FIVE YEARS LATER
Panting, Avery falls back against the wallâwelcoming the chill of the AC. Her chest rises and falls with her heavy breaths; it seems every time she decides to go on a run around here she forgets just how steep some of this godforsaken city's hills really are.
She likes San Francisco, she does, a lot. With its cute cable cars, the heavenly to-die-for chai lattes from the coffee shop three blocks away and especially the city's two The Reformation stores housing every sundress a girl could ever dream ofâbut she could do without the hills.
Drawing in a deep breath, she pushes her hands through her hair. Barely reaching her collarbone, the blonde strands curl slightly at their edges where they brush against her skin. Still, even though it's been at least a month since she wandered into a hair-salon on a whim, she's surprised to find her once long locks gone. But she likes it, and the fact that only a couple of strokes with her hairbrush is enough to style it in the morning is an appreciated bonus.
Her body protests at the small movement, an ache blossoming at the left side of her ribcage; maybe going out on a 6.5 mile run after spending the past five hours on a poorly air-conditioned airplane had been pushing herself a little bit too hard, but she had been too restless upon arriving to simply just sit here.
Besides, the past year she's learnt there is no better way to throw her brain off the three hour time difference than to get her body moving. It tends to help with all the back and forth. Once she has washed the sweatâand the lingering, probably imagined, stench of airplaneâoff, she'll be glad she braved the city's terrain in this suffocating mid-spring heat.
The early afternoon sun slips through the windows, casting their apartment in a honey-yellow glow. Its rays sprawl over the cream colored cushions of the couch, pooling in shadows upon the fuzzy rug, reflecting in the frames of the few photographs stood on the bureau lining the wall between the kitchen and the living room.
Technically, it's Ethan's apartmentâbut it's come to feel like home to her too.
She has her own. A two-roomer, just a few blocks off Main Street in the heart of Acebridge, with a comfortable enough commute to Raleigh and her job as an editorial assistant. Of course, she could've avoided the commute all together but after having spent four years living in both Chapel Hill and Durham with Ethan and Jake, she'd longed for her coastal town. And so, she doesn't mind the drive much. Especially not since Callie's just around the corner, sort of, from her. It's a win-win, really.
Well, apart from the fact that Ethan is a five hour plane rideâand three hour time differenceâaway, that is. The first few months living so far apart had been harder than she'd imagined, going from breathing down each other's necks to only being able to see each other every few weeks, but they make it work. And now, as they've spent nearly a year in this new life of theirs, it's easier.
There are still difficult days; sometimes she finds herself curled up on Callie's kitchen floor, cursing practice schedules and time-differences and her too-good-to-pass-up editorial job, but the good days outweigh the bad ones. They make it work.
â¡â¡â¡
An hour later she's stood in the kitchen, fingers tapping against the black marble of the counter. Glancing at the digital clock on the stove, she purses her lips in thought, trying to think back to Ethan's schedule for this month. Shouldn't he have gotten home already?
Weird. He usually calls her when he's on his way back to his apartment.
She uncorks a bottle of red wine, throwing another glance at the timeâmid-afternoon is okay for wine, right?âas she pours herself a glass. She takes another one out for Ethan, leaving it stood empty on the counter as she sinks into a seat at the kitchen table.
Her lips pull into a grin against the rim of the glass as her phone lights up with a call where it lies on the tabletop. The caller ID â 'Ethan <3 ' â stares back at her.
Picking up, she rolls her lips together and keeps her gaze on the clear blue sky outside the window. "Hi!"
"Are you out with Callie?"
"Um...," Avery slowly taps her fingers against the back of the phone, lips twitching slightly at the odd greeting â then again, it's dinnertime on a Saturday back in Acebridge, if she were back home she'd probably be halfway through a pizza with Callie right now. "No."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Brows dipping together, Avery flickers her eyes over the apartment. "Why?"
"You're not home yet."
She is. Kind of. Though, he's not supposed to know that.
"How do you know I'm not home yet?"
A beat of silence stretches between them before a reluctant sigh sounds through he phone. "I'm here."
"Here?" Avery sets her glass down, gaze flickering over the apartment again. "Wait. As in Acebridge?"
There's still a reluctance to Ethan's tone of voice, as if he's letting her in on a secret. "Well, yeah. I was supposed to surprise you, but you're not here."
Avery's forehead falls to her palm, the bridge of her nose pinched between her fingers. "I'm in San Francisco."
"San Francisco? Why?"
Even though he can't see her, she makes a grand gesture of sweeping her hand over the room. Her words slip out with an exasperated breath. "Because I'm surprising you!"
"Oh."
"Yeah oh."
"Come back."
"You come back," Avery says, lifting her glass to her lips again. "I'm already so comfortable over here."
"Waters, trust me. Come back."
Pursing her mouth in petulance, she tilts her glass slightly to the side and watches as the dark red liquid swirls around inside it. "I'm not spending another second in a last minute middle seat on a poorly air-conditioned plane."
"I'll buy your ticket. No narrow middle seats."
"But I'm too comfortable here," She shifts into a cross legged seat on the stool, smoothing a palm over the black joggers she's stolen out of one of Ethan's drawers in the closet. "You come back,"
Absentmindedly letting the pad of her fingertip trace the rim of her glass, her lips slip into a small smile as she adds, "Please."
â¡â¡â¡
Avery stirs awake, blinking at the light of the reading lamp stood behind her as she stretches her arms over her head.
"Hi."
Ethan hovers next to her on the cushion, his fingers gently reaching out to tuck a few errant strands of her hair behind her ear. Her lips crack into a big, though somewhat sleepy, smile as he smooths his thumb over her cheek.
"You're here," She suppresses a yawn, moving the book that lies openâpages downâ on her chest to the coffee table, placing it next to her wine glass and the now empty takeout boxes of dinner. "What time is it?"
"Just past eleven."
Nodding, she pushes herself into a seat and loops her arms around him in a hug. Instantly she relaxes into the familiarity of his hold on her, of his scent tickling her nose as she tilts her head back to place a kiss on his lips.
Inching back, her palm comes to rest on his chest. "This is a new shirt."
"It is."
"It's nice," She smooths a thumb over the blue fabric, corners of her mouth twitching as she raises her brows. "Would look better off though."
Ethan laughs, having her cheeks warm with a softer smile. She'll never grow tired of that sound.
"Jesus woman, slow down. We'll have time for that."
She bites down on her lip. "Yeah we do; I'm not leaving until next weekend."
Ethan straightens up, smile reaching those heavenly dark brown eyes. "You're not?"
"Sorry to say you'll be stuck with me for an entire week."
"Lucky me."
Falling back against the decorative throw pillows of the couch, she twists slightly to make room for him next to her. They lie there on the cushion, tangled in one another, their breaths falling into sync as they drift in and out of conversation, relishing in being next to one another again.
A content sigh escapes her as he treads his fingers through hers, drawing a circle on her palm with his thumb. A little while later, she sprawls her hand through his hair, twirling a curl around her pinky. He traces a line along her arm, pressing a kiss to her temple.
She's not sure how much time has passed before she shifts, propping herself up on her elbows as she bites down on her lip. "Don't get mad,"
Ethan's lips quirk up, that all-familiar crease appearing on his forehead as his brows knit together in slight curiosity.
She sighs and pushes herself up into a cross legged seat, twisting around to point at a burgundy splotch the shape of Europe on the cushion she just covered with her body. "I spilled wine."
Amusement dances over Ethan's features as he shrugs. "We'll flip the cushion."
"See, that would be a great solution," Avery scrunches her nose up with a faint grimace, pulling her short hair back into a ponytail. "If it weren't for the fact I already did that. Six months ago."
"Marry me."
Avery's lips part with a small puff of air, hands falling form her hair to her sideâponytail forgotten. "What did you just say?"
Ethan straightens into a seat, his knee brushing against hers. "Marry me."
"You want toâ" The remaining words of her question fade away, lost on the tip of her tongue as her gaze falls to his hand. Throat tightening, she speaks through a hitched breath. "You got me a ring?"
It's not like they haven't spoken of marriage, or the future, before. Of course they have. You don't date someone for six years without musing about such things at least once but that all been fun and play. This is an actual, beautiful in all its simplicity, engagement ringâin reach of her trembling hands.
"See, I had this whole thing planned out but someone," Ethan brushes his thumb over her dimple, having her lips slip into a small smile. "Stubbornly refused to let me go through with it."
"I like this better."
Ethan's words slip his mouth with a chortled breath, having her tearing her gaze away from the ring for a flickering moment. "You don't even know what I was going to do."
She swallows, her exhale tickling her lips. "I like this better. This is perfect."
"You do realize you haven't actually said yes, right?"
Silence stretches between them as she stares at him, his words slowly sinking in. She releases a longer exhale, a laugh slipping along it, as she realizes he's right.
"Of course I'll marry you," The words are barely louder than a whisper, her voice throaty. Refraining from sighing at herself, she blinks away the few tears having prickled her eyes. "Yes."
She presses her teeth into her bottom lip as she beams down at the ring being slid onto her finger, only taking her eyes off it as they flutter shut, her fingers knotting in his hair as their lips melt together in a kiss.
A surprised laugh falls off her tongue, eyes flying open, as she's swept off the couch. Her foot knocks over the glass of wine, sending it crashing to the rug.
Instinctively, Avery flings her arm out toward it. "Shitâ"
"Leave it."
"It's broken."
Ethan smiles. "We'll deal with it tomorrow."
"It's going to ruin the rug."
The mess disappears out of her arm's reach as they move through the apartment. "So we'll get a new one."
Glancing up at him, she gently cups his cheekâbreath caught as she's met with the sight of the ring on her finger. Her lips quirk up, cheeks tightening with her smile. "Who are you and what did you do to my fiancé?"
"Yeah okay, definitely leave it."
She laughs again, it comes so easy to herâlingering at the tip off her tongue. As they head into the hall leading to their bedroom, she automatically pulls her shoulders up as if attempting to shrink herself. "Watch my head!"
"That was once."
He rolls his eyes as she wriggles out of his hold, feet touching against the wooden floor. Stumbling backwards into the bedroom, she grabs hold of his hand and lets her fingers close over his knuckles as she tugs him to her.
Her fingers lace around the hem of his shirt as she kisses him, lips in a smile against his. "Hi."
"Hi."
â¡â¡â¡
"Are you high five-ing me?"
"Oh come on," Resting her head on Ethan's chest, Avery's lips pull into a grin. "That was worth a high five."
Her smile softens as he places a gentle kiss on her shoulder, his fingers absentmindedly tracing a pattern over her skin. "Watersâ"
"Taylor," She tilts her head back to glance up at him. "Avery Jane Taylor."
"You do know we're not married yet, right?"
"Better easing you into it now," Avery's gaze falls to her hand, cheeks tightening as she smiles to herself. A beat of silence passes as she regards the ring, angling her hand slightly to the left and then to the right. It's slightly intoxicating to look at, sending a happy dizziness straight to her head. "We could be."
"We could be what?"
"Let's get married."
Ethan hugs her closer. "That's kind of the point."
"No but like now," Avery flickers her eyes to the clock stood on her nightstand, a chortled breath escaping her as she realizes it'sâquite literallyâthe middle of the night. "Or tomorrow. Just the two of us,"
Her gaze travels to their closet as she pushes herself into a seat. "I have this new dress. It's in ivory. That would work and we can get flowers from the place around the corner andâ"
Ethan places a hand on her elbow to stop her. "Inhale. And now you exhale."
"Oh, right."
He sits up a little straighter, leaning back against the headboard. "You want to get married tomorrow?"
"Well...,"
Avery trails off. She's never wanted a big wedding, she's said so before. And now, well now it feels kind of obvious it should be for the two them, and the two of them only. They could still throw a party, for their families and friendsâcelebrate with them, making sure they don't feel excluded. But for the wedding, well, it's all about Ethan and Avery, isn't it?
"Yes, I do."
"We don't even live together," Ethan points out. "Not really."
"We'll work that out."
"You want to elope?"
Avery bites down on her lip. "If you don't want toâ... we can do the big, elaborate wedding thing, if that's what you want but I just thoughtâ"
"Let's do it."
A sure to become jaw-aching smile tugs at Avery's lips. "Really?"
"Yeah, let's get married tomorrow."
With a small laugh, she scoots closer to kiss him. She lets her palm rest against his chest as she inches back, his heartbeat steady under her touch. Her eyes flickers to her engagement ring again. "I love you."
The left corner of Ethan's mouth tug up. "The ring or me?"
"Both."
Crawling off the bed, she's already halfway down the hall as Ethan calls after her. "Where are you going?"
She crosses through the living room on quick soft footsteps. "Getting your laptop, I'm sure there's some paperwork we need toâ Shit! Ow ow ow."
"Waters?" Alarm rings though Ethan's tone of voice as it carries through the apartment. "What happened?"
She grimaces. "I stepped in glass."
A flicker in the corner of her eye has her turning toward the wide doorway. Ethan leans his head against the wooden frame. "Would this be a bad time to call you a klutz?"
Avery rolls her lips together to quell the smile pulling at her lips, her words a whimper as she says, "Just help me."
Walking over to her, he's careful to stop at the other end of the couch, reaching his arms out for her. His grip tightens around her hands as he helps her step around the seating group, regarding her with a frown.
"Wait!" Pausing, she winces from the hurt searing through the sole of her foot as she spins around to reach for the laptop. "We still need toâ"
"Tomorrow," Ethan's lips pull into a faint smile, tugging at her hand. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up so we can go to bed. Have to be well-rested for our wedding."
"Our wedding."
For one brief moment she forgets about the shard of glass stuck to her skin, brushing her thumb over his cheek as she reaches up on her toes to kiss him.
She's reminded yet again a few seconds later as the pain rushes back to her. "Okay ouch," Looping her arms around Ethan's neck, she pouts. "Help,"
She laughs as he scoops her up, her voice soft as she speaks again.
"Have I ever told you I love you?"
He flashes her a smile. "Once or twice. To the bathroom?"
"To the bathroom," She nods, drawing in a deep breathâhappiness fluttering through her, expanding her chest. "And then to the chapel!"
"And then to the chapel."
. . .
I'M HOME
honestly though, that's what it felt like coming back to writing these two.
hi my loves. I hope you're well, and that you enjoyed this (sappy) little bonus chapter <3
I'm currently writing a new adult summer romance called 'coming up for air' (it's a Jake spin-off) and if you want to glimpse some moments of these two married (!) idiots I would suggest keeping your eyes on that story <3
much love ALWAYS, hope you enjoyed returning home for a bit too.
going to go listen to 'chapel of love' by the dixie cups now
love you lots
yours, linn