Epilogue

  “So you read it?” Lilly asked, practically vibrating in her seat. Nohana paused her game to watch the conversation.

  “I did.” Jay confirmed hesitantly.

  “Aaannd?”

  Jay looked uncomfortable. “It was…” He paused. “Decently written.”

  “Ok, but how were the sex scenes?”

  “You know I’m not gay, right?”

  “Everyone’s a little gay.” Lilly retorted.

  Jay handed back the short story she had written about his and Samuel's forbidden love. “I read it because you asked me too. And I’m straight enough to have found it... mildly horrifying.”

  “Horrifying?” Lilly sounded hurt. Nohana chuckled. “What was horrifying?”

  “I’m not gay. Everything was horrifying.”

  “I thought it was good.” Nohana added more to rub it in than anything.

  “Traitor.” Jay snapped.

  “I’m still gonna post it on the internet.”

  “Please don’t.”

  “I’ll change the names.”

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  “Uhh.” Jay said, sounding defeated.

  “So Jay? Would you do some more proofreading for me?”

  Jay winced.

  “It’s not all yaoi.”

  “Is it all hentai?”

  “More or less.”

  Jay sighed. “How’d I get myself into this shit?” He slumped into a bean bag chair and stared at the ceiling.

  “You moved here and Lillyana took a liking to you. You couldn’t have prevented it.” Replied Nohana, her eyes once again glued to her screen.

  Jay shifted toward Lilly. She had dropped her story on the table and was once again engrossed in wedding planning magazines. “Your name is Lillyana?”

  “Mmhmm.” Lilly nodded. “I assume you’re Jacob.”

  “No it’s actually just Jay… So Nohana? How have you been doing?”

  “She got excommunicated.”

  “Ouch.”

  “Yeah well, fuck them.” Grumbled the blonde.

  “Incest!” Lilly shouted before continuing in a normal tone. “She’s talking to her brother more.

  “He’s coming to the wedding.” Nohana said.

  “Really! That’s awesome. I bet he brings the best wedding gift. I want a car.”

  Nohana laughed. “Trust you with a car? Hells no.”

  “So when is the wedding?”

  “Spring.” Lilly said.

  “The actual date hasn't been picked out yet.” Nohana added.

  “Hey Jay. You gonna make it through the winter?” Lilly asked, almost sounding concerned.

  "Yeah. I got the hydro beds closed down. My distributor says the shutdown is going to lose customer confidence and I'll have a harder time selling next year, but I don't exactly have an indoor operation. Aaand I'm not really sure I want one. I've got the coffee business built up enough that I should be good on necessities. And I've got the wood stove working, so I won't freeze."

  “Oh, ok.”

  “Why?”

  Lilly nodded to the window. The world beyond was gray and devoid of color. A flurry of white specks danced wildly across the glass pane. Jay sat up to look. Nohana even paused the game and stared.

  “We have to go outside." Lilly said. "The first snowfall is my favorite.”