Epilogue
“Get naked,” I giggle with excitement.
Jake chuckles low as we both hurriedly tug and pull at our clothes. “I’m already halfway there.”
“Get nakeder, then.”
The air is warm even though the night has fallen, and the sand under our feet still bears the lingering heat of the sun. We navigate solely from the blue glow of the moon, which shines above the ocean, its distorted reflection stretched on the lazy surface. It seems there’s no one around for miles, and aside from a few nocturnal animals singing the song of their people and the waves rolling onto the beach, it’s perfectly silent.
We parked our rental about a hundred yards away and then rushed to where we are now, impatient to get this over with. We made sure this beach wasn’t popular enough to still have visitors so late in the day.
I kick my flip-flops off while I lower my shorts, and as I come back up perfectly naked, he pulls me into his solid embrace. When I sense that he’s going to lay me on the sand, I protest. “Jake, no! The comforter.”
He groans in disapproval but doesn’t complain, taking the thick blanket we prepared for this out of the bag. I help him, and in no time, we have created a little nest for us to carry on.
Jake doesn’t wait to lift me into his arms and lower me onto it, his haste making me squeal with a mix of enthusiasm and panic. I still haven’t recovered from being literally swept off my feet when he lowers onto me to press his lips at the base of my throat.
We’re still obsessed with one another, still loving sex together as much as when we first started.
Delighted sighs pour out of me as he lays pecks all over my skin, nipping the perky tips of my breasts when he encounters them, steadfast toward his destination. When, finally, his mouth settles over my intimacy, I entwine my fingers in his soft, dark hair and brace myself for what’s coming. Somehow, he’s gotten even better than he already was, and I’ll never get over how good it is to have his tongue flicking on my clit.
“Hmm, baby… Yes,” I moan, already sensing the shivers spreading under my skin. I arch my back and spread my knees wider.
We usually enjoy taking our time, but this is a special occasion. Since we’re both impatient to get it over with, there will be no delayed gratification or teasing. We’re going to fuck hard and fast—we’ll reconvene later for a softer round.
Still, I don’t expect it when he shoves two fingers inside me to assist the perfect pace and pressure of his tongue. The wet noises of them pumping in and out join the other ones, and I look down at his dashing face between my legs. His eyes are already on me as he eats me out, and despite the darkness, I can guess at their intensity. The pleasure steadily builds in my core, and even though the moment is nothing but carnal, a surge of tenderness takes over me.
I graze the side of his face and moan, “I love you so much. Oh, God!”
My head falls back when he curls his fingers, hitting my front wall right where it feels so damn good. The entirety of my body is as tense as a bow. I’m about to explode.
Until his tongue and fingers retreat at once.
The unexpected change leaves me disoriented and frustrated. “I was so close,” I whine with discontentment.
“I know. You started spasming.”
He doesn’t look sorry for me as he arranges his broad body on top of me. My legs spread wider to allow for his hips to meet mine, and with a hand between us, he aligns himself with my greedy entrance. I get no warning before he plunges into me, stretching me with his imposing girth and piercings.
“Ah, fuck,” he groans. “Best fucking cunt ever. I swear to God.”
Like a man on a mission, he doesn’t allow me any time to get used to it. He pulls back, the piercings dragging along my insides, and then rams into me. I’m as eager as he is, my hands gripping his round ass to invite him deeper, silently begging him to go harder. Even if the pace is rough, he remains loving in his own way.
“You feel so good,” I moan, seeking his lips.
We kiss in a messy way, with too much tongue and teeth to call it perfect, but neither of us cares. I don’t want him to slow the intense ramming of his dick inside me, so this will do.
He knows exactly what to do, and with every shove, the base of him slaps onto my clit. I won’t even need to send a hand between us to make myself come. He, however, might need a little help to get there as quickly as I will. Never breaking our kiss, I squeeze my intimate muscles around him and reach for his pierced nipple at the same time. When I twist it just as he likes, he lets out a rough, “Ah, fuck!”
My proud smile comes in the way of our kiss, so I pull away and admire the perfection of him instead. He looks so good in the moon’s glow, with his tattoos darkening his skin, the defined muscles of his arms protruding from the effort, his powerful shoulders bathed in dim blue light… This man is mine, for now and forever, and I’ll never get over my luck.
Out of all the women he could have had, he chose me. This gentle soul with the body of an inked Greek god, the mouth of a sailor, and the patience of a saint, chose me. And despite our differences, despite how far apart our worlds were when we met, we’re beyond perfect together.
“I love you,” I whimper, framing his face with my hands and pulling him down.
Because I’m getting dangerously close, I squeeze around him again, desirous to reach the finish line together. Which we do.
The merciless pace he settled on brings us to our climax in under three minutes. We shatter together with a roar and a helpless cry, trembling and arching in the dead of the night. His hips slam into mine in small but adamant punches, and I feel his pleasure shoot deep inside me. There’s so much of it that it starts pouring out from around the base of him before he’s even done.
I don’t understand why I love it so much when he comes inside me like this. Maybe it’s because I know that one day, he’ll put a child in me, and while it’s a little early for that, I look forward to it. It’s amusing that, eventually, something as dirty as the raw fuck we just had will lead to the most precious little being.
The bliss of my orgasm and the thought of our future together make me smile like an idiot. But it’s fine because he can’t see me with his face tucked in the curve of my neck. Only the stars and the moon witness my euphoria.
His weight on me slowly increases, but I don’t mind. That’s something I love too, sucking the life out of him. My worries that I might be boring in bed are long gone, and I have absolutely no doubt that I’m the best lay he’ll ever have.
“Fucking hell, that was fast,” he groans, pulling himself up.
He observes me for a few seconds, scanning my relaxed features in the darkness of the night, and then he gives me one last enamored kiss. I want to keep him on top of me, but we have one more thing to do before our mission is over. So, I let him pull out and roll to the side.
“Get my phone,” I demand, patting his chest lightly.
“Aye, aye.”
Jake fumbles in the bag for several seconds and then retrieves my phone from it. We settle together, plastered so close there isn’t a lick of space between our sweaty bodies, and he unlocks the screen himself.
“Can you believe it took us almost a year to get through your list?” he asks as he opens the browser.
“We took our time. And we did a lot more than what was on the list. Also, I was not having sex on a beach back home.”
“Could have done it right in front of your parents’ place in the Hamptons. Give them a private representation to show them why you chose me over them,” he jokes.
“Jacob, that is foul, even for you,” I retort with a laugh. I can feel my cheeks warming up at the mere thought of it, and for once, I’m glad he cannot see the blush. He’d think I secretly like the idea, which I do not.
Or at least, I don’t think I do.
“Okay, first question,” he very seriously starts. “Have you ever had the nastiest, naughtiest sex in your childhood bed as an adult?”
“We did the best we could on this one, so it counts as a ‘Yes,’” I say. He taps on the green checkmark, and we move on to the next question.
“Have you ever gone down on someone while pleasuring yourself?”
“Of course.”
“Have you ever had sex in a public place?”
“I don’t even want to count how many times because I might walk into a police station to surrender with a confession.”
We go over more questions, and to each one of them, I answer a resounding “Yes.” We allow ourselves one joker, which is when the threesome question comes. A few times now, I’ve taken both Jake and my vibrator simultaneously, so we decide it counts.
Then, the most important question arrives, and Jake beams as he reads it. “Have you ever tried a Jacob’s ladder or other genital piercings?”
“Hundreds of times.”
“Fuck yeah, you have.” Without even looking up at him, I know he’s smirking with pride.
I’m giddy with joy as we go over the rest, so incredibly proud of my progress in the eleven months I’ve known Jake. When he reads, “Have you ever had sex on a beach?” we high-five and check the “Yes” option again.
“Okay, are you ready for the result?” he asks once we’re done, barely containing his excitement.
I nod energetically, adjusting my position so we can read it together. He clicks on the last “Yes” and the result screen appears.
“Wow, you’re a ‘Yes’ person through and through, aren’t you?” Jake reads out loud. “You’re the ultimate go-with-the-flow master. You’ve got that can-do attitude that could conquer anything, even the quirkiest bedroom adventures. Your enthusiasm is unparalleled. You embrace every opportunity, and spontaneity is your middle name. You’ve probably turned mundane occasions into scandalously naughty moments. When it comes to life’s sexiest adventures, you’re the undisputed champion! There’s a lot you can teach to the rest of the world, so keep shining like a radiant ‘Yes’ beacon. We bow down to thee, you sex goddess!”
I’m smiling so hard that my cheeks hurt. “I’m a sex goddess,” I proudly say.
“You are. And I didn’t need a test to know that.”
“You’re biased because you love me.”
“Fair point, but I already felt that way before I fell in love with you.”
“What a clever man you are, wombat,” I amorously offer as a compromise before I lean in to kiss him.
He turns the phone’s screen off and tosses it somewhere on the blanket, and it’s just us and the stars again. I feel deliciously satiated, sensing our mixed pleasures between my legs as his hand grazes random swirls on my back. The sound of the waves mixes in with his heartbeat, and it lulls me into a state of pure contentment.
Ever since that day I went to him and asked for a tattoo, we’ve been basking in perfect harmony. The only arguments we’ve had were easily resolved with an open-hearted talk, some minor compromises, and makeup sex.
I’ve been true to my promise to him and haven’t spoken to Mother again, even when she tried to reach me a couple of times. Therapy has helped me tremendously since that day in NexaCorp’s café, and although I’m feeling more liberated than I ever have, I still insist on going every two weeks. It took a few tries, but I found my perfect match, and I owe a lot to my therapist. Going no-contact with Vivienne and Gerard has only been beneficial. I don’t miss them, unlike what I thought, and my life has been a lot smoother. It was like cutting off a cancerous limb, and the rest of me is now stronger and healthier.
“I’m so happy we got to take this trip, red,” Jake murmurs.
“Me too. And that we detoured to Japan to see the cherry blossoms. I can’t believe it’s your first time in Australia since you left.”
“I wasn’t ready yet.”
“I know, wombat, and I’m so proud of you for this. Your aunt is such a sweet woman and was so happy to welcome us into her home for a few nights. And your uncle has the best stories about your teenage years.”
“They did the best they could raising me despite having their own three kids. And even if I got out of line a few times, I’d say they’ve done a good job.”
“They did an excellent job. You’re a fantastic person, Jake. And Maggie’s pavlova? Gosh, I thought yours was good, but hers is… Ugh, we need to come back soon.”
“We will.”
“For your birthday in September.”
“Anything you want, sweetheart.”
For some seconds, there’s only the waves and his heart again, and I softly ask, “Are you ready for tomorrow?”
“Yes. I look forward to it.”
“Me too. I need to pay my respects and thank her for creating you. You said her favorite flowers were peonies, right?”
“Yes. She bought a bouquet whenever she could afford one, and the fragrance filled the house for days.”
“We’ll find a flower shop before we head to the cemetery, then. And if you’re okay with it, I’d love it if we could have a bouquet at home now and then—as an homage to her.”
He nods, smiling softly, and I snuggle closer to him. Part of me wishes this trip would last forever, but another is eager to return to New York. I’m in charge of our anniversary date, a week after we get home, and what I’ve planned is stellar.
First, we’ll have drinks at The Plaza Hotel’s bar, to pay tribute to the night we met. Then, I’ve booked the exact room we went up to that night, and I’ll have a little surprise there for him: a tattoo gun, as well as everything he might need to finally ink that six-step ladder I asked for all those months ago. I already know it’ll be amazing, so it’ll make up for having to leave this paradise in favor of the bustling city.
Also, since I finally managed to sell my apartment, I now have the funds to launch my own law firm, which is another thing I’m excited about. Since leaving NexaCorp, I’ve joined a small firm based in Brooklyn that primarily takes on pro bono cases. It’s been great to help out people in need of a good lawyer and get them justice. Instead of serving a big corporation, I now work for the people they abuse. I’ve gone from darkness to light, and my soul feels grander for it.
My life took an unexpected turn the day I drunkenly created that dating app profile, and I still struggle to realize how far I’ve come. The Gen I was a year ago wouldn’t recognize the one I’ve become. And sadly, she’d probably think this new version is the worse one of the two.
“Do you ever think of what would have happened if Eli didn’t find my profile on that app?” I wonder out of the blue.
“I do sometimes, yeah.”
“It makes me so sad that we almost never met. Can you imagine? A tiny difference in the algorithm and none of this would have happened. What a sad life it would have been.”
“No, you’re wrong there.”
My brows come together as I lift myself up to look him in the eye. “What do you mean?”
“We were destined to meet. This, right now, was always going to happen, regardless of whether Eli found you or not.”
“Like destiny? That’s very cheesy,” I say, doubtful.
“The evening at the gallery on Fifth,” he explains with a coy smile.
“What about it?”
“You were going. So was I. We would have met there, with or without Eli.”
It takes several seconds for me to register what he’s saying, and when I do, I’m still not as confident as he is. “There were a hundred people there, Jake. You probably wouldn’t have given me a second look.”
He shifts until we’re facing each other, lying on our sides. It’s insane that we’re buck naked on a random beach in Australia, but it figures. This man really can make me do anything.
With a tender hand, he rearranges a few strands of hair on the side of my face. “I would have noticed you because you’re the most stunning woman I’ve ever seen. I would have come to you to flirt in the way that gets your cheeks and the tips of your ears all rosy. You would have pretended to hate it because you’re a proper lady, and you would have rejected me, probably bruising my ego. But that, the very moment where you became unattainable, would have sealed the deal for me, red. I love a challenge, and I would have dedicated the rest of my evening to winning you over.”
I adore that he thought about this. Maybe our fortunate encounter wasn’t as random as I thought. Perhaps we were always meant to meet and become exactly who we are now. Together.
“Do you think I would have managed?” he asks, swallowing back a smirk because he already knows the answer.
“It probably would have taken you longer than it actually did, but yes. And even if I refused to give you my number, you would have asked Constance for it, right?”
“You know me too well, red.”
Our shared laugh comes to an end when we move in unison to kiss.
Of course, this was meant to be. This moment, on this very beach, about to make love with all the adoration and tenderness we hold, was bound to happen. Deep down, I believe him. We were always going to end up together because this is the life I’m meant to have. Without him, there would be no point in all this.
This man opened the world to me, all thanks to a surprising feature.
My favorite ladder ever.