Epilogue I

Corrin

"Austen Michael Page." The echo of my boyfriend's voice moves across the stadium. I let out a loud whistle as applause breaks out from those around me.

The big screen shows a close-up of Austen's furrowed brow as he accepts his diploma from the dean. His unamused expression tells me I'll get an earful about it later, though I don't mind. He might have mentioned I shouldn't draw more attention to him than needed before the ceremony began. I just chose to ignore the advice.

Because it was definitely advice. I can't possibly be expected to watch the man I love complete one of his great accomplishments and not revel in it.

He'll just have to stay grumpy about my enthusiasm. It won't be too far of a stretch for him.

"I'm so fucking proud of him," Kelvin chokes out from my left. He's been tearing up all morning with the reality that his nephew is officially done with school.

Tennyson leans across me to pat his uncle's knee. "We all are, Uncle K. You're the only one crying a river though. Maybe work on that. It's not good for your asshole image."

A woman in front of us turns with a scowl. When she makes eye contact with me, I give her a charming smile. Her jaw drops, then she whips back around without a word.

"That never gets old. Can't wait to see you work that magic all around the world," Tennyson says.

The tour is set to kick off in six weeks. We"ve been working almost non-stop to get it all done. Miguel even called in a favor to get Austen access to his finals early since we needed all hands on deck. The school was more than happy to help Stryker Global given the sizable donation they received.

It's all at once exciting and nerve-wracking. Austen and I will get to be together more, which is great. But it could also lead to tension between us.

Sure, we've technically been living together for months. Touring is a bit different though. There"s already an undeniable amount of strain amongst us all from how hard we've been pushing to get this album recorded in time for the tour. My days are nothing but singing song after song on repeat, while Austen works endlessly to coordinate the more technical parts of the journey.

The good news is that I recorded the last song a few days ago. I've saved it for the finale because it's the song that means the most to me. While the whole process this time has been more soul baring than ever before, this song in particular encompasses my love for Austen in a way none of the others did.

It's quite literally our love story laid out from my perspective. All the days I longed for him. All the nights I hoped to get a chance for more. All the minutes after that first kiss that I pleaded with the universe to let me keep him.

I only hope that when he hears it for the first time, he doesn't miss the meaning behind it.

The day after graduation, we throw a giant party for everyone. Since all our friends and family came out here to be with us, I decide now is the time to play the album for the first time. I know it's not all that fair to Austen since it's kind of shining a light directly on him, but I'd rather him experience it surrounded by those we love.

"Alright, alright," I call out to the rowdy group of men. Everyone is here, minus Star, since she's currently visiting her grandparents this week.

Zach bounces on the couch next to Smith, who sits with a calm expression. "What's the deal? I'm ready to hear this amazing new music."

"Baby, you need to calm down. I won't let you have any more cake later if you can't keep it together." Smith pulls Zach into his side, his voice lowering as they share more private words between the two of them.

Needing to distract from their PDA, I pull up the TV to show off the brand-new album cover. The guys shout out their praise at the shot.

"Hell yeah!" From Tennyson.

"It's perfect." From Austen.

Smith claps earnestly while Zach whistles.

Kelvin and Bailey give more modest applause.

And then there's Miguel and Aiden who keep completely quiet, their focus on the television. I'd been shocked when they accepted my invitation to join today. I think most of it was curiosity, since I hadn't let anyone besides the producer hear the finished tracks.

For every piece I needed, I made sure to have everyone come in at different times. That meant some days, Tenn would come in to help me with something while Austen showed up on others. Even then, they could only hear what they added to the story rather than getting the full masterpiece.

At least, I think it's a masterpiece.

"May I ask why the bold choice?" Miguel inquires.

I turn to look at the screen behind me. The image of our album cover wasn't at all what I would have thought it would be. Especially not with the music behind the cover itself.

On a pewter blue backdrop sits an image more suited for Halloween. A skeleton couple, one tall and the other shorter, are locked in an embrace. Cobwebs, spiders, and bats surround the image in a simple vector style. The bottom left corner shows our name, but with a slight change.

Whereas the band is called Loveless, the word "less" in the image is marked through with a red bar. It's meant to represent the title: No Less.

I wanted to go with Love as the title, but I was outvoted on that. Mostly by Tenn and the band. They felt it was too confusing. I'm not sure how No Less is any easier to understand, but it fits the bill well enough.

"People aren't going to expect what they find on this album. I figured the conversation could start with the cover art and go from there," I finally answer.

Most bands these days have selfies as their artwork. That or it's the hottest model of the time to get people excited to pick it up.

I want my album to be one people are curious about. But I also want them to collect it because of the music behind it.

Taking a deep breath, I queue the first song. "I present to you, the next Loveless album. Enjoy."

I sit on a chair off to the side of the room as the first song begins. This one has Miguel grinning since it's one of the ones I played for him in his office the day he announced to the press that he was taking over SoulSource.

There are nods of approval from the rest of the group as they soak in the tunes. When the first track ends, the transition is so smooth, you don't realize the next song is playing until you're well into it.

Shock. Amusement. Curiosity.

Each of my friends has a different reaction to the shift. Thankfully, none of them are negative. The only person not outwardly expressing anything is Austen.

My boyfriend sits stock still in his seat, his gaze locked on the television as the lyrics play on the screen. The production guy thought I was weird for wanting them in the final mix I had him do for me, but after I explained the listening party, he was cool about it. Now, I'm second guessing myself since the words appear to be all he cares about.

Granted, the words are all about him, all for him. I'd likely be more upset if he ignored them.

Three more songs go by, and the energy of the room is picking up. Zach, Aiden, and Bailey are all standing and swaying to the music, while Kelvin, Austen, Tenn, Smith, and Miguel remain seated. The clear break of personalities almost makes me laugh.

I can't though. Not when I know we're climbing to the peak of the story I've crafted.

See, what they don't know is that I didn't just write one song about me and Austen. It's an entire album. And more than that, the album builds. I sing of love lost before it is won and craving someone so badly you feel sick. I speak of missing something you've never experienced and knowing you shouldn't go there but not being able to stop.

We make it all the way to the finale before Austen breaks. As the opening lyrics to "Always Been Mine" play, his eyes widen. Tears well in an instant, which has me up from my chair before I can think better of it.

Kneeling on the floor in front of his chair, I cup his face. "Shhh," I coo.

His hand covers my mouth as his forehead presses against mine. The lyrics I wrote for him, the song of my soul, plays as the soundtrack to the moment. It's everything I could have wished for and more.

As soon as the song fades away, I'm pulled into a hard kiss. The guys around us cheer, their voices layering over one another as they discuss their favorite songs. It's all background noise as I soak in Austen's love.

When we finally pull apart, we're both crying. And then we're laughing at the fact that we're both in tears.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asks.

I shrug. "How was I supposed to?"

"How about ‘hey baby, you know how I've been working on a super-secret album? Yeah, it's totally about you' or something like that," Tennyson tosses out.

Austen points at his brother. "For once, he's actually right!"

"Hey! I… well, I don't know if I'm offended, but I feel like I should be."

The group breaks into laughter at his confusion.

"I promise to tell you I'm writing an album about you next time. Deal?" I hold out my hand.

"Deal." Austen shakes my hand, then pulls me to stand with him. "How does it feel to know you'll never top this? It will take a lot to do better than this."

"Oh, really? I accept that challenge."