Faking the Play (Hot Mess Harems #2)

39. Epilogue

Chapter thirty-nine

Epilogue

L ogan

“I can’t believe it’s finally here,” Amelia said as she nervously smoothed down her skirt for the tenth time in as many minutes.

I reached over and grabbed her hands, holding them still. “Relax. Everything’s going to be fine.”

She looked around at the other guests, most of whom were older than us. As in, old enough to be our parents. Because that’s what the majority of them were. The parents of the potential NFL draft picks. There were a few girlfriends and wives, even a couple siblings, but there definitely wasn’t anyone like us.

What Ryan, Ethan, and I had done at our playoff game had gone viral, making the four of us quite the celebrities on and off campus. It’d definitely overshadowed Jason’s appeal of his expulsion getting denied. Apparently, he’d left Fort Collins in disgrace, heading back to his parents where he was working behind the scenes on his father’s latest political campaign. The cheating and revenge porn scandal had followed him—thanks to a reporter who may or may not have been tipped off by Megan—and it didn’t look good for his dad’s career.

Megan, however, was doing well. After graduation last week, she’d headed back to her home state to the promise of a job as a second-grade teacher. I had to admit—at first, I’d been surprised at how Amelia had forgiven the other woman, but then I remembered how she’d forgiven us, and it didn’t seem so strange.

Still, I was glad to have all the school stuff behind us. Thanks to some strike of some kind, the draft had been pushed back from its usual end of April time slot, which meant we all got to graduate first. If the draft had come first, there would’ve been tons of people at graduation trying to get Ethan’s and Ryan’s attention. While they had dealt with people asking about the draft, we were able to keep the interruptions to a minimum and celebrate our academic achievements, focusing mostly on Amelia’s honors…and the fact that she got into the graduate program.

“You’re absolutely sure that Ryan’s mom was okay with me being his guest instead of her?” Amelia whispered the question as a silver-haired man walked onto the stage to announce the beginning of the draft.

I nodded. “She’s not a fan of big crowds so she talked it over with Ryan and he wanted her at graduation more.”

Amelia still seemed skeptical, but we didn’t talk about it anymore because it was time for the first-round draft pick by the Denver Broncos.

“In the first round, the Denver Broncos pick defensive lineman, Ryan Thompson from Colorado State University.”

Amelia let out a stifled squeal and threw her arms around me as Ryan came out onto the stage. He found us almost immediately and smiled, relief mixed in with the pride and joy in his eyes.

Denver picking him wasn’t a surprise, but that didn’t stop how happy we all were about it. With Amelia getting accepted into the CSU graduate program, the three of us had decided that we’d do whatever we could to stay as close to her as possible.

Which was why, after we were done here, I’d share my own news.

The Broncos were going to be my home too. I did my last interview yesterday morning and accepted their official offer to be one of their trainers. Not the head trainer, of course. I’d have to work my way up. But I’d gotten my foot in the door.

Now we just had to wait to find out where Ethan was going and hope it was fairly close too. Well, that and hope that the Broncos kept Ryan. The chances of him being traded were slim, but not impossible. Based on the way Amelia squeezed my hand, I knew her excitement was laced with the same anxiety as mine.

It was going to be a long day.

And it was, but in the end, it was a good day too. Great, actually, because Ryan stayed with the Broncos and Ethan signed with them too. The moment it officially ended and the guys came over to where Amelia and I waited, I knew it was time to solidify our future. Because that’s what she was. Our future.

After a few minutes of hugging and congratulations, it was time for me to make my announcement, not because I wanted to upstage the other two guys, but because it would let them know that our tentative plans could go forward now. And none of us wanted to waste a single minute of this.

“Seems like Denver is the place to be,” I said with a grin.

Ethan and Ryan knew about my interviews, so they immediately knew what I meant and their expressions brightened even more than they already were. Amelia, however, just looked confused.

“I had a final interview for a job yesterday,” I said. “And the Broncos offered me a position as a trainer.”

Her eyes widened and she threw her arms around me. “That’s wonderful! I’m so glad you guys get to be together.”

Over Amelia’s head, I looked at Ryan first and then at Ethan. They both nodded, letting me know that they wanted me to start the conversation we’d talked about having with her if things went our way.

“We really hoped that would be how things would go,” I said as she took a step back. “Because there’s this house we’ve been looking at. Just in case, you know?”

“That’s great.” Her smile stiffened a bit. “I mean, it’ll suck not having you guys right near the school, but I’m glad you’re going to get a place together.”

“The thing about this house,” Ethan said, brushing her hair back over her shoulder. “It’s a little bit of a commute from Denver…and from Fort Collins.”

She frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“We want to buy a house halfway between Fort Collins and Denver so the four of us can live in it together,” Ryan explained.

“You want us to move in together?” Her expression was impossible to read.

“I know it sounds like we’re rushing things,” I said, “but when you look at how long we’ve actually known each other, it’s been a long time coming.”

She raised an eyebrow, but her lips twitched in that way they did when she was trying not to laugh.

“And one more thing,” Ethan said. “Ryan and I are going to use some of the money from our signing bonuses to pay for your graduate degree.”

She shook her head. “That’s too much.”

“Look at it as us being selfish,” Ryan suggested. “If we pay for your classes and you live with us, you could just tutor and have enough money for anything you need.”

“And that means more time with us,” Ethan finished.

None of us said that we fully intended to make this a true partnership between the four of us and combine all of our income. That was a conversation for another time. Preferably after we’d made her senseless with orgasms.

“We’re going to have a conversation about the details,” she said after a moment. “Because this isn’t going to be you three taking care of me all the time.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Ethan said. “Besides, I like when you take care of me.” He wiggled his eyebrows, making her laugh.

“Okay,” she said, her smile stretched wide.

“Okay to what?” I asked, needing to hear her say it specifically before I accepted it.

“Okay to moving in together. Okay to the help with school. Just as long as you promise we’ll work out details.”

I grinned, picking her up and spinning her around. “Whatever you want, Amelia. Whatever you want.”

As soon as I set her down, Ethan took his turn, giving her a deep—and publicly indecent—kiss, and then she stepped into Ryan’s arms. I could feel people watching but I didn’t care. These people were my family and I didn’t give a damn what anyone else thought.

“Now,” she said as she moved back to the center of our group. “What do you say we go back to our hotel room and celebrate?”

I had only one answer to that question. “I’d say that is the perfect way for us to end a perfect day.”

And it was.