Epilogue.
“Congratulations again, you two!” Zee squeals as we walk back to the parking garage. “Y’all make a beautiful family.”
“Thank you,” Adrian laughs as she holds Drew’s hand, watching as their son, Ezra, runs ahead with Serenity and our son, Kerian. “It still feels so surreal that he’s now officially our baby boy.” She glances at Drew. “Thank you for creating this beautiful family with me.”
“No, I’m the one who should be thanking you,” she replied with so much love and adoration in her eyes. “You came back into my life all those years ago and flipped it upside down. Thank you for that.”
“Mm, I know another way you can thank me tonight,” she flirts.
“Okay, y’all freaky frogs,” Drew’s good friend Callie cuts in, laughing as she waved her hand. “Save the pillow talk for when you get home. Y’all promised me a meal after court, so let’s get into that first.”
We all shared a laugh as we finally made it to the parking garage.
We said our goodbyes at the entrance with the promise to meet back up at Drew and Adrian’s place for brunch.
Kerian begged to ride with them so he could be with his best friend, Ezzy.
We agreed because how could we say no to those two cuties?
Ever since Ezra had come into Drew and Adrian's life last year, he and Kerian had become thick as thieves, and it was a total mirror of how close Zee and I had become with Drew and Adrian. Ever since that first Thanksgiving we spent together after reconnecting, we’ve kept in touch, and our friendship has only grown.
We went from ex-roommates who had lost touch to friends who talked every other day and even went on family vacations together.
We had each other's backs and gave advice when the others needed it. Like that time we suggested they look into adoption, like we did, after they were gutted when they learned that Drew couldn’t conceive.
I think that might be why Kerian and Ezzy had such a strong bond.
Even though they didn’t fully understand the concept of adoption yet, they both knew that it was something they had in common, and they liked to say that they were both twins because they got forever families at the same age. It was actually very sweet.
As we drove toward Drew and Adrian’s place, I thought about all the other ways our lives had changed over the years.
Business at the orchard was thriving and doing better than ever.
Although we’d had to expand production on a few of the products we made, mainly the soaps and body scrubs that I created.
The online shop was receiving hundreds of orders daily, followed closely by the ones we received at the physical store we’d opened in the city.
I felt so accomplished, especially because it was one of the first major things I greenlit after taking over as owner two years ago.
Of course, my parents still helped from time to time, but they were both enjoying their retirement.
And the less time they spent at work, the more time they got to spend with their grandchildren.
Speaking of which, they have four grandchildren so far.
Two from Jakayla and me, and two from Morgan and Cassie.
So, it was never quiet around the Collins household, and I think they loved it that way.
It also helped that they could go over there whenever, thanks to us all living within walking distance of each other.
Not even a week after Zee and I got engaged, we eloped, and once she finished the school year off, we moved fully into the house at the orchard.
We decided that we wanted to be closer to family, and after her dad passed earlier that year, we felt better about our decision.
It sucked that he never got a chance to meet Kerian, but we knew that he was watching over us and smiling at the knowledge that we’d expanded our family and were happy.
I think one of the only other major heartbreaks we had after moving to Thibodaux was the fact that Zee had to quit her favorite job in the world.
She was bummed for a bit, but when she received a call from a local private school recommending her for an elementary school music teacher position, she was ecstatic and agreed to interview without hesitation.
Now, years later, she was happily living out her dream once again, even being voted teacher of the year for the last two years. Also, it was a plus that Kerian and Serenity could attend school there for free. They loved it just as much as she did.
“Diara just texted me and said that they were on the way to the house as well,” Zseyah informed me, and I nodded.
She sighed contentedly. “You know, every time I think about how things turned out between all of us, I feel so damn happy. Who would’ve thought that when we said goodbye nine years ago, we’d find our way back into each other’s lives?
Hell, I didn’t think that we’d ever see those four again. ”
“But you hoped, right?” I asked, glancing over at her before glancing back at the road.
“Yeah,” she replied. “I know we all had our ups and downs while we were living under the same roof, but there were times when we were like one big family. Those are the times that I missed the most.”
“Same,” I nod. “Isn’t it wild, though, that we all ended up coupling up and falling in love? Six women under one roof, and we all happened to find our soulmates.”
“Truly,” she chuckles. “But Drew and Adrian were always so obvious. I knew from the first day Drew walked in that they were going to fall in love. The most surprising was Diara and Savannah.”
I nodded as I turned onto the street that led to Drew and Adrian’s house.
Of all the roommates, those two being together had caught us all off guard.
There were never any feelings that we picked up on, unlike the rest of us.
To us, they just seemed like good friends who had the same taste in men.
Hell, Savannah always made it known that she was straight when we lived together.
Granted, she admitted a few years ago that she was just denying her attraction to women because she feared coming out.
But still, we never expected them to pop back into our lives as a couple.
I loved that for them, though. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that those two were meant to be together.
Whenever they came around, the love they shared mirrored the love I had for Zee, the love Adrian had for Drew.
It was beautiful to see, and I couldn’t help but be happy for all six of us.
We were living the lives we wanted and creating a beautiful future for our kids along the way.
When we finally make it through the gate and down the long driveway to the large mansion at the end, we get out and join the others. Serenity runs to greet Diara and Savannah’s daughter, June. Much like Kerian and Ezra, these two were best friends, and it warmed my heart to see.
We headed inside and were served the most amazing meal by the kitchen staff there.
After lunch, the kids went off to play as the adults settled in the den, sipping on drinks and catching up with one another.
I could tell that Drew and Adrian had news they wanted to share by how fidgety they were the whole time.
They kept sharing glances and whispering to one another.
“Okay, spill,” I say after ten minutes of waiting for them to silently debate about something. They looked up at me, and I shook my head. “I can tell that you two want to share something with us but are debating.”
“Damn, are we that obvious?” Adrian laughed, and I nodded. “Okay, Okay.” She glances at Drew with a smile. “Baby, would you like to do the honors?”
“Sure,” she smiled back, leaning in to kiss her. She stood, and we all focused on her. “We wanted to wait a little while to reveal this, but we decided that today would be perfect.” She pauses, takes a deep breath, and then says. “We’re pregnant!”
“And I’m carrying!” Adrian added, a proud smile on her face.
“Oh my god, congratulations!”
We all hopped up to hug and congratulate them enthusiastically, and they thanked us with proud smiles.
We were so excited for them, especially knowing how hard they’d been trying to get to this point.
And the fact that Adrian had stepped up to carry the baby when she realized that she could was more than admirable. It was a beautiful testament of love.
We stayed there for a few more hours and even had dinner together. When the sun had finally started to set, we all said our goodbyes and headed home. The kids were knocked out by the time we got back to our house, so of course, we had to carry them inside.
Once they were tucked in, Zee and I retired to our room. A quick shower and night routine later, we were cuddled up together, watching one of our favorite cooking competition shows.
“Today was such a great day,” she sighed, and I nodded, hugging her closer. “Ezzy got his forever home, and he’ll be getting a sibling soon? Ahh, I can’t wait to be an auntie again!”
“You’re going to spoil the hell out of that baby, aren’t you?” I tease. She looks up at me with that gorgeous smile that made me fall in love all of those years ago. I kiss her softly. “Yeah, I know you, love. It’s okay. Your heart is what makes you so lovely.”
“Aww, you love meee,” she says in a singsongy tone, and I tickle her until she falls out in a fit of laughter so bright and lovely that my heart soared. God, this woman was perfect. “Stoppp, Kay. You’re gonna make me pee!”
“And I wouldn’t love you any less,” I smirk, finally letting up. She turns until she’s facing me fully, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip. I chuckle, shaking my head as I prop myself up on my elbow. “You’re so pretty, you know that, right?”
“I know that you’re obsessed with me,” she retorts, propping herself up as well.
“Damn straight,” I nod, using my free hand to wrap around her. She moans as my hand moves down to grip her ass. “And imma continue to be obsessed even after we’re gone from this earth. Believe that.”
“Mm, I like the sound of that,” she nods, cupping my face with her free hand. She pulls me in, and we kiss. It’s sweet at first, but quickly becomes intense until she’s on her back, and I’m hovering over her. “Suddenly I’m not that tired.”
“Neither am I,” I reply before sucking on her neck lightly. I move up to her ear and whisper, “You know all you have to do is say it. Use your words.”
“I want you to make love to me, nice and slow,” she moans. “All night long.”
“With pleasure, beloved.”
And that we did. I catered to her body, gifting her release after release until we were both satisfied.
I’d never tire of being able to give her the love she deserves and receive back just as much in return.
And as I held her while she dozed off in my arms, I smiled at the fact that I’ll always get to have this.
Having love like this was what life was all about.
We might have our ups and downs now and then, but at the end of the day, we had each other, and that’s all that mattered.
The End.