Epilogue
Zeke
Ten Years Later
Our ten-year reunion goes exactly the way I pictured it would.
A few people made a big deal about my gold medals, most of the people I used to be friends with congratulated me but didn’t give more or less of a shit about me now than what they did in college, and now, my boneheaded brothers are dragging me away from the reunion to walk our old stomping grounds.
I deeply inhale the cool night air as we turn onto Greek Row and find things more or less the same as when we lived here. A few of the houses have had updates, but otherwise … a pang hits me as I look out at everything we had that disappeared way too soon.
I don’t necessarily have regrets, but college wasn’t for me what it was for my brothers.
If I’d known back then that I’d end up with an incredible career, multiple golds, and the man of my dreams by my side every step of the way, I would have approached life very differently.
“Wanna do the honors, prez?” Robbie asks, handing over a roll of TP.
This strange prickling hits the backs of my eyes, and I take it from him. The prank life was never for me. I never had more than a periphery involvement, and I liked it that way.
But as I unstick the roll and take aim, this tiny thrill punches me right in the chest.
“Fucking Kappas,” I laugh. I launch it high, the white paper unfurling behind it, leaving a stream over one of the awnings as the paper hits the ground on the other side. Three more rolls arch overhead, and my brothers cackle with laughter as they run to retrieve the rolls and try again.
And even a decade later, they are still my brothers.
Not only in title but in reality too. They’re my biggest supports.
They’ll always call or text after a swim to either fuck with me over it being a good one or rib me over a bad one.
We meet up at least every few months, and all the way back when Charles and I first started dating, they were there for the good and the bad.
We were on the unofficial down low for a few months, which was harder than either of us expected, and getting through my training and traveling for the Olympics and comps while he was studying put physical distance between us that was almost unbearable.
He and Bailey became close, and at one point while I was away and Robbie and Brandon were visiting family in Arizona, they drove all the way to our apartment in Cali to spend the weekend with him and take him out.
Some days, I wonder if we would have made it if it wasn’t for them all.
Other days, I’m glad we had those times to work through because I know now that we can get through anything together.
Even through the rough times, we put in the work to be together.
Neither of us wanted to get married, so as far as anyone knows, we’re not. The wedding, the party, the fuss, not for us. But we did secretly register as husbands so that legally we’re covered. And Robbie will never, ever find out that he missed the chance to throw a huge event.
“Hey, catch!”
I turn at the familiar voice and cop an armful of toilet paper to the face. Before I can bat it away, a jet of water gets me right in the face and I splutter through the relentless stream.
“What the—”
Judging by the yelp from somewhere behind me, I’d say someone else just met the same fate.
I swipe at the paper, but it’s gluggy and sticking to me, and when I get my face clear, there’s Charles and his shit-eating grin.
“You Sigmas are so predictable.”
I shake my head like huh, and he nods to where Bailey, Lucas, and Jordan are super soaking my brothers. Robbie’s covered head to toe in white muck, and instead of fighting it, he runs forward, arms outstretched, trying to get to whoever he can.
Chad’s made better work of his mess and bolts after Bailey, who keeps shooting him, and Brandon barely makes it to Robbie in time to stop him from walking head first into a tree.
I lift my hands. “Can I surrender?”
“No chance.” Charles shoots me again, and I lunge for him, missing his arm by the scrape of my fingers.
“You’re dead to me,” I warn him.
“If I thought you could live without me, I might be worried.”
“Please. I have a truckload of fans ready to take your place.”
He gets me right in the face, and yep, I deserved that one. I laugh and push through the stream of water until I’m close enough to tackle him.
He goes down, hitting the grass under me, just like he did in this same spot forever ago.
“What they don’t realize,” I say, “is that you’re irreplaceable.”
He huffs. “Much better.”
“Oomph.” Robbie hits the ground next to us. “I’m out of breath. I’m already out of breath. How. Am I. So unfit?”
Brandon pats his head from where he’s standing beside him. “You save your energy for where it counts.”
Chad, Bailey, Lucas, and Jordan all join us, and I roll off Charles but don’t get far. My man is still affectionate and almost clingy, but it’s one of the things I like best. He’s never made me feel unwanted.
“Remember the times we used to do this every weekend?” Chad asks.
Other than Robbie, the rest of us respond with a chorus of “no’s.”
“Huh. You guys really were boring in college, weren’t you?”
I flip him off while Brandon points out he was busy keeping their dumb asses safe, and while it might be bittersweet to be back on the row, nothing’s changed. We’re all still the same dumbasses we were back then, only we have an extra decade of mistakes behind us.
The door to Kappa house cracks open, and I hear someone from inside ask who’s making all the noise. The guy at the door clocks us, looking us over before shaking his head and walking back inside.
“Just a bunch of old dudes” is all I hear before the door closes.
There’s a beat.
And then we all lose our shit laughing.
I jump to my feet, holding out my hand for Charles, and old dudes or not, my man is still a fucking wet dream.
After he graduated for the second time, he’s been tutoring athletes who haven’t kept up with mainstream education.
It’s also allowed him to travel to the last two Olympics with me, tutoring the kids on the team who still should have been in high school.
He’s doing what he loves, and every day, I get to see the same passionate guy I fell for.
But the travel is winding down. My swimming career isn’t over yet, but it’s getting to the point where we need to work out what’s next, and while I haven’t completely settled on whether I want to go into coaching or try to open my own swim center, there’s one thing we’ve both agreed on.
It’s time to be dads.
I sling my arm around his shoulders as we all head back to campus together.
“So,” I say, lifting my voice. “Where did the water guns come from?”
“If Chad’s taught me anything,” Bailey says, “it’s to always be prepared.”
“And you just knew we were going to sneak off, did you?”
Charles shrugs. “We knew Robbie and Chad would pull something like this, therefore Brandon would be here too. Honestly, Zeke, I’m disappointed. I thought you were above all that.” He’s fighting not to laugh.
“Coming from the guy who still lives in my Sigma sweater.”
He immediately blushes like I knew he would. “I will deny it until my last breath.”
“Y’all think you’re so smart,” Robbie says, toilet paper still stuck in his hair. “But the water guns were always our thing.”
“That’s why we chose them,” Bailey points out. “Falling on your own sword and all that. Besides, everyone knows you need to be prepared for war. It’s not our fault you forgot that.”
“The frat wars are over though.” And Brandon must realize his mistake the second the words are out because Robbie lets out a booming laugh.
“The frat wars are never over. Ever. Why do you think we had kids?”
Brandon swears, and I laugh, reevaluating whether I want my offspring anywhere near theirs. They’re all going to be as competitive as each other.
I lean in to plant a kiss on Charles’s hair. It’s shorter now and hasn’t smelled like caramel since he moved out of Kappa house, but I’m addicted to his scent anyway.
To all of him.
“Love you, Charlie. You’re the greatest gold I ever earned.”