Page 14 of Not Your Golden Boy

Nikky shrugged. “That’s why I want out of the spotlight.”

“Because of fans?”

Nikky nodded glumly. “Well, the fans are okay, but the paparazzi—” He looked terrified for a moment, then took a bite of his sandwich.

Harry couldn’t help but watch the way his mouth worked as he chewed. Nikky had an amazing mouth. He was just dirty enough to wonder what else it could do.

And then he felt like a lecherous old bastard when Nikky swallowed and said, “I just want to feel like a normal person again. I haven’t felt normal in…ever.”

The man was going to break Harry’s heart. And here he’d thought he didn’t have a heart anymore. “It’ll be okay,” he said. “And if worse comes to worst, I can teach you how to not be noticed. I’ve perfected the art of being ignored despite my talent and fame.”

He hadn’t intended the statement to come out sounding so bitter. He was lucky that Nikky laughed.

The conversation could have gone on, but the strains of some really brilliant piano playing filled up the empty space instead. Harry and Nikky both turned to find a boy who couldn’t have been more than ten sitting at the piano, playing it with expertise worthy of the Royal Albert Hall.

“Wow, he’s incredible,” Nikky said, putting down the last bit of his sandwich and wiping his mouth with the too-small napkin he’d been given. “I wonder if he wants to play a duet.”

He promptly stood and headed over to the piano.

Harry smirked and gathered up their things, intending to clean up and follow him. The kid was about to be in for a treat, but at the same time, Harry had a feeling Nikky was using music to avoid bigger issues in his life. He had a feeling that was just what Nikky did. But life had a way of catching up with you whether you ran from it or not.

five

​. . .​

He should have stayed at the table and faced his problems the way Harry was steering him to. Nikky was sure of that as he strode across the short empty space to stand by the side of the piano where the intensely focused boy was playing. Something about being around Harry made him feel almost safe enough to do what friends and social workers had been urging him to do since he was five and talk about his feelings.

He wasn’t ready. There was something about Harry that drew him in, but he would still rather hide in the man than confide in him.

As he stopped next to the piano, he noticed a woman holding up a phone to record the boy, probably his mother. For all of two seconds, she looked livid that some random stranger would step in and ruin her video. Then her eyes went wide and she glanced from her phone screen to Nikky directly as she recognized who he was. She sent an eager glance to another woman standing nearby who was also recording on her phone and mouthed Nikky’s name.

Nikky ignored them, especially when the kid stopped playing once he realized something was out of the ordinary.

“Hi,” Nikky said with a broad smile.

“Hi.” The kid screwed up his face and studied Nikky like he maybe, kinda recognized him but wasn’t so sure. “My mum’s trying to record a viral video,” he said, possibly to get Nikky to go away.

“It’s okay, bubs, really,” the mom said breathlessly, gesturing for her son to keep going.

The kid looked up at Nikky again just as Nikky said, “I’m Nikky. What’s your name?”

“Jonas,” the boy said.

“Want to play a duet, Jonas?” Nikky said, gesturing to the piano bench.

Jonas glanced to his mom again. She was still recording with a look of pure excitement. “Yes, go ahead. Whatever you want to play.”

Jonas shrugged slightly and shifted over on the piano bench so Nikky could sit next to him.

“Do you know ‘The Entertainer’ by Scott Joplin?” Nikky asked.

Jonas’s face lit up. “I just learned that.”

“Cool. Why don’t you play the left hand and I’ll play the right,” Nikky suggested.

The kid loved the idea, and within seconds, the two of them started pinging out the notes of the bouncy, catchy song. Playing took a bit of adjusting and getting used to, but Jonas had real talent, and since the piano had been Nikky’s first love, he caught on within the first few bars.

In no time at all, a small crowd had gathered. Jonas’s mom and the other woman weren’t the only ones filming. A whole slew of phones ended up pointed at the two of them as they jammed out on classic ragtime. Usually, Nikky would mind being filmed or having his picture taken without permission, but he was having so much fun with Jonas that he hardly noticed. For those few seconds, music was fun again. It belonged to him and Jonas and no one else.