Epilogue
EPILOGUE
THREE YEARS LATER
Mason
A gentle breeze ruffled my hair as soft rain pattered on the surface of the pool outside our secluded villa, dripping off the leaves of the lush tropical garden that surrounded us as the sky clouded overhead. We’d been told to expect a few rain showers, but given how hot it had been over the past few days, the rain was almost a relief. It certainly wasn’t cold.
It was late June and Ryan and I were taking advantage of the break between the end of last season and the start of preseason to go on a much-needed holiday. There’d been some debate about where to go, especially because I’d been happy to fork out and go somewhere expensive, and eventually we’d agreed on Phuket in Thailand. We’d found a luxury hotel there that offered private villas close to the beach that were complete with their own pools, sun loungers, jet pool, and a selection of incredible restaurants and in-villa dining experiences.
It meant we could have two weeks to ourselves enjoying the weather, the food, and each other’s company without having to worry about work or training or any of the other life things that came with being an adult.
Ryan had been a little put out when we’d first talked about our finances and what it would look like if we moved in together, because I’d never told him exactly how much I earned from the Knights. And it had been a lot more than he’d realised.
They’d been hurt that I’d hid it from them, and a bit surprised that I’d chosen to live in a slightly crappy shared rented house, even if it had allowed us to meet, and I could understand why. It wasn’t about the house or my spending, but more that I’d hidden it from him—not deliberately, and it was obvious Ryan didn’t feel entitled to my money—but I think he’d felt a bit out of the loop and had come down hard on himself for not realising that as a professional rugby union player, I made a fair amount. It had been more embarrassment than anger.
I’d explained that Jonny and I, and originally West, had all agreed from the start that we needed to save and invest our rugby salaries and bonuses wisely because we’d all known the money wouldn’t be around forever.
I knew I still had a few years of rugby left in me, but at twenty-nine I was starting to feel the years of hurt deep in my bones.
Ryan had understood, teased me about getting old, and we’d sat down and done the boring as fuck adult thing and worked out what our financial future looked like together. We’d been dating for about eight months by that point, but that was the moment I’d known for certain this relationship wasn’t like any other I’d been in. It had just cemented how much I loved Ry and how much I wanted us to be together forever.
With Ryan, things might not have always been easy, because life wasn’t easy, but they were worth any amount of struggle because my life was infinitely better and brighter with Ryan in it. Losing him would be like losing part of myself.
“You look very lost in thought,” Ryan said, walking up behind me and sliding his arms around my waist. He was shirtless and wearing a pair of loose lime green shorts. “Thinking about anything exciting?”
“Not really,” I said, turning slightly so I could lean down and kiss him. “Mostly just watching the rain.”
“Why is it I don’t mind it when it rains here, but when we’re at home, I hate it?”
“Probably the novelty. Or the fact it’s not cold and you’re not burying yourself under a million blankets while asking me to put the heating on.”
“You must just be built differently because I don’t see how you’re not cold when it’s ten degrees outside and you’re still wearing shorts.”
I shrugged and smiled. “Must be a rugby player thing.”
He hummed and kissed my shoulder, which usually meant he wanted to say something sarcastic and was refraining. Instead he said, “Do you want a snack? The hotel staff left us a platter of fruit and sweets. There’s more mango sticky rice too.”
“Ooh, yes, please.” I’d fallen in love with mango sticky rice in the past week and had already started looking up recipes so we could make it when we got home. It would be my reward for suffering through another year of preseason training.
Ryan went to fetch the platter of snacks and I pushed two loungers together so we could snuggle up and watch the rain, listening as it gently drummed on the villa roof. When Ryan came back, he also had the small box for Star Realms in his hand—which was a fun two-person card game where you had to build a deck of powerful spaceships and bases. “Want to play?”
“Sure,” I said, sitting down on the lounger and picking up a thick slice of mango as I watched Ryan set the cards out. He was sat cross-legged opposite me, his shorts riding up his thighs and soft belly hanging over his waistband. His toenails were painted a bright tropical orange that was just starting to chip from hours and hours on the beach, and his skin had darkened from time in the sun. I still didn’t think I’d ever be over how beautiful he was. It was why I’d insisted on taking a million photos together so I could always look back and see how fucking lucky I was. “I know you’re gonna kick my ass again, though.”
“You’ll get better.”
I smiled at him. “You’re very sweet. I appreciate your belief in me.”
He leant across and kissed me before picking up one of the tapioca coconut mini cookies. “You’re welcome. ”
Outside, the rain kept falling but that didn’t stop us from sitting where we were, playing Star Realms and eating sweets. It almost felt like we were the only two people in the world, and I was determined to live in the moment for as long as possible.
“You know, I’ve been thinking,” Ryan said as they looked down at their hand, the tiniest smile curling the corner of their lips. It was the smile that said I was about to get my butt handed to me. “I know it’s only June, but maybe for Christmas or New Year this year we should go away for a couple of days. Just the two of us.”
“That’d be nice,” I said as I played a couple of cards and picked up a new base. “Might not be for very long with my rugby schedule, but it’d be fun. Do you think your family will mind?”
“Maybe, but they’ll also have my sister’s baby to coo over, so I’m not too worried. Besides, if we’re not there, then they can’t curse us out for sending the most annoying, noisy toy ever as a present.”
A rumbling laugh shook through me. “You like causing trouble, don’t you?”
“Says the man who sent his niece a drum kit for her birthday!”
“She requested it! What was I supposed to do?”
“At least she didn’t ask for a pony, I guess.”
“Oh, she did. The drum kit was a compromise because I knew I’d never be forgiven if I got her a pony.”
Ryan chuckled softly. “You’re such a soft touch. It’s adorable.”
“Is that another way of saying I’m a pushover?” I asked as I watched him studying his cards, a little frown appearing and wrinkling the top of his nose. Maybe another ass-kicking wasn’t heading my way.
“Yes, but I’m not going to say that because I totally benefit from it.”
“That’s because you are too gorgeous to resist and I will always fall on my knees for you,” I said, sliding closer towards him so I could reach out and cradle his jaw, my other hand dropping my cards as I put my hand on his thigh, sliding it under his shorts. Ryan groaned, his cards falling from his fingers as he closed the gap between us and crawled into my lap.
His mouth met mine in a series of deep kisses that felt almost endless. Ryan reached for the hem of the loose vest top I’d thrown on earlier and quickly pulled it over my head, dropping it onto the floor as his hands roamed over my body. They whispered soft words in my ear as my fingers trailed across their skin, running down to his ass and cupping it.
We never stopped kissing as we made love on the loungers, the sound of our panting breath and needy moans mixing with the drumming of the rain on the roof and the droplets splashing on the surface of the pool. Ryan’s face was the picture of perfection and I’d never get over how fucking sexy he sounded when he came.
It had been nearly three years since we’d started our hook-up arrangement and every day I was grateful that I’d not had the sense or awareness to run away after I’d opened the door, because if I had then I wouldn’t be here lying naked on a lounger with the love of my life, both of us blissed out and covered in sweat and cum.
It was funny how things worked out.
“I was thinking,” Ryan said, looking up at me from where he was draped across my chest, his leg thrown over mine. “How do you feel about cats?”
“Cats? They’re cute. Why?”
“How do you fancy getting one? It could be my little desk buddy while I work. And it doesn’t have to be a kitten. I’m totally down for getting a rescue. But I do think we need a little fluffy baby in our family.”
“I think we do too,” I said. “We can look as soon as we get home.”
“Perfect.” He sighed happily. “Look how organised we are today—we’ve sorted our Christmas plans, fucked, and decided to get a cat. Maybe we should go on holiday more often.”
“That would be nice. Then I’d get to see you wandering around in shorts more often too, which is always a bonus.”
“Unless you want to start doing winter holidays, which is already a no from me, so I don’t know why I’m mentioning it.”
I chuckled. “I think Clive would have my head if I went skiing during the season.” The risk of my breaking something was too great and I had a sneaking feeling there was a clause in our contracts that prevented us from engaging in high-risk activities like winter sports, skydiving, riding motorbikes, and things like that because my job hinged on me having a working body and only the club were allowed to put me in harm’s way .
“Good thing I hate the cold then,” Ryan said, kissing my chest.
We lay there for a moment enjoying the peace and the feeling of our bodies pressed together. My heart was full and everything was perfect. But suddenly, I found a question forming on my tongue. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“How do you feel about getting married?”
Ryan froze, their eyes turning to me as a bright smile of disbelief split their face. “I’m… definitely not against it. Why?”
I smiled, my arm holding them against me. “Would you like to get married, Ry?”
“Are you asking me?”
“Yeah, I am,” I said softly, my heart racing despite the fact that both of us were smiling. “Will you marry me, Ry?”
“Yes,” Ryan said. “Fucking yes, I will.”
He surged up, his mouth finding mine in a kiss that made fireworks explode under my skin. A feeling of unbridled happiness flooded me as the force of the realisation hit me that Ryan and I would get our forever.
Outside, the sky was starting to clear but the two of us barely noticed.
We were too busy celebrating.
The End