Chapter 16
Reggie woke up the next morning still wrapped in Nick’s arms. They smiled, looking down at the ring on their hand. Sure, forever love was not something Reggie always believed in. But they had a familial forever love with Julie and Ray and Carlos and Flynn. So why not believe that they could have a romantic one with Nick? As the blonde stirred next to them, Reggie leaned over, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. Nick blinked his eyes open, smiling and pulling his partner into another soft kiss. “Good morning to you, too, babe.” He said, voice rough with sleep. Reggie wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but they loved when he sounded like that.
“Good morning, baby.” Reggie whispered, leaning in to steal another kiss. “Did you sleep okay?”
“I always sleep my best next to you.” Nick answered. “Do we have to get up?”
“No.” Reggie laughed softly, “It’s Sunday. We can take our time.” Nick grinned, pulling Reggie close to him and pressing feather light kisses along their neck.
When the two of them made it downstairs a little before one, no one commented on the marks on Reggie’s neck or how red Nick’s lips were. Ray honestly pretended not to notice because he did not feel up to having the protection talk with his kids. When the group finished lunch, Ray set the envelopes in front of Reggie. They stared at the pile of envelopes for a long time, having forgotten they applied to music programs and performing colleges. Nick nudged Reggie, “You okay, babe?”
“Yeah, it’s just daunting. These could all be rejections.” They muttered, grasping Nick’s hand that sat on their thigh.
“I doubt that. You’re an amazing musician. That’s what your focus was when applying, there’ll probably be more acceptance letters than denials. And even if I’m wrong, though I highly doubt it, we’re right here.”
“Okay.” Reggie took a deep breath, under the watchful eyes of all their friends and family, and started opening the letters. Nick was right. They were mostly acceptance letters. Reggie settled on the Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts. It was close enough that Reggie could be home on the weekends, and the music program was supposed to be legendary. Ray kept telling them how proud he was, and two days later when Julie’s acceptance letter to the same school came, they cried together that they wouldn’t be alone.