This story is a sequel to My First Year in College and My First Year in Prison.
Tyler is finally ready to commit to a serious relationship when he moves in with his former College crush, Austin. After years of entertaining the idea, it is time for those two to figure it out: is their relationship meant to last?
This story is entirely fictional and all characters featured are above 18.
And boys... The last chapter is finally here!
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Chapter 24: Can't help falling in love
I was getting married.
Wow.
Austin and I were really doing it?!
I could hardly believe how fast things had gone. Too fast maybe?
I tried not freaking out, but maybe I should have been freaking out. It was a big decision, right? A once in a lifetime decision!
We had divided our little group into two. I was with Janice and Ralph, looking for a nice suit, preparing my vows, and picking a nice restaurant for the after-celebration party.
Austin was with Sergio and Allison; they were in charge of finding someone who would accept to marry us without impersonating Elvis Presley or Frank Sinatra and selecting the perfect chapel. "Perfect" under Vegas standards, I should say. People literally get married via drive-throughs there!
"Guys, should I take a minute? I mean, to think about this?"
I was trying on a dark green suit.
Ralph was shirtless in the store, trying shirts for himself, being checked out by the (obviously gay) employee.
"Don't tell me you have second thoughts!" He grumbled.
"Do take that minute, Ty. And some more!" Janice told me, being more empathetic. "If you need to take a step back, I'm sure Austin would understand. You both got excited after the proposal but if you want to plan a bigger wedding, or to think about the commitment it represents..."
"Oh no, it's not about the commitment at all. I want to marry Austin. I'm freaking sure of it. I want to spend my whole life with him. But there are things that bother me... One thing in particular..."
"Spill the beans, mate!" Ralph scolded me.
"My brother won't be there. I called him to share the news, and trust me, I'm glad to do this without most of my extended family, but for Ryan, it hits different. I feel like he deserves to be present."
"Can't he be here by tomorrow?"
"Not really... Mallory and him both work at the hospital, there are surgeries planned."
Ralph held my shoulders as if he was my big brother.
"You look dapper in your suit, man. You got engaged, it's cause enough for celebration. You can get married in two weeks and make sure the few people you want to be there, are there. Noone gives a shit! In the meantime, we can have a party anyway!"
I smiled at him and I looked at myself in the mirror.
"I do look very good in that suit... And you two are here. Damn it, I really want to do it tomorrow!"
"You're sure?"
"Yes! We'll set-up a live camera during the ceremony for the people who cannot be here. I don't know! But I cannot see myself asking Austin to post-pone, even just for a few weeks. It's like... Why wait?"
Janice rolled her eyes.
She was so over me changing my mind every couple of minutes. It was not the first time I had asked them if I should really go through with the Las Vegas wedding.
In my defence, the day before the wedding was quite hectic and it was hard to think things through in that craze.
Once in a while, I needed to pause to make sure that I was not getting ahead of myself and my excitement but, every time, I was ending up with same conclusion: I really wanted to go through with the wedding.
In a way, it was the easiest decision of my life. Not that I was delusional about what a marriage would entail, but if there was someone in this world whom I wanted to take on this journey with, it was definitely Austin Prat.
As wedding experts, my friends Gary and Steve were of great help. They handled some things remotely and hooked us up with last minute discounts. They also sent me a to-do-list of things to think of for "shotgun weddings", which became my bible for the next twelve hours.
They were even happy to come celebrate with us the next day. We really had come far in our relationship. The years had washed out any bad blood between us.
I saw Austin at dinner but we made sure not to sleep together before the big day. As you know, we are very much conservative people!
Okay... Who am I kidding? It was silly and certainly did not mean much but it was a funny traditional thing to do. We promised not to see each other before we would walk down the aisle. This was getting very real!
I slept with Janice, and Austin slept with Ralph.
When I say "sleep" here, I do not mean "having sex". Let's be clear because I know how your mind works my dear filthy reader!
Janice asked me a few questions before we went to bed. I could tell she wanted to ensure that I was done with the back and forth and that I was certain of my decision.
I was.
I wondered if Austin had any doubt on his side. I hoped not. He seemed very relax during dinner.
We could not take our eyes away from each other. It is really not fair when you think about it, people with piercing blue eyes like Austin's have such an aura on them.
Despite that, I had a nightmare where I walked down the aisle and Austin never showed up. I barely managed to sleep more than a couple of hours.
The next morning, I got ready with Janice and then, with Ralph, who joined us in her room. They casually kissed and I was still shook by it.
I was half-dressed when someone knocked at the door.
"Yes?"
"Hey guys!"
It was Jasper, wearing an opalescent orange suit. Of all people, I really did not expect him to be there!
"Jasper?!"
For a split second, I thought he was here to stop the wedding. Could you imagine? He had declared his love to me once, and it was clearly not the time nor the place for him to do it again. My mind started railing.
"We heard someone was getting married today and we thought we could crash the party!" He explained with a little smirk on his face.
"We?"
"I came in with my boyfriend, Jamar. I mean... If you don't mind?"
Phew! No love declaration! No stopping the celebration!
"Of course, I don't! Not at all! You're both very welcome. That's so great that you're here!" I ran to hug him. "Where is Jamar?"
"He was too shy to come up, he's in the lobby. He wanted to be sure that I could tell him to leave if you would not want a stranger at your wedding." Jasper smiled.
He did look very good all suited-up, his blond hair slightly longer and curlier than before.
"Are you kidding? We need to fill up some seats. I did not know you were seeing someone."
"We started seeing each other while you were at the hospital. It's been a few months now."
"Looks like a lot of relationships started when I was in the coma..." I winked at Ralph and Janice.
"You two are together. I called it!" Jasper exclaimed immediately. "I swear I called it!"
We finished preparing ourselves and I met Jamar thirty minutes later. He was a very nice guy, working in the video games industry. A cute dude, tall, a little bit nerdy.
Jasper seemed really into him which made me feel great. I was still a bit uncomfortable with how things had turned out between us.
Fun fact, I was invited to Jasper and Jamar's own wedding about a year later!
Surprisingly, I was very chill throughout the day. All my doubts had disappeared, and I was simply enjoying my time with my friends. The celebration was meant to happen at 3 PM. I was mostly excited about it.