Epilogue
It’s been a few weeks since Bear’s and my fight and reconciliation.
And they’ve been so sweet.
Since we realized this can be something real, the little things he’s done have been so nice that it makes my belief in forever all the more real.
I’m in his room, mending some of the other holes in his clothes that have become more numerous over the years that he’s let slide because of laziness or lack of time. There’s a lot. Turns out working around trees and sharp objects isn’t the best recipe for keeping your clothing perfectly intact.
While I passed up the job at the High Street Boutique, Bear brought me to a little seamstress shop in Evergreen Valley, run by an older woman named Clara. Savvy had already been working with her, and she happily took me on as another apprentice. She’s stated she’s getting up there in age, and would like to retire. Her own children have no interest in her craft, so she’s expressed interest in having us be her successors, because a town like Evergreen Valley is always going to need someone who can tailor and patch up clothes.
It’s a career worth taking, something to contribute to my community. Plus, I get to work with my best friend. What’s not to like?
Another flannel shirt patched up. Most of the holes in Bear’s clothes were so tiny that I understood why he didn’t even notice them.
I hear the Love Nest’s front door open, and I finish what I’m doing to go meet him. I’ve turned this into more of a home than it was when I got here, where it most definitely had bachelor-pad vibes. Some plants, some artwork, it’s home now, and I hope it remains home for decades to come.
“Welcome home, Bear,” I say, a sly smile on my face as I play the role of a doting housewife.
Bear’s slightly sweaty from going about his daily work of tracking his crop of trees and felling the ones which are ready. He”s never looked manlier than he does right now.
“Hey there, babe,” he says, somewhat exhausted from the day. He hoists up a plastic bag and sets it on the kitchen table. Cold cuts tonight, so there”s no rush for dinner. He’s not much of a cook, and I’m only slightly more competent. I might have to pick up the slack a bit if we don’t want to keep eating out so much. Savvy is surprisingly talented at it; maybe she can give me a few pointers.
“Is the harvest looking good?”
“It’s looking fantastic. Not as good as you do though.” He wraps his arms around my waist, and pulls me closer, leaning in for a kiss.
“Well, yeah, but all things are relative. I could say the same of how delectable you look, Bear.”
All this time with Bear has been a steady realization of how much we mean to one another. How we improve one another”s lives. Bear had his friends, but at the end of the day he’d always come home alone. He never let it get to him too much, but now that I’m here waiting for him, he can’t wait to get back.
For me? Beyond the fact I’m not worried about being homeless anymore, he reminds me that I can be loved. That someone can want me for me. All the time struggling to survive or living under the toxicity of my mother, it was really easy for me to forget all that. He shows me what happiness truly is, something I don’t think I’ve ever truly known before.
Our embrace breaks, and he’s looking down at me with those lovey-dovey eyes of his. “I think it’s all settled, then.”
“What is?”
“I’m going to make you mine.”
“I’m already yours, Bear.”
“No, no, I mean officially.” He takes a step back from me, and drops to one knee.
He isn’t, is he? Here, of all places?
“Charlene, I ain’t a fancy person and I don’t think I ever will be. To me, being here in this love nest with you is the most romantic thing I could ever imagine. This place is our home, the place where we will grow our love for one another. And hopefully, the place where we will one day raise our family. I want these walls to contain all the joy, the laughter, the blissful moans, the anything and everything between, together.”
“Bear, are you really...”
“I know I’ve shown reluctance to this whole forever thing. I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t want to hurt myself. But I can’t deny that I need you. And I’ve been trying to psyche myself up for a while to ask the question, and that’s why I’m doing it now. If I wait to take you to some fancy French restaurant or something, I think I’m going to lose my nerve.”
This must have taken a lot for him. I know his fears. His worries. About how easily everything can break down and fall apart. He can’t deny his need for me, though, and we’re both going to have to face that fact.
He pulls out a small velvet box. He’s really doing this.
“Help me finally put my fears to bed, Char. Marry me. Let’s build something beautiful together.”
I can’t deny the fact either. I need Bear as much as he needs me. “Yes! Of course I’ll marry you, Bear.”
He slips a sleek diamond ring on my finger and then wraps his arms around me, pulling me so close. Our lips meet again, for the first time as fiancés. His hands roam down my body, igniting my lust for him as they curve around my ass, holding me close to him.
“I’m nervous as hell, but as long as I have you, babe, I don’t think there’s anything that can stop us.”
I nod, but shoot him a sinful glare. “How about you show me how you feel about me instead of just telling me?”
He cocks an eyebrow. “Oh, that’s what you want me to do, huh?”
“Exactly what I want you to do.” I lean in and whisper in his ear, “I was planning on jumping your bones even before you came in here to propose to me.”
“Devious and insatiable, you are my dream girl, you know that?”
He picks me up and starts carrying me through the cabin. A trail of clothes is left in our wake, and by the time we reach his big, king-sized bed, he’s hurriedly pushing off his jeans and boxers, leaving only flesh between the two of us.
All of that flesh ignites with absolute desire as he runs his hand down my body, goose bumps all over me, so damn hungry for his touch. His coarse cheeks tickle my face as he rains down kisses on my body, making me let out a little gasp with each and every one as he descends on my curves. His cock rubs against my thigh, throbbing hard instantly at the sheer thought of being able to have me.
I relish every part of his body, buff and strong from the hard work of cutting down trees. No glamour muscles in sight for Bear, he’s just 100 percent pure man, and I absolutely love it. I’m learning every imperfect curve of his musculature, knowing that it is going to be mine and only mine for the rest of my days.
His skillful hands slide down my form and between my legs, rubbing my clit, and making sure I’m dripping wet for him. I shudder as he teases me, his touch so good, but only the start of what this man can really do to me.
“I can’t believe how beautiful you are. I can’t believe you truly belong to me,” he whispers, the heat of his breath tickling me and driving me wild.
His hand strokes my body, teasing all of my sensitive skin as he brings his cock down to my slit. I reach between my legs, and take hold of that hot length, stroking him, feeling him shudder in return.
I guide him toward my pussy, spreading my legs for him, urging him closer. He happily accepts my invitation, as I soon feel his cock head poke against my clit and then nudge my entrance. He pushes himself in, and goddamn, I’ll never get over just how fucking good that feels. Having him deep inside me, having him fuck me. I cry out in such bliss; he gives me a sloppy kiss right after, showing his appreciation for what I’m doing to him as my cunt squeezes around his length.
Wrapping my arms around his shoulders, I urge him in, grinding around his cock. He’s not going to fuck me without me fucking him right back. I take him deep, squeezing him, grinding him, urging him to take me harder. Over all the time we’ve known one another, we’ve learned how each of us really likes it. How hard I want him to take me, how gradual I want the journey to be. I know to squeeze his ass right as he thrusts in me; it always gets a pleased growl out of him.
We’re so entwined. So desperate for one another.
I close my legs around him, thrusting my hips against him, every little thing we do sending searing bliss through me. The heat inside me burns hotter and hotter.
“Harder,” I urge him. I want even more than I usually do. Everything he can give me. Every last drop. Every stroke is something beautiful, something greater, something amazing. I cry out louder, my voice echoing through the room. I thrust myself into him, wanting to become as close as I can ever possibly be. The intensity of it all is too much.
Especially as he rubs my clit in rhythm to our love. My nails tear down his back as I struggle to hold on, the sheer power of what I’m feeling just spiraling out of control. The continuous, carnal rhythm sounds out under my screams for him, all of it a symphony leading up to that final, all-powerful climax.
When it hits, it hits me hard. My vision blurs, my muscles tense ever so briefly before I finally have that release that had eluded me for the journey of this tryst.
Bear is right there with me. Holding me tight, fucking me still, letting me wring every little bit of pleasure I can out of all this. He holds me down, his cock finally unable to take any more of the heaven that is my body. He erupts within, his heat so strong as it floods me, fills me, all of it just the perfect finish from a perfect man.
We breathe deeply, holding one another tightly, enjoying the intense afterglow.
“I know I tell you this almost every time,” he manages to say, “but that was incredible. You’re incredible, Char. And I hope you never forget that.”
“I’m only incredible with you, Bear. We can be incredible together.”
He chuckles as he shifts in the bed to hold me from behind, his hand over my abdomen, his nose burrowed in my hair. His embrace is so warm, so wonderful. It’s the most comfortable thing in the world, and I’m dedicated to experiencing this comfort every day for the rest of my life.
Bear isn’t going to hurt me. And I’m not going to hurt him.
I can’t say what happened with his parents. Where it went wrong for them. Maybe they got married for the wrong reasons.
But I feel like I can say it as a simple fact that it won”t be the same for us.
We’ll be together, forever more. Building a family, building a home.
All within this wonderful love nest of ours.