Chapter 38

K ing pulled on the jacket of his newly acquired charcoal gray suit and assessed his appearance in the mirror. He'd unbuttoned the top couple of buttons of his white dress shirt because he was only going to wear a tie if something threatened him with bodily harm. Even then, it was a tossup. He aimed his voice at the partially open bathroom door.

"How's it going in there, La? You almost ready?"

She stepped into his room, and the sight of her damn near took his breath away. She was dressed in a spaghetti-strapped floral sundress and strappy heels, her hair styled in waves that fell down to the small of her back. Her navy graduation robe was draped around her shoulders, unfastened. Lila gave him a little twirl. "Well, what do you think?"

"I think I may have to bend you over the counter before we leave," King growled, only half joking.

Lila's light laugh was one of his favorite sounds in the world. "Promise?" she teased. "Or we can just skip it altogether. I mean, I'm done with classes. The diploma's already in the mail. I've already graduated. Walking is just a formality. And you aren't walking. So." She popped a hip at him.

"That's because I've been here for five years and it would be anticlimactic. You're walking. End of discussion," King said, channeling his old, grumpier self before breaking out into a smirk. "Also, your mom would kill me if we ditched. I have a vested interest in staying on her good side."

"Please, she loves you more than me," Lila replied with a smirk. "Not that I blame her. So do I."

King made no effort to hide his grin. He couldn't help but marvel at the fact that they were standing here, happy and together, after everything that had happened between them.

The past few months had flown by in a whir of events, all life-changing in their own magical little ways.

Right on the heels of Knight leading the Bradley U football team to win the National Championship, he and Wren welcomed their daughter, Ivy Lila Wright-Patrick to the world. Lila had been by Wren's and Knight's side the entirety of the 24 hours of Wren's labor, while King had paced the floor of the waiting room and had done food and drink runs. The new family of three found a non-student apartment a few miles away, and Lila and King visited often, even babysitting once in a while for their friends. They had to get in their friend time while they could, because Knight had been drafted in the first round by the New York Giants, and he and Wren were planning to move to the city in a couple of weeks.

King knew for a fact that one of the things that Knight was packing was an engagement ring. A family heirloom, in fact, that Knight had made sure to get Lila's stamp of approval on before getting it cleaned and sized to be ready for Wren. King knew that while Lila was thrilled for her friends, she was going to miss them a lot. And hell, so was he.

After Knight moved out with Wren, Demarcus had moved in, and so Lila, much to King's delight, continued walking around the house in her underwear, which usually led to sexy shower time. Or sexy counter time if Bear and Demarcus were both out of the house. After one last Halloween bash, where Lila blessedly wore her costume from the year before (and he rewarded her accordingly), they ceded the parties to Will and his roommates across the street, and all had watched bemusedly as Jock Jam made its reappearance in the spring, the younger athletes and students more than happy to pick up the torch they'd left behind. Because some things never changed.

As for King… He had hit the ground running once soccer season recommenced. He'd started getting calls from scouts at the beginning of the spring season. Lila helped film him at games, and they were able to access official game tape so that he could submit footage. After a scout from London made the trek over to see King score two goals and have an assist in the championship game, King had signed with Chelsea, a Premier League team. He and Lila were planning to move to South London near the soccer stadium around the same time as Wren and Knight were moving to Manhattan so that King could get over there and start training with his new team.

He was also going to be making a shit ton of money, which meant that Lila could attend law school wherever. She was thinking she might apply to University College London, which was one of the best programs in the country. For a while, she had insisted that she was going to pay for it herself, but King had shut down that line of thinking with a half a dozen orgasms until Lila finally relented. After all, his money was her money. They were a team.

Lila retrieved a lipstick from her purse and walked over to the wall mirror to put it on.

"Wait a sec." King whirled her around and kissed her deeply, his tongue dancing with hers in the way that always got him instantly hard.

She sighed against his mouth, and he allowed himself one more second of consuming her before he reluctantly stepped back. And then adjusted himself in his slacks.

"It's a good thing you did that pre-lipstick. Otherwise we would have definitely been late and covered in red." Her eyes connected with his in the mirror. "I love the shit out of you, King Patrick Spencer."

Oh yeah, and he'd legally changed his name a couple of months ago. He'd chosen Patrick as a new middle name in honor of Knight's last name. And yeah, maybe it was cheesy as fuck, but when he'd told his friend what he was thinking of doing, they both cried, so… That was a thing that happened, and he was completely fine with it. It was just another way he was forging ties with his own chosen family.

He sat next to Knight at the ceremony, while Ivy napped inside some sort of baby wrap carrier contraption that King was impressed that Knight knew how to tie around his body, with Lila's and Wren's families flanking them. Though the two besties had both graduated early and shared a major, their last names on opposite ends of the alphabet ensured that both groups were locked in for the entire ceremony.

"Can you believe this is our life?" Knight whispered, his face a picture of wonder with a side of befuddlement. "I'm a dad, for hell's sake. We're both getting paid insane amounts of money to play a game . What is this magnificent thing we've stumbled into?"

King got choked up, in spite of himself. "It's pretty fucking—" he glanced down at the sleeping child "—er…freaking amazing." He cleared his throat. "And I know I tell you all the time, but thanks for convincing me to move in with you guys and to fight for Lila. If you hadn't helped me with the whole roommate thing, I don't know if I would have been able to get her back."

"You would have found your way back to each other," Knight answered confidently. "But I accept your praise. And you were there for me when I was doubting myself in regards to Wren, so, in a way, we kind of saved each other."

"Brothers." King held out a fist.

"Brothers," Knight repeated as he bumped King's fist with his own.

Miraculously, Ivy stayed asleep through the effusive cheers for both Lila and her mommy. King watched with pride as Lila walked across the stage. Summa cum laude, with a perfect 4.0 GPA. Yup, he was in love with a genius.

When the ceremony was over, the large group made their way to where Lila and Wren were standing, their arms wrapped tightly around each other. He had a feeling there would be quite a few trans-Atlantic flights in the friends' future. And thankfully, they'd be able to afford it.

There were choruses of congratulations and hugs all around, an evening full of celebrating back at Lila and King's house. And then, much later, there was the simple quiet of the two of them in bed together, limbs entwined, lips pressed together.

And King thought of the engagement ring he'd bought as soon as he signed his contract, already picturing the moment he'd get down on his knee and officially ask her to be his, forever.