Epilogue
MAVERICK
One year later
“Cade,” I call when I step inside our apartment.
“In here,” he yells from the bedroom.
I carefully lower my bag to the ground and rush to him, eager to tell him the good news.
He’s sitting on the edge of the bed, pulling off his socks. I launch myself at him, bowling him over. He wraps his arms around me, chuckling as he rolls me under him. I giggle, feeling more loved than I ever have as he peppers my face with kisses.
“How was work?” he asks between kisses.
“I landed the contract with that fancy law firm that has a party every few months. That will guarantee close to five grand a quarter from my lead.”
Cade grins down at me, love shining in his eyes. “I knew you’d get it. You won them over with that cookie recipe you and Blossom worked on.”
For the past year, Blossom and I have been hanging out more and more, getting closer.
She’s an amazing woman, and funny as all get out.
I also learned to talk like a normal fucking person around her.
She said that the jitters would wear off and I’m glad they did because it was getting embarrassing to yell at random times, especially when we were in public.
When she comes over, sometimes we talk and hang, other times we bake. Cade joins sometimes, but he gives us space to have a good time together.
Much different than Walt. That fucker would give me and Sawyer the side eye when we were alone for even a minute, upset that he wasn’t involved. Cade is the opposite; happy I have friends that can keep me company when he’s in school.
Speaking of that fucker Walt, word from Sylvia is that he got fired from his job for underperforming and lost his place. He had to move back in with his parents and still doesn’t have that couch.
Fucker.
I wrap my legs around Cade’s waist. “Yeah, it was that strawberry one we worked out together. The one you always steal every time we make it.” I give him a pointed look and he grins wolfishly.
“What can I say,” he mutters before planting a soft kiss on my lips. “They’re delicious.”
“Mm-hmm. Just getting back from class?” I rub my hands up and down his back, loving the large, warm expanse of his skin. I love touching him. He’s so beautiful and he’s all mine.
He rolls us over until I’m straddling his waist, his hands landing on my ass. “Yeah. Had that Systems exam this morning, remember?”
“Yeah. How was it?”
His smile is wide. “Think I aced it.”
After we got the paperwork from Blossom, Cade immediately enrolled in a general studies college program so he could get the basics down.
It was hard for him, starting off. A lot in education has changed since he graduated, but he stuck with it, getting everything down in the first semester so he could transfer to a software development program.
The campus he attends is within walking distance, but he purchased a bike to get him back and forth to school.
I would have bought him a car, but Cade preferred the fresh air, as well as not wanting me to spend a bunch of money on him.
I don’t mind and he knows I don’t, but my mate would rather we save for our future than spend it on a car we won’t use very often.
He’s fast-tracking his degree so he finishes in two and a half years rather than four, so he’s almost halfway there.
I’m so proud of him for overcoming his absence from the human world and jumping back into it, not letting his curse define him.
He still struggles with some technological things, but for the most part, he has everything down.
When he graduates, he hopes to get more training to go into game development.
He’s blown through all my video games, beating levels I’ve never even seen before.
As he played and I watched, a contented feeling settled in my chest as he would explain things about the specs and graphics, about ways he can improve on a concept and expand it.
His passion for the games always fills me with light.
I’m so happy I get to be here to see this change in him.
The first day we stepped outside, he looked wide-eyed and afraid of everything around him, but now, he’s coming into his own, blossoming like a lovely flower.
“Of course you did,” I murmur, bending down to kiss those full, sexy lips. “You’ll ace all of them.”
“Because I have the smartest man in the world helping me study.”
I lie on his chest and sigh when he wraps his strong arms around me. His strong heartbeat is music to my ears. He once told me every beat of his heart thumps my name and it always makes me smile when I lie on his chest.
“I have two surprises for you,” I say, nuzzling against him like a cat.
“Yeah? What?”
“Your first year as a full-time student ends in a few weeks. In celebration, I got us flights to Guam.” My world spins and I giggle happily when he hovers over me.
“Really?”
I nod. “Yeah. We’ll be there for ten days. Since I landed the contract, Grady pretty much gave me what I wanted. I’ll be on the grind when I get back to curate more business, but he’s letting me rest before he works me into the ground.”
“Baby, thank you.” He kisses my claiming mark, pushing out that strong scent that makes me melt. I breathe him in, feeling my dick grow in my pants.
But I ignore my desire for him. I’m eager to see his face when he sees his other surprise.
With more willpower than I’ve ever had, I push him off, fighting back a groan of frustration at my own decision. “I have another surprise. Come on.” I hop out of bed, racing to the living room and the bag I left by the doorway.
Cade follows behind me more slowly, curiosity dancing in his eyes.
“Sit,” I say, not wanting to reveal what I have. “Close your eyes until I tell you to open them.”
“Okay.” He shuts his eyes without protest. I love that he trusts me so much without reservation. It makes me feel all warm and giddy.
It takes me a few minutes to get my surprise set up, making it harder because the adapters aren’t the same and I have to swap some shit out to get it to work.
Finally, I step back and smile, hoping he’ll like the surprise.
“Alright. Open.”
I spin around just as Cade opens his eyes and glances down at my surprise. His mouth drops open and he rushes off the couch, kneeling next to the Atari.
“Where did you get this?” he asks, awe lacing his tone.
I shrug like it’s no big deal, but I know to him, it is. I can feel his happiness and appreciation radiating through our bond. “I got it from this guy on one of those secondhand sites. It was the only one I found. They’re hot commodities.”
He touches the console, then the controller like he thinks they’ll disappear right before his eyes.
His eyes are shiny when he looks up at me. “Thank you. I never thought I’d see anything from my previous life again.”
I drop beside him, framing his face. “You’re welcome. I know how hard it’s been for you, so I figured some familiarity would help.”
“It does. Can I play it now?” He’s already grabbing at the controller, sitting cross legged on the floor.
“Under one condition.” I sit beside him.
“Anything,” he replies quickly.
“Teach me how to play? I’ve never seen one before, but it looks like fun.”
His eyes soften, for the first time being able to teach me something from when he was younger. “Of course. Here, you go first.” He tries to hand me the controller, but I put a hand up, pushing it back toward him.
“No, I want to watch. Besides, tomorrow is Saturday. That means no phone. You’ll have all day to show me how to play.”
After Cade mentioned how cell phones make people feel too accessible, I vowed to take at least one day a week to turn my ringer off. It’s been freeing, though Sawyer had a hard time remembering that.
Sawyer and Katrina got married about six months ago and he called on a Saturday after they got back from their honeymoon so he could share their adventures.
He called seven times, back-to-back. So many times, I thought it was an emergency, that he or Katrina were hurt, but it just turns out he was excited to talk and set up a time he could bring me and Cade our souvenirs.
Along with some of his friends he made at school, Cade has been hanging out with Sawyer.
He meant it when he said he wanted them to be friends and I couldn’t be happier.
It was the one thing I wanted with Sawyer and Walt, but that fucker was too intent on being a jealous asshole.
But Cade and Sawyer are thick as thieves, going to trivia nights, something Sawyer would drag me to, but knew I hated.
Now Sawyer has someone that has as much useless knowledge as he does and they usually win.
My heart and life are so full, I don’t think anything else could make it better.
I have a man in my life that cares about me, a job I love, and friends that are always in my corner.
With a wide grin, he starts the game, the retro graphics popping up on the television. He does a cute shoulder dance beside me and my heart almost bursts out of me.
“I love you, Cade. I love you so much.”
He flashes that brilliant smile at me, love and warmth glowing back at me. “Love you too, Maverick. Who would have thought a witch’s curse would have brought me the best thing that ever happened to me?”
“Maybe Blossom did. She’s a smart one.”
“That she is.” I cuddle up beside him and watch him play Pong, and he tells me the best strategy for the game. And all I can do is be thankful that he was a dumbass in his past life and gave in to peer pressure.
I wish he hadn’t done what he did, almost killing that poor owl, but if he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have come to me, so eager to learn about my world and love me through the process.
If it weren’t for Blossom, I never would have found my mate, my mustard yellow, perfect recliner. The most beautiful shifter in the whole wide world.
Who would have thought a piece of furniture would turn out to be the love of my life?
His leather and books and coffee and manly scent drift into my nose and I inhale, my heart beating hard in my chest.
Cade kisses my cheek, pushing out those pheromones to make my head swim.
“When we’re done playing,” he says, moving the white bar to bounce the ball before he loses the level, “what do you say I shift and you can relax on my recliner? It’s been a while since I brought you comfort that way.
You can kick up my foot rest and reread that hockey book you’re obsessed with. ”
I sigh, loving that he knows exactly what I need even when I don’t.
“That sounds like a plan.”
THE END