Epilogue
Dean
“No peeking. Keep those eyes closed, Aiden.” Dean ushered a blindfolded Aiden into the construction area.
Aiden fidgeted with a huge smile. “I’m not! Just show me already!”
Dean stopped him at the door and positioned him so he had a clear view. “Okay, open your eyes!” He whipped off the blindfold.
Aiden gasped, wide-eyed, at his new living space. With construction complete, all that was left was decorating and design. Aiden slowly walked through the entry, reverently touching each wall, doorway, and countertop. “This is all for me?” He looked to Dean, eyes glassy with tears.
Aiden had been living in the guest bedroom suite during construction on his permanent living space, which was way more than a simple bedroom.
It had a large bedroom, walk-in closet, and en-suite bathroom, a large living area for TV and gaming, and a smaller side office for studying and reading.
It was basically a one-bedroom apartment, without the kitchen.
“Yes, sir.” Dean pulled him into a hug. “And I can’t think of anyone that deserves it more.”
Aiden squeezed Dean with a sob. “Thank you…I love you.”
Dean wiped a tear from his eye as he kissed the top of his head. “You’re very welcome. Now, these walls are white and boring, so we need to pick out colors and artwork. You up for that?”
Aiden nodded enthusiastically with a smile. “But don’t you have wedding stuff to do?”
Dean waved a hand and began walking Aiden through his new space. “Nah. We’re all set for tomorrow. And the waiting is making me crazy.” He laughed.
Planning the wedding turned out to be pretty easy and painless.
The biggest issue was finding a venue for the ceremony and reception.
Initially, Dean wanted to have the ceremony at a San Francisco landmark, like Alcatraz, Coit Tower, or Dolores Park, but after some research, the paperwork, permitting, and red tape involved made their heads spin.
Neither Dean nor Colton were very religious, so a church wedding was off the table.
They decided to have a simple ceremony with friends and family at home, on the second floor of Harris Entertainment.
No paperwork or permits, no drama, no fuss… perfect.
***
Colton
Colton straightened his bowtie and smoothed his tux in the mirror. Dean snuck up behind him, wrapped his arms around his waist, and kissed his neck. “Hello, soon-to-be husband.”
Colton laughed and turned to place a quick kiss on his lips. “What are you doing here? You’re not supposed to see me before the ceremony.”
Dean nipped at his earlobe. “Please…this is not a traditional wedding, and you, sir, are hardly a blushing bride,” he said, squeezing his ass.
“Damn straight.” Colton giggled. “But you’re still gonna carry me over the threshold?” He playfully batted his eyes.
Dean grabbed the back of his knees and lifted Colton off the floor, wrapping his legs around his waist. “Try and stop me.” Dean placed a deep, lingering kiss on his mouth, then touched his forehead against Colton’s. “I can’t wait to be your husband.”
Colton hummed in agreement. “Yeah, my very own ball and chain.”
Dean dropped his legs and punched his chest. “Okay, I’m being all sentimental and you’re being silly.”
Colton pulled him in for another chaste kiss. “Sorry. I’m being silly because I don’t want to get emotional and cry. This is a big deal for me, for us.”
Dean nodded and kissed his forehead. “True. But it’s ok. It’s our wedding day, get emotional if you want. Who cares? It’s you and me, always.”
“Always.” Colton smiled.
The common area on the second floor buzzed with activity.
A central walkway separated the space. On the left side, a dance floor and small stage along the side wall, and on the right, rows of circular tables for guests.
Decorators placed colorful flower arrangements in the center of each table and adorned the walkway columns, archways, and windows with large sprays of flowers.
Wait staff scurried around preparing the tables for food service, placing votive candles, chargers, plates, and silverware for each guest while the band went through their sound check on the small stage.
Across the back, the accordion wall of windows leading to the balcony were fully open, creating an open-air setting for the ceremony.
A white archway covered in flowers stood at the edge of the balcony, overlooking the bay, with rows of white chairs filling the balcony for the ceremony.
What was normally the meeting and social space for Harris Entertainment had been transformed into a beautifully decorated wedding venue.
Traditionally, the bride’s family and friends were seated on one side of the aisle, and the groom’s were on the other side, but Dean and Colton decided to buck tradition and allow their guests to sit wherever they wanted.
The guest list included Dean’s dancers and staff and friends from the music industry, which, of course, included Taylor.
And anywhere Taylor went, Travis wasn’t far behind.
Colton’s teammates, coaches, friends and family intermingled with the other guests, enjoying champagne before the ceremony began… a lovely mixture of music and sports.
As the music began, everyone eagerly took their seats. Dean and Colton stood arm in arm at the back of the room, another snub to tradition as they decided to walk down the aisle together, as equals.
Aiden strutted down the aisle in his cute little tux, flashing his winning smile and bright blue eyes to everyone as he dropped flower petals in his wake, with Miss Cocoa happily trotting by his side.
‘Make You Feel My Love’ by Adele played as they walked down the aisle. Dean chose the song because, “Ain’t no brides here, so we’re not walking down the aisle to ‘Here Comes the Bride’.”
They took their places at the arch and the officiant began the ceremony.
“The grooms will recite their own vows to one another.” The officiant turned to Colton, who smiled and took a deep breath.
“Dean, for as far back as I can remember, I thought I was pretty put together, had it all figured out. Then you came into the picture and showed me that I didn’t know shit.”
The guests chuckled, and Greg shouted, “You got that right!”
“You turned my world upside down in the best way possible. I can’t imagine a day without you, and I wouldn’t want to. I promise to love you, honor and respect you, for the rest of my days.”
The officiant turned to Dean with a nod.
“Colton, from the moment I saw you on that practice field, you took my breath away. And when our hands touched, we both felt a spark of something bigger. We just didn’t realize what it was at the time.
You’ve become my best friend, and I’m honored to call you my husband.
I promise to love you and make you the happiest man in the whole damn world, for the rest of my days. ”
The officiant turned to the guests. “By the power vested in me by the State of California and the City of San Francisco, I now pronounce you married. You may kiss your husband.”
They brought their lips together in the gentlest of kisses as the guests clapped, cheered, hooted, and whistled.
They turned to face their guests hand in hand and made their way down the aisle.
After a delicious dinner, the party kicked into high gear with drinks and a live band. As the band finished their first set, Dean stepped onto the stage and tapped the microphone.
“Hello, everyone. Before we have the first dance, I have something to share with you.” As Dean spoke, a video screen lowered behind him.
“I think everyone knows the story…I reached out to the Niners and asked if they would be in my music video. Little did I know that I’d find the love of my life on that video shoot.
After the shoot, Colton and I began hanging out, working on music, working out and playing sports.
It’s no secret that we’re both fiercely competitive, and we posted most of our shenanigans on social media.
Music is my life. It’s how I express myself.
And one song that’s kind of become our song is ‘Magic’ by Kylie Minogue.
So I created a little video montage of all our silly competitive moments and set it to my remix of Kylie’s song. I hope you enjoy.”
Dean stepped off the stage as the song began, with video footage documenting their journey playing on the screen.
The first image on the screen was the black and white photo of their first handshake.
Many of the videos and images were silly and light-hearted, and the guests laughed and cheered along with the video.
The montage ended with hearty applause and laughter.
Colton leaned in and whispered to Dean. “My turn.” He winked and trotted onto the stage.
“Hey, folks. Thank you all for coming today. We are both so happy that you’re here to celebrate with us.
It’s funny, neither of us knew what the other was planning, so this is a little bit redundant.
As Dean mentioned, music is his lifeblood.
When we met, I didn’t think much about music, and I knew nothing about dance music.
Dean taught me a lot and shared a lot of music with me.
Dean likes to leave little hand-written notes around the loft.
Most often the notes are lyrics to songs that express his feelings.
The first note he gave me —well, he actually snuck it into my gym bag and I found it hours later— contained the lyrics to the song ‘Magic’ by Kylie Minogue, and it became our song. ”
Colton looked around the room with a smile.
“You can relax, I didn’t create a video montage like Dean did.” The guests chuckled.
“But I did want to do something special for Dean, because he’s taught me so much and opened my eyes to how wonderful life can be. So I thought…what better gift than to have the actual artist sing the song for our first dance.”
Dean gasped loudly and covered his mouth.
“So, ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, please welcome Miss Kylie Minogue.” Kylie stepped out from behind a curtain and hugged Colton. She blew a kiss to Dean as he sobbed on the dance floor.
Colton joined Dean for their first dance as Kylie started to sing.
Dean sobbed onto Colton’s lapel as they swayed to the song.
“I can’t believe you did this.” He whimpered, pressing their foreheads together.
Colton kissed the tip of his nose. “It wasn’t easy. But totally worth it.”
“This is amazing. Thank you.”
Colton smiled. “You’re welcome…husband.”
They slowly swayed in the center of the dance floor, staying in that spot long after Kylie finished her song, said her congratulations, and exited the stage.
Colton rubbed his husband’s back. For the first time in his life, football wasn’t the center of his universe. It was still his first love, and his motivation every day, but now the spotlight was shared with one Dean ‘DJ DVLN’ Harris, the man who rocked his world with a smile and a handshake.
Colton let out a contented sigh. He had the man of his dreams, a gorgeous, muscular Adonis he got to wake up with every morning.
He had a successful career that showed no signs of slowing down.
He had a wonderful family that had expanded to include a troupe of dancers, Harris Entertainment staff, and Aiden as the final piece of the puzzle.
Life was perfect.