Epilogue
SUKI
Fifteen Months Later
Isat in the car in the parking lot, waiting for Teddy to finish up her final exam.
A couple months after our—not so cute—meet cute, she decided to go back to school for psychology with a minor in business to ensure she had the knowledge to make this big change in her life.
Most of the classes were online, but a handful were in person to ensure the students were taking this seriously and were committed to the degree.
All the business classes were online though, and I helped her with those. Part of my degree focused in that area, and not much had changed in the last few years since I had finished my master’s.
She had, more than once, threatened to hack in and change her grade or someone else’s if they were being a snobby dickhead. Teddy did it once and promised to only do it when they truly deserved it. My fear was her getting caught and all of this hard work being for nothing.
She still managed to work and make an income, and with that and what I made, we were well off and doing even better now that we had lived together for the last six months.
Our house was bigger than we probably needed, and our parents thought we were crazy for buying a house in the first place, but it’s what we wanted.
Starting a family was something we were aiming for in the next few years, but with this new dream of hers, we wanted to make sure things were a little smoother before we brought any kids into our crazy world.
I glanced around the near-dead campus, the only people milling about were half-dead college students who had spent their entire last week sleep deprived from studying for their finals. The trees were lively though, creating a stark contrast.
Then there was Teddy, right on time, coming down the path with a smile on her face. Computers and hacking might be her favorite hobby, but psychology really spoke to her, and knowing that she’d help people like herself one day drove her.
I hopped out of the car and opened my arms to her. She ran the last few yards and leapt into my arms.
“How did it go?”
“Oh, I aced it. We know I did.” Her laughter warmed my heart, and I couldn’t imagine a time without her.
Before her little kidnapping scheme, I was on autopilot, living my life as a solo person with nothing better to do and no dream to be had besides helping people more than I was.
But without a vision, without her vision, I couldn’t do it.
Now I had a goal, and that was helping Teddy in any way possible while she helped other Betas and Alphas, and even some Omegas, deal with their wants and desires through experimentation and acceptance.
It was a cause I could get behind, and being a tester for the knot training toys was…
well, something I never thought I’d like, but using them on Teddy and seeing how far I could go was more delicious than I could have ever imagined.
“Of course you did. Let’s go celebrate.” I had an all-you-can-eat sushi night planned followed by a horror movie marathon that would involve too many snacks and a sugar-induced coma.
“I have a better idea.” I saw the twinkle in her eye, and it was far too familiar.
It’s the sparkle that said she was up to no good, and although I would love whatever she had planned in the end, I was also going to be terrified the entire time.
“Let me drive. I have a surprise for both of us.” She winked at me, and before I knew it, she was slamming the driver’s side door shut and miming for me to get in while mouthing “get your ass in here.”
I wasn’t going to find out what she had planned if I didn’t go along with her shenanigans, so I got in, and we were on our way to some unknown place for an unknown reason. I wasn’t anxious at all.
After a twenty-minute drive with Teddy having a karaoke session between GPS instructions, she pulled into a rescue and was nearly bouncing in her seat as she parked the car.
“Wanna take a guess?” she asked, unbuckling her seatbelt.
“Nope.” It annoyed her when I didn’t play her games, and her voice got all high pitched and whiney. I loved it and would poke that button any chance I got. I got out of the car before she could fully complain and went to the front door. She was right behind me by the time I pulled it open.
“You might not have guessed aloud, but I know you guessed in your head. That’s good enough for me.”
“Wow, loophole. Now I have to find a way around that.”
She didn’t get a chance to make a comeback because the worker stood up from her seat at the front desk to welcome us in.
“Hello! Did you have an appointment to meet one of our animals?” Her nametag read Margo, and I assumed she was a Beta. She seemed friendly, and her smile was welcoming, making her the perfect person to do her job.
“I selected a walkthrough meet and greet. I want them to choose us as much as we choose them.”
“I love that. Right this way.” She rounded the counter and led us into the back where the kennels were kept.
“Did you want a cat or dog?” I asked, leaning down to whisper in her ear. I should have known what her answer would be. It was one of her favorite words, so she never had to make a decision.
“Both, probably.”
And that’s how we ended up with two cats who were a bonded pair and an older dog who needed a happy forever home to spend the rest of his life.
Gia was a fluffy gray cat with white paws and yellow eyes.
Potato lived up to his chunky name and had a long orange coat.
Apparently, the manager’s kids named the unnamed animals as they came in, and I was one hundred percent behind that.
They don’t know what happened to their owner because they were left at the shelter a few months ago in a carrier.
When they saw us, their tails flicked happily, and they nuzzled our hands through the bars.
Apparently, Gia hated most people, so we took that as a sign and refused to separate them.
We had the space, the money, and the love, so why would we say no?
Our dog was a seven-year-old pit bull golden retriever mix whose owner had passed recently. He had been depressed and lonely, but unlike the other animals, there was an instant link. He walked up to us and gave the biggest puppy dog eyes I had ever seen.
Teddy burst into tears and demanded we take Monty home. After spending some time with him outside and seeing how lively he was with us, the shelter agreed to release him to us with a few home visits for all the animals.
Thankfully, Teddy was very prepared for this. She had carriers, collars, and a leash hiding in the trunk of the car. At home, there were mounds of boxes waiting for us filled with litter boxes, kitty litter, food, toys, beds, supplements, poop bags, a climbing scratch tree, and so much more.
I don’t know how she knew what to get and how it ended up being exactly what we needed, but it all came together, and our family was finally taking form, one step at a time.
And I cherished every minute of it, savoring every moment I had with the woman I loved.
THE END