Epilogue
“We’ll be right back!”Claire shouts over her shoulder. “Just going to get a refill on these chips.”
“You are such a liar,” I say, nuzzling the back of her neck as I all but pick her up from behind and press her through the door of the walk-in pantry.
We’re having an epic bash at my parents’ mansion. It’s a “going away” party for the house, an end of the summer party for our friends who are also teachers, as well as a celebration for Aaron and Lucy, who recently got engaged.
But right now, my tipsy girlfriend is showing me just how much wine goes straight to her clit.
I close the door behind us and deposit her on the counter. Her legs spread instantly, and I have never been more grateful for sundresses than I am right now.
“God, you’re soaked,” I say the moment I press my hand to her drenched panties.
“You just played Twister. In your joggers. I can’t help it.”
She tilts her hips against my hand and I hook my fingers against the band of her thong before pressing two fingers deep inside her.
“So naughty, Claire. You want me inside you with our friends right outside the door, don’t you?” I whisper against her lips. “This pussy is so needy for my cock, isn’t it?”
“Yes, baby, I need you.”
She fucks my hand as good as I’m giving it to her, and I already feel her pussy fluttering on my fingers. I move my tongue past her lips in the same rhythm as my fingers, swallowing her little moans as her walls begin to tighten.
“Can’t give you my cock if you can’t be quiet, Claire.”
“I can be quiet,” she whines, tugging at my wrist and rubbing her soaked center up and down my cock that she now has free from the zipper of my pants. “You know I can be quiet.”
“I sure do, baby. I just get greedy for your sounds.”
“I’ll give them to you later. I’ll paint the new house in them, I just need you inside me right now.”
I don’t hesitate. She pulls her knees up to shoulder height, feet flat on the countertop as I sink inside her. It’s a deep, tight fit, and I know neither of us are going to last very long. After a few quick thrusts, she buries her fingers against her clit and her mouth against my neck.
“That’s it, Claire, be a good girl and come all over my cock.”
She does, breathing her sighs as her wet drips down my aching shaft. I come inside her moments later, holding myself there until our breathing has evened out. When she lifts her head from the crook of my neck, she looks dazed and drunk on me. Her smile is lazy and sated. I wipe my thumb over her lips as her feet drop down to dangle off the counter.
“I can’t believe we never fucked in here before,” she says. “And now, we won’t get the chance to ever again.”
She sighs, blowing an exasperated breath, her eyes widening in feigned disappointment.
She helped Anthony design the exact shelf she wanted in the new library, and we test ran it last weekend when we had our first unofficial sleepover in the new house.
“Are you sure you’re ready to move in right away?” I ask, smoothing the disarrayed hair near her ears. “I just want to make sure you’re comfortable.”
She nods, smiling at me with reassurance in her eyes.
“One-hundred-percent. Besides, who would give Bilbo all of his mid-morning cuddles if I wasn’t there?”
We adopted a golden retriever puppy a month after reuniting. In the middle of Claire’s schooling and internship, and my school year ending, we decided we could both use a little extra chaos in our lives. Then again, she will be home more than I will.
After selling the house, and seeing the amount of commas in my savings, it made perfect sense to give Claire the time and space she needed to complete her internship and get her on her feet—which meant that she didn’t need to take on a job this summer. Being transparent with each other to build toward our future has been our foundation.
In between classes and training our puppy, she has been helping me pack up my parents’ home, going through things Cal and I have held onto out of guilt, and deciding what we don’t need anymore. She has also been working on repairing the rift with her parents. Right now, she’s visiting her siblings once a week, and having family dinners biweekly. She’s taking baby steps, and I tell her how proud I am every single day.
And while she has been taking baby steps of her own, I’ve been pushing myself to do the same.
Cal feels like my brother for the first time since he donned a hospital gown. In between both of our hectic schedules, we’ve been trying to see each other more than our once monthly phone calls. We’re also both going to therapy. It was something I avoided after my parents’ death out of fear. Although it is a slow going process, I’m glad to finally be taking the steps.
On top of it all, Claire has been adding her decorative flair to the new home. Our home. The moment we both realized that this home will be the first thing either of us will own independent of our pasts, we poured our everything into it. I was ecstatic when she decided that she wanted to move in from the start. However, she really didn’t have a choice in the matter.
A pipe burst in Penelope’s house. With the damage to the electrical, flooring, and inside the walls, we have been playing house since, with Penelope as our guest—our “Joey from Friends,” the girls have been calling her—while simultaneously introducing Claire to the show. It was only a matter of time before Claire had to make a decision.
The way that she chooses me again and again has done wonders for my bruised heart.
I’m about to respond to her quip about who Bilbo loves more when Aaron’s voice interrupts us.
“Hey, Harding! Can you two stop canoodling? We’re out of Cool Ranch Doritos out here!”
Our eyes widen, and she hops off the counter, steadying herself on my shoulder before using it to press up and give me a quick kiss.
Claire giggles, reaching behind her to grab the aforementioned blue bag and slapping it against my chest.
“Good luck with them. I’m going to go clean up in the bathroom.”
She sneaks out, leaving me to fend for myself.
When I get to the living room, the Twister board has been abandoned. Everyone is sitting on their phones, checking their emails by the looks of it.
I see four missed calls from my boss, and a text message simply reading, Check your email. I don’t bother calling him.
Instead, I take a seat on the couch. Bilbo immediately plods over and lays his face in my lap. I pet his head with one hand, and take in the hell storm that our impending school year has just become with the other as I absorb the extent of the email. The doom written on my face brings an impenetrable silence to our once happy day.
“What’s going on?” Lucy asks. Everyone else looks up.
“I have some news from Don.”
“Is this a good news/bad news situation?” Juliet asks. I shake my head gravely.
“Are you allowed to put us out of our misery?” Sam interjects.
Claire enters, stopping short of the room as she takes in the state of our guests. She comes up from behind me and rests a reassuring hand on my shoulder.
“What’s up?”
I swallow, my eyes landing solely on Penelope. She raises a brow, and I tug on the collar of my T-shirt.
“The boiler system at Meadow Ridge Middle School failed yesterday morning. As they were investigating the damage, they found too much hidden foundational damage to deem the building safe for the upcoming school year.”
I pause, my eyes scanning over my friends who are also my colleagues, landing on Penelope last as I tear her already broken world apart.
“Until further notice, they are splitting students and teachers across the boundary lines. We will have double the class sizes, and you will all more than likely have a co-teacher from Meadow Ridge in your class to accommodate.”
“What does that mean?” Penelope bites. I lift my eyes in apology.
“You and Anthony will be co-teaching this year.”
“My Anthony?”
“Yes.” I nod curtly. “Your Anthony.”