Sebastian frowned. “Well, now I’m not.”
“Uh-huh. If you don’t mind, I have an actual toast.”
“All right. To whom are you toasting?”
“Dante!” Theo raised his glass. “The love of my life, and my better half.”
“Aw, thanks, honey. How original.” Dante leaned over and planted a kiss on Theo’s cheek.
Theo winked at Sebastian, ignoring his scowl. “But seriously, we have great news. Dante heard back from Duke. You’re looking at a future doctoral student.”
“You got into grad school!” Nick clapped Dante on the shoulder. “That’s great! I’m so happy for you.”
“Thank you. I’m excited too. And terrified. Like, a sixty-forty ratio of excitement to abject terror.”
Theo leaned toward Nick and spoke in a stage whisper. “More like thirty-seventy.”
Nick laughed. “I don’t mean to be nosy, but Theo, what are you going to do when he leaves for Duke? I thought you two were planning to move in together?”
“We are.” Dante grinned. “He’s coming with me.”
“Wow! Really?”
“Of course.” Theo waggled his eyebrows. “Considering I’m going to school there too.”
“Holy shit, two future doctors in the house!” Nick gave Dante a high-five.
“Not quite,” Theo said. “I’m only getting a measly master’s degree. But it’ll be fun to get out of this town after living here our whole lives, and North Carolina is beautiful. Those trips we took to see the campus convinced us more than anything else.”
Sebastian held up his glass. “That definitely deserves a toast. Congratulations, you two. If you’re ever missing Illinois, you can stay with Nick and me.”
“You can count on hosting us on a regular basis.” Dante clinked their glasses together before turning to Theo. “Want to see if we can’t find a bottle that has some kick to it?”
Theo drained his glass in one gulp. “Way ahead of you.”
They raced off. Nick watched them go, a smile creeping over his face.
“Hey.” Sebastian touched his chin. “What are you thinking about?”
“Lots of things. The future. The past. How much has changed, and how glad I am I ended up here.”
“Me too.” Sebastian took his hand. “To think, two years ago, you were just a cute boy I wanted to kiss, and now we’re moving in together. Starting our adult lives in a new city. Dante’s right: it’s both exciting and terrifying.”
It was all Nick could do not to sigh with pleasure as he imagined life as a “real” adult. With a job he could hopefully tolerate, an apartment, and maybe a dog. Hell, he’d pay taxes with a smile, so long as he got to do it on his own terms. And of course, with a certain someone by his side.
Nick laced their fingers together. “What’s your ratio? Fifty-fifty?”
“Nope, I’m ninety percent excitement. I suppose you’re a hundred, since you got that job offer right away.”
“What can I say? Physicists are in high demand. And let’s not overlook your art internship, Mr. Sebastian ‘the new Botticelli’ Prinsen.”
“I got very lucky in many ways. It was your sketch of that old hotel we stayed in that inspired my most popular painting, and you were the subject of all my best portraits.” He lowered his voice. “And some nudes the world will never see.”
Nick chuckled. “Who would have thought we’d be an artsy couple?”
“Or that Sebastian Prinsen, notorious playboy, would paint tributes to the love of his life.” Sebastian kissed his hand. “You’ll always be my favorite subject.”
Nick gave him a squeeze before scanning the courtyard, eyes roving over the familiar trees, benches, and buildings. “I’m excited to get back to Chicago, but I gotta admit, this place was a damn good home.”
“It was. But now we get to make a new home that’s all ours.”
Dante and Theo reappeared then with another bottle. Theo opened it with an exaggerated wrist-flick and refilled their glasses. “What are you guys talking about?”
“We’re reminiscing,” Sebastian answered.
“Oh, on that note—” Dante glanced at Nick “—now that you two are moving, I was wondering what’s to become of a certain trophy we gave you a hundred years ago.”
Nick looked to Sebastian and quirked a brow.
Sebastian took the cue. “Barbzilla is going into storage, along with the rest of the things we’re not taking with us. When my dad got all domestic, he offered to hold on to some childhood knickknacks, including that. So, if you’d like to discuss visitation rights, take it up with him. As far as we’re concerned, it’s time to start fresh.”
“You’re not nervous about leaving it behind?” Theo took a pointed sip of champagne. “You don’t want to take it with you to remind you where you came from?”
“I have you guys for that.” Sebastian smiled. “The group may be splitting up, but you’re not getting away from us that easily. You’re invited to our housewarming party, and you can bet we’re going to road trip to see your new school. Assuming you’re not living in the dorms.”
“Well,” Theo said, “about that. I do still have trouble waking up for class on t—”
Dante covered his mouth with a hand. “No, we’re going to get an apartment. Definitely. And you’re welcome to stay with us anytime.”
Nick gestured to campus with his champagne. “I feel like we should do something to commemorate the moment. This is the last time we’re all going to stand here together as Academy students. We should savor it.”
“We should.” Theo looped his arm around Dante and looked out over the courtyard. “So long, Academy. It’s been real.”
Dante in turn slid an arm over Sebastian’s shoulders. “Thank you for everything you’ve given us.”
“Yeah.” Sebastian took Nick’s waist. “And you’ve given us so much.”
As the sun set on their final day at the Academy, Nick pictured the twisted path he’d walked to get here. A path dotted with change, grief, healing, and growth.
He had no idea what the future held, but out of all the lessons he’d learned here, there was one that mattered most. No matter what happened, or where he ended up, friendship and love would always find him.
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Quinn Anderson is an alumna of the University of Dublin in Ireland and has a master’s degree in psychology. She wrote her dissertation on sexuality in popular literature and continues to explore evolving themes in erotica in her professional life.
A nerd extraordinaire, she was raised on an unhealthy diet of video games, anime, pop culture, and comics from infancy. Her girlfriend swears her se
nse of humor is just one big Buffy reference. She stays true to her nerd roots in writing and in life, and frequently draws inspiration from her many fandoms, which include Yuri on Ice, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Buffy, and more. Growing up, while most of her friends were fighting evil by moonlight, Anderson was kamehameha-ing her way through all the shounen anime she could get her hands on. You will often find her interacting with fellow fans online and offline via conventions and Tumblr, and she is happy to talk about anything from nerd life to writing tips. She has attended conventions on three separate continents and now considers herself a career geek. She advises anyone who attends pop culture events in the UK to watch out for Weeping Angels, as they are everywhere. If you’re at an event, and you see a 6’2” redhead wandering around with a vague look on her face, that’s probably her.
Her favorite authors include J.K. Rowling, Gail Carson Levine, Libba Bray, and Tamora Pierce. When she’s not writing, she enjoys traveling, cooking, spending too much time on the internet, playing fetch with her cat, screwing the rules, watching Markiplier play games she’s too scared to play herself, and catching ’em all.
Connect with Quinn:
Facebook: facebook.com/AuthorQuinnAnderson
Twitter: @QuinnAndersonXO
Tumblr: QuinnAndersonWrites.tumblr.com
Email: [email protected]
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