“Thank you, Qwill.”
His brow furrowed. “What for?”
“For agreeing to go on this journey with me.” I nodded. “I finally feel like I'm at the place in my life I'm supposed to be, and having you here with me through it all makes it all worth it and ten times better.”
Smiling wide, Qwill cupped my jaw and stared into my dark eyes as his golden ones flared with sincerity. “There's nowhere else I'd rather be than by your side.”
He claimed my lips again as the music ricocheted toward its last chorus, kissing my incredible boyfriend back. I'd been searching for the right path for myself for so long, and now, with Qwill stepping in tune alongside me, I was finally sure.
I'd arrived at my final destination.
Epilogue
Two Months Later
“Thayer,we’re going to be late.”
Inwardly, I rolled my eyes at Qwill’s observation. Outwardly, I knew he was right. I’d taken way too fucking long getting ready for the dinner party, but I’d wanted to look nice. This gathering was a big deal and I wanted to make sure my outfit reflected the amount of respect I felt for the party.
“I know,” I sighed, glancing up to the front seat where Troian sat in the driver’s seat of his vehicle. “Troy, come on, do something.”
“Hey, it’s notmyfault you couldn’t get your shit together.” Troian’s words might’ve held barbs if I hadn’t seen the smirk darkening his lips. “I’m going as fast as I can without drawing attention to any potential cops.”
I tried to settle down, leaning into Qwill as he draped an arm over my shoulders, pulling me closer to him as I shifted toward his chiseled body. Despite my outcries, I was really excited for this dinner party. It felt like our little community of friendship was growing, or at least expanding because I hadn’t properly met everyone that would be in attendance tonight.
Bas and Kroven were hosting, the former delighted to havepeople over now that he’d had enough time to make his mark on the shared space he had with Kroven now. Also in attendance tonight was Bas’ boss, Babs, and her sangamar boyfriend, Exo. Bas had run into them the day that I’d had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting the Rhodes twins.
No one had heard from Cheyenne and Casper since that day at the warehouse. Troian kept me in the loop on what Madison told him. Madison herself was in the process of moving down to Piper in an effort to be closer to her late son’s husband as well as to be further away from the chaos of her family. Given my small experience with her family, I’d say she was making the best decision.
Exo wasn’t the only one from out of town attending the party either. Even though he was currently living and working in D.C. as a part of the ORBIT board, his boss Wallace Watson was also in town. He was bringing his Orb boyfriend, Wrex. The fact that all of the humans at this party had significant others that happened to be Orbs was fascinating to me. Obviously I knew that Bas and Kroven were together, and I’d heard Bas talk about how he thought Babs was being hush hush about her relationship with Exo, but it warmed my heart to know that it was, at least in my little world, becoming less and less of a negative thing to be romantically involved with an Orb.
Troian was the only one without a date. I’d told him to bring Madison, but he’d declined to have her on his arm for the evening. He said going stag suited him just fine, but I could tell that my brother longed to have a partner by his side again. He just wasn’t ready after Alec. But I hoped for him that the day would come that he was able to find love again.
Taking an available spot from the street parking outside of Bas and Kroven’s house, Troian parked the car with haste. I smoothed my hands over the lime green shirt I had underneath the dark green blazer and matching slacks I donned before stepping out of the car. Qwill followed me, stepping out onto thesidewalk. I was glad I was able to convince him to wear something a little outside his comfort zone. I swore, if it was up to that man, he’d only wear a black t-shirt and one of the many cutoff black shorts he’d sheared himself. At least tonight he was wearing a black button up paired with a pair of black slacks he’d borrowed from Troian. At least he had the virces jewel as an accessory, but he needed more options than that. I was determined to shower my boyfriend with a shopping spree, assuming he wouldn’t just reach for more black shirts and shorts.
I didn’t realize how nervous I was until the three of us strode up the steps that proceeded the little cobblestone house that my best friend and his boyfriend called home. It must have been pretty obvious, because as Troian knocked on the door lightly, I felt Qwill’s hand slither into mine, our fingers intertwining without question. Staring into his golden eyes, I matched the smile he wore. Even though I wasn’t known for being out of sorts very often, he had a tendency to calm me.
The door opened before I could thank him, visions of Bas and Kroven filling my field of view.
“It’s about time,” Bas scoffed, looking beyond Troian and staring daggers right at me. “What took you so long?”
“I wanted to look nice.” I shrugged, looking down at my outfit. I thought I’d done pretty well, considering how many times I had changed clothes before settling on my current attire.
“Well, we’re happy to have you.” Kroven grinned, eyes bright red from his recent consumption, breaking from Bas so that we could peer inside. “You’re the last to arrive.”
Stepping inside their house felt like a true glimpse into what it was like to experience Bas and Kroven as a couple. I knew that Kroven had lived here alone before meeting him, but you could feel Bas’ influence throughout the house. He’d told me Kroven’s proclivity for red and white, so seeing the splashes of color in the cushions laying on the couch and the artwork of various animals and landscapes and fandom memorabilia madeit easy to decipher how Bas had put himself into the joint living space.
Refreshments in the form of pizza and various beverages were set out on the kitchen bar that separated the kitchen and the living space, where a gorgeous black woman wearing white, knowing she was the infamous Babs, stood next to a beefed up sangamar that I knew had to be Exo. Looking at Kroven, it was kind of hard to believe that they were of the same species. Where Kroven was tall and lean, Exo was all muscle and tailored joints. He was completely shirtless, showing off his muscular prowess while also wearing a pair of really nice pants. I guess I worried about the dress code for nothing, but I had to wonder how Bas felt about Exo’s no shirt policy.
Sitting on the couch, laughing together innocently was the politically inclined Wallace Watson that I’d heard more about on the news than from personal entanglements. He was doing amazing things by giving a voice to the voiceless Orbs by the creation of the ORBIT board in D.C. Next to him was a handsome Orb with grey skin that looked like it was carved out of marble or something. His piercing blue eyes were beautiful and striking. He was wearing a gorgeous pale pink suit that played well off of the navy one Wallace was wearing. After laughing, he leaned over and kissed Wallace with ease. I smiled. It was so nice to see another interspecies couple showing affection so readily.
Bas walked us over to the couch first, gesturing toward Wallace and his boyfriend.
“This is Wallace Watson and his boyfriend Wrex,” Bas explained as the pair on the couch stood upon my best friend’s decree. “They live in D.C. and work at the Capitol on the ORBIT board.”
“Well, Wallace does.” Wrex explained, extending a hand for us to shake, one I reciprocated after my brother and Qwill didtheir respective greetings. “I’m just the boyfriend. But my brother works on the board with him.”
Bas just nodded. “And this is my best friend Thayer, his twin brother Troian, and Qwill, one of Kroven and Exo’s close friends, who’s dating Thayer.”
