Epilogue
“Okay, everyone! Ten minutes ‘til the ball drops!”
Grace and Chloe have done it again, this time for New Year’s Eve.
Every surface of their home sparkles with gold and silver decorations.
Their party playlist has been fire, and our crew has spent most of the night dancing in the living room—Max, Celeste, Theo, Caleb, Vimlesh, Harrison, and Wren.
This time, Oliver’s friend Elise was able to come down from Specter as well.
Oliver was right—she’s something else. But in a good way.
After a few hours of dancing in my New Year’s Eve best—a black sequined suit with a sparkly golden necktie—I am officially too sweaty to keep going.
Oliver and I step outside onto the porch to cool down.
He helps me peel off my sweat-soaked jacket, rolls up the sleeves of his dress shirt, and slowly, deliberately, removes my necktie.
Then, well, one thing leads to another until—
“Get it, sluts!” Wren yells, giving us a wink before dipping back inside.
Oops.
That’s how it’s been over the past month.
Since Thanksgiving, Oliver and I have been inseparable, spending only a few hours apart at a time.
He’s everything I’ve ever wanted in a partner and more.
He’s romantic, attentive, and affectionate.
He holds me like I’m something valuable, something precious.
He looks at me with so much fondness that I can barely stand it.
He’s my sunshine, my protector, and my best friend.
I love him more than I ever thought possible.
A few days after Thanksgiving, Oliver and I went back to my parents’ house, where we exchanged only a few words with them.
As predicted, my parents refused to support me until I “accept my God-given gender” and “live life the way God ordained.” In other words, they want nothing to do with me unless I conform to the arbitrary rules set by an ancient book written by hundreds of different authors thousands of years ago, which has since been revised, rewritten, translated, and paraphrased countless times.
So Oliver helped me pack my things, and I said goodbye.
Oliver’s parents, being the gracious and loving people that parents are supposed to be, offered me the guestroom where Oliver’s paternal grandparents usually stay during the holidays.
They said I could stay as long as I needed while I looked for a place of my own.
I humbly accepted their offer, and I’m hoping to find a part-time job in January.
When Oliver and I returned to school and announced our relationship to our friends, no one was as surprised as we expected. I guess we were the only ones who couldn’t see how crazy we were about each other. Well, except Vimlesh, who was pretty stunned. Overall, everyone was thrilled for us.
Finals were rough, but we all made it through unscathed. Oliver and I passed all our classes with mostly A’s. Oliver did get one B in Biology, probably from skipping his Friday lab one too many times, but he wasn’t upset about it, so neither was I.
During the winter break, we spent the holidays with Oliver’s family.
His paternal grandparents stayed at a nearby hotel for a few days.
Like the rest of the Hammond family, they are friendly, welcoming, and kind.
I’ve been touched by how easily they picked up on my pronouns, despite their age and their upbringing in the South.
It really shows that even a little respect for another person goes a long way.
After Christmas, Taylor and Danny set up a video call so we could go over finances together.
Remarkably, they still insisted on helping me with tuition, and I cried a few more times during the call.
I’m so lucky to have so many supportive, generous people around me. I often can’t wrap my head around it.
“Five minutes ‘til the ball drops!”
Soon after Wren caught us making out, other partygoers joined us on the porch. After a night of dancing, the crisp late-December air is incredibly refreshing. Eventually, most of our crew had made it out here, but now it seems the numbers are waning again.
“Are y’all coming in to watch the ball drop?” Theo asks, hesitating with Caleb by the door.
Oliver holds me snuggly from behind, his arms wrapped around my waist, his chin resting on the top of my head. We sway together to the muffled music, enjoying the chilly air, our friends' company, and the pleasant, warm buzz of the champagne.
“Hmm…” Oliver’s humming vibrates against my head, and I find it far more erotic than I should. “I don’t know, what do you think, Bug?”
I sigh. “I suppose we should.”
“Bug?” Max echoes, scrunching his nose. “Seriously?”
Oliver grins. “Yeah, we’re playing around with pet names. That one comes from Jude-bug—you know, like Junebug—then it’s shortened to Bug. Plus, they love The Beatles, who are also bug-adjacent. It makes perfect sense if you think about it.”
“And you’re okay with that, Jude?” Celeste asks incredulously.
“It’s not the worst he’s come up with,” I admit, unable to wipe the lovesick grin off my face.
“God, were Caleb and I ever this gross?” Theo asks with a chuckle.
There’s a resounding “yes” from Oliver, Wren, and Elise.
“Aww, I’d like to think we still are that gross,” Caleb adds, wrapping his arms around Theo’s waist and kissing Theo’s forehead. Theo’s eyes flutter shut, and he smiles.
“Gaaaaay,” Oliver calls out teasingly.
Theo playfully flicks him off before leaning up to kiss Caleb.
“Newsflash, Oliver,” Elise interjects. “You’re pretty gay, too.”
“I know. It’s the best,” Oliver replies, leaning down to kiss my temple. “I’m so gay for you, baby.”
I laugh. “You’re such a loser.”
“Yeah, but I’m your loser,” Oliver whispers, his breath tickling the shell of my ear and sending a shiver down my spine.
“All mine,” I agree.
“Y’all are disgusting,” Elise exclaims. “But in a cute way.” She looks between the two of us and smiles. “You know, I have to say, I never imagined Oliver could land someone as cool as you, Jude.”
“Wow,” Oliver grumbles. “Rude.”
“Thank you?” I say skeptically.
Elise snickers. “It’s a compliment, I swear. I’m glad y’all found each other. Oliver’s a good kid.”
I squeeze Oliver’s arm at my waist. “He is.”
Oliver kisses my cheek.
“Ugh, I have to walk away. You’re too cute.” With that, Elise heads back into the house.
As more people trickle back into the house, I turn to face my boyfriend and wrap my arms around his neck. “So, what would you like to do?”
Oliver chuckles. “Be with you, Snickerdoodle. What else?”
I roll my eyes. “Everyone else will be in there to watch the ball drop.”
“I’ll go wherever you go, my liege.”
“Do you care about kissing at midnight?”
Oliver’s brows raise. “Uh, yeah, I care about kissing you all the time.”
“You’re drunk, aren’t you?”
Oliver squints, then holds out his thumb and index finger to demonstrate. “Maybe a little.”
I giggle and tug at his arm. “Come on.”
As I drag Oliver with me back into the living room, Grace and Chloe pass out flutes of champagne. We gratefully take one each and make our way to the television.
“Okay, y’all!” Chloe shouts. “One minute!”
Oliver cheers, then looks down at me excitedly. “This is the first year I have someone to kiss at midnight!”
I smile. “Aww, that’s so cute!”
“Are we supposed to say anything, or just kiss?”
“Just kiss,” I say with a laugh. “But you can say something if you want to.”
Oliver’s face softens, and he gently reaches forward to cup my cheek. “I know I only met you in August, but these past four months have made this the best year of my life. That means next year is going to be even better.”
I let out a soft laugh. “I feel the same.”
The room begins the countdown: “Ten! Nine!”
“I love you, Jude my dude,” Oliver says, brown eyes twinkling.
“Six! Five!”
“And I love you, Mr. Undeclared.”
“Two! One! Happy New Year!”
Oliver wraps his hand behind my head and pulls me into a passionate kiss. My breath catches in my throat. Electricity thrums at every point of contact between us, and my heart pounds in my chest. My head spins, overwhelmed with adoration for this goofy, absurd, ridiculous man.
My golden retriever boyfriend. My sunshine.
My Oliver.