Epilogue
Jake
Four Months Later
My life since Christmas had been amazing.
Mat came over a few days a week, usually later at night when Emerson was already in bed.
He always made sure to come by on her weekends, too, and it had led to a lot of private lessons.
Especially once she joined his competition team.
She made him go over all her kata, and eventually, he started introducing her to martial arts weapons.
I shouldn’t have been surprised when she asked to join a real competition. He started coming over for a few hours every Sunday and working with her. He said that she could go far with how dedicated she was.
He slept over the night before her first competition.
I watched from the doorway as he sat on the edge of her bed and talked to her about her worries and concerns.
He had experience in competition, something I would never be able to share with her.
I could feel myself falling deeper in love with him as he listened to her worries and shared his wisdom.
When we tucked her into bed, I gave him a kiss, and I knew.
He was the one.
He traveled with us to the tournament. He had to get there early to meet up with and help the other members of the team and lead them through stretches.
He was dressed in his karate uniform, and he helped Emerson tie her belt around her waist. He went to find the others while I checked her in at the welcome desk.
She’d joined all three parts of the competition: kata, weapons, and sparring.
I was nervous about the last part, but Mateo promised me that she’d be okay.
They weren’t going to pair her up with anyone that could hurt her.
I found a small group of parents in the bleachers and sat down with them. We talked until the competition started, and then we cheered on one another’s kids—even when they were competing with each other.
I’d never forget the look on Emerson’s face when she got the second-place medal in kata.
Her smile could have lit up the entire gymnasium.
When I caught Mat’s eyes across the room, I saw pure, unadulterated pride in his eyes.
I didn’t think he could’ve been prouder if it had been his own child.
They had the same look when she got the first-place medal for her weapons kata.
She came in first in sparring as well, beating another little girl her size.
The girl was a belt ahead of her, and I couldn’t have been prouder.
Emerson came and sat with me after her division was over, and we watched the older kids do their events. By the time they were finished, Emerson was starting to get tired and hungry.
We had to stick around another thirty minutes after the last event, because there were dojo awards being offered.
I watched with even more pride as Mateo accepted an award for Most Respectful Dojo.
All the kids that had stuck around joined him at the acceptance.
I snapped a picture of him with his plaque, surrounded by kids, many of whom had medals on their necks.
Emerson had her arms wrapped tight around his waist.
It was a framer.
After the competition ended, we grabbed dinner, and I dropped Emerson off at Becca’s.
Becca felt guilty about having to miss the competition due to work, so I promised to let her have our daughter an extra night.
It might have been my weekend, but I knew how Becca felt.
I’d felt the same way when I had to miss Emerson’s first school field trip due to client meetings.
“You staying tonight?” I asked Mat after we pulled away.
“As long as you don’t mind me taking a shower?”
“Oh, we’re definitely taking a shower,” I promised him.
As much as I loved my daughter, I loved the nights I didn’t have her just as much. Mainly because it meant things like showering with Mat and not having to stay quiet when things heated up physically between us. And things always heated up between us. Could anyone blame me?
I pulled into the driveway fifteen minutes later. After our shower, we curled up on the couch with some series he’d introduced me to that we’d found ourselves watching every time we were together.
I felt it again.
The same feeling I’d had the night before when I watched him tuck my daughter into bed.
“I love you.”
The words fell from my mouth without a thought. I’d never had an easier time saying them to anyone. I always overthought it. I always second guessed myself. With Mat, saying the words felt as natural as breathing. Once I said them, I was surprised that I hadn’t said them earlier.
He looked at me, smiling so big that his elusive dimple was deep enough to drink coffee from. “What?”
“I love you,” I repeated.
He leaned over and gave me a quick kiss. “I was starting to think you’d never say it.”
“What?”
“I’ve been waiting for at least a month for you to say it.” A month? Why hadn’t he said anything sooner? He studied me for a moment before reading the expression on my face. It still surprised me that he could do that so easily. “I’ve been there for a while, but I didn’t want to scare you off.”
“You wouldn’t have.”
I didn’t think there was anything that he could do that would scare me off at this point. I was too far gone.
Mat paused for a moment, studying me, before he accepted the reality of my words. He rested one hand on my thigh and used the other to cup my cheek, angling my head toward his. “I love you,” he told me solemnly.
And this time, when he kissed me, neither of us pulled away.
The End