Epilogue

EPILOGUE

BEAN

One Year Later

“Happy birthday to you!”

Somewhere along the way, we’d gotten horribly off-key in serenading Nash a happy birthday, but it didn’t matter. It was the thought that counted, right?

We were celebrating on the beach since it was a perfect day to catch some waves, and later on, we were planning a bonfire. We had soft drinks and plenty of food, marshmallows to roast later on, blankets to sit on, and Heath had brought surfboards.

“Thank you all,” Nash said, looking around the circle of people gathered. “I appreciate you all coming here.”

“Where else would we be?” Creek joked, uncomfortable with emotional situations, as usual.

Heath elbowed him. “Hush, Sergeant Grumpy.”

“Sergeant Grumpy?” Dayton quirked an eyebrow. “What’s that about?”

Tameron signed something to him that went too fast for me to understand. For some reason, he didn’t like Dayton—yes, the same Dayton Jarek had met when I’d had my seizure.

Dayton signed back at him, though at a much calmer pace. His parents were Deaf, he’d told us, and ASL was his first language—unlike Tameron, who was still learning.Maybe that was why he resented Dayton? Or was it because Dayton had been invited to this party and was now part of Nash’s admittedly close circle of friends?

Nash had surprised us all with the announcement that he’d decided to become an EMT, and that was where he’d met Dayton. They’d hit it off instantly and had grown close. I was happy to see Nash find friendships outside of our little circle—Jarek and Nash still hung out regularly together as well—but it seemed Tameron wasn’t always too happy with it.

Well, as my therapist would say, that sounded like a him problem and not something I needed to worry about. I had enough on my mind, no pun intended.

“Are you gonna give surfing another try?” I asked Jarek after Nash’s speech was done.

He made a face. “Because you think that somehow, I will now magically learn to do what I haven’t been able to the previous ten times I tried?”

I shrugged. “You always tell me it’s about the journey, not the destination.”

“Out of all the things I’ve told you, your brain chose to remember that one?”

I loved that he now felt confident enough to tease me from time to time. Never in a mean way, never truly making fun of me, but enough to help me put things in perspective and have a good laugh together every now and then.

“You also tell me that if at first you don’t succeed, try again. And something about missing one hundred percent of the shots you don’t take?”

He groaned. “Every cliché rolled into one. Great. Your mind needs a better selection process.”

I leaned into him and kissed him softly. “I’ve never forgotten your name again…”

His expression softened. “No, you haven’t…and I’m grateful every day that you keep choosing me, even when you can’t remember all the details.”

I shrugged, then put my head on his shoulder. “You make me feel loved and safe. I will never forget that.”

He kissed the top of my head, and we sat like that for a while, existing in our own little cocoon of happiness.

If there was an award for the World’s Most Patient Boyfriend, Jarek totally deserved to win. Here we were, a full year after getting together, and he was still patiently waiting for me to fully move in with him. Oh, I spent most of my time at his house, but I hadn’t officially moved out of Nash’s house yet. I couldn’t.

I could say that I wasn’t ready yet, and on some level, that might be true, but more importantly, Nash wasn’t ready. I’d found notes that he’d told me about needing us, needing to feel useful and like he was making a difference, and every time I got a new notebook, I copied that page first. That was something I didn’t want to forget.

I owed Nash everything, and I was not moving out until he told me I could. He might be doing better now that he’d found new friends, but something told me he wasn’t ready to let go of us just yet. And until he was, I wasn’t going anywhere.

At first, I hadn’t wanted to tell Jarek, feeling it was breaking Nash’s confidence, but he deserved to know the truth. The last thing I wanted was for him to think my hesitation to officially move in had anything to do with him. It didn’t. He was the World’s Most Patient and Most Amazing Boyfriend, period.

Jarek was everything I’d ever wanted, and I was living my happily ever after. My parents still didn’t know, but I rarely talked to them anymore…and with help from my therapist, I’d come to terms with that. I’d probably tell them about Jarek sometime, and that would be the end of our relationship. And honestly, I wouldn’t even be sad about it.

I chose Jarek. And someday soon, Jarek would become the World’s Most Patient and Most Amazing Husband. He thought I had forgotten he’d told me he wanted to marry me, but I hadn’t. I had written it down, and every morning, I read it again, just like I read the list he’d made me almost a year ago with all the reasons he loved me. Not that I didn’t know it by heart right now, but it never hurt to remind myself.

He was my everything.

He was my beloved.

Once upon a time, there was a cute young man who worked as a cook in a bar. His name was Bean…and he lived happily ever after .

Thank you for reading!

Looking for more about this amazing group of men? Next up, we have Tameron’s story, and you can preorder his book now. Tameron will release in the spring of 2025!