Page 27 of Kiss Me Quick!

“Did you know?” Ben asked, his voice wavering in Wil’s ear.

“No. I had no idea.” He pressed a quick kiss to Wil’s mouth. “It must be fate.”

They held each other close, swaying gently. When the song ended, they cheered and clapped loudly.

“Taylor was right. I love that song,” Ben told him.

“Me too,” Wil agreed, loving how Ben’s eyes lit up with happiness.

“I’m so glad I let Emory talk me into going to that party,” Ben said. Wil’s attention was solely on the man in his arms. He was faintly aware of the next song starting, but he desperately wished they were anywhere else.

“I’m glad too. I must thank him next time I see him.”

“I know we’ve talked about seeing where this goes, but I feel this could be a long-haul type of deal.”

“You might be right,” Wil agreed, before kissing him again.

Epilogue

“Wilson James, Business and Entertainment Management,” the deep voice of the Dean echoed across the arena where this year’s graduating class of Wyndham University was gathered. As Wil crossed the stage to receive his diploma, he heard cheers from where his family was sitting and threw them a wide grin. It made a change to be on a stage looking at them, rather than the other way around.

He shook hands with the Dean and then made his way back to his seat, catching Ben’s eye on the way and giving him a wink. Ben blew a kiss back to him, smiling widely.

Forty minutes later, he cheered as Ben went up to receive his diploma, proud of his boyfriend. Over the last few months, they had both worked hard to complete their assignments, work at their respective part-time jobs, and make time for each other. But they’d done it, and now they had an entire summer together.

Once the formalities were over, Wil made his way over to his family, who were getting a lot of wide-eyed looks, not only for the sheer number of them but also because four of them were very recognizable.

“Congratulations, son,” Kellet said, pulling him into a tight hug. “We’re all so proud of you.” He was pulled out of his father’s arms by his mother, who squeezed him until he could hardly breathe.

“Mom! Need air,” he gasped jokingly.

With a laugh, Andi let him go, and the rest of his family swamped him. After receiving congratulations from everyone, he scanned the area, looking for Ben and his family. Not seeing him, he reached into his pocket to call him but then caught sight of a familiar mop of curls.

Ben’s beaming face came into view, and Wil went to meet him halfway. Pulling his boyfriend into his arms, he took in the now familiar scent of Ben’s shampoo.

“Congratulations, babe,” he whispered before kissing him.

Ben kissed him back enthusiastically, pulling away with a laugh when Seth wolf-whistled at them.

“Come and meet my family,” Ben said, tugging him to the side where a small group of people looked on in bemusement.

“Hi Mr. and Mrs. Martinez,” Wil greeted Ben’s parents. They had informally met via video chat during one of Ben’s weekly calls home, but this was the first time meeting them in person, along with Ben’s sisters and brother.

“Wil, congratulations. It’s lovely to finally meet you,” Mrs. Martinez said, reaching up to give him a hug.

“Thank you. Please, come and meet my family,” he said.

After making introductions, everyone went their separate ways. They were having a joint celebration dinner that evening at a local restaurant, and Wil and Ben made a grateful escape to the hotel Kellet had booked.

“We’ve done it,” Ben said with a sigh of relief as he collapsed onto the bed in their room.

Wil slowly crawled over him, lowering himself gently to kiss Ben. “We did. We’re college graduates, ready to take on the world.”

“It doesn’t seem real,” Ben mused between kisses.

“It will in a few weeks, when we’re working all hours on the Eclipse tour,” Wil assured him.

“Yeah, that definitely doesn’t feel real,” Ben told him. “I mean, if Emory hadn’t made me go to that frat party, we wouldn’t have met, and I don’t know what I would be doing.”

“Instead, you agreed to help a guy out with a dare, fell in love with him, and got offered an internship doing set and lighting design with one of the biggest music management companies in the country.”

“I know you’re supposed to pinch someone to prove they’re not dreaming,” Ben said, “but kiss me and remind me this is real.”

Wil grinned and happily obliged.

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