And Then He Fell

Epilogue: Part 2

Okay, it's ALMOST the last chapter.  I decided that I would add one last part.....because some of you will kill me if I don't.  More details after the chapter.  

The pic above is the dress mentioned in the chapter.  

Oh yeah.....there's no ELLIE POV in this chapter.  Ellie's story will continue eventually.  

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DREW

Em and I had just come back from catching a movie at a theater in the little town next to our school about a week ago.  We were in our bedroom, preparing for a night of cuddling and watching the late show on TV. I was in my boxers, under the covers and holding the remote, when Em stepped out of the bathroom that connected to the bedroom. (Actually the main room served as the living area, kitchen, and bedroom, but I digress.) She had her toothbrush in her hand, and was standing in the doorjamb, staring at me.

"What?" I'd asked her.

"Nothing," she said, putting her toothbrush into her mouth and beginning the back and forth motions that accompanied the whole tooth brushing experience. I had seen a faint trace of a smile amongst her cover up attempt.

I stared at the doorway, waiting for her to appear again. When she did, she was wearing her shirt and shorts pajamas that I liked. It was a dark blue color, and her eyes sparkled when she wore it. It also helped that the shirt was a V-neck, which provided me with an ample view of her cleavage. It was just enough to keep me looking, but not enough to drive me crazy.

Em and I had decided to live together during our second year of college, but we still hadn't consummated our relationship. Some of our friends who knew our situation thought it was funny to tease us, especially me, but I was okay with it. Actually, the more time we spent together NOT having sex, the easier it got. I had managed to keep myself under control for the most part. Sometimes Em liked to play around with different things to see how far she could take me. I couldn't say that I didn't enjoy it. We had found ways around having sex specifically that helped us to let out some steam, so to speak.

The other thing that made me happy we'd decided to wait was the fact that I hadn't known everything there was to know about Em when I'd proposed. Living with her, not getting caught up in the physical distractions of a new relationship, helped me to realize that she was obsessive about brushing her teeth, that she did not enjoy eating breakfast before nine a.m., and that she really was nice ninety percent of the time. When her sarcastic side came out, she was hilarious. Even though I would not have regretted marrying her when we were eighteen, I didn't think waiting was terrible, either.

As she walked toward me that night, she was smiling. She got into her side of the bed, then looked over at me.

"I've been thinking," she said.

"I guessed that," I said.

"I think it's time," she said.

"Okay," I said, still confused. "Time for what?"

"Time to get married," she said.

Wow! Was she for real? I thought, staring at my beautiful fiancee.

"Well?" she asked.

"Oh," I said, coming out of my reverie. "Why now?"

"I love you," she said.

"And you didn't before?" I asked.

"I did, you goof," she said, hitting me on the arm. "I just mean, I think we should get married. We're already living like a married couple, sans sex, and you haven't run away yet."