Epilogue
CALVIN
One Year Later . . .
“Oh, come on. We have to cheer Billy on. This is a huge game.”
It is. Billy is quarterback for his senior year, and the guy has really grown into the role. They almost made it to State again last year but got knocked out at the last minute. An actual loss, not a forfeit like my senior year, but devastating all the same.
Tonight though, it’s Kensley vs. Big Bend, and Ty Oakley has been one hell of a rival for Billy. I’m going to be honest here, I’m Team Big Bend all the way, but even I’m not sure if we can pull it off.
Ty is a force.
One not to be fucked with. And apparently, he and Billy are both vying for a chance to play for Manhattan City University. Though, not as quarterback—because that honor is all my boyfriend’s. Not a chance they’re going to let him go after winning a bowl game his freshman year.
He can make it to the pros, I have no doubt, but even he isn’t sure if he actually wants that.
“Well, well. Look who’s back in town.” Thankfully it’s not Adler or Shields, who I heard are both working for my family’s drilling company. No, it’s people I wasn’t sure I’d ever see again.
I definitely didn’t expect them to be smiling when I did see them. But Vaughn and Austin approach us, both wrapped in coats and scarfs with big smiles on their face. “Hey,” I say, holding Jonah’s body to my side. I’m not sure why, but the need to protect him overcomes me.
Though I know neither of them would ever hurt a soul. “It’s good to see you, Calvin,” Austin says.
“Uh, you too, Austin,” I say, hating that my voice is shaking. I hate what I did to him, but I have to remind myself that’s not me anymore. I look over at his boyfriend, and it actually makes me laugh when I see that his arm is wrapped protectively around his man too. “Vaughn.”
“Duke.” He smiles. “Good to see you.”
“You too.” I nod toward Jonah. “This is my boyfriend, Jonah.”
They’re both smiling way too big now as they shake Jonah’s hand. We chat for a little while, but then Benny fucking McBride with his grumpy ass boyfriend Rowan Kincaid approach. Pretty sure they both hate my brother with a passion, and I want to say that the feeling is mutual, but there’s no need.
Benny is as nice as ever, introducing himself to my boyfriend and making friends right away as Rowan grumbles and watches the game. We all cheer for Big Bend, but in the end, it’s a heartbreaking loss. One I hope Billy can get over.
“Well, shit,” Benny says. “Didn’t see that coming. Guess the fucking Easton genes are unstoppable.”
“Yeah,” I say sadly, watching as Billy hangs his head in disappointment, and I see Coach slap him on the shoulder, trying to console him.
“We should go to the after party!” Benny says, bouncing up. The guy has a lot of energy.
“No,” Rowan says just as Austin says, “Could be fun.”
“You want to go hang out with a bunch of high school jocks?” Vaughn asks his boyfriend, clearly shocked.
He shrugs. “Why not?”
“Yes!” Benny says. “Let’s go show these kids how to party.”
“One drink, Benny,” Rowan tries, but Benny is already heading toward the parking lot, and we all know there isn’t anything that will stop him.
I turn to Jonah. “You wanna go?”
He shrugs. “Why not? We can try to cheer Billy up a little before we head back to the dorms.”
I laugh. “It’s hilarious you think Jenna will let us go back tonight. She already has the room all made up.”
He laughs but doesn’t argue as we head to my truck and then drive out to the spot where all the parties have always been held. Billy arrives later than anyone, but he heads straight to the whiskey.
“You sure you want to do that?” I ask, nodding to the bottle.
“Yup,” he says, taking a huge drink, then wiping the back of his mouth with his hand. “I should have waited. One more second and Thompson would have been open.”
He takes another large swig, and I take the bottle away from him, taking a sip, if only just to get it out of his hands for a minute. “Thompson never got open. They were covering him completely. You did what you could.”
“Fucking Ty Easton” He yanks the bottle back from me. “That motherfucker.”
I chuckle. Every time we come home, we try to get together with Billy, and every single time we hear about fucking Ty Easton.
“He’s good,” I say, unable to lie. The guy has talent.
“He’s a showoff.”
I grin. “Well, his cousin is Oakley Easton. That guy is the biggest showoff I’ve ever seen.”
He takes another drink. “Fucking Eastons.”
I laugh, and Jonah comes to sit on my lap, testing the camping chair, but it holds us both somehow. “You’re gonna be okay, Billy. You’ll get him next time.”
He just looks grim, drinks some more before he heads off to take a piss. I’m tired and ready to go home, and even though I’m certain Jonah will tease me for it, I tell him.
“Yeah, come on ,old man. Let’s get you tucked in.”
I laugh because what else is there to do when you’re just this damn happy?
I have everything I never even had a clue I wanted, never let myself dream of. Now that I have it, I don’t fight it.
I just go with I,t even if it feels like I’m breaking all the rules.
Because now that I know how good that feels, I want to do it all the time.
With him.
The End