Epilogue 3
Bristol
It’s funny how my number one enemy growing up has turned into my boyfriend. It wasn’t something I planned. Trust me, dating Liam Moretti was the farthest thing from my mind, until we kissed.
And now, he’s all I think about.
As a transfer student, I’ve settled into Evergreen University. I live in the dorms, and I have a single, not that you’d know that with how often Liam spends the night.
It’s practically every night, at least since Wren was born.
I spent the night once at his place, and that little baby has one hell of a set of lungs on her. She was only a couple of months old at the time. I hope for Harper and Luca’s sake, she’s learned to sleep through the night.
Liam is always stuck in the books, as a neuroscience major, making sure to get all the pre-med prerequisites for the MCAT and medical school admission. He’s got years of school still ahead for him.
For me? I’ve got another year and then trying to find a job. Working for Eagle Tactical seems like a pretty good gig, but Liam will be applying to medical school, and I don’t even want to think about what a long-distance relationship might do to us.
But I’m sure wherever he gets accepted, I’ll find work.
He’ll likely be in a big city, and there will be plenty of opportunities for us. I hate thinking about leaving our friends behind, but I’ve already heard that Ashton will be moving to Chicago after graduation.
If he intends on taking over his father’s business, he’ll be leaving our small town in Montana. I don’t know what Nova and Ashton have discussed about it. We still have another year of college, and in the meantime, they’re in Barcelona.
Am I jealous?
Absolutely!
But I’m happy for them.
I’m also ecstatic because I heard Ashton is going to propose to Nova during the trip. I really hope she says yes!
“Look who texted me,” Liam says as he sits on my bed in the dorm. He shows me his phone, and I get up from my desk chair, grabbing his device, reading the text message.
Ashton: She said yes!
“Oh my gosh!” I squeal and can’t contain my excitement. “They’re getting married?” While I haven’t known Ashton and Nova nearly as long as Liam, I’m thrilled that they’re together. I remember a short time when they were separated, and it was hell on both of them.
“That’s what it sounds like.” Liam pats the bed and scoots over, making room for me to sit with him. His back is pressed against the wall, a stack of books on his lap. He pushes them to the side. “You don’t think it’s a bit sudden? I mean, they’re still in school.”
“If it’s what they both want,” I say, and give a nonchalant shrug. “Don’t worry, I’m not asking for you to propose.”
Liam lets out a heavy breath of air. “Okay, good. I love you, Firebreather, but we’re not there yet.”
“I know, because if we were, I’d be proposing to you.” I pin him with my stare and his eyes twinkle with mirth.
“Are you really going to propose to me?”
“Well, not today!” I chuck my pillow at him. “Like, in a few years, when we’re old and bored with life and want to make things interesting.”
Liam is bent over laughing.
“What’s so funny?”
“Is that seriously your idea of why people get married? Because they’re old and bored?” Liam tries to catch his breath, and he wipes the tears from his eyes. His face is red from his fit of giggles.
I glare at him and then at the brownies. “Are those what I think they are?”
He brought me a plate but had already taken a few bites from the dessert. I grab a piece and pop it into my mouth before crashing back down on the bed with him.
“There’s definitely not anything but brownie mix in that batter. Maybe a little extra spit.”
My nose scrunches. “Gross.” I’ve already taken a bite, but I keep chewing it and swallow it down while making a face.
“Zeke and Harper made them.”
“Oh!” My eyes widen at the realization that they’re definitely not pot brownies if Zeke had anything to do with them.
Liam pulls me against him, my back pressed up against his side. “You just make me laugh.”
“Umm, thanks?” I grin, tipping back, staring up at him.
“I don’t know why we didn’t try this when we were younger,” Liam says, his hands skimming my hips, his fingers sneaking under my shirt to touch my bare skin.
I don’t think he intends to tickle me, but I squirm in his grasp. “Quit that!” I laugh uncontrollably.
He lets go, holding his hands up. “Sorry, no tickling. I know the rule.”
I breathe a sigh of relief, glad he respects my boundaries. He always has, at least since we became whatever this is—boyfriend and girlfriend? It feels far more intimate than a juvenile label, but we are definitely not ready for engagement territory.
Nope.
“We didn’t try this when we were younger because I would have bitten your head off—”
“Quite literally.” He snickers, glancing down at his cock with a wry grin.
I wipe away the tears as my own fit of giggles surface. “You’re terrible!”
“Maybe it is the brownies,” Liam teases me, wide-eyed, and glances at the paper plate on my desk.
I roll my eyes, knowing that he’s joking. “No, it’s you who makes me laugh this hard. You’re the only one.”
“I know something else that can get hard,” Liam says with a wicked grin.
“Oh my gosh! Do you always have sex on your mind?”
He nods, not even denying it. “It’s a curse, one that you can help me break.”
I pretend to think about it as I climb over his hips and straddle him. “As long as the curse is the only thing I break.”
“Firebreather, you’re going to be the death of me.”
“I might be, but not for a very long time,” I whisper, covering his lips with mine, drinking him in, tasting him, my insides tingly and warm, and the fire he roars inside of me will never cease to exist.
His body, his touch, his breath, all of it lights a flame deep inside of me, and I him.
The End.