Epilogue #2
"I know exactly where it
is," I reply, never moving my eyes from her chest.
She laughs one of my
favorite sounds in the universe. Another thing that makes me feel
like a god—just making her fucking laugh.
I'm pathetic.
I'm pathetic and I don't
even care.
Rory pulls her suitcase
behind her and I carry the one box she's taking down to her dorm.
We call out goodbye to Thea on our way out and climb into a
cab.
"You sure you want to do
this?" I ask her for the hundredth time.
She rolls her eyes. "Sam,"
she admonishes.
"What if you leave
something at the dorm that you need at my place?"
"I didn't pack anything I
really need. You know that. We've talked about this… it isn't going
to change anything," she promises me for the millionth
time.
I want to believe her. Or
rather, I want to believe it doesn't even matter. It's just that
this summer has been a fucking dream. Having her with me every
night, knowing she'd be there when I got back from working with
Uncle Kelly, or with me in the Hamptons for the weekend—I just got
used to it. And I don't want it to change.
Rory signs me into her
dorm and we take the elevator up to the fifth floor. It is like a
scene out of a movie. From every college movie ever made. Loud
music blares from multiple dorm rooms, boxes and packaging lining
the hall. Freshmen are everywhere, bouncing from room to room with
excitement, writing not-so-witty little notes on whiteboards that
hang from the doors. Parents and siblings say their goodbyes, the
new students anxious to get rid of them.
Rory's dorm room is small,
but it's what I'd been expecting. After all, I've seen freshman
dorms before and they all look the same. I help her unpack the few
boxes that had been pre-shipped to the dorm, and we make the bed I
hope she'll never use. None of it takes very long since there isn't
much to do.
"We've got to get going if
we're going to get to the restaurant on time," I tell her. It's
going to be a bitch to get uptown now, even at the tail end of rush
hour.
Rory tells me to go ahead
and grab a cab while she stops by her R.A.'s room to introduce
herself. I kind of want to meet this "advisor" who's supposed
to be responsible for whatever goes on on this floor myself, but I
don't want Rory to think that I don't think she can take care of
herself, so I do as she’s asked and head downstairs.
"Cap?"
I hear the familiar voice
as soon as I step outside the building. Randy, Kendall's older
brother stands behind me chatting with some girl. He excuses
himself from what was probably some pick-up and makes his way over
to me.
"Hey, bro, how are you?"
He asks with a handshake/half-hug.
"I’m Great, Rand. You
still prowling for freshmen?" I tease.
Randy smirks. "Hey, she
was a sophomore. I think. What are you doing here?" he
asks.
"Waiting for my girl." I
can't help my grin.
He shakes his head almost
reproachfully. "Yeah, Ken told me about that. Heading into college
with a girlfriend? Have I taught you nothing?"
"Turns out, it seems
you're the one with a lot to learn," I retort and we both laugh.
"Plus I'm pretty sure your sister was just telling everyone about
how you're ready to settle down into a nice, committed
relationship." I don't tell him she said it as part of a ploy to
set him up with my girl to try and make me jealous.
Randy rolls his eyes
dramatically. "God, I say one thing about how I wouldn't be adverse
to a relationship if I met a girl who was worth it and Ken can't
stop suggesting girls to set me up with. She drives me
nuts."
I smile. That does sound
like Kendall.
"Still, I never thought
you'd end up having a high-school sweetheart," he says.
I laugh at his choice of
words. "Rory's not my high-school
sweetheart," I reply. It sounds so
ridiculous. Like some young couple who goes to homecoming and pins
corsages and then breaks up after graduation.
"What is she then?" he
asks.
I stare at him a moment, a
little surprised by how serious he suddenly seems. Like he really
wants to understand something he just doesn't get. So I tell him
the truth.
"Rory's the love of my
life."
And then Randy's smiling
coyly and looking over my shoulder and I turn to find Rory hovering
behind me, obviously not wanting to interrupt my conversation.
She's blushing, but there's also a small, shy smile. I don't know
what Randy's wry little look is for—I didn't say anything I
wouldn't have said in front of her, didn't tell him anything Rory
doesn't already know.
I take her hand and pull
her forward to introduce her, loving how she burrows into my side
and how it satisfies the possessiveness within me. Randy takes us
in as he murmurs some introductory platitudes.
That's right, she's
mine.
We make some vague plans
that may or may not end up actually happening before Randy heads
toward Union Square.
"He looks just like
Kendall," Rory murmurs as we climb into a cab.
I shrug. I don't care what
either of them looks like. I'm only looking at Rory.
We head back uptown to
meet my parents and Bits. Rory has promised she'll stay at my
apartment tonight. I hate that it's a question I'll have to ask
every night, for the time being anyway. At least until I can
convince her to move in officially. But it's a whole lot better
than where we were a few months ago. When I thought I would have to
get used to only having her as a friend.
We didn't exactly take
things slow, so I don't know why we have to play this game with the
apartment-dorm room situation, but I'll play. Because I know that
we'll get there eventually. And the truth is, as long as I know I
have her, that she loves me, I know everything will be
okay.
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