling the weight of her abandonment and his years in foster care. Therapy had helped with that, but so had Harry’s steadying influence.
They’d been together for nearly two years now, ever since the madness of Holberg’s threats and Albion’s attempts to control him.
Things had been tough at first, as Albion fought his efforts to get out of his contract, and as he’d held the sex tape over their heads.
Nikky had been determined not to back down, though.
To the point where, after a long conversation during the filming of the Toni McGovern film, while Harry was staying with him in L.A.
, they’d decided to release the video themselves after a little hacking of their own into Holberg’s phone.
After altering it with AI to the point where every news outlet and social media influencer spotted immediately that it was a “fake” and failed to take it seriously.
“I don’t know which story is better,” Lee said as they lounged in their oversized chairs and sofas as the glittering lights of a London summer night danced all around them, “Nikky’s ability to wow everyone at the top of the acting and the music worlds or Harry’s fairytale comeback story.”
“Oh, it’s Harry’s comeback story,” Abby, Drew’s best friend and manager, told them all definitively.
“How do you figure that?” Harry asked, rubbing the back of Nikky’s neck with one hand and cradling his expensive craft beer in the other. “Nikky is way more impressive than me.”
It didn’t matter how many times Harry said things like that, Nikky always melted under the praise. And Harry was incredibly good at praising him. Particularly when they were in bed or playing a scene. It came as no surprise at all that praise kink did it for Nikky.
“Everybody loves a success story,” Abby reasoned with a shrug.
The strap of her slinky dress slipped down, and as she reached to lift it into place, one of the music industry guests did a doubletake and smiled at her as he passed.
Abby winked at him, then went on with, “But what they love even more is an amazing comeback story. Excuse me.”
She finished her statement and stood to follow the man, who glanced back invitingly at her.
“You go, girl,” Drew called after her, laughing.
“She’s right, though,” Lee picked up where Abby had left off. “Everyone is used to Nikky smashing everything he does at this point. It’s Harry’s resurgence that’s titillating everyone this time.”
“Never in a million years would I have thought to hear my name in the same sentence as ‘tit’,” Harry said with a smirk, then took a long swig of beer as the others laughed.
It was a perfect night. Gone were all the worries Nikky had carried for so long. He was practically dizzy from lifting that weight off his back. He had Harry to thank for a lot of his newfound mental and emotional freedom, although the lion’s share should probably have gone to his therapist.
But no, Harry deserved credit for everything he did and meant to Nikky.
Drew and Lee as well. And Charlotte, who had become as much his friend as his manager, especially when Harry insisted he review his entire support team to make certain they all had his best interests at heart.
Having friends made all the difference in the world.
“Hey, did you hear about Holberg?” Drew asked when there was a slight lull in the conversation.
Nikky tensed with his bottle of beer halfway to his lips, then lowered it. “What about Holberg?” he asked, trying not to let the anxiety over the man that he couldn’t shake, even with therapy, all these years later show.
Harry squeezed his neck tighter, and Nikky pressed into the comforting gesture.
“He was arrested,” Drew went on.
Nikky’s eyes went wide at once. “Really?”
“Yeah,” Drew said, drank some of his beer, then went on to say, “He was caught breaking into Marvin Wellman’s house.”
“Whoa,” Harry gaped. “He must have been out of his mind to break into the house of a legend like that.”
“Holberg has been pestering Marvin and a bunch of other mega-A-listers for years,” Drew went on. “Marvin wasn’t going to stand for it. He called in a few favors and had the L.A.P.D. throw the book at him.”
“Rumor has it that he’ll serve at least five years behind bars, maybe more,” Lee picked up the story. “Especially since other celebrities are coming forward with stories of how he’s threatened them.”
“You should talk to the L.A.P.D., too, Nikky,” Drew said, nodding Nikky’s way.
Nikky only had to think about it for a second. “No. I don’t want to dredge all that up again. I mean, if they need me to testify about the trouble he caused us, I will.” He glanced to Harry, smiling and resting a hand on Harry’s thigh. “I’d rather just look forward now instead of backwards.”
“Good idea, princess,” Harry said, then pulled Nikky close for a kiss.
It was an awesome kiss, as usual. Harry had mastered the art of kissing Nikky powerfully and reminding him of the quiet dynamics of their relationship without making it too obvious to the rest of the world how they were together.
At least, it wasn’t too obvious to most of the world.
“Ugh, guys,” Drew said, pretending to be put off, even though his eyes sparkled with mirth. “Get a room already.”
Harry laughed, especially when Lee nudged Drew and rolled his eyes.
Nikky laughed, too, but Drew was right. He preferred to save the intimate part of his and Harry’s relationship for when they were home, whether that was their home in L.A. or Harry’s apartment in London, anyhow.
“I’m going to grab another of these and some nibbles,” he said as he stood, gesturing to his empty beer bottle as he set it on the table between the chairs where they all sat. “Anyone else want anything?”
His friends called out their orders, then Nikky headed over to the bar at the side of the terrace.
The party was well-attended, and despite the fact that he and Harry had been sitting more or less in the same spot all night, talking to their closest friends, there were plenty of other people who were eager to draw Nikky aside as he ran his errand, both to congratulate him and to ask about the latest rumors surrounding him and Harry, Drew and Lee, and half a dozen other people he had worked with in both the film and music industry in the last couple years.
Which was why he wasn’t surprised when Ollie Sandbourne approached him as he waited at the bar and opened their conversation with, “Hey, Nikky, can I ask you something?”
Bracing himself, Nikky said, “Sure, Ollie.”
Ollie’s expression clouded a bit as he said, “It’s just Oliver now. Since I’m not part of the music industry anymore, I’ve stopped using Ollie.”
Nikky’s eyebrows lifted. “I didn’t realize you’d left the business.”
Oliver shrugged. “Even though Albion was exposed for the bastard he was, I didn’t think it was worth putting myself through all that again. I’ve gone into business restoring furniture now.”
“Wow, that sounds…interesting.” It wasn’t even close to what Nikky would have thought a former almost superstar of the pop music world would do with himself. Oliver couldn’t have been more than thirty, and he’d always been talented, as far as Nikky was concerned.
“I enjoy it,” Oliver said, almost like he was defending his choices. “But that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Oh?” Nikky shifted his weight and let some of his guard down.
“Yeah.” Oliver glanced around to make sure no one was listening in, then leaned closer. “I wanted to ask you about Rent-A-Boyfriend.”
Nikky smiled at the mention of the company. He owed so much to Javier Rivera and Desmond White for bringing him and Harry together. They’d all stayed in touch and remained friends over the years, and although he and Harry didn’t advertise it, a lot of people knew that’s how they’d met.
Oliver obviously knew it, too.
“What do you want to know?” Nikky asked.
Oliver glanced around a second time, which piqued Nikky’s curiosity even more.
When he was focused on Nikky again, Oliver asked, “How discreet are they? Like, if I needed a pretend partner for, let’s say, legal reasons, would I be able to find someone without anyone ever connecting the two of us and our relationship back to Rent-A-Boyfriend ever again? ”
Nikky blinked at the question. Curiosity burned him up, but he could see discretion was important, so he kept his nose to himself and answered honestly.
“I’m assuming they can provide you with whatever you want.
They’ve just gotten bigger and bigger over the last few years, and I’m almost certain they can do secrecy when its needed. ”
“Good,” Oliver said with a nod. “Because I have a—” He suddenly looked downright haunted. Pink flooded his face, and a deep sort of sadness filled his eyes. “I have a daughter,” he admitted in a hushed voice.
Nikky’s jaw went slack for a second. “I thought you were gay,” he said, then quickly added, “Sorry, I shouldn’t assume, and that’s none of my business.”
“Oh, I am,” Oliver said with a wry grin. “But before I was super comfortable with that, back in uni, I had a girlfriend and, well, one thing led to another, and even though I decided never again with a woman, it was too late. Emmy happened.”
“Congratulations?” Nikky said, no idea whether he was supposed to be happy or sympathetic.
“Thanks,” Oliver said with a lopsided grin. That grin quicky faded. “Kelly, her mum, my old girlfriend, passed away three months ago.”
Nikky’s face fell. “I’m so sorry.”
“Thanks.” Oliver nodded. “We were cordial at best. Emmy is ten, and now that I’m sober, I’m in a position to bring her into my life.
But her gran, Kelly’s mum, Eleanor, is fighting me for her.
She’s trying to prove to the courts that I’m irresponsible and a bad influence.
But if I had a stable partner, or at least a pretend one, I think I could raise my daughter without shared custody, which I don’t want because—” He paused and sighed, then shook his head.
“You don’t need to know my entire sob story.
I just thought I’d ask you if you thought Rent-A-Boyfriend could help me. ”
“Um, I don’t know,” Nikky said, resting his weight on one hip, frowning, and giving the matter serious thought.
“What seems to be the hold up here?”
Nikky perked up as Harry came to join him, resting a possessive hand on the small of Nikky’s back and smiling at Oliver like he was assessing whether the man was a threat.
“Just talking to Oliver about Rent-A-Boyfriend and, um how it works,” Nikky answered, not wanting to give away Oliver’s secrets without permission. “I gave him my opinion about whether it’s worthwhile.”
Harry’s demeanor changed, and his smile turned genuine. “It’s absolutely worthwhile,” he said. “Javier and Desmond are great. They’re geniuses when it comes to knowing who to pair up with who. I will never not recommend them to people.”
“Good to know,” Oliver said, glancing furtively at Harry. “I guess that’s a yes for, er, my friend who wants to get in touch with them, then.”
“Let us know if you have any more questions,” Nikky said as Oliver stepped away.
“I will,” Oliver said, waving as he walked on, blending into the crowd.
“I think you scared him away,” Nikky laughed, turning to face Harry once they were alone.
“Good,” Harry said, sliding his arms around Nikky’s waist. “I want everyone to know that you belong to me and they should keep their hands off.”
Nikky snorted and slid his arms over Harry’s shoulders. “Everyone in the entire world knows I belong to you,” he said, mischief in his eyes. “They’ve seen the tape to prove it.”
“Yeah, but they all think it’s fake,” Harry said, pulling Nikky closer.
“We know it’s not,” Nikky whispered close to Harry’s ear, then closed his mouth around Harry’s earlobe and raked his teeth across it.
He felt the shiver of lust that passed through his husband and thrilled to it.
“I think it’s time we went home,” Harry said, pressing his growing erection against Nikky’s hips.
“It’s our party. We can’t leave it this early,” Nikky laughed, turning off the heat and stepping back a bit.
“We can do whatever the fuck we want, baby,” Harry growled, though Nikky could tell he would dial down the heat and stick with the party until it was done. “That’s never going to change.”
“No, it’s not,” Nikky agreed, stealing a quick kiss. “I think we’ve more than proven to the world that together, we’re unstoppable.”
“And don’t you forget it,” Harry said with a wink.
Nikky beamed. He couldn’t forget it if he tried. After a lifetime of searching, he’d finally found everything he’d ever dreamed of. He’d found love, and he’d found a home.
I hope you’ve enjoyed Nikky and Harry’s story!