Epilogue
SIX MONTHS LATER
A settling calm blanketed the campus, the sun not yet crowning on the horizon but expected at this time of the morning. The birds started to rouse from their nests as Crew pulled me through the trees, my feet sluggishly dragging. “Why did you wake me up before the crack of dawn again?” I sleepily grumbled.
Our fingers laced, and his grip remained firm. “You’ll see. Besides, you were the one who woke me up.” A hint of a smile teased his lips.
I’d woken him up, and I didn’t regret it for a single second. How could I when my body still hummed with the aftereffects of making love? “I didn’t hear you complaining.”
“When was the last time you watched the sun come up?” he asked.
Little drops of dew clung to the grass, dampening my shoes. “On my way home from work, I’m sure.”
“Then you’re overdue.”
I glanced sideways at him. He always seemed more at home with the shadows, more gorgeous if possible. A glimmer of something shone in his eyes, and I narrowed my gaze. “What are you up to? You’re acting weird.”
“Just keep moving. We’re almost there. ”
“And where is here?” I moaned, suppressing a yawn.
“That would spoil the surprise,” he insisted with an expression that said he was enjoying this.
We hiked to the outskirts of campus, and my calves protested with each step, but I kept going because this seemed important to Crew for reasons that escaped me. “You know how I feel about surprises.”
“Pretty much how you feel about everything,” the smartass replied.
I elbowed him in the side. “Not you.”
He snaked an arm around my waist, hauling me against his side. “No, but damn did you make me work for it.”
I snuggled my head into his shoulder, wondering if I should ask him to carry me the rest of the way.
“Just up this hill.”
My head snapped up. “You never mentioned anything about a hill.”
“You think the best view of the sunrise can be seen on flat land?”
I groaned. “I think the best view is in my bed.”
He stopped, turning slightly as he offered me his back, crouching down. “Come on, hop on.”
“Gladly,” I sighed, all but tossing myself onto his back. The muscles underneath me flexed as he adjusted my weight and straightened. I secured my arms around his neck.
We reached the top much faster than if I would have walked. Lifting my head, I took in the view stretched out below us of the valley. Outside of campus, towering pines and cypresses climbed to the clouds.
Setting me on my feet, Crew sat on the ground, pulling me down in front of him between his legs. I rested my back on his chest. We had a few minutes before the sun started to make its ascent.
I took a deep inhale of the earthy, clean air. As the semester drew to an end, there was one thing weighing heavily on Crew’s mind, and I couldn’t help but wonder if it was one of the reasons we were out here, for him to reflect or find a moment of peace.
“Are you thinking about your brother?” I quietly asked.
“I wasn’t, but I am now.”
I twisted in his arms to see his face. “Do you think he is going to marry her? ”
Sadness entered his features. “He seems like he’s accepted it.”
Meaning Cole wasn’t himself. I hated to agree with Crew, but the twinkle of mischief always in Cole’s eyes had been snuffed out. He wasn’t the same guy.
“We can’t let him marry someone he doesn’t love.”
“We can’t stop him either, Killer.”
“Like hell.”
He smirked at the tenacity and passion in my voice. Taking no for an answer wasn’t in my DNA.
“There has to be a way to make your father see reason.” We still hadn’t told any of his family besides Cole about our relationship. He was our only supporter other than Frankie, and honestly, I wasn’t ready to pop the little bubble Crew and I made together. Here at school, there were no secrets or lies between us.
I didn’t know what would happen when the semester ended and summer began, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried. Beyond the walls of Whitley, a different world waited for us, but unlike last summer, I trusted Crew.
He was no longer the asshole next door.
He was still an asshole. But he was mine.
Beams of sunlight streaked through the trees, highlighting the forest in a golden glow. Crew gazed out into the sunrise, but I watched him, unable to pull my eyes away.
“You’re missing the whole purpose of coming up here,” he said, sensing my attention.
I shook my head, falling a little more in love with him if that was possible. “My view is perfect.” But I finally pulled my focus from Crew. Looking at him didn’t have the same humbling feeling as seeing the sun crest over the ocean, but he was beautiful nonetheless and managed to steal my breath. “It’s stunning.”
“I wanted you to feel the way I do every time I look at you.”
I’d been complimented before but never like this. Never in a way where it mattered so deeply. His words touched my soul. I thought I might cry, and I wasn’t the type who shed a tear or got mushy over romantic shit .
“We started this thing with a fake engagement, and I never thought I would take marriage seriously for years, but that summer with you changed me.” He brushed at strands of hair the wind had whipped free from my haphazard messy bun, tucking them behind my ear. “I know how much you hate wearing dresses, but would you wear a white dress for me? Just once,” he murmured near my ear.
I lost the will to breathe for a heartbeat before turning in his arms. “What are you saying?” This panic flutter started beating in my chest, and I couldn’t figure out if it was a good or bad thing.
He took my hand, his eyes flicking down to my fingers as he brushed his thumb over my ring finger, making my heart skip. His gaze lifted back to mine, and a streak of sunlight hit his eyes. “Marry me, Killer.”
Holy. Shit. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about this moment. Even before Crew came into my life, I’d dreamed of a guy dropping to one knee and popping the question. This seemed somehow infinitely dreamier than anything I could have imagined…and yet also unreal. “You want to marry me? We’re still in college.”
“Not right this second, but after you graduate.” Crew was a year ahead of me and would graduate this month. I still had another year, if not two more if I could swing the cost and workload.
Not for a single second had I thought this day would begin with me on top of a hill, watching the sunrise as Crew asked me to be his wife.
My immediate answer was yes, but my mind was trying to tell me to be rational, to give it some thought . Fuck it. I was tired of listening to the reasonable side of my brain. It was time for my heart to take over. “I don’t want to wait.”
“What?” Now it was his turn to be surprised.
I smiled. “I don’t want to wait a year or more to marry you, Crew. And I don’t want a splashy, big wedding. Take me to Vegas or the courthouse. I don’t care where. I just want you.”
“Is that a yes?”
My body sparked with love, warmth, and giddiness, swirling the stars inside me. I nodded. “Yes, as long as you don’t buy me a gaudy ring and we can elope.”
Streaks of amber and gold highlighted the side of his face from the rising sun. “Beauty can pierce the heart, Killer. Yours pierced mine.” His lips lowered to my mouth, and I kissed him back, wrapping my arms tight around his neck.
He wasn’t the only one who planned to never let go.
THE END