Epilogue
Marty
Late summer
“Shots, shots, shots!” Jaxon shouts, raising his shot glass high.
Colin, Ash, Ty, Lance, and I hang by the bar in the Sigma Alpha backyard.
Construction is complete, and it’s official: their house will be up and running for fall.
In the meantime, they’ve managed to secure the place for one last hurrah before the start of the semester, inviting alums and members, including Alpha Theta Mus because of our solidarity after the fire.
Tonight’s theme is Rome was Rebuilt in a Semester—any excuse to wear a toga.
But considering the oppressive humidity of August, it’s perfect.
Our crew cheers, and we down our shots before Keegan says, “Hey, we still have an extra one because Ryan didn’t come back.”
Payton and Dax dragged him off for a game of beer pong, and I figured I’d finish catching up with my buddies, some of whom I haven’t seen in months.
“I’ll take it,” Colin says. Keegan’s about to pass it to him, but Colin says, “One sec.”
He scoops Ash off the ground and lays him across the bar.
Ash has already let the shoulder of his toga fall, so the cloth is only hanging from his waist. Colin takes the shot from Keegan, then pours it across his man, most of it pooling into Ash’s navel.
Colin takes his time, lapping it all up, his tongue traveling up until he kisses his man.
Keegan laughs uncomfortably, though he doesn’t take his eyes off the show, kind of making me wonder if we might need to revisit the whiteboard idea.
“Oh my God,” Jaxon tells him. “You’re acting like that’s the first time you’ve ever seen them do that.”
Keegan’s brows knit together. “That seemed longer than usual.”
“It did seem a little long,” Lance chimes in, all smiles, sneaking a look to Ty, who grabs his boyfriend’s ass, giving it a good squeeze, but then doesn’t let go.
Fuck, everyone is little horndogs tonight, but I must admit I’m wishing my guy were around so I could get some action too. I search the yard, finding Ry over at the table for beer pong.
Ry and I helped on the builds until early July, when we both headed home to our parents, though we’ve been swapping whose parents’ place we stayed at.
His mom officially moved out, and his dad’s been doing better since he started dating again, which has helped Ryan feel less like shit about the whole situation.
It hasn’t been easy, but he’s adjusting, and this kind of thing takes time.
I’m here for him, however long that may take.
Ryan’s beer-pong team includes some of his old teammates and Angie. As he loses a round, he downs a beer, some of it dripping onto his chest, sliding under his toga. And now I’m realizing it might be better not to watch him if I don’t want to have a raging boner in front of everyone.
“What was I saying?” Lance asks me. “Before we were interrupted by shots?”
“Your internship.”
“Oh yeah. I’ll be interning at Peachstar Biomed, and Ty’s got a job with a tech startup not far from there, so we were thinking we’ll get our own place.”
“Like moving in together?” I ask, genuinely surprised. “I mean, maybe that’s not weird. You’ve been sleeping in the same bed since the fire.”
“Kind of since before then,” Ty says, and they exchange a knowing look.
“Okay, whatever. It does seem like the next logical step. But you guys will have to make time to come out here and see us.”
“We’ll have to,” Lance says. “You, Ash, and Payton are in grad programs for the next few years. Troy and Ryan work at the shop. A lot of guys have graduated but are still floating around Peachtree Springs.”
“Um, Ty,” Keegan pipes up, “don’t forget you still have friends here too.”
“Nah, these losers can take care of themselves,” Ty insists.
“Fuck you!” Jaxon says with a smile, nudging his shoulder against Ty’s.
I continue catching up with my guys, and at some point, Ash and Colin sneak off.
Eventually, boos and shouting alert me to the end of the beer-pong game, so I excuse myself from the gang.
While heading across the yard, I admire the way the white cloth drapes across Ry’s body, exposing his sculpted pec and that perfect nipple.
It’s difficult to imagine having ever seen anything other than perfection when I started getting to know this guy.
As he notices me, his eyes light up in a way I’ve learned is just for me, and he approaches. He leans close, his hot breath tickling my ear as he whispers, “Now that I kicked their asses, you mind if I abduct you?”
“You can do anything you want to me in that,” I admit, and he practically glows.
He takes my hand, interlocking our fingers, and guides me through our half-dressed peers. He takes me through the living area, where plenty of people are gathered, and I see Aiden chatting with a group of Alpha Theta Mus.
“Looks like he’s not gonna have any issues adjusting to frat life,” Ryan notes, and I never had a doubt.
Since our chat, Aiden’s made sure to spend more time with me this summer, but I’ve been giving him his space tonight so he could make connections with the guys he’ll be spending time with next year, when he hopefully earns his place at the frat.
“Hey, you two,” a voice comes from nearby, and we turn to see Dax. Along with his toga, he sports a chaplet of leaves. “I think the place looks even better than before the fire.”
“It does,” Ryan agrees. “Some Omega Psi prick can light the place up, but we’ll build it right back up, huh? Sucks that you’ll still have to see that guy around campus.”
Dax’s lip twists into his dimple, like he’s thinking about something, maybe their confrontation.
Although, I remember that weird moment when we were talking about Miles after.
Dax seemed to have something on his mind then too, as if the subject confused him for some reason. And confusion isn’t really Dax’s thing.
“Uh…yeah, you know it,” he finally says. “Anyway, you two looked like you were up to no good, so I’ll let you get back to it. I’ll be grabbing a refill.”
We hug it out, and then Ryan guides me upstairs.
“Where are we going?”
He sneaks a look over his shoulder, his lips curling into a mischievous smirk. “You’ll see,” he practically hums, and the way he’s eyeing me, I don’t press because I have a feeling I’m gonna like wherever this is going.
We start down the hallway on the second floor, when we hear sounds coming from one of the rooms, both of us recognizing the voices even before hearing, “Fuck me, Ash. Fuck me harder.”
I cringe but can’t fight a smile. We exchange a look, and I can tell Ryan’s thinking the same thing I am.
“Maybe one last time?” he says, as though reading my mind.
We approach the door, and Ryan presses his knuckle against it, cracking it open. I close my eyes, unsure I can follow through with it, but then I force myself to peek. With their togas on the floor, Colin lies on his back on the desk with Ash holding his legs, drilling him like it’s his job.
“This looks familiar,” Ryan whispers before Colin turns and catches us.
“Oh, hey, guys!”
Ash spins around, offering a half-wave and a “ ’sup,” which doesn’t seem to affect his thrusts.
I can’t look long, though. It’s too weird, so I pull back, and Ryan starts to close the door.
I stop him. “I think they’ll enjoy it more if it’s cracked open.”
“Such a good friend,” Ryan teases before we continue down the hall.
“Never thought I’d say this, but I’m gonna miss potentially running into them.”
“I have a feeling that’s still a real possibility with those guys.”
“Yeah, I think if we head to the fourth floor of the library, we’ll still have plenty of opportunities.”
As Ryan approaches another room, he checks the knob—it isn’t locked. He guides me inside the space, empty except for the basics—bed, dresser, desk.
“I’m guessing this was your room?”
He grins. “Yeah. I never had a chance to show it to you.”
“I assume it’s a lot tidier than it was when you were living in it.” It’s an intentional dig at the mess I learned he was when he moved into my room, and really, he hasn’t changed much since.
He places his hand over his heart. “Ow. I’m not that bad.”
“I think you’re back to gaslighting me,” I joke.
He’s all teeth as he pulls his phone out of a pocket in his toga.
“What are you doing?” I ask, but he doesn’t respond, just keys away before setting his phone on his desk.
It takes a moment for the music to start playing. I recognize it because it’s the song I used when I was first teaching him how to tango. Tango classes ended a few weeks ago, but Ryan and I have kept up our lessons, getting even better.
“My turn to lead,” he says, taking my hand and resting the other against my back. I don’t resist him, and we start to move through the basics.
It surprises me at first how easily I go along with him, especially considering the reason why I preferred to lead was because of how I wanted to be in control, but Ryan’s helped me loosen the reins on that a bit.
But only a bit.
As we travel in a circle, I get lost in the sparkle in his blue irises, wondering if they were always this blue or if I only see them this way because of how my feelings for him have changed.
“You know Ty and Lance are moving in together,” he says.
“I do.”
“I was thinking…we should discuss the possibility of moving in together too.”
I can’t fight back the smile that stretches across my face as a flurry of sensations shifts in my belly. But… “I don’t know… We do have to sort out your being a mess.”
He angles his head, shooting me a dirty look. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
“You think you’re gonna live with me without any rules?”
He rolls his eyes.
“And another thing we need to settle: when the red light starts blinking on the water-filter lid…” It’s something I’ve given him hell about when we were at Dax’s or when he’s come over to stay at my parents’ place.
“That’s not a set rule. You can use it through another gallon.”
“And you can also take a minute to swap it out,” I say with a tone, and Ryan’s eyebrow pops up.
“Honey, are we really gonna fight right now?”
“Don’t you honey me right now.” But he’s still smiling because he knows that always calms me down, even when we have a minor disagreement like this.
“I think you’re trying to start a fight because you think it’s hotter when we have makeup sex.”
“Well, we can only do that after you agree to change out the water filter when the light turns red.”
“After I finish up the pitcher?”
I groan, and he leans forward, planting a kiss.
I wish I could stay annoyed, but I submit too quickly as he shoves me back and guides me onto the bed, until soon we’re making out.
As he pulls away, he glances around. “This reminds me of that first time in your room. Making out, wondering what was going on.” He presses his crotch against me.
“No question what that’s about now,” I say, and he shakes his head.
“Not even a little.”
He licks up my lips as one hand slides under the cloth draped across my torso, gliding his fingers up my abs. My body prickles with life, my thoughts scattering as we get lost in another kiss.
Though it’s similar to that first night, it’s not even close to the same. There’s no confusion. No worry. No anxiety—not about these kisses, at least.
His lips pull away, and he whispers, “Was that enough to convince you to move in with me?”
“I think you’re gonna have to really up your game to convince me of that.”
He leans back, glancing at me with a familiar cocky expression. “Up my game, huh? Well, I can do that.” He lunges at me, his mouth at my throat as he nibbles, going feral.
And as he forces my toga down my shoulder so he’s free to kiss down my body, I already know…
We’re definitely getting an apartment together.
THE END