“I could get used to this,” Miles says.
“You better. I already told you you’re stuck with me now.”
“Where else would I want to be, sunshine?”
I bury my face in his neck. “We’re so extra.”
“We’ll go back to being normal tomorrow. This is us like…being in touch with our feelings or whatever. I hear therapists like that stuff.”
I laugh. “You’re already acing this.” I rest my head in the crook of his arm. He smells like chocolate from the cookies, and it makes me want to lick him.
I never imagined myself feeling this way about someone. I sure as shit never saw myself falling for Miles Tanner, but nowthat I know him, now that I have him, there’s nowhere I’d rather be.
Life won’t always be easy, and we’ve both got a lot to work through, but lying here with him, feeling the way he holds me, the way he shares so much more of himself with me, I know everything is going to be okay.
EPILOGUE
Miles
“Come on, Dax,you got this!” I shout, clapping from the sidelines of the soccer field.
With his hands bound behind his back, he races down the field, hitting a bouncy ball with his forehead to get it to one of his Alpha Theta Mu teammates so they can sink it into the designated bucket. This is the third or maybe fourth part of tonight’s tasks, and Alpha Theta Mu have a clear lead, with Sigma Alpha a close second in the kickoff TaskFrat Challenge of the spring semester. This one’s a bigger deal than the regular TaskFrat Challenges, so there’s a huge crowd, not only current frats and sororities, but alums and teachers, all cheering on the teams.
Leo passes the ball to Damien, who attempts to score but misses the bucket, earning groans from his teammates.
“Of course he’d fuck it up,” I mutter to Tatum.
“Remember when you used to be cool?” he says, recording the event on his phone for socials.
“Never happened,” Caleb teases.
His comment has them both smiling at my expense. Fair enough.
“You two misfits shut the hell up,” I joke, returning my attention to the field as Leo recovers the ball, sending it over to Aiden, who manages to sink it into the bucket.
The Alpha Theta Mus, both on the field and watching from the sidelines, lose their damn minds. And since Omega Psi is still trying to get through an earlier part in the obstacle course, I can celebrate my man’s victory without feeling guilty for the loss of my former fraternity.
My boyfriend is all smiles as his teammates crowd together, chest-bumping since they still have their hands bound behind them. He looks as happy as ever, something I find myself cherishing in a way I definitely didn’t allow myself when I first became intrigued with him. It’s nice seeing him like this again because it wasn’t easy for a few weeks over winter break, after the news about his father. They haven’t spoken since, and given his father’s egregious behavior, I kind of hope they never will. But Dax talks to Cedric all the time, which means everything to him. That’s what he deserves—to have the people who really care about him in his life, and fuck his asshole dad.
We stayed at my place over the break but had dinner with my dad one weekend after his Aspen trip. And I was proud to share this part of myself with my dad, to let him in, certainly more than I have in the past. He’s even asked about my art, wanting to see pictures, finally understanding how much this means to me and that this isn’t some damn hobby. I don’t think he gets it, but I can tell he’s making an effort.
That’s not to say things are magically all better between us. But I started seeing Shera again. Well, once, so far, since it’s only the beginning of the semester. She’s great, though, and it’s easy to talk to her. Easier, at least. We’ve all got a long way to go, and it helps that I have my man with me through it.
As the teams disperse to join their houses alongside the field, I break from my buddies and find Dax, who’s chatting up some guys, including—oh, great—former Alpha Theta Mu Marty McGovern and his boyfriend, former Sigma Alpha Ryan Lorde. We didn’t exactly hit it off that day at the build when I was an assto Dax. Marty jumped in, I stepped to Marty, and Ryan nearly pummeled me. Ryan was a linebacker for Peach State, so that wouldn’t have been pretty for me.
I’m not surprised to see them here. Marty’s in the grad program, and surely here to support his brother, Aiden, who just helped bring the frat their win for the night.
As I near, I’m tense, worried about how this will go down. Swallowing my pride, I’m ready to accept whatever the fuck I likely deserve when Marty’s and Ryan’s attention turns to me. Ryan doesn’t look like he’s in a mood, but he leans closer to Marty, protectively, issuing a look that says,You’d better be nice to my man this time, while Dax hurries to my side, his arms still behind him, but it’s like he’s trying to remind these guys that I’m his, so they need to be nice to me.
“Smooth win,” I tell Dax, offering a kiss, enjoying that he’s as greedy for my lips as I am for his. I seize his wrists. “This isn’t such a bad idea,” I whisper against his lips, and his eyes widen with excitement. But I remind myself of something important I must deal with before taking advantage of my man.
“So I guess we didn’t exactly start off on the right foot,” I say to Marty and Ryan.
“It didn’t seem like you were trying to start with yourfoot,” Ryan observes.
He’s not wrong. Still. “Can we not pretend I would have stood a chance in that fight?”
Ryan laughs.
