28. Bonus Epilogue

Bonus Epilogue

Ronan

F ive Years Later

The last bell of the day rings, dismissing the students from my class.

"See ya later, Mr. James-Carson!" Avery yells as she hurries out the door.

"Bye all. Have a good weekend," I say as student after student files out the door.

Once the classroom is completely empty, I shut the door, then walk over and slump down in my chair at my desk. Running my hands through my hair, I sigh loudly, closing my eyes. Teaching high schoolers is fucking hard, but so rewarding. I may be mentally exhausted at the end of the day, but watching their eyes light up when they learn something new or realize they can do something makes the stress worth it.

My phone vibrates on the surface next to me, a smile overtaking my face immediately. Opening up the text thread, butterflies flutter in my stomach at Oliver's text.

Oliver: It's Friday, you know what that means. wink emoji

I know exactly what it means.

Date night.

Oliver and I have made sure to have a weekly date night since we first moved in together. It was one of the things he brought up to make sure we kept dating each other. Sometimes we stay at home cooking dinner together or there are rare times when we go out to a restaurant and eat. But tonight we're doing my favorite thing and I can't wait to rush home.

Ronan: Date night!

Oliver: Hurry home and I'll make sure the bath is ready and waiting.

Fuck. He doesn't have to tell me twice. I quickly shove my papers into my backpack, even though I know I won't do any grading over the weekend. Grabbing my jacket off the back of my chair, I throw it over my arm, snatch up my backpack, and rush out of the school building.

In no time at all, I'm pulling into our driveway. While our house isn't the biggest, it's ours and I love it. It's a one-story, white brick, ranch-style house. The roof and window shutters are black, which I love. Oliver wasn't too keen on my choices, but once he saw the finished product, he fell in love with it, just as I did.

I walk up to the door, admiring the small garden off to the side. One summer, Oliver started gardening when we were off work, and he's had a green thumb ever since. Smiling, I shake my head, knowing he's going to replant and find new flowers once summer starts in a couple weeks.

Tossing my shoes to the side, I hang up my jacket and put my backpack down before running down the hall. I skid to a stop when Oliver struts out of the room, completely naked.

"Damn." I whistle, eyeing him up and down. "What a way to come home. So fucking gorgeous, Freckles."

Oliver chuckles, the bright red blush covering his cheeks. "Come on, let's get in the bath."

I follow him into the bathroom where the bath is ready to go. Since we take so many baths, we invested in getting a jacuzzi tub that includes water jets. The jets feel amazing.

Everywhere .

I quickly undress then step into the water, lying back against the cool ceramic. Oliver tosses his favorite vanilla bath bomb into the tub before getting in with me. He lays in front of me, his back to my front. His body instantly relaxes the second our skin touches.

"How was your day?" I ask, grabbing some body wash and scrubbing him with it.

"Good. We've been reviewing for the upcoming finals. What about yours? Has the senioritis kicked in yet?"

His body jerks with mine as I laugh. "Oh, hell yes. They are ready to be done with school, and I can't blame them."

We lay in the tub a little bit longer until our skin is pruney and wrinkly. Once the water runs cold for the second time, we both get up and dry off, getting dressed before heading to the kitchen.

"What should we make for dinner?" I ask, leaning against the counter.

"Are you in the mood for something specific?" he asks, walking toward me to reach the pantry.

Grabbing him around the waist, I pull his body to me. I softly run my nose up the side of his neck, closing my eyes when his body trembles under my touch. Years together and he still shivers from my hands on him.

"Just you."

He playfully swats at me before pushing off and walking backwards.

Wagging his finger he says, "Nuh uh. Not yet. Date first."

Tossing my head back, I groan, knowing he's right. "Fine. What's on the agenda tonight?"

"I figured we can make some dinner together and watch a movie after."

"No," I tell him, already knowing what he's going to say we watch.

"Yes."

"We always watch those."

"Duh. Because they're classics. That's why. Plus, I thought we could make steak for dinner. Which means you'll get your favorite and I'll get my favorite."

"Fine."

We work side-by-side cooking dinner. I sear the steaks while he works on the potatoes and vegetables for the sides. While neither of us are the greatest cooks, we have learned a few things over the years from Asher. Speaking of…

"Asher and Noah invited us over to their place next weekend. Noah wants to do a surprise birthday party for Asher. He invited everyone to come."

"Sounds good. Love when we all get together."

While it's gotten harder for all of us to get together, we still make a point to spend time with one another. At least once a month, one of us hosts a game night where Asher supplies us with goodies and we spend the rest of the night usually getting our ass kicked by Noah in every type of game. How he's so good at every fucking game we play, I'll never know.

Oliver glides around the kitchen, mixing things and fixing our plates, so I simply stand by and watch him go. He's stunning. The light bounces off the ring on his finger and I close my eyes, remembering that day in detail.

We decided to have a small wedding on the beach. All of our family and friends were there cheering us on. But the one thing I remember the most is the love I saw shining in Oliver's eyes as we faced each other, reciting our vows to one another. For someone who had given up on dating, finding my soulmate breathed new life into me.

A life I love living. Waking up to him every morning and coming home to him every night. Even if he does force us to watch shitty movies all the time.

"What's with the smile on your face?" His words break my concentration and my eyes pop open to see him staring at me.

"Hmm?"

"You're smiling. What's got you so happy?"

"You." Oliver tilts his head and I continue. "I'm standing here watching you, reminding myself how damn lucky I am to have met you. How fucking fortunate I am for everything that happened. You finding my cam site, me being in your classroom. We were destined to be together, and I was just reminiscing about that. Plus, how you looked hot as fuck marrying me."

"Oh my god." He swats at me and turns around, but not before I see his cheeks pinking up. Making him blush is a favorite pastime of mine. "Come on, let's eat."

We eat quickly, making plans for the weekend and other small talk. Once we're done, we clean up the kitchen and head to the living room to set up the couch for movie night.

I stretch out on the couch, patting the spot next to me. Just as Oliver is about to walk over, Ember jumps onto the couch, swatting at my face with her paw.

"Dammit, Ember, really?" I whine, rubbing my nose. I look up to see Oliver stifling his laugh. "Of course you laugh at my pain."

"Oh, stop complaining. It wasn't that hard and you know she does it because she loves you."

"Well, she has a funny way of showing it," I mumble, side eyeing the shit out of Ember. Living with her for years and she still swats at me like I'm a fly she's trying to shoo away.

Oliver chuckles, walking over to pick up the little demon. Scooting back toward the arm of the couch, I grab a pillow placing it on my lap as he sits down next to me. He grabs her off the couch and cradles her like a baby, rubbing her stomach.

"That," I say, pointing at him, "is why she's so spoiled."

"Don't even start with me. I saw you this morning."

"What?" I say, baffled. "Saw what?"

"When you were getting ready to feed her, and you were rubbing her head, telling her what a good girl she was."

Scoffing, I shake my head. "It's not my fault both my redheads devour my praise." Oliver rolls his eyes, setting off my laughter. "What? It's true."

"You're ridiculous."

"I may be, but you love it. Now get your ass over here and let's watch this movie."

Oliver and Ember sidle up next to me. Oliver lays down on his side, Ember purring and lying against his chest. Wrapping my arms around them both, I grab the remote and put on his movie. I snatch the blanket off the back of the couch, covering all of us. Snuggling in behind him, I place a soft kiss on the back of his neck.

"I love you," I tell him. Moving my hand forward, I rub Ember's head. "And I love you, too."

Oliver laughs, grabbing my hand and squeezing it. "We love you, too. So much."

The End