What we need it to be.
Epilogue
Brayden
Two years later...
I stroll into the exhibition hall and glance around the wide, open space. It’s three stories high with a glass ceiling that allows the sun to pour in, bathing the artwork in incandescent light. It’s almost enough to take my breath away.
Almost.
The sight that does leave me feeling slightly knocked off kilter is the woman curled up on a metal bench with a sketch pad in one hand and a charcoal pencil in the other. Her long blond hair flows in soft waves over her shoulders and down her back. The strands glow under the light. The red tank she’s wearing clings to her curves and the tiny, white shorts make her sun-kissed legs look like they go on for miles. Sydney has the most amazing legs. There’s nothing like the feel of them wrapped around my waist as I bury myself in her slick heat. Every time I catch sight of her is like a punch to the gut. There are times when I can’t believe this woman is actually mine.
After she walked out of the bathroom this morning dressed for the day, the urge to rip off every shred of clothing and fuck her senseless pounded through me. Actually, that’s precisely what I did. No matter how many times we make love, it’s never enough. I’m always left wanting more. It’s been that way since the very beginning, and I don’t see it changing anytime soon.
At least, I hope it doesn’t.
For a handful of moments, I hover near the threshold and watch her work. I could do this all day long. Especially when she’s immersed in her art. There’s an intensity that overtakes her features as her pencil flies across the paper. I’m always blown away by what she’s able to create. She’s so damn talented, which is exactly why I couldn’t allow her to waste it, sitting behind a desk for forty hours a week. Not when accounting wasn’t her passion.
After about five minutes, she glances up and searches the area before her gaze collides with mine across the room. I raise my hand in silent greeting as a smile flits across her face. My heart speeds up. There’s nothing better than when her attention fastens onto mine and her expression softens with love.
It makes me feel like the luckiest bastard in the world. And to think that we came so close to allowing the past to tear us apart. I almost shake my head at the memory before eating up the distance that separates us. It’s impossible to imagine my life without Sydney filling every single part of it. We’ve only been together for two years, but she has quickly become my everything. She fills all the emptiness I didn’t realize was lurking deep inside.
My goal is to do the same for her.
Once I’ve reached the bench, I lower my face until we meet somewhere in the middle. The moment I capture her mouth, I stroke my tongue against the seam of her lips. Almost immediately, she opens. I don’t give a damn if we’re in the middle of the art museum and people are milling around. The need I have for her is like a living, breathing entity. One that will never be fully quenched.
When we finally break apart, we’re both breathless. Her eyes have turned heavy-lidded, and I know that once we return to the apartment, we’ll be tearing at each other’s clothes until I can sink deep inside her heat where I belong.
Where I was always meant to be.
“How were your classes this morning?” I ask, willing down the growing erection in my shorts.
“They were great.” She beams a smile at me. “I’m really loving this program.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear it.” Her lips are already swollen from my kisses, and I’m unable to resist swooping in for another.
After graduation, Sydney returned home to work for her father. Since I ended up getting drafted by Dallas and moving halfway across the country, there was no other choice but to make a long-distance relationship work. After everything we’d overcome senior year, living without her wasn’t an option.
It took about four months for my girl to realize that accounting wasn’t going to make her happy. So, we talked about it and she explored a few different options before eventually deciding to return to school for graphic design.
In Dallas.
We rented a kickass apartment downtown that has amazing views of the city and we’ve made this our home.