Epilogue #2
So he answered with, “We do not have enough time for that conversation, nor are you old enough to hear it.”
“Good enough for me,” Elle reasoned, flashing him a smile that he matched just before Rose opened Josie’s door and she climbed in.
“They had the grape flavor for you!” Josie handed over the bottle of grape Gatorade with a smile.
“Lucky grape,” Elle said with a smile. “Thanks for finding it.”
“What’s ‘lucky grape’?” Kirin asked as Rose climbed into her seat beside him.
“Elle is superstitious.”
“Careful,” Elle corrected from the back seat. “Not superstitious.”
“Like I said, superstitious,” Rose said as she buckled her seat belt and snapped her fingers at Josie. “Buckle up, girly.”
Kirin adjusted the mirror, watching as Josie buckled and then set the mirror back to where it needed to be as he started the Jeep and backed out of the spot.
With the mysterious pre-performance superstition completed, they headed to the high school where Elle was performing her solo for the fall theatre showcase.
“Elle was sick during her first showcase in middle school, so Mom and Josie stopped at the grocery store to get her a Gatorade before her performance while she sat in the car and tried not to throw up.” In the corner of his eye he saw Rose grin as he pulled onto the road, her pride in her sister evident before she continued.
“She rocked it, like we all knew she would, but now, before every performance, Josie goes in and picks a Gatorade for her.”
“And the grape?” Kirin asked as they waited at the stoplight.
“You’re going to turn left at the next light,” Rose whispered, pointing ahead of them.
“It’s her favorite flavor, but sometimes we have to get the blue one because they’re out,” Josie piped up, grinning like she’d answered the last question on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.
“But grape is a good sign?” he asked as he turned down the road for the high school, following Rose’s near-silent directions.
Josie nodded. “It has that grape power.”
Kirin nodded like it made all the sense in the world, earning a quiet laugh from Rose. “The parking lot is just down here on the left.”
“Did you go to this high school?” he asked as they swung into the parking lot.
“Yep.” She pointed toward the left, where there was an enormous building at the back of the school. “You’ll want to pull up outside the performing arts center so Elle can jump out and start her warm-ups.”
“You do not want her doing it in the car,” Josie added, then looked at the gym as they drove past. “Rose’s photo is in the gym along with the three trophies she won.”
“The team won those,” Rose corrected, her cheeks heating.
“Top scorer for three years in a row and three state championships probably makes them yours more than anyone’s,” Elle said as she unbuckled. “I’m going to be in the cabinet in the theatre before I graduate. That just leaves Josie to complete the trio.”
“Maybe I’ll be in both,” Josie challenged, and Kirin smirked. “You two will be off living your old people’s lives by then, anyway.”
“Hey!” Rose objected, followed by, “Josephine!” from Elle as Kirin stopped outside the theatre and she climbed out of the Jeep.
“Just sayin’.” Josie shrugged, that grin back in place, and he laughed.
“Go find Mom and Dad.” Rose ushered her youngest sister out of the Jeep.
Josie climbed across the back seat and ran after Elle, trailing after her through the front doors of the high school theatre and disappearing when they closed behind them.
“Oh my God, she is your Evan,” Kirin laughed, still cackling to himself when he swung around the parking lot and into a spot.
“I told you.” Rose was unbuckling when he moved the gearshift into park, and he closed a hand over the back of hers. It brought her gaze back to his; her brows rose. “What?”
“Thanks for letting me tag along on this trip,” he said, lifting his hand up and cupping her face. She leaned into the touch, her eyes closing as he brushed his thumb over her cheekbone.
“Thanks for coming. I think we both needed a break.”
“You’ve been doing great. I know you try to act like nothing is wrong, but it’s been a lot, and you should know you’re handling it like a pro,” he said with a soft grin. “I’m proud of you.”
“Thank you. I feel like it’s going to get worse.” She gave him a small, sad-tinged smile, her cheeks pink.
“If it does, we will deal with it.” He sighed. Their love had grown stronger navigating this turbulence, but it hadn’t made it simple.
There were moments of tension—arguments over whether to respond to media inquiries, frustrations when she pushed him away for her own safety—but those moments always found their way back to trust, to care, to being present for each other.
His concerns were for the next year, when he was gone—living a new, stressful life in the professional league. He wouldn’t be physically there for her how he wanted. “Next year might be harder. Depends where I get drafted.”
“I know, but we can figure it out together.” She let out a long breath, her shoulders relaxing.
They were both trying to take it one day at a time.
She was better at reminding him to keep that mindset, just like he was better at distracting her when she got too in her head.
And unsurprisingly, Rose nudged him back into the present by changing the topic.
“Thanks for not running when Dad crushed your hand. That was so embarrassing, but it’s not like he can tower over you to intimidate you. ”
He let out a quick laugh, shaking his head. She was right, Daniel Aldrich-St. James was the second shortest in his house, and would undoubtedly be the shortest by this next summer at the latest.
“He doesn’t need to intimidate me by towering over me or shaking my hand tight enough to crush my bones, trust me.” Kirin leaned over the console. “I’m plenty intimidated. He’s a big presence in your heart, and I want to be in there too.”
“You are. You know that.” She leaned over the console to meet him, her voice lowering as she brushed her lips along the shell of his ear. “But you’re the only one I call Daddy these days.”
Kirin laughed. He wrapped a hand around her neck, and she leaned into him, allowing him to press his lips against hers.
Rose’s fingers slid into the hair at the nape of his neck and curled until she had a solid grip on his head.
She tilted to deepen their kiss. His blood heated when she licked over the seam of his lips, melting him from the inside out as he opened to her, enjoying the wet glide of her tongue against his.
It didn’t matter how much time he spent with her or how often he felt this woman tugging on his hair and kissing him with all she had; he always wanted more. He fell a little deeper in love with her with every smile, kiss, and quip.
When they came up for air, their kissing slowed from the fevered rush they seemed to fall into, Kirin pressed his forehead against hers, staring at her swollen lips.
Her shoulders relaxed, her lips curling. “I love you,” she whispered.
“I love you too,” he breathed, pressing his lips to hers.
This kiss was slow, exploratory, letting Rose set the pace.
His hands traced the line of her back, her confidence in their embrace fueling his own.
Each touch, each glide of lips and tongue, pulled them closer, cementing a connection that had survived chaos, fear, and distrust. Proving that whatever came next, they’d face together—no more running, no more doubt—and create a future that belonged wholly to them.
The End