- Black Gold 2 - Double Black (26 page)

Jett twined their fingers and reached with their joined hands to draw Goldie’s face down to his. He kissed Goldie’s eyelids, the tip of his nose, and his lips. “I wasn’t humoring you. I respect you, and…”

As if seeking answers from inside his own skull, Jett rolled his eyes upward. He sighed, seeming unsure how to voice what he’d found there. Then Jett closed his eyes and nestled against Goldie, nudging his face up to tuck under Goldie’s chin. “Whatever’s inside you, I need all of it. I never stop needing, but I can push it down or ignore it. Then you just bring everything to the surface, and I get so hungry for you, but it’s… Everything before today was satisfying. This was…significant.”

Goldie stroked Jett’s hair. Jett’s obedience didn’t make Goldie look down on him. Instead it made him love Jett even more that he trusted Goldie enough to allow him to do things he wasn’t sure he wanted. Goldie wanted to honor that trust, to keep Jett safe, even when they experimented. All he knew of so-called bondage was what he’d seen in movies. Gimps, disrespected and preyed upon. Goldie couldn’t imagine himself or Jett wanting something like that.

Granted, movies weren’t the best sources of information, particularly porn movies. If it was just about the hurting and being hurt, Goldie couldn’t do that. But if it was about trust, finding a place where they could both be vulnerable, he could definitely get into that.

“You’ve seen part of me no one else ever has. And you shared something with me that you couldn’t share with anyone else. I’m really happy, Jett.”
“Yeah?” Jett looked up at Goldie and kissed him hard, seeming to glow with joy. “Good. Good. Then…good.”
Jett sank into the bed and wriggled to get comfortable, then pulled Goldie closer and murmured as their bodies conformed to each other. “Nothing’s off-limits now, right? We can just be free?”
“Yeah. Free.” Goldie smiled. “I’m going to have to keep finding new ways to make you blush, though.”
Jett flushed as if on command. “Yeah, well, you’ll have the rest of our lives to perfect your devious methods.”

Then Jett laughed, a bright, happy sound without a trace of mockery. In his mirth, he looked more like Cole’s big brother than his dad. Even wincing from his sore ass, he seemed impossibly cool, and when he stopped laughing, he fixed Goldie with one of those heartthrob smiles. This one was private, eloquent of their new secrets, and it, like the rest of Jett, was only for Goldie.

“The rest of our lives.” Goldie loved the sound of that.
Chapter Eleven

Goldie’s hands shook as he fiddled with the giant abstract veil he’d piled on top of his head. It was a wispy contraption of gold wire and white tulle that shrouded his face and would trail behind him like a train. With the help of his makeup artist, he’d painted white and pink cherry blossoms on the side of his face and airbrushed glittery white powder over his eyes.

His hair had grown in, but he’d kept it close-cropped. Until Cole’s probation was over, he wouldn’t hide the scars. It was harder for the media to spin events in a negative light when every photograph of Goldie served as a reminder of what had happened.

Secretly, he was glad of the community service and extended probation that had kept Cole, and by extension Kyle, in California. The probation would be over in a month, about the time Jett and Goldie returned from their honeymoon, and then the whole family was moving to New York. They had filed for and been granted an exception to the probation for the wedding, so the boys were serving as groomsmen. Cole was Jett’s best man.

Goldie’s best man was Robbie. Ellen, Goldie’s mother, was there to give him away.
“Honey.” She looked at Goldie’s reflection in the large mirror he sat before. “I don’t understand why you’d let Jett be the man in this ceremony.”

Goldie sighed. “Wearing a veil doesn’t mean anything but that I want to wear a veil. And white and gold are my signature colors.”

 

“But you’re going to be walking up the aisle. I’m giving you away. You’re playing the woman’s role. I don’t want you to appear weak.”

Goldie stopped and turned on his stool. “This is a gay wedding; there is no woman. Besides, women aren’t weak. You of all people should know that. We had many options on how to do this. Walking up the aisle was more theatrical, and I wanted to do it.”

Ellen sighed and shook her head. “I’m sorry, honey. I’m trying to understand, but I don’t even know which side to tell people to sit on!”
Goldie wanted to rub his temples, but it would’ve ruined his makeup. He couldn’t help but feel she was being purposely obtuse. “We’re not warring tribes uniting a nation. His friends are my friends. My family is his family. There is no
side
. People can sit where they want.”
What was particularly pleasing about that statement was how true it now was. Before Cole’s arrival in their lives, Goldie had felt awkward when left alone with Jett’s rocker friends. Making conversation was difficult when he had nowhere to begin and nothing in common with them but Jett, so he’d just hide out in his room.
When Jett began staying home more often, his friends had to come to the house to see him, and Jett made a point of including Goldie. He would make conversation while Goldie observed and learned how to fit in with the tough, wild crowd to which Jett belonged. Soon Goldie realized that spending an hour in the practice room with most of them was enough to win their respect.
It turned out that Jett wasn’t the only hardcore hero who thought Goldie’s talent transcended genre. Before long, Goldie possessed a widening pool of friends as well as collaborators. Many were here for the wedding.
Goldie also invited Jett’s ex-bandmates. They had RSVP’d, but Goldie hadn’t mentioned it to Jett in case they bailed at the last minute. Betrayed by Fame, the band Jett’s ex-bandmates had formed after kicking him out, wasn’t doing particularly well and, according to rumors, was always on the verge of breaking up. Hopefully at least Jack would show.
As little regard as Jett had given his outburst about wanting to have his old band back and live in New York, Goldie had taken it to heart. They wouldn’t have a sprawling estate like in California, but Goldie didn’t think Jett wanted that. There were plenty of studios around the city to make up for the lack of built-in amenities, and celebrities on the street seemed common. Maybe Goldie could conduct his life without all the commotion.
His attention was drawn away from his thoughts as Ellen threw her hands in the air, shaking her head like she’d never understand his generation. Goldie didn’t think they were doing anything more radical than two men marrying, but that was probably blowing her mind as well.
Their relationship had always been turbulent, at least on her end. Goldie bore it with little more than a sigh. Whatever their history, she was his mother, and it meant a lot that she’d come.
Robbie peeked in. “Know you’re superstitious about Jett seein’ you, but you okay with Cole comin’ in?”

Before Goldie could answer, Cole stuck his head through the door just beneath Robbie’s. It was comical, and so was the infectious enthusiasm on Cole’s face as he looked at Goldie. “Oh my God, you look amazing!”

Goldie’s cheeks warmed at the compliment. It was nicer than his mother’s implication he was weak. “Thank you, Cole.”

Standing, Goldie held out his arms to Cole and nodded assent at Robbie. Robbie cut his eyes at Goldie’s mother and gave Goldie a questioning look.
Goldie shook his head and winked. He turned his attention to Cole. “I don’t think you’ve met my mother.”
As he turned to her, Goldie put his arm around Cole. “Mom, this is my soon-to-be son, Cole.”

Cole lit up as if it was one thing for Goldie to tell friends and another to say it to his mother. “It’s so nice to meet you, soon-to-be Grandma.”

Ellen appeared mortified, but she accepted his handshake. “I don’t know if it counts if you aren’t really Billy’s.”
Goldie barely resisted the urge to snatch Cole away. His warning look must’ve been enough to subdue Ellen. Goldie had never cut Ellen off monetarily or emotionally, or even threatened to, but since that strange night when she’d met Jett and tried to manipulate them, Goldie had been proactive about protecting his boundaries and making clear that she needed to be on her best behavior.

“I’m sorry, Cole.” Ellen patted her French twist. “Of course it counts. Forgive an older woman her vanity at being called a grandmother by an adult man. It is lovely to meet you. Billy has told me so much about you. You look so much like Jett. It’s remarkable.”

Cole’s hurt disappeared into a charming smile that was, in fact, remarkably like Jett’s. “I hope that’s a compliment. You and Goldie look a lot alike too, and it’s definitely a compliment to both of you. You’re a good-looking family. I’m surprised you could be ruffled by that comment, because age doesn’t seem to define you whatsoever.”

Goldie might have been imagining it, but it looked like Cole’s lips twitched with amusement as he laid on the outrageous flattery.

Ellen’s cheeks flushed, and she patted her hair again. “Oh, of course. Jett is a handsome man in spite of all of the…” She waved her finger in front of her face to indicate Jett’s piercings before touching Cole’s arm. “You’re much less rough around the edges. A real gentleman. I know Billy said that you and your friend were going to transfer to NYU, but if you wanted to stay in California, my home is far too big for just one person.”

Again Goldie had to fight the urge to snatch Cole away. He loved his mother, but he didn’t trust her.
“Oh, California is great and all, but I’m really excited to be living in New York near my dad. Kyle’s got his heart set on it. Dad promised he’d take us to all the cool shows and stuff around town, and he even said he’d get us seats to Broadway plays for dates if I wanted to impress Kyle.” Cole blushed as he often did when he realized he’d rambled. “But you’ll come visit for holidays, right? We can lavish you with presents and take you out to fancy restaurants?”
Cole’s gaze darted between Ellen and Goldie.

Ellen shot Goldie a sour look as if he’d poisoned Cole against her. Truthfully, Goldie had said little to Cole. Jett may have warned him, though. He did seem coached for Ellen-handling.

She sighed and squeezed Cole’s arm before withdrawing. “That would be lovely. A lonely woman does look forward to the holidays.”

From what Goldie understood, his mother was far from lonely, but he didn’t want to have that talk. Goldie focused on Cole. “Did you need me?”
“Oh, I wanted to spy on you for Dad. He’s flipping out, but like, he doesn’t want anyone to know. I can tell. He gets this look like…” Cole did an accurate impression of Jett’s face right before a big performance, then laughed. His features relaxed into his own youthful glee.

Cole sounded giddy. He was beaming so hard he looked cherubic. “He’s singing some sappy song under his breath and took out all the metal in his face. He keeps asking everyone to make sure you’re still going through with this, but he does it in that growly way, like to be sure no one suspects he’s stupid in love with you and afraid you’ll bail. You know how he is.”

“He thinks I’ll ditch?” Goldie laughed. In all honesty, he was relieved to know that Jett was still there. Not that Jett was the kind of man who made a commitment and didn’t follow through. “Well, you can report that I am here and squirming with excitement.”

He leaned in and whispered to Cole, “Are any of his old bandmates out there? If you see them, could you seat them up front?”

 

“Oh, they’re here. Sarah pointed them out to me. She has Kyle keeping an eye on them,” Cole whispered back, seeming to enjoy his part in the conspiracy.

Cole hugged Goldie and then stepped back, his mouth curved into a wry smile. “I love you, okay? I’m glad you’re gonna be my other dad. And Jett doesn’t really think you’ll ditch. He just doesn’t trust happiness this big. Wait until you see him. You’ll understand.”

“I love you too. I couldn’t have asked for a better son.” Goldie’s eyes prickled with tears. He didn’t want to muss his makeup, so he blinked rapidly. Then Goldie kissed Cole’s cheek. “You helped us get to this point. I know the media talks about what you’re worth now, but to me, you’re priceless. Jett needed you. And I needed you. You reminded us what family is.”

Cole turned pink and let out a sigh that sounded like he might cry. Instead, he smiled and rolled his eyes at the sentimentality. “Yeah, we are. Okay. I should go tell Dad you didn’t get cold feet, and also make sure no one’s trying to give him booze, ’cause he didn’t want to drink anything until your toast later, but he might forget. Habit. You know.”

Jett had been trying to cut back on his vices since the night of the engagement. He’d never seemed addicted to any particular substance but to the loss of control they afforded. Now that he’d given more control to Goldie, he didn’t seem to need the substances as much.

“So, I’m gonna go.” Cole started toward the door, but he kept looking back at Goldie and smiling.

Goldie nodded and waved. He smoothed his white silk suit. Beneath it, he wore a metal mesh shirt—the same as he’d worn the day Jett burst into that penthouse and swept Goldie off his feet.

And they were getting married in the Plaza, where they had holed up that night. Now Jett’s old band was here. Everything was falling into place.
Ellen gave Goldie a strange look and put her hand on his shoulder. “I didn’t know

family meant so much to you.”

 

Goldie avoided her eyes. He hadn’t considered how she’d take what he’d said. “Oh, well, I mean, Jett lost his.”

Ellen sighed and nodded. “I know I’ve never really been…but you were a good father to that boy. I love you, Billy. I really do. And you know it’s hard for me to say it, but I am proud of the man that you’ve become. You look beautiful, sweetheart.”

They embraced, and he kissed her cheek. It was getting difficult not to cry. He could only imagine what seeing Jett at the altar was going to do to him.

 

“Thank you, Mom. I love you.”

 

After a few moments, she released him. “Now, let’s get ourselves together, and let me walk you down the aisle.”
* * * *

Jett paced the dressing room, doing breathing exercises intended to help him stay calm. He turned at the sound of the door opening to see his son standing there with a huge smile. Jett couldn’t help grinning back.