EPILOGUE
NOLAN
ONE YEAR LATER
“Honey, I’m home,” I call out with a grin, letting the apartment door swing closed behind me.
I don’t get a response, but I can hear movement in the kitchen, so I kick off my shoes and make my way down the short hallway. I bark out a laugh, not feeling an ounce of surprise to see my boyfriend’s bare ass swaying back and forth to the beat of whatever music is blaring through his earbuds.
I lean against the doorframe and enjoy the show for a minute, heat and affection rushing through me. The last year has been the craziest and the happiest of my entire life. Two days after my interview with the game developer, they called to offer me the job. I think I actually burst out crying right there on the phone. I think Slater and Caspian both thought someone had died.
I smile fondly at the memory. The whole ‘we’ll work out the logistics’ thing turned out to be easier than I expected. Cas immediately offered to sublease his apartment and move to Portland with me, since he can write from anywhere.
A year and a half ago, I never would have pictured my life here, living with my incredible, sweet, sexy boyfriend and working my dream job. The emotional rollercoaster is intense some days. With so much to lose, I can’t say the fear doesn’t get to me from time to time. But when that happens, Caspian is always there to talk me down and hype me up the way only he can.
Unable to resist touching him a second longer, I step into the kitchen and wrap my arms around him from behind. His skin is warm, and his familiar scent settles things deep inside of me. I press my nose to the back of his neck and nuzzle a kiss there.
He reaches up to pop out one of his earbuds and cranes his neck to look back at me.
“Hey, I didn’t expect you home yet,” he says.
“I still have some work to get done this afternoon, but I figured there was no reason I couldn’t do it here instead.” I kiss the back of his shoulder and he makes a deep rumbling sound like a purr.
“You’ll never hear me complain about getting extra time with you. I’m in the middle of a chapter, I just needed a quick snack break.”
“A naked snack break,” I tease.
“Obviously,” he scoffs, and we both laugh. “Oh, by the way, Slate called earlier. He was thinking about flying out next weekend and staying at the beach house for a week. You want to head down? Can you take some vacation days or work from home days?”
“Hell yeah,” I answer without hesitation. “I haven’t seen him since he moved out to Chicago. I could use some bestie time.”
“Cool, that’s what I figured. It’ll be fun.”
I absolutely love my new job, but I’ve also learned a lesson about work-life balance. Some things come first, like a few days at the beach with the love of my life.
THE END