The Boy I Love

Epilogue

"So, how's the new house?"

Leo laughs through the phone. "Hello to you, too."

I grin. "Yes, yes, hello. How's the house?"

"It's great. My mom is super happy."

"How about you? Are you happy?"

I can tell from his voice that he's smiling. "I'm very happy, Tyler. Thank you again."

"Shush. Stop thanking me. My reasons were purely selfish."

"So you've told me."

I grin again. "So, other than the new house, how's it going?"

"Pretty well. One of our neighbours came over already and gave us cookies."

"And?"

"And what?"

"Were they good?"

I can almost hear him rolling his eyes at me. "Tyler."

"Question: what are you wearing right now?"

"Tyler!"

I laugh. The lady walking her dog on the other side of the street gives me an odd look. I ignore her and keep walking.

"Tyler?"

"Yeah?"

"When-"

A car drives past me, and I wince. Leo's silent on the other end of the phone for a moment before asking, "What was that?"



"Um... what was what?"

"Where are you right now?"

"My room." I say it too fast. Another car drives by. I glare at it and walk faster.


"Was that a car? Are you outside?"

"Fine, yes, I'm outside. It's a nice day. I'm sitting on my front porch, completely naked, waiting to be arrested for public indecency, so that I can argue that I'm technically on my own property, then run inside so that I can say the officer is trespassing and if I'm inside then it's not technically public-"

"Tyler."

I turn the corner of the block, smiling to myself. "Okay, fine. Look out your front window."

"Oh you little-" he hangs up, and I pocket my phone, just barely having the willpower to restrain myself from sprinting across his front lawn to get to him faster. The front door opens a moment later to reveal Leo, arms crossed and eyebrows raised at me. I grin and essentially run up the sidewalk to his house.

"Sitting on your front porch naked, huh?"

I reach him and pull him into my arms, picking him up and spinning him around before setting him back down and pressing my lips to his. I can feel his smile as he puts his arms around my neck, kissing me back.

"Leo, who's- oh, hello Tyler."

I look up to see Leo's mom. "Hi, Vivian." I met his mom when I helped them move in, just recently. I told them that I'd just happened to see a small house for sale in a neighbourhood not far from mine, when in reality I'd been actively looking for houses on the market, starting in my neighbourhood and gradually widening my radius. It paid off- big time- when Leo and his mom moved here, only about a fifteen minute walk from my house.

Since this town is relatively LGBTQ+ friendly (which may or may not be due to the fact that the pastor at the local church is gay and has been married to a man for twenty years), it was an actual option for them. Leo wanted to be here because I'm here, and his mom just wanted him to be safe and happy. So once I found them the house, it was pretty much a done deal.