Epilogue
Six months later
Easton
“You got everything packed?” Bennett asks.
“Yup.” I turn to face him. He smiles at me, stepping into the room.
“Can’t believe we’re really doing this,” he says, pulling me into his arms.
“I know. But I’m excited.” I grin.
“Me too.” He kisses me. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Thank you. And thank you for coming with me. It means so fucking much.”
“I can’t think of anywhere else I’d want to be.”
After everything went down with my dad, it took a while, but Bennett convinced me to press charges.
Dad was charged for what he did to me that night, but I didn’t stop there. I told the police everything he did to me as a kid. It was hard, so fucking hard, but Bennett was right there at my side.
The most surprising thing that came from all of this wasn’t that the police believed me, but the fact that my mom came forward too.
I guess seeing my dad beat the shit out of me, in front of people, was her breaking point.
She told the cops everything, how he would threaten to kill her, and me, if she tried to leave or tried to intervene.
What I really think gave her the push to do something was the fact that she had the money to leave now, to start over.
The little boy in me hates that he wasn’t enough for her to do that back then.
I try not to focus too much on it anymore. It’s in the past, and thinking about it won’t change it.
I have a new life where I can be myself. Be open and proud. A man who loves me, supports me, and stands beside me.
A family that has my back and welcomes me with open arms.
It’s crazy that we’re on our way to Georgia, moving into a place of our own.
I accepted the offer from the Georgia Bobcats. It’s a good team, and the pay... let’s just say, I’ll never want for anything.
But money means nothing to me. It never did.
I’ll have Bennett. As well as Taylor and Aria.
The two of them decided to move there, too. Taylor came out to her family, and while they didn’t react the best, it was a hell of a lot better than how my dad did.
I’m proud of her. She deserves this. She and Aria are thriving, so in love, it’s gross.
Not that I can say anything. I guess being out to the world made me bold, because as soon as the world knew, I couldn’t stop keeping my hands off of Bennett.
My friends and teammates were surprised, but they were great about it.
Liam was not happy. We got into a few verbal altercations at parties. He believes I stole his man, and I was happy to tell him that Bennett was never his man; he was always meant to be mine. He didn't like it. But I didn’t fucking care.
Bennett got a place on the Georgia AHL team. He’s not sure how long he wants to play, but for now, he’s happy.
He’s close enough to be able to visit his parents often as well. I think the thing he’s gonna miss the most is not being able to do Sunday family suppers.
But we promised to come back at least one weekend of every month, provided our schedules allow it.
The plan was for Bennett to follow me after the summer, because football camp starts in a few weeks, but he said he couldn’t be away from me that long. So he decided to come down with me now and give us a chance to settle into our new place, our new normal.
It’s crazy that I started this year a closed off, guarded man, afraid of what the future will be. Now I’m doing better. I’m stronger, braver, and bolder. Thanks to the man who’s in my arms.
“Mom wants us to come over for supper before we get on the road.”
“You think she could make her fried chicken?” I ask with a hopeful grin.
“Yeah.” He chuckles. “I think we can arrange that.”
Supper was great, and the chicken was just as good as I remembered it. Goodbyes were filled with tears. Bennett feels guilty, because Lilly just gave birth to her little girl. He wants to be the best uncle and watch her grow up.
Lilly promised to come visit once we were settled.
We bought a house, it was the first thing I did with my signing bonus.
Nothing too crazy, but big enough for us to have people over and to build a family together.
I want everything with this man. Marriage, kids, to grow old and die together.
“It’s kind of bittersweet,” Bennett says.
We’re in the treehouse, and my god, this thing is small. We wanted a bit of nostalgia, but I think we both forgot we’re not kids anymore, and there is not a lot of space in here.
“You think?” I ask, cursing when I hit my head on the roof.
Bennett laughs. “This is where it all began.”
“Don’t you mean, ended?” I ask, raising a brow.
“No.” He shakes his head. “This treehouse started our friendship. I invited you over one day, and from then on, we spent most of our time here.”
“True,” I agree. “I guess for the most part, it’s filled with good memories.”
“How about we replace that one bad one?”
“Yeah?” I chuckle. “How do we do that?”
He grins, leaning forward to grip my chin and presses a kiss to my lips. “Like this,” he murmurs before deepening the kiss. I moan, swiping my tongue against the seam of his lips.
Bennett opens for me, letting my tongue slip in and over his.
We kiss, pouring all our love into it.
“I love you.” Bennett pulls back, pressing his forehead against mine, our breathing heavy.
“I love you, too.” I smile.
“You ready for forever?” he asks, that smile that never fails to make my heart skip a beat, curving on his lips.
“Yeah.” I smile softly, nodding. “I think I am.”
The end