Chapter 51
Tilian
August 2025- five months later
“I can’t believe your dad is teaching mine how to fish,” Brooks said with a laugh. He was standing with his arms crossed as he stared at the two of them by the lake.
“I can’t believe your dad doesn’t know how,” I countered.
“And yours couldn’t command an entire room the way mine can. We all have our flaws.”
“Is that how you’re gonna be?”
“If the stars align.”
“Stars don’t need to align for you to be amazing.”
He turned and captured my lips. Somehow, it still made me feel like I was flying, hurtling toward the unknown. It was exhilarating and at the same time, it was the safest I’d ever felt.
“You should learn too,” I noted, jerking my chin toward the lake.
He scoffed. “I’m not touching a fish.”
“You and your weak stomach.”
“Says the guy who sends me to order his food for him because somehow, the person who sells it for a living will judge you for having the audacity to eat.”
Turning my nose up, I started walking toward the water. Every time I was here, I looked at the spot we’d first had sex, under the moon and the rain. I wanted to plant a flower there or something so that I’d never forget it, not that I would. It was memorable.
Before I could get very far, Brooks grabbed me around the waist. His fingers slipped under my shirt and trailed over my skin with a gentleness that made me melt into him.
“I talked to my dad about something,” he murmured.
“I told you that you don’t need the nose job.”
He squeezed me tight enough to be painful. “Attitude isn’t always required.”
“That’s a lie.” Turning around in his arms, I held onto either side of his neck. “What’d you talk to him about?”
“The future.”
I felt a little nervous about those words. It was a remnant of all the time that thoughts of the future were scary. Things weren’t great with his mom, but he texted her sometimes. When she asked to talk to him on the phone, he said he wasn’t ready. The biggest thing was that she hadn’t apologized still. I had no idea what would happen, especially since his parents were separated right now. We weren’t sure which direction that’d go in either.
There was still some uncertainty about everything, but we were going to navigate it all together. That was all I cared about.
“After this school year, I start the law program,” he went on. “And I want to go into it knowing exactly where I’m heading.”
“It’s sort of early to know what’s gonna happen. I mean, I know we’re going to New York, but…”
“We don’t have to. I’ve told you that.”
“Yeah, but I’m okay with it. I like big cities and that’s where your life is.”
“My life is with you,” he said, stroking my cheek. “We can still go there if that’s what we decide, but that’s not what this is about.”
“If you don’t tell me what it’s about, I’m gonna get nauseous.”
“I want to study something else.”
My mouth dropped open. “You don’t want to go to law school?”
“Are you crazy? Of course, I do. But not for corporate law.”
“Um, okay. I don’t understand. That’s what your dad does. How are you gonna be a part of his firm if you don’t do that?”
“I won’t be. After our sociology project and hearing you talk about what you want to do, I started thinking about how I want to live my life, who I want to serve. Corporate law isn’t going to make me feel fulfilled. I want to do something good.”
My chest felt tight as I listened to him. Something had lit up in his eyes as he spoke, a glow that had gradually been appearing more.
“So, what are you gonna do?” I asked.
“I was thinking regulatory law. It sounds boring, I know, but I could be involved in social services and represent people who need it. Maybe eventually, I can help implement regulations in government agencies.”
“Jesus. That’s…”
He bit his lip and looked to the side. “Is it a dumb idea?”
“How would it be a dumb idea? I’m just surprised. It’s a lot different than what you had planned and it sounds like you put a lot of thought into it.”
“I wouldn’t consider it if I hadn’t.”
“Won’t you make way less money?” I asked.
“Sure, but it’ll still be a lot if I’m good at it. Between the two of us, we’ll have plenty of money to live, baby. Also, I have a trust fund, so I don’t think money is a factor.”
With a laugh, I trailed my fingers down his chest. “So, we’ll kind of be in the same realm.”
“Sorta, in some cases. It would involve a lot more than that, but it’s all a bunch of boring shit I won’t go on about.”
“Go on about it. I’ll always listen to you.”
Finally, he smiled. “Okay, I will later. Only if you info dump on me too.”
“About what?”
“Anything and everything. Your diabolical plans to make the government collapse.”
“It’s detailed. I’ve been working on it since I was a toddler.”
“I don’t doubt that.”
Leaning forward, he kissed me while he cupped my jaw. I was still in shock about what he’d said, but as long as he was happy, so was I. He paused, just keeping his lips lightly pressed to mine.
“Do you love me?”
I pulled back abruptly to look into his eyes. It was clear that he wanted to hide, but he just clenched his jaw. After a second, I laughed a little.
“Do I love you?” I repeated.
“Yeah, you’ve never said it and I just… wondered why.”
“Neither have you.”
“I don’t know when it’s supposed to happen. Sen and Kai went turbo mode. I don’t know when Linc and West did it. I thought maybe six months was normal and now, it’s been six months…”
“It happens whenever it happens.”
“So, it hasn’t yet?” he wondered, dropping his gaze.
“Look at me.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Please?”
With a huff, he met my eyes. “It’s fine if you don’t.”
Putting my fingers overs his lips, I shook my head. “Brooks, I’ve been in love with you for longer than I’ll ever admit.”
“Really?”
God, the insecurity was written all over his face. Brooks goddamn Elrod wasn’t meant to wear that expression.
I nodded. “Can’t you tell?”
“Why didn’t you say it?”
“For good reason, I was scared you’d freak out and run off.”
“I wouldn’t. Run off, I mean. I would’ve freaked out.”
“Do you?”
“Love you? Tilian, baby, I flipped my entire life upside down, not just for me, but for you. You gave me the courage to do it. That’s what you do. You force people to see their potential and you don’t accept their resistance to it.”
“That was a lot of words, but you didn’t answer the question.”
Taking both sides of my face, he leaned his forehead against mine. “I love you. I’ve been holding those words in for months.”
The smile didn’t leave my face, even as I kissed him. “I love you, Brooks. I chose you and I’ll always choose you. If I was held at gunpoint and told I’d be shot if I told you that I love you, at least I’d get to say it one more time before I died.”
“Jesus. That’s, uh, sweet and all, but a little dark.”
“No, it’s just sweet.”
“Whatever you say. Now that we’ve done all of that, will you finally leave your fucking dorm? You haven’t slept there in two months.”
I opened my mouth, then closed it. I loved the hell out of him, but that didn’t mean moving in with him wasn’t a terrifying idea. Six months wasn’t all that long when I thought about it. He was right, though. It was a waste of money to keep the dorm and I wasn’t going to sleep in that twin bed, even if my life depended on it.
“My dad is gonna kill me,” I noted, glancing toward the bank. I’d never seen Noah look so casual and it was kind of funny.
“Your dad loves me. And if he says anything, Miranda will give him that look.”
“Can I have the spare room?”
His eyes narrowed. “Never. I’ll booby trap it so you can’t even go in there.”
“Whatever. I guess I’ll deal with you every day because I love you.”
“Finally. Let’s go see Galadriel.”
“Pretty sure that cow already has a name.”
“Yeah, it’s Galadriel. I asked Mrs. Murray.”
“Really?”
He shot me a smile. “I’m not antisocial, baby.”
“Maybe that’s why we work so well together.”
Slinging his arm around my shoulders, he kissed my temple. “We fit because we see each other. Somewhere along the way, I learned that it was okay to be afraid. When I told you that I was choosing to be afraid to lose you, I also meant I was choosing to run toward you instead of away from you. My pain is your pain. Your happiness is my happiness.”
“It’s me and you,” I said softly.
“Damn right, it is. All because you posted a really sexy selfie on Instagram.”
“Isn’t it because you pissed Dean off at the airport, so he called me and you saw my contact picture?”
“No, we’re not crediting Dean for any of this.”
“Maybe he’ll be one of my groomsmen.” As soon as I said it, I ducked my head. “I mean…”
“Don’t you dare take that back. I’ll tolerate Dean if it means you want that kind of future. Never change, baby. Never.”
When he saw his favorite cow, he grinned at me and took off. I followed, not in the mood to run. Watching him do something as simple as petting a cow with a smile on his face was enough to make me perfectly happy with our life and, more importantly, our future.
Our future. Together.