Hello again guys, this is it. The "Epilogue" for Alex and Sebastian that y'all have been waiting for. I hope you guys enjoy! P.S. I've decided to break it up into two or three chapters so there's more to come!
Also, please continue to email me so I know someone is reading and liking what I'm writing. I also have a playlist of songs that I listen to while writing the chapters if y'all are interested.
The email you can reach me at is lore.guerra13@gmail.com for questions, comments, concerns or donations ha-ha, just kidding!
A fellow reader made a playlist with most of the songs I've either used or will use in the series. If y'all want to listen to it while reading the chapters the link for it is this:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJZWEUrY9KRSfQ98rYlMYix46VM0CJ7XS
One new song will be added on to the playlist.
Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop – Landon Pigg
BTW, as promised, here's the link to my new story: Emanon
https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/highschool/emanon/
I am still working on it! My laptop charger broke so I haven't had time but now that I'm back at school, I can get working on it again.
In all seriousness, please don't forget to donate to nifty here, without which we wouldn't have this collection of great stories!
Every story is free on here, so please let's keep it that way and donate, guys.
http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html
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I rubbed away the tears pooling around my eyes.
I couldn't believe that after all we had gone through, after every single thing, we were sitting in front of each other about to say goodbye again.
If you had asked me how I thought my week was going to go, I would have replied with anything but this.
Let me start from the beginning, I guess.
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.
"I think that possibly, maybe, I'm falling for you.
Yes, there's a chance that I've fallen quite hard over you.
I've seen the paths that your eyes wander down.
I want to come, too.
I think that possibly, maybe, I'm falling for you."
.
I strummed my guitar as I looked across the faces in El Vaso. My eyes traveled from stranger to stranger as they made their way to the table my friends were in.
I smiled as my eyes met everyone: Brandon and Lea, Ralf and Mary Jane, Josh and Olivia.
I couldn't believe that Brandon and Lea's first year anniversary was coming up. Just from looking at them, you'd think they were still newlyweds – they couldn't keep their hands off each other. Nonetheless, here we were a year later.
I smiled as I saw Lea lean her head on Brandon's shoulder and rest it there.
.
"I think that possibly, maybe, I'm falling for you.
Yes, there's a chance that I've fallen quite hard over you.
I've seen the waters that make your eyes shine.
Now I'm shining, too.
Because, oh, because
I've fallen quite hard over you."
.
My eyes landed on the man carrying drinks back to the table.
Sebastian.
My smile grew noticeably larger as our eyes met and eh smiled back. Hell, I felt like my voice got softer and more emotional, too.
It had been almost a year since we had kissed in that little bench under the pergola. In the time since then, we had spent time working on each other. We found a way to make it work between Emma, Sebastian and me. We took a chance and moved in together. I got closer to little Lily, well, not so little anymore. She was, after all, about to hit her 11th birthday.
We were happy.
We had found a way to make it work.
.
"If I didn't know you, I'd rather not know.
If I couldn't have you, I'd rather be alone."
.
Who would have thought that after all the shit we had to go through, after everything we had to put up with, we'd finally catch a break?
I closed my eyes and smiled as I reached the last chorus of the song.
When I opened them, I looked around El Vaso and wondered how such a small place could have had such a huge impact in my life. This was, after all, the place I had decided to go to Austin. It was the place I had met Jay. The place where my life had fallen apart and the place where I had rebuilt it.
This place had become my second home.
.
"I never knew just what it was,
About this old coffee shop, I love so much.
All of the while, I never knew.
I never knew just what it was,
About this old coffee shop, I love so much.
All of the while, I never knew.
All of the while, all of the while,
It was you."
.
I finished my song with a smile as the residents of El Vaso clapped for me. Slowly, I made my way down from the small stage and back to the table where my friends waited for me. Before I even got to them, though, Sebastian jumped in front of me, held my head between his hands, and planted a kiss on my lips.
"That was so good, A!" He smiled as he let go of my head.
"Thanks, babe, but your opinion is kind of biased," I joked but couldn't turn off the ever present smile on my face. I placed my right hand around Sebastian's waist and looked over at my friends. "What did you guys think?"
"It was beautiful," Lea smiled, moving her head from Brandon's shoulder. "It really was."
Olivia leaned forward and smiled, "It was so pretty, Alex."
"Yeah man," Josh smiled. "It was really good." With Josh being a music teacher, his opinion carried a little more weight.
"Thanks guys," I smiled.
Ralf looked over at me, his shit eating grin slowly growing on his face. "I thought it was a little gay," he shrugged, right before MJ playfully slapped his arm.
"He's kidding," she laughed. "Don't listen to him."
"I haven't been listening to him since I met him, MJ," I laughed.
Ralf looked over at me and smiled. "Aright, buddy."
I felt my cheeks redden at the obvious jab he sent my way. Before I could respond with something witty and, no doubt, funny, Sebastian placed his hand around my waist and pulled me closer to him. "I told you. You did great. My opinion may be biased but it doesn't make it wrong." He planted a kiss on my right temple. "Now sit down and have a drink with us. God knows Lea and Brandon need one after being married for this long." He aimed a wink at Lea and she burst into laughs.
We spent the rest of the night laughing and drinking while listening to different performers go up and cover different kinds of songs.
Around 1AM, when our drinking and laughing had gotten the most of us, Ralf raised his glass.
"We should have a toast!"
"Ugh," Lea groaned. "Don't be gay, Ralf," she said with a small smile on her face.
"No, he's right! We should." I looked over at Sebastian as he raised his glass, too. "We all have something to be happy for," he added.
I smiled at him as I understood what he meant. "They're right. It'll be good. Besides," I gave Sebastian a quick side glance, "I have something I should tell you guys."
Lea's eyes quickly grew the size of silver dollars. "Oh my god!" She leaned forwards and almost spilled her glass of wine. "Are you guys –"
"No!" I laughed and quickly turned to my right to look at Sebastian. Was it possible for a human face to both redden and become pale at the same time? "No this is something else," I laughed and squeezed Sebastian's hand.
I looked around the table of friends and took a deep breath. "I – I earned tenure at my university this year."
"What? That's amazing, Alex! Congrats!" Lea stood up and hugged my neck. "I'm so happy for you!"
Around the table, my friends congratulated me with hugs, kisses, and pats on the back. "Thanks, guys. It really means a lot."
"Alex is one of the youngest tenured professors at the university, too." I turned to Sebastian, a little embarrassed that he was so proud of me. He only smiled and landed a soft peck on my nose before putting his left hand around me. "I'm so proud of you," he said.
"I'm so happy for you Alex," Olivia leaned forward. "But, I'm sorry, what does tenure mean?"
Before I had time to, Sebastian responded, "It means his job is guaranteed for life."
I smiled and took a drink from my beer. "Not exactly, ha-ha. It'd be nice, though. It just means that it is really, really hard for me to be fired. I'd have to be negligent or downright unprofessional for the university to fire me. So yeah, unless Sea Bass stops by, it should be a piece of cake." I winked at Sebastian as he playfully elbowed me.
"Then this one's for you, Alex." Josh raised his glass and everyone followed suit.
"And to the beautiful couple about to finish their first year of being married," I added with a smile.
"And to all of us." Lea added while looking around the group. "May we always be together and happy."
We all raised our glasses one more time before downing our drinks.
I looked to my right and my eyes landed on Sebastian one last time. "I love you, Sebby."
Sebastian's hazel eyes squinted as he smiled back and kissed my forehead. "I love you, too, A."