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“We’re going on tour!” Tennyson shouts.
I smile and nod. “We’re going on tour.”
Corrin squeezes out from between us, his hair a mess and his smile still at megawatt level. “This feels like a dream. Tell me it’s not a dream.”
Tenn reaches over, but I bat his hand away. “No pinching.”
“Hey! That’s the universal ‘not a dream move.’ I was only trying to help.”
“Yeah, yeah. No pinching my boyfriend.”
“But he was my best friend first.”
Corrin laughs. “You two better work out a custody agreement because when the tour starts, it will be months on end together. I won’t deal with this fighting.”
Tennyson and I grin at one another. We don’t have to speak to know that this will be a running joke between us from now on. He’ll either get used to it, or we’ll annoy him to pieces. Probably a little of both.
Epilogue I
Corrin
“Austen Michael Page.” The echo of my boyfriend’s voice moves across the stadium. I let out a loud whistle as applause breaks out from those around me.
The big screen shows a close-up of Austen’s furrowed brow as he accepts his diploma from the dean. His unamused expression tells me I’ll get an earful about it later, though I don’t mind. He might have mentioned I shouldn’t draw more attention to him than needed before the ceremony began. I just chose to ignore the advice.
Because it was definitely advice. I can’t possibly be expected to watch the man I love complete one of his great accomplishments and not revel in it.
He’ll just have to stay grumpy about my enthusiasm. It won’t be too far of a stretch for him.
“I’m so fucking proud of him,” Kelvin chokes out from my left. He’s been tearing up all morning with the reality that his nephew is officially done with school.
Tennyson leans across me to pat his uncle’s knee. “We all are, Uncle K. You’re the only one crying a river though. Maybe work on that. It’s not good for your asshole image.”
A woman in front of us turns with a scowl. When she makes eye contact with me, I give her a charming smile. Her jaw drops, then she whips back around without a word.
“That never gets old. Can’t wait to see you work that magic all around the world,” Tennyson says.
The tour is set to kick off in six weeks. We've been working almost non-stop to get it all done. Miguel even called in a favor to get Austen access to his finals early since we needed all hands on deck. The school was more than happy to help Stryker Global given the sizable donation they received.
It’s all at once exciting and nerve-wracking. Austen and I will get to be together more, which is great. But it could also lead to tension between us.
Sure, we’ve technically been living together for months. Touring is a bit different though. There's already an undeniable amount of strain amongst us all from how hard we’ve been pushing to get this album recorded in time for the tour. My days are nothing but singing song after song on repeat, while Austen works endlessly to coordinate the more technical parts of the journey.
The good news is that I recorded the last song a few days ago. I’ve saved it for the finale because it’s the song that means the most to me. While the whole process this time has been more soul baring than ever before, this song in particular encompasses my love for Austen in a way none of the others did.
It’s quite literally our love story laid out from my perspective. All the days I longed for him. All the nights I hoped to get a chance for more. All the minutes after that first kiss that I pleaded with the universe to let me keep him.
I only hope that when he hears it for the first time, he doesn’t miss the meaning behind it.
The day after graduation, we throw a giant party for everyone. Since all our friends and family came out here to be with us, I decide now is the time to play the album for the first time. I know it’s not all that fair to Austen since it’s kind of shining a light directly on him, but I’d rather him experience it surrounded by those we love.
“Alright, alright,” I call out to the rowdy group of men. Everyone is here, minus Star, since she’s currently visiting her grandparents this week.
Zach bounces on the couch next to Smith, who sits with a calm expression. “What’s the deal? I’m ready to hear this amazing new music.”
“Baby, you need to calm down. I won’t let you have any more cake later if you can’t keep it together.” Smith pulls Zach into his side, his voice lowering as they share more private words between the two of them.
Needing to distract from their PDA, I pull up the TV to show off the brand-new album cover. The guys shout out their praise at the shot.
