Epilogue
PEYTON
“Alright, are you ready?”
“Ready?” I cried in exasperation. “I was ready two hours ago!”
We were somewhere outside, that’s all I knew. I could hear the rustle of trees, and feel the wind in my hair. The boys had been driving me for a couple of hours now — way further than I thought, when I first got into the car.
Then again, when you’re about to be bestowed with not one, not two, but three different engagement gifts? You tended to give your trio of hot fiancés a little leeway.
“Okay, go ahead,” I heard Ripley say. “You can take the blindfold off, now.”
“Are you sure?” I teased. “The last time you boys put a blindfold on me, you didn’t take it off until I’d—”
Someone untied it for me, and pulled it abruptly from my head. The sun exploded in my field of vision, seeming impossibly bright. For a good few seconds, all I could do was squint.
Then my eyes adjusted… and I saw.
The house was beyond beautiful; it was thoroughly picturesque. Whitewashed siding. Wraparound porch. It sat on its own, surrounded by acres of bright green grass, stretching out in every direction.
“W—What’s this?” I swore, mouth agape.
“Summer home,” said Colson. There was an uncharacteristic excitement in his voice. “Upstate New York. Just outside of Kingston, actually.”
“Summer home…” I repeated numbly.
“Yes.”
“Are we renting this?”
“No,” Theo said with a chuckle.
It was too big, too nice, too grand of a house, for anything else.
Craning my neck, I looked past the side of the house and into the cavernous back yard of rolling hills and distant fences.
“Is that a stable back there?”
“Sure is,” said Ripley.
“For horses,” I said numbly.
“Well it’s sure as hell not for unicorns.”
I blinked a few times more, but the house was still there. And I had to admit, it was fucking adorable.
“Welcome to engagement gift number one,” said Theo, gesturing grandly. “Your new house.” He paused awkwardly. “Well… our new house, really. Because we’re all going to live here.”
“It’s more of a ranch,” said Colson.
“It’s more of a farm, really,” added Ripley.
The others shot him a strange look.
“Seriously, you’re gonna argue with me?” he said, pointing. “Look. There’s chickens.”
There sure were. A good dozen of them, scratching and pecking on the ground, not far from an old wire coop with a tin roof.
“How did… how did we…”
“Afford it?”
“Yeah.”
Colson and Ripley’s heads swung in Theo’s direction. I followed suit.
Theo just stood there, hands on his hips, looking hotter than ever.
“Remember when I drained all those dirty bank accounts over a year ago?” he asked innocently.
“You mean Donovan’s accounts?”
“That would be them, yes.”
My mouth dropped open so fast I almost broke my jaw. “What about them?”
“Well… let’s just say some of them drained messily. They spilled a little, into newly opened accounts.”
“Untraceable accounts,” Ripley said helpfully.
“Oh, most definitely,” confirmed Theo. “And a teensy tiny bit…” he held up two fingers while squeezing them together, “just might’ve dripped into a handful of crypto-currency wallets. And then the wallets leaked too, right into banks that happened to be in non-extradition countries, such as—”
“What the King of all Nerds is saying,” interjected Ripley, “is that the house is all paid off.”
“I prefer Lord of the Geeks, actually,” lamented Theo.
“Whatever.”
“So… this is…”
“Ours,” confirmed Colson. “A place we can spend weekends and summers, for when we want to get out of the city.”
I blinked hard, like it might even reset reality. But the reality was simple:
We had a new place together. One that was all ours.
“Now put the blindfold on and get back in the car,” Ripley ordered. “For engagement gift number two, we’re going to the winter house.”
Theo laughed. Colson, too.
“No…” I swore. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Don’t listen to that asshole,” said Colson. “Engagement gift number two is right here.”
He pushed something into my hand. A plastic key fob, with a single button.
Taking a deep breath, I pressed it. The garage door began to open.
When it finally slid into place, I went absolutely nuts.
“YESSSSS!”
I sprinted forward as fast as I could, fawning over the lava red Ducati XDiavel now being kissed by the sunlight.
I tore off the bright blue bow and threw my leg over it, settling excitedly downward into the cushioned seat.
It fit my ass like a beautiful memory. One that I hadn’t realized how much I missed.
“This is exactly like the one I had!” I cried joyfully.
“Sort of,” shrugged Theo.
“No, it is!” I argued. “It’s the same model! The same year! The same everything!”
Setting my hands on the handlebar grips, my eyes roamed the bike lovingly. That’s when my breath caught in my throat.
“Wait…” I gasped. “Is this—”
“The same bike you used to escape the church?” Ripley asked nonchalantly. “Damn straight it is.”
“Took a little while to track down,” shrugged Theo. “But it wasn’t that hard.”
Holy shit. I still couldn’t believe it.
“But… this was a gift from Donovan,” I started, kicking myself as I said the words. “Isn’t that bad luck?”
Theo snorted, derisively.
“Fuck Donovan,” he spat.
“Yeah,” Ripley agreed. “And fuck bad luck.”
I looked hopefully to Colson, who stood just behind them. He crossed his big arms, nodded, and winked.
“We make our luck. Remember?”
My smile returned quickly; bigger and brighter than ever.
I sat there in awe and disbelief for a moment longer, then dismounted so I could fling myself into their arms. One by one I hugged and kissed them; all over their faces, their cheeks, their warm, pliable lips.
I didn’t finish until I’d thanked them all, by drinking my fill of their excited return kisses, playful gropes, and possessive grabs.
“I can’t believe this,” I eventually swore. “You have no idea how happy this makes me!”
“Yes, well,” Theo began sheepishly. “It’s only a fraction of how happy you make us.”
I waited for Ripley to roll his eyes, as he usually did when someone said something too cheesy, or too sweet. To my surprise however, he didn’t.
“When the nerd’s right, he’s right,” he admitted, smiling. “None of us have been happier than this. Ever.”
“Except,” Colson added, his eyes searching for mine. “On the day you agreed to become our wife.”
A tear of joy rolled down my cheek, as I thought back to that incredible day.
Only a few months ago we’d been in Santorini, celebrating nothing in particular, watching one of a dozen spectacular sunsets.
The boys had pointed to something from our balcony, overlooking the bleached white buildings, capped by their gorgeous blue domes.
But no matter how hard I looked at the golden horizon, I couldn’t find what they were pointing to.
It wasn’t until I’d finally turned around, that I found all three of them had dropped to one knee.
I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t speak.
But the three gorgeous diamond rings they held out before them, said everything.
I’d cried yes the very same second I’d gotten my breath back. And then they’d stolen that breath away again, when they slid those three golden rings on my one trembling finger.
Marry us.
I couldn’t think of a single thing I wanted more, in the entire world. And although I didn’t know how, or when, or where such a union would take place, I knew one thing for sure:
The four of us were already joined together. Inseparably. Forever.
And in ways nobody could possibly understand.
“Get your pretty little ass in here.”
They’d formed a familiar circle now, arms draped over each other’s shoulders, with Colson and Ripley extending their hands to me.
I melted into them, enjoying the warmth and feel of their bodies closing around me.
They started kissing me all over again, and this time in places that made me squeal with pleasure… and shiver with arousal.
“Wait! Hang on!”
Suddenly the lips on my neck and shoulder pulled away. I sighed in frustration. I still had my eyes closed.
“What?”
“You haven’t gotten engagement present number three yet,” said Theo.
I looked at them again, unbelievingly. The feel of their hot mouths and roaming hands were fresh in my mind.
“But you’ve already given me so much,” I murmured softly. “More than I ever—”
“Yes, but we haven’t given you this.”
Theo’s arm went up, and his hand opened. Dangling from it, by the same intricate chain… was the silver locket.
“This thing brought the four of us together,” he said solemnly. “You loved it once. Maybe you should give it a second shot.”
For a moment I stared at the delicate silver filigree, remembering how many times I’d run my fingers over it. Theo was right, of course. I had loved the locket. Back when it represented things wholesome and good.
“Seems like it could be our good luck charm,” agreed Colson.
“I thought we were making our own luck?”
“We are,” he shrugged. “But we could always use more.”
I took it back slowly, feeling the weight of it in my palm. A moment later, they were helping clasp it around my neck. Once there, it settled right back into its spot. Like it had never left.
“Is there a tracker in this one?” I joked.
“Maybe.”
Theo’s look was so serious I actually tilted my head.
“Well we can’t risk losing you again!” he laughed.
“Yeah,” agreed Ripley. “Especially after how your last wedding ended.”
There were tears in my eyes now. I laughed through them.
“You run fast,” said Colson. “Very fast.”
“I ride fast too,” I sniffed.
“True.”
“And you just gave me back my motorcycle.”
“With a full tank of gas, no less,” said Ripley.
They pulled me in again. I slid my arms around them.
“Aren’t you afraid I’ll ride away?”
“From us? Nah.”
I smiled, letting the tears roll. In all my life, I’d never felt more loved, more cherished, more desired. My heart felt full of warmth, from within. Like it was being powered by a thousand suns.
“I’ve never run from any of you,” I murmured softly. “I’ve never had a reason to get away.”
“And we’ll never give you one,” breathed Colson.
They hugged me even tighter. So tight, it felt like we were fusing together.
“Are we staying here tonight?” I asked, squirming through a new wave of arousal. Now it was my hands that were wandering. They lingered in places that I knew would cause trouble.
“We could,” shrugged Theo. “There’s no furniture though.”
“Theo could probably work his magic,” said Colson. “Open his laptop, and get some delivered.”
“A bed at least,” Ripley rubbed his hands together. “Or just a mattress.”
I’d do you all on the floor, if I had to, I thought to myself.
“Utilities aren’t turned on yet,” said Theo. “So there’s no heat.”
“Pretty sure we can make our own heat,” I murmured hungrily. I cupped Ripley and Theo through their jeans, while kissing into Colson’s neck. They stiffened in my hand, beneath the onslaught of my questing lips.
“It’s like making our own luck,” I sighed. “But sexier.”
The kissing continued, as did the touching, the groping, and everything else. Theo would have a mattress delivered, I knew. Along with a pizza, some wine, and a bunch of candles, so we could Christen this place properly, once the sun went down.
“I love you,” I told them giddily. “I love my gifts, I love this place, And I love us.”
I heard the sound of a zipper falling. Then two. Then three.
“You love this place, huh?” Ripley chuckled. “You haven’t even seen the house yet!”
As my hand slipped through the front opening of two different pairs of boxers, I felt flush all over.
“I will,” I sighed, happily.
“Right now though, I only need to see the bedroom.”