Epilogue #2
I hold the phone to my chest, imagining Tucker beside me.
Sometimes I still picture him with the pink buzz cut because that’s how my brain remembers him the most. But he’s got his curls again, and from the FaceTime the previous night, it’s a lovely shade of lavender now.
I can’t wait to bury my face in his neck and breathe him in slowly—he’s my favorite scent of all time.
That’s how I fall asleep, wishing for the moment tomorrow that I’ll be able to breathe Tucker in and keep him for a little while.
“Charlie,” someone whispers into my hair, lips brushing over me.
“Hmmm.”
“Charlie, wake up. It’s almost sunrise. We have wishes to make.”
I groan tiredly and roll over, throwing my arm across my eyes.
“Nope. Come on, I made you coffee.”
I move my arm away and blink my eyes open, my brain slowly registering that Tucker is here already, in our bedroom, lips tipped up in a very teasing smile.
“Tuck?”
Tucker tugs at my shirt until I’m sitting up. “Let’s go. Sunrise,” he says pointedly, both eyebrows raised in expectation.
Man, I didn’t even get a kiss. I grumble as I slide out of bed, take a quick piss, then grab my favorite hoodie from the chair in the corner of the room.
Tucker guides me toward the back door with his hands on my hips, whispering shit that goes in one ear and out the other because I’m still half asleep.
He makes me slip my shoes on though, since my brain is only half working.
“When did you get in?” I ask as we make our way through the dunes.
“Oh, just an hour or so ago.”
My eyebrows furrow in confusion. “You let me keep sleeping?”
Tucker hums and swings our joined hands back and forth between us. “I had plans.”
“I could’ve been fucked already,” I murmur grumpily, but Tucker just rolls his eyes and busses a kiss across my cheek.
The sun is still hanging below the horizon, the sky a deep dark blue, but I know any moment the orange will widen and take over.
There’s a small blanket already situated at the shore, which catches my attention more than anything.
Tucker drags me toward the blanket and tugs me down until I settle between his legs.
He curls his arms around me, settling his hand over my heart, and presses his face into the crook of my neck.
I was kind of hoping our roles would be reversed, but I know I’ll get the same thing later, preferably when Tucker is inside me.
“I love you, Charlie,” Tucker murmurs softly, sending a shiver down my spine.
“I know, sweetheart. I love you too.”
“Which one of us does the laundry?”
My still half-asleep brain skids to a halt. “Huh?”
Tucker places a tender kiss behind my ear, fingers rubbing distracting circles over my heart. The sky is turning orange now; the sun will break soon, and Tucker will miss his favorite moment of the day.
“Which one of us does the laundry?”
“You.”
“Yeah.” Tucker lifts his head, then uses the hand that was on my chest to turn my face.
He kisses me softly at first, then harder, until I feel claimed and his, just with the press of his mouth against mine.
He pulls away, lips barely touching mine, before murmuring, “You have something hidden in your underwear drawer.”
Oh, fuck it.
“Listen, I’m sorry, I know we don’t really talk about it, and I never wanted to rush you.” I take a careful breath, tearing my gaze from his and looking back out at the horizon. “I just thought, maybe one day… I don’t know. The ring was pretty.”
Tucker takes my hand in his own, playing with my fingers for a few moments, before I feel a cold band slip onto my ring finger. I look down to see a yellow-gold band glinting against my tanned skin, a thin band of diamonds at the top.
“I bought this one a year ago while on tour with Cecily.” Tucker kisses my cheek, my eyebrows, the tip of my nose. “Marry me?”
“Like, just wear rings or on paper?”
Tucker’s look turns startled. “What the hell does that mean? I want to marry you in front of a judge and tell everyone I’m your husband.”
All the air wooshes out of me. “Really?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, well, yes.” I smile softly, and Tucker wraps his arms around me as we turn back to the ocean just in time for the sun to break over the horizon.
We sit there for a long time, watching the sky change with the colors of the sun.
Tucker tightens his arms and I absentmindedly play with the new ring on my finger.
We’ve come a long way since that day Tucker showed up at my door, rain soaked and frightened.
I turn around in his arms and push him down onto the blanket, kissing him silly until he’s laughing against my mouth and begging me to stop.
Tucker gets serious and ghosts his fingers across my cheek.
“I wished for you,” Tucker admits softly, a promise that floats on the ocean breeze.
“I wished for you too. I’ll always keep wishing for you.”
A wish on a sunrise is a wish that always comes true.
The End