Epilogue - One Year Later
Brody
The ground was soft from last night’s rain, and I reached out to take Rachel’s hand, worried she would slip. “The area I wanted you to look at is just up here.”
“Nice day to get out of the office,” she said.
She still worked full time at the Springwood Technical Institute, but she came with me on jobs too.
Sometimes to consult, sometimes just to keep me company, more often than not because I didn’t want to be away from her, and the feeling was incredibly mutual.
“What was it that you were worried about?”
“I saw something strange in the soil, needed an expert opinion.”
She bumped my shoulder with hers as we walked. “I am no expert.”
“You’re still the smartest person I know.”
I was rewarded with a wide smile.
“Right up here, that doesn’t look natural, does it?” She looked to where I was pointing, then back at me.
“What did you do?”
I smiled sheepishly. We walked hand in hand to where I had set up a blanket with a cooler full of food. “Happy first anniversary, babe.”
She reached over, her familiar hands cupping my jaw as she kissed me sweetly. “Happy anniversary.”
She plunked down on the blanket, and I started pulling things from the cooler.
“Now, remind me,” she said. “Is this the anniversary of when we first fought in a coffee shop, when your back gave out, or when I mauled you on my couch?”
I laughed. “They are all great memories, but this is the anniversary of the mauling.”
“I was so nervous to make the first move,” she said, the color coming to her cheeks as she accepted a glass of wine from me.
“I’m glad you did.”
“Me too.” We clinked glasses and had lunch surrounded by the place we loved. Bugs, pokey pine needles and all.
“I was so frustrated that first night,” I admitted.
She turned her blue eyes on me. “Frustrated?”
I took the glass from her hand and set it aside, then pushed her onto her back, and rolled on top of her. “Yeah, my back was too messed up for me to do this.” I reached between us and snapped the button on her jeans before lowering the zipper.
“Well, we can’t have you frustrated,” she said, pushing her head up to kiss me.
I got lost in her kiss for a moment before pushing back onto my knees and yanking her pants and panties down her thighs and off her feet.
She watched me trustingly as I stripped her from the waist down, then settled between her spread thighs.
I swept my tongue through her folds, always eager to hear the little sounds she made when I brought her pleasure.
She buried her hands into my hair, stroking her fingers teasingly over my scalp.
I worked her over in all the ways I knew she loved, sliding a finger inside her as I teased her with my tongue.
The ring I had at the bottom of the cooler was in the back of my mind, but my nerves were surprisingly still.
I knew she would say yes. I just couldn’t help making her come before I asked the big question.
“Feels so good,” she said, pumping her hips up to meet my finger. I pushed a second inside her, feeling her tight heat squeeze around me.
She moaned, and I flicked my eyes up to take in her face.
She wore every emotion clearly, and I knew she was close.
I kept at it, my face buried between the thighs of the nerdy little academic who threw my whole world into chaos in the best way one year ago.
The natural smell of her surrounded me, and I slid my hands up the sides of her soft thighs.
Her body tensed, her fingers tightening in my hair, and then she was coming under my touch. She moaned and quaked as I continued to work her over, my own cock hard and neglected behind my zipper.
When her muscles relaxed, she lay back with a sigh. I moved to lie over her, kissing her deep , my denim covered cock pressing against her stomach.
“Let me return the favor,” she said, sliding her hand down my chest and to the waist of my jeans then lower.
She popped the button and lowered the zipper before sliding her hand into my boxers and wrapping her fingers around my length.
I let my forehead fall to her shoulder, breathing her in as she started to jerk me off.
I was worked up already and her touch was so good I knew it wouldn’t last long.
Sparks of heat licked at my spine, and my balls drew up tight to my body.
I wanted to hold out, to let this moment last longer, but with her I was always a goner.
With a grunt, I let myself fall, and waves of pleasure washed over me.
She turned her head to the side, kissing me softly as I shook from her touch.
Too late, I realized that my cock was sandwiched between the two of us and cum spilled over her hand and the front of both our shirts.
Once I stopped twitching, I fell to the side to catch my breath, looking up at the canopy of trees and the blue sky beyond.
Her warmth was pressed against my side, her smell surrounded me and the moment was perfect.
Others might see this as a cheap date, dirty or lazy, or even lame.
But for her and I, it was perfect. And that was why she was made for me.
“Are there napkins in here?” Rachel asked, digging through the bag I’d brought.
“At the bottom,” I said, letting my eyes fall shut to enjoy the moment.
Oh shit.
My orgasm-hazed brain took too long to realize what she’d find as she dug through the bag. Rachel’s shoulders stilled. “Brody, what’s this?”
I looked over to see her with a stack of napkins in one hand, and the ring box in the other. Her brows knit together before lifting slowly. I pushed myself up to sit, bracing one hand behind me on the blanket. “I think you know what it is.”
Her eyes were already shining. She swallowed, then let out a breathy laugh, glancing down at herself and then back at the ring. “Brody, you can’t propose to me when I don’t have pants on.”
I laughed too, glancing down at myself, pants undone, cock still hanging out. “I hadn’t planned on us getting naked first, but—”
“You can’t resist me.“
“You can’t resist me either.”
She shook her head. “Never have, never will.”
“So is that a yes?”
“You haven’t asked me anything yet,” she said, a smile tugging at her mouth that told me I already knew the answer.
I laughed again. I took the napkin from her hand and wiped her shirt clean, then took the ring.
Settling onto one knee, I opened the box.
“Rachel, I wrote a whole speech but now I can’t remember a damn word I planned to say.
All I know is that we complement each other in the best way.
I’d never had a relationship last because I liked being alone.
I know now that there is one exception to that rule, and it’s you.
You make everything better, and I’ve never felt more at home than when I’m with you. Will you marry me?”
She tackled me onto my back, peppering my face and neck with kisses. “Yes, of course the answer is yes.”
I kissed her again, slower this time, smiling into her mouth as the reality finally sank in.
I held her there, heart pounding, already knowing I’d never take another job, another risk, or another step forward alone.
The forest stood quiet around us, work waiting, life changing.
And for the first time, I was ready for all of it.
THE END