Epilogue

"Now this is a watch party, Adam-style," I said, looking all around the back patio at Jade Brewery.

It was early evening on a Monday night, and I'd somehow sweet-talked Rush into being willing to close the whole patio of the brewery for our private event tonight.

It was the premiere of Adam's episode of the Fixer Brothers TV show, and while it was tradition to hold watch parties for the TV premieres, I knew for tonight, I wanted to do it in a way that Adam would like best.

That meant not having a cram-packed room full of strangers.

We had the whole outdoor space to ourselves. Adam's happy place was outside on his bedroom balcony, and over the last few months, he'd come to love the outdoor area of Jade Brewery, too. It had all just been renovated by the Fixer Brothers themselves earlier this year, and it felt even more serene tonight. Harlan, the head brewer, had set out pitchers of Adam's favorite beer on each of the tables, and the rows of string lights that dotted the patio and lawn space made the whole back area feel like its own little world.

And I'd decked out every table on the brewery deck with little papers full of trivia questions, tiny Sudoku puzzles, and various Polaroid pictures that Carla had snapped all throughout the filming at Adam's house. The TV screens on the outer deck wall were currently playing old sci-fi movies, too, until it was time to watch the Fixer Brothers show.

Only the construction and film crews were invited, as well as everyone's partners, Emmett, and a couple of the guys from his marketing firm.

Looking around the brewery now at everyone filtering out onto the deck, it didn't even really feel like a big party.

It felt like family.

And I knew that was the way Adam liked it.

Shawn came outside, nodding at me. "Just saw Adam out front. He's here, and he's got something in his hands."

I lifted an eyebrow. "Should I be worried?"

Shawn smiled and shook his head. "I don't think so."

Adam headed out onto the deck a minute later and I saw the large white box in his arms that Shawn was talking about. He set it down and I went over, wrapping my arms around him in a hug.

"Welcome," I told him, holding him tight and breathing in his familiar, woodsy scent. "Was work okay?"

"It went well," he said. "I'm glad to be here now, though. I was looking forward to this all day."

I pulled back, looking him in the eyes. "You were looking forward to it?"

"Of course," he said. "I couldn't wait."

I leaned in and pressed a kiss to his lips. "I'm so glad you're here. I am curious what"s in the big box, though."

"You'll see," he said, getting a glimmer in his eye as he smiled at me.

So I wasn't the only one who had been planning things for tonight.

Adam went all around the deck of the brewery, his eyes going wide as he saw all of the little trivia questions and number games scattered around.

"Chase, this was all your idea? And the sci-fi movies, too?"

"It's not a big deal," I said. "Just wanted this place to feel like it was all yours, for one night. Thought you might be nervous, since your TV episode is airing."

"It does feel like it's all our own out here," he said. He came up and wrapped his arms around me from behind, kissing me on the side of my neck. "This is magical. The best place for a watch party I could imagine."

Soon everyone had arrived, and I watched proudly as Adam mingled around the deck like he was a seasoned pro at social events.

After about an hour, it was time to watch the TV show, and we popped it on the screens outside. At the bottom of each screen, Nathan's teenage daughter had set it up so that a live chat feed could come through as the show played.

"All right, everyone, settle the fuck down," Kace Tomlin said, waving his hands and smiling out at us all from the front of the deck. "I know we all love to party, but let's watch the best construction show in the world, then do a few rounds of shots, okay?"

Everyone laughed and applauded.

"That is awesome," Adam said from beside me at our table. "There is nobody better than a pro football player to get the attention of a whole patio of people."

"Kace is a pro, in more ways than one," I said.

"I'm really thankful for that."

The familiar intro of the Fixer Brothers show started up, and everyone broke out in cheers and applause again. The show started up, showcasing the little interview with Adam that we'd filmed at the start of his renovations.

"I can't believe that was me," Adam said, marveling at the screen. In the interview, the producers had him talk briefly about himself, and all about his hopes for the renovations.

I could remember it so well, but it felt like it was an eternity ago.

Adam still seemed like himself—totally and fully—but in the short time since we'd filmed that day, he'd truly come into his own, in ways I couldn't even fully explain.

Throughout the episode, the live comment feed at the bottom of the screens showed that Fixer Brothers fans loved the episode, too. I couldn't count the number of comments that talked about how cute Adam was, how much everyone liked his house, and how he was the most charming client they'd ever had.

It was a far cry from the explicit filth that our followers on OnlyShots wrote under our videos, but the message was the same. Adam wasn't just accepted, he was beloved. For every facet of his complex, one-in-a-billion personality.

I was so damn happy to call him mine.

I had known for a long time that I loved who Adam was. Maybe even since the moment I'd met him. But as his episode of the TV show played on, I couldn't help but keep stealing glances at him next to me.

I was so fucking proud of him.

And so goddamn proud to be his boyfriend. Adam wanted to be a true partner to me, in every sense of the word.

I'd never been treated better in my life.

The show passed by in a blur, and it was over too quickly. It was always wild to see so much work and time condensed into one punchy episode of TV, but I had to admit, even though I was biased, that it was my favorite episode yet.

The whole patio stood up for a round of applause at the end of the show.

"That was fucking awesome," Kace hollered out. "You're the man, Adam. And of course, the love of my life, Nathan, absolutely killed it again with another perfect renovation. First round of shots, on me!"

I pulled Adam into a tight hug as everyone started to mingle around again, and for a moment, I didn't want to let him go.

"You and me," I said near his ear.

When I pulled back, I swore I saw that Adam's eyes were a little misty. "My life is so good with you," he said.

I felt like my heart was suddenly soaring somewhere far above us.

I swallowed past a sudden tight feeling in my throat. I had known that I wanted to say one particular thing to Adam for a long time now.

But I couldn't wait. Not any longer.

"I love you," I told him, running one of my hands along the back of his hair.

It really did feel like we were in our own world, just for that moment.

Just me and him. Where we were supposed to be.

"I love you so much, Chase," he told me.

He leaned in to kiss me and I heard the telltale sound of Charlie nearby, whistling at us and egging us on.

"You two are cuter than hell," he said. "But if I don't find out what's in that big white box, I'm going to riot."

Adam laughed as he pulled back, wiping one stray tear that had broken off from his eye.

I wished I could freeze the moment forever. Seeing him, so comfortable and happy, while he was right here in my arms.

"Okay, okay," Adam said. "Let me go open it up."

A small portion of us gathered around the table as Adam lifted the top off of the box.

"Do you know what it is, Chase?" Shawn said, leaning over near me.

"No clue, but I'm curious, too."

"I wanted to get everyone something simple to show you how thankful I am for everything you've done for me," Adam said. "Something that would last forever, in a way. So I got everyone… well, I got you all stars."

Adam passed out little, beautiful framed photos of stars—literal stars, in space—to everyone. Under each photo, there was a plaque with a description, and their name.

Apparently there was a way to get a star named after someone, and Adam had done it for everyone in the Fixer Brothers and film crew.

It was a perfect, Adam-style gift. So thoughtful, so unique, and something that really would last forever.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, bro," Kace said from beside Nathan, as he walked up and looked down at Nathan's framed star photo. "This man literally bought you a star, my love? Holy fuck."

"Really cool, isn't it?" Nathan said.

"That's fucking badass," Kace said. "When do we get in our rocketships to go check them out?"

Everyone laughed, and Adam went around to give people hugs.

Thanks to many rounds of shots from Kace, we got looser as the night went on. As the hours melted away, there was no question that tonight was everything I'd wanted it to be.

As Kace got everyone dancing to his favorite song, "Hooked on a Feeling," Adam turned to me, putting his arms around me again.

"You're my favorite person," he told me. "I love you. I just want to say it, all the time now. I love you, so much."

"I love you too," I told him. "Dance with me?"

"For the first time in my life, I actually want to say yes to that question," he said, smiling down at me as he moved to the area where Kace had gotten everyone to start shaking their asses.

"To love!" Kace called out over the music, and everyone cheered as Adam and I walked over to join the group.

These were my people, and Adam was my person.

I already loved him more than I could have ever imagined, and for the first time, I knew in my heart that he loved the real me, too.

I knew I wanted to belong to him forever.

Tonight, we were just getting started.

Thank you for reading!