Harvey stood and swung around to both of them. “Stop it, both of you. It’s no one’s fault.”
“So what are we supposed to do now?” Rav asked.
“We fly to Reno in the morning,” Nigel said. “I think the best thing is for Harvey and Rav to travel together. Bo, we can change your flight and you can arrive later. We’ll put you up in a different hotel. Then Harvey and Rav can go out to dinner, somewhere romantic where we’ll arrange some photos to be taken. Show how dedicated you are to each other, you know? At the same time we can—“
“There’s no way I’m having Bo stay in a different hotel,” Harvey said. “Can’t we just deny the bullshit story?”
“We could try, but you know the press. They’re not going to let it drop. It’s not ideal but perhaps now’s the time you should announce that the three of you are involved—“
“No!” Rav jumped to his feet. “I can’t have my parents finding out like this. Imagine finding out something like this through a press release. It will break them. It goes against everything they believe in.”
“Is it any better that they think you’re being unfaithful?” Nigel said.
Rav’s stomach clenched, and he let out a strained bark of laughter. “Of course not.”
“What’s the next idea?” Harvey asked Nigel as he rubbed a slow circle on Ravi’s back. “There’s got to be something else we can do.”
Nigel shook his head in obvious frustration. “Maybe we can frame it that Bo’s a friend and he’s hit it off with one of the other guys. I’m sure RG wouldn’t mind playing along.”
Bo’s face was unreadable as he sat on the couch and stared between them all but before Rav could say anything, Harvey jumped in. “Absolutely not. I’m not involving RG in a lie and it’s not fair on Bo.”
“None of this is fair on Bo,” Ravi said as the back of his eyes prickled.
“Look, to be honest,” Nigel said, “a cheating scandal isn’t the end of the world for the band, especially as Harvey isn’t the one cheating. Rockers are expected to play the field, move from relationship to relationship. The easiest solution is for Harvey to announce your relationship is over, play the hurt lover, and play on the sympathy of the fans.”
“No way.” Harvey was firm. “I’m not turning my back on either of them.”
“Well, I don’t see any other way,” Nigel said. “Not if you don’t want to tell the truth. This was always going to be delicate situation, what with you being in the spotlight. It’s my job to limit the impact on HyperOctane and make sure you boys are seen in the best light. It’s not my job to do public relations for your boyfriends. I love you and all the guys, Harvey, I do, but I need to make recommendations based on what’s best for the band.” He stood and brushed the creases from his pants. “The interview is in an hour. I suggest you go change and get ready. And in the meantime, don’t say or do anything until you’ve spoken to me.”
Nigel left, the door closing behind him, but none of them moved. Harvey’s jaw was clenched, Bo was twisting his hands as he looked at his knees. Ravi joined him on the couch again and took one of his hands, massaging to remove some of the tension. He felt horrible being responsible for the whole situation.
Bo was being kept at arm’s length in public and having his own relationship denied. It must have torn at his heart being the one on the outer. Then there was Harvey who had to deal with all the fallout instead of enjoying the opportunity of a lifetime.
All it would take to fix it would be for him to give the go ahead to announce they were all in a relationship together, but no matter how much he wanted their relationship to be honest and open, he just couldn’t bring himself to do it.
Maybe things would be better for them all if he just went away and they could enjoy the rest of the tour in peace.
Chapter Twenty
“Sotheintervieweristhe same guy from last year?” Rafe asked.
“Yep, Nige told me the interview today will be with Len from World of Rock,” RG said.
“He was the one who kept trying to use the gay angle for the article, right?” Harvey recalled from reading the article,Rafe Moreno puts the Hype in HyperOctane, an article that focused on Rafe’s coming out more than the music.
“Yeah, but he’s not too bad. After a while he got the hint of what questions we’d answer. He’d push, but only so much before resorting to fairly standard music related questions.”
Harvey dragged a hand through his hair that had grown even longer over the past months. He detested interviews at the best of times, but this afternoon was shit timing. He wanted to be upstairs with his boyfriends trying to work out how to fix things, not down here in the private hotel lounge trying to figure out what to say to an intrusive journalist. Bo was hurting, and Ravi was worried sick about both of themplushis parents seeing the article the article and thinking he was cheating.
“Are you hanging in there?” RG asked. “Nige showed us the latest article. It sucks, mate.”
“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s the boys I’m worried about. They’ve been pretty much thrown in the deep end. I just wish we’d been able to get through the tour and back to Australia without any of this happening. It’s only another few weeks until we’d planned to talk to Ravi’s parents. All I want is to give Ravi the best chance of having them accept him and the situation, you know? It’s tough enough for him already. Parker and me, we’re so lucky to have Mum, and Bo’s parents are great. I can’t imagine how Ravi must feel knowing his parents aren’t behind him. Plus is sucks for the band—a public relations disaster before the big concert and the awards.”
“You know we’re all here for you, right? Here for Rav and Bo, too.”
Harvey squeezed RG’s arm. “You guys are my family.”
RG smiled. “Too bloody right.”
