Page 57 of Waiting For Ever
“I’ve got your location.” He winks at me. “And it turns out Ashley has a private plane.” Raising his eyebrows, he adds, “He and Allie flew me into the little Oak Valley airport, and I took an Uber to your location. They’re headed up to Blue Lake. We’ll meet them there later. They’ll be here for a couple days and then Allie will . . . wait for it . . . fly back with him.” He wiggles his eyebrows on the last sentence.
“Allie and Ashley?”
“Yep.” He nods swiftly, holding his hands out to his sides, palms up. “Like two school kids. I think that’s why she’s not coming here today. The Ashley thing might overshadow the happy couple.” He tosses his head toward the door Via disappeared into.
I nod, agreeing with that logic. “No wonder she extended her trip.”
“Right? Worked out well for us too.” He wiggles his eyebrows, his blue eyes sparkling.The Julian I know.
“So, those two?” He tosses his head toward the door they all just went through. “They gonna play nice in the sandbox today?”
“I think you intimidate them, so yeah. I think they’ll behave.”
“Maybeyouintimidate them.” He pins me pointedly with his dreamy eyes but quickly continues. “Olivia seems cool. Like her sister.” He winks at me again and pecks a kiss on the tip of my nose.
“Oh, Via is way cooler than me.” I don’t bring up any of the stuff I’m thinking and feeling. Like how I could cry that he rushed here to be with me today. That he called himself my boyfriend. To Kendall and Chase! That he alluded to him knowing I was a virgin until him. My eyes well at the thoughts flooding my brain and that he’s tracing circles around my ear with his finger. I still wanna know what the hell happened before he left. And more importantly what changed to bring back the Julian that I know and . . . yeah, love.
“What’s going on in there?” He uses his finger to lift my chin.
“Julie, I . . . thank you.”
“Shh.” He shakes his head. “It’s what boyfriends do, right?”
“Well, mine does.” I shrug my shoulders as I say it.
That got the low chuckle from him that makes my tummy flutter and my body tingle. He wraps both arms around me and pulls me tight to him, tucking my head under his chin. “I missed you, Ever.”
“I didn’t miss you at all.” I feel his low half laugh on my cheek that rests on his chest. “But I slept in your hoodie for three days.” I look up into his face and lift the corner of my mouth.
His smile is sweet if not a tad regretful. “C’mon, let’s go celebrate the happy couple so we can go home.” He turns me toward the door and lets his hand drift down my back to rest between my hip and ass like it belongs there. And it does.
Epilogue
Everly
Julian and I are living together. I’ll be starting online college classes in the fall. This isn’t the life I dreamed for myself, but somehow, it’s better. Except I know how. Julian. He confessed to me that my perspective on being grateful for the shitty parts of life because they lead to the good parts made him question his own shitty life. He carried some guilt over realizing he wouldn’t trade me and us if it meant Taya never died. It made him question his moral compass and feel unworthy of our relationship. He confided all that to Allie when he arrived in Southern California. She told him that missing someone didn’t have to rob today of its joy. That loving me didn’t mean he didn’t love Taya. Allie really does give fairy godmother vibes. Or at the least, she was a therapist in another life. Everyone needs an Allie in their lives. And apparently Luke Ashley agrees.
Ashley asked Allie to oversee the string of fitness centers he planned to open in L.A., so she planned to relocate there, temporarily. She asked Julian if he’d be willing to move into her place long term. When I first came to Blue Lake, it was to finish high school. I planned to go away to college and get as far away from Oak Valley as possible, but now, the thought of not being with Julian dimmed my world. He asked Allie how she felt about me staying there with him, and she surprised us both when she said it sounded perfect.
“If ever two people completed each other more, I’ve never seen it.”
I couldn’t agree more.
Julian would fly to L.A. periodically to film content but would continue to run Fit and oversee Brew. As part owner, he’d be able to make decisions and run things while Allie opened the Ashley clubs down south. And it looked like Noah and Lilly wanted to rent the apartment at Brew and become the camp hosts for the summer. That meant I could join Julian on his trips to L.A. I’ve never looked forward to a summer more.
Today, we’re meeting Lilly and Noah at the cliffs to finally carry out our jump. The air already feels thick with the promise of a three-digit scorcher. True to form, the spring season in Blue Lake lasted two minutes and now summer is upon us in full force. It means the lake water is warm though, which makes the idea of plunging more palatable—to me anyway. Never a fan of the cold plunge trend no matter how healthy Julian repeatedly tells me it is.
“Okay, hoolie, today you graduate to local. You ready?” Lilly, already perched on the edge of the shale rock, calls out as we emerge from the trail.
Julian and I step up to the edge alongside Noah and Lilly. Julian takes my hand as Noah takes Lilly’s. Noah and Julian share a look over our heads.
“One, two . . .,” they count together. After ‘two,’ they hurl us off the ledge together.
Therush of the water encasing me takes my breath away. Our hands release as soon as we crash under the surface. The whoosh sound is replaced by bubbles as I propel myself toward the light above me and tilt my head back as I break through the surface, smoothing my hair back away from my face.
Julian materializes in front of me, swiping his hair back from his face and sluicing the water out of his eyes. He reaches out and pulls me to him, a wide grin spread across his face.
My legs wrap around him instinctively. Lilly and Noah are splashing and trying to dunk each other next to us. Julian kisses me, lightly at first, then deeper, like the kiss has a mind of its own, prompting our friends to turn their splash attack on us. Julian pulls us under to avoid the onslaught, and we swim for the shore.
