Page 65 of Flawsome Explorations
Epilogue
Zio
Life wasgreat as I sat under an umbrella on the outside patio of a restaurant in Oahu with Felix. We had returned to Hawaii for Arsène’s photo shoot with the famous musician, Iason Leyland. It felt like things had come full circle since that was where my journey with Armand had started. Felix and I watched from afar as our boyfriends continued working down on the beach.
“We’re going to getsospoiled.” I sipped my Royal Hawaiian cocktail, a decadent drink with a beautiful blue, purple, and yellow ombre fade. It felt like I was living the high life every day I spent together with Armand.
Felix laughed before taking a sip of his. “I’m pretty sure we alreadyarespoiled. It doesn’t get much better than this.”
I closed my eyes for a moment as I savored the warm ocean breeze. “It really doesn’t.”
“Hawaii, the Maldives, Paris, and Scotland all in one summer? Returning to school in the fall after that is going to suck.”
His point made me groan. “Don’t remind me. I’d like to keep enjoying the dream that this is our real life instead of worrying about my dissertation.”
“You should come with me to Scotland,” Felix suggested. “North and I are staying at a Luxurian boutique hotel specializing in giving guests special experiences. This one caters to writers on a retreat. You stay in an awesome castle, and you’re assigned an ‘editor,’ who will be as involved or hands-off as you want them to be.”
“I know Luxurian Hotels are all about luxury, but offering editing services?” The concept boggled my mind. “That’s absurd.”
“They don’t just do that. If you like having accountability, they’ll check in with you to make sure you’re hitting your word count goals. When you’re stuck, you can talk with your editor and bounce ideas off of them, which would be awesome. You can even have them turn off your internet during certain hours to keep you from falling down the time-suck rabbit hole. I’ll definitely need to take advantage of that last one.”
“Is there any writer who doesn’t require that at some point?”
We shared a laugh. “Right? They also have communal spaces where you can meet up with the other writers staying there and chat with them. It’ll be the perfect place for North and me to brainstorm on our first collaboration.” Both of them wrote gay romance novels and had unique styles, so I was curious to see how they would work together. I enjoyed reading both of their books. As embarrassing as it was, I had gleaned quite a few useful tips from them regarding things in the bedroom.
Armand, Arsène, and Iason joined us during a break from their photo shoot. Our boyfriends greeted us both with a kiss as they sat down, with Iason taking a seat at the head of the table. For someone so famous and with such an unusual name, he was shockingly down-to-earth and easy to talk to. He was always quick with a joke and had a natural way of putting you at ease. Or maybe I was getting better about being around people, thanks to Armand boosting my self-confidence. At the same time, it was very weird being so casual with the same man who had released the sexy song, “Midnight Magic.”
“How’s the shoot going?” Felix asked.
“There’s nothing better than working with Arsène in paradise,” Iason replied with a satisfied sigh. “This is definitely one of the best perks of being famous.”
Armand chuckled as he wrapped his arm around me in a loose hug. “Luckily for me, I get the same benefit by working for somebody famous without having to be in the spotlight.”
“There are some bright sides,” Arsène agreed with a charming smile. Sometimes it was hard to believe he and Armand weren’t brothers by blood when they were so alike.
“We were talking about how lucky we are to be spoiled by both of you.” Felix grinned at his boyfriend. “I was also trying to persuade Zio to come with me to Scotland. He could work on his dissertation at that cool castle hotel for writers that you surprised me with.”
“I have enough time to worry about that once the fall term starts. I’d rather enjoy my vacation without my dissertation looming over me and putting a damper on things.” The last thing I wanted to do was think about that while I was in heaven.
Armand brushed his thumb against my upper arm, making me shiver despite the warm day. “There’s plenty of time for that later. I have other plans that will be much more enjoyable for the both of us.”
I perked up at the mention. “Oh? What plans?”
He leaned closer and lowered his voice, raising chills on my skin. “The kind I can’t speak about in front of others.”
Everyone laughed at the squeak that escaped from me. Swallowing hard, I tried not to get too sidetracked by what he was alluding to. “You’ll have to tell me about them later.”
“I’d rather show you.” He kissed me on the cheek, making me blush.
Felix grinned as he watched us. “I’ll never stop being amazed that Armand has been tamed by a sweetheart.”
“I’m far from tamed, I assure you,” he retorted with a wicked grin. “But it’s true that I’m devoted to my beloved.”
“I am so happy for you both.” Arsène gave his boyfriend a teasing kiss. “I am also thrilled that I found the love of my life with you,mon amour.”
“You’re both making an excellent pitch for why I need to slow down long enough to find a boyfriend,” Iason said with a laugh. “There’s some sad irony that I’m a musician who writes love songs but isn’t in love with anyone.”
“If our experiences have taught us anything, it will happen without warning and with someone you least expect,” Arsène replied. “But there is no greater surprise in life than discovering the other half of your heart.”
“Aww, you say the sweetest things,” Felix cooed. “If you keep talking like that, you’ll have to call it an early day to take me back to the hotel, though.”
“To make it a late night,” Iason added, causing everyone to laugh.
“I’m happy to have any excuse to showmon petit chouhow much I love him, so keep going.” Armand kissed my temple twice. I had always hated public displays of affection in the past with my girlfriends, but I loved it when it was my boyfriend.
As we kept joking, I rested my head on Armand’s shoulder as he held me. I never would have expected my love life to take that kind of turn, but being with him was the greatest thing that had ever happened to me. Not only did I have the best partner in the world, I had also gained a new circle of friends, thanks to his tight-knit group adopting me as one of their own. It was a mystery to me how I had gotten so lucky. I was grateful that I had fallen for Armand and that he loved me back with all of his heart and soul.
* * *