Milo & Judah

Epilogue - A Year in the Making

One year later...

Judah's stomach fluttered—full of Mothra-sized butterflies—as he got dressed. He'd built up this night in his mind for a year. He hoped it lived up to his expectations. Judah got this idea on the night Milo made the makeshift ball in his parents' living room. He decided that if they were still together, he would take Milo to that damn ball for real.

Now, it was finally happening.

He couldn't believe it had been a year already. Time seemed to drag when they were apart, with Judah finishing his sophomore year at Northwestern, and Milo off in Berkeley. The days they got to spend together sped by at a whiplash-inducing pace.

The day Judah got his letter accepting him at Berkeley for the fall semester had been one of his happiest. It meant they could be together for real, and not just on a weekend when one of them could scrape up enough for a plane ticket.

They even got their own apartment near campus. It was a tiny, cramped one-room studio. They barely had enough space for their bed and a dining room table, which doubled as a desk. The closet couldn't even hold all their clothes. But it was perfect.

Mercer entered as Judah started on his bowtie. "Have you seen my brother?"

Judah held his tongue between his lips, trying to get the tie right. It ended up uneven every time. Judah jerked the tie off with a groan. He looked at Mercer. "He went to your dad's to get his suit."

Mercer checked his watch. "He's gonna be cutting it kinda close if he's coming all the way back here."

"We're meeting at the ball. He's riding over with your dad and Heather." Judah huffed as his tie came out wrong for the fourth time.

Mercer rolled his eyes. He slapped Judah's hands away from the tie. "Let me."

Mercer tied the tie swiftly and expertly on the first try.

"Thanks, man." Judah examined his reflection.

"No problem." Mercer said. "Milo's gonna flip when he sees you."

Judah chuckled. "I hope he enjoys tonight. It's sort of become this monumental thing in my mind."

"Don't put too much pressure on it. It's just a fancy party. Just let everything happen. Roll with it and have fun."

"That's hard for me. I'm kind of a perfectionist."

Mercer burst into a fit of laughter. "That's putting it mildly. I hated living with you sometimes. I don't know how my brother puts up with it." Mercer shrugged. "Then again, he gets sex out of the deal, and that can make you overlook a lot of flaws."

"Thanks a lot." Judah said.

Mercer patted him on the back. "I'm just playing, dude. You were a great roommate. Even if you did insist on everything being so annoyingly organized to the point that I wanted to punch you sometimes."

Judah rolled his eyes. "At least I'm not a slob who leaves dirty clothes piled in the corner until they reek so bad it makes you gag."

Mercer shoved Judah and laughed.

Judah held his hands up. "Watch the tux, dude. It's a rental." He straightened his jacket. He'd opted for a white jacket, since Milo's suit was black.

"You should probably get going." Mercer nodded toward the door. "Don't want to leave Milo standing alone for too long. You know how he gets."

"Yeah." Judah said. He clapped Mercer on the shoulder as he passed.

The ball was held at a classic landmark hotel located across the street from the beach where Milo and Judah spent the day together. It seemed appropriate. That beach had kind of become their spot every time they returned to town for a visit. They'd spent most of the last two weeks there, whether playing in the waves or just lounging on the sand.