Chasing Miss Conner •OLD VERSION•

Forty

|Song: Never Forget You By Zara Larsson|

Forty

"Shay! Hurry up or you're going to be late!" I hear mom tell from down stairs. I let out a ragged sigh and finish fluffing up my hair my running a hand through it and shaking it up a bit. The perks of having short hair. No wonder Genny loves it.

I study my reflection for a moment before releasing a big smile at the mirror. My make up is on point; just a lift coat of foundation and some winged eyeliner (which took me way too long to perfect) finished with a couple coats of mascara.

Simple but effective. My outfit consists of a Royal blue robe and cap, the tassel is a deep gold color. My hands shake as I place the cap on my head. I can't believe I'm graduating today.

My stomach is in knots but I'm so excited. This means new beginnings and fresh starts and new memories and new friends and places. But most of all it means I can hold hands with my girlfriend in public and not worry about anyone saying anything.

I so needed that.

I take the stairs two at a time almost falling flat on my face in the process. "Woah, slow down tigre." A smile immediately forms on my face at the familiar accent and with an embarrassingly girly squeal I launch myself into Juliette's arms.

She chuckles into my neck and her arms wrap around me securely as she spins me around. She sets me down after a moment and cups my face. I tip my head back obediently in preparation of her lips on mine. The alluring taste of her never seems to fade and I sure hope it never does in the years to come.

I hear a few flashes of a camera and giggle into her mouth at my moms antics. She pulls away and grins back at me. "Are you ready?" She asks, brushing my bangs away from my face.

My lips spread in a grin as I nod. "So ready." She grins back before we turn to my mom. She's standing there, camera in hand, with a sheepish smile on her lips and tear streaks down her face.

I break out of Juliette's hold and hug her to me. "Don't cry momma. You're still stuck with me for a little while." A half-laugh half-sob escapes her and she hugs me back harder. We stay that way for a little while, before she breaks away and places her hands on my face.

"I am so proud of you. You've been through so much in your life and not many people could've dealt with it like you." She leans over and kisses my forehead softly, and now I'm the one trying to blink back tears.

Then she turns to Juliette, who watches her warily for a moment before my mom abruptly pulls her into a hug. My jaw drops open, and over mom's shoulder Juliette flashes me a smile and a wink as she hugs my mom back.

Mom pulls back from her and looks her straight in the eyes. "I know we got off to a rocky start, and I know I wasn't exactly the most welcoming, but thank you. You've been here every step of the way and you didn't give up on Shay at all even through all the crap we've been through. You always have a place here, in my home or just wherever we go." Juliette's blinking back tears, as am I after hearing that heartfelt moment, and offers my mom a watery smile.

"Mine as well." She replies once she has herself under control enough to speak. Mom grins at her in response before turning to me and raising her eyebrows.

"Time to go?" She asks. I glance between them before smiling and nodding. She nods back and says to both of us. "We have dinner reservations at this fancy new restaurant after the graduation ceremony, so we should probably get going." We were going to dinner to celebrate my graduating, obviously, but also my new and improved clean bill of health.

After that....wonderful night with Juliette two month ago, I received a call from Dr. Robbins, telling me to come in for some more tests. She was ecstatic when she got the results of the tests back as apparently I was the perfect candidate for a heart valve transplant. This was something we'd considered many times, but each time we planned a date I'd get sicker and sicker, so it never happened. But this time I was actually in good health and she was able to do the surgery herself which immediately put me at ease.

The surgery was a complete success. In fact, Doctor Robbins said she'd never preformed such a perfect surgery before. She now refers to me as her "little success" which at first sounds like an insult, but I found it completely endearing. I was now officially no longer, a heart patient. I was free. I could do so much now, like watch a scary movie and not worry about having a heart attack, or eat all the junk food I wanted and not worry about having a heart attack, or even go sky diving and- okay maybe not sky diving.

Genny of course commented on the fact that I could now practice all the different sex positions with out worrying about my heart bursting from the overdose of orgasms. I nearly punched her in the face and I swear my cheeks were still red from that joke.

Juliette had been sitting beside me and had just given me that "drop the eyelids, panty-wetting look" before leaning down to my ear and whispering that it wasn't such a bad thing to consider before pressing her lips to my cheek as she held in the laughter. I'd tried to be strict but in the ends we lost it on the way home and laughed until we'd cried.

"I'll see you there?" Mom asks Juliette as we walk towards the car. Juliette nods and tangles her fingers with mine, pulling me to a stop when she reaches my side. I shoot her a questioning look but she just ignores it and reaches into her pocket, pulling out a black velvet box.

My heart rate doubles and my hands escape from hers to cover my face. What is she doing? Surely not what I think she's doing! I sneak a panicked glance at mom from her position in the car but she just winks at me. I groan and turn back to Juliette. She blinds me with a pearly white smile and just shakes her head as she holds the little black box out to me.

My hands tremble so bad as I go to open it and with an amused sigh she covers my hands with her own and we open the box together. A gasp immediately escapes my mouth as I look down at the gorgeous silver ring nestled comfortably in the fabric of the box.

It's a singular band, with a small sapphire stone set in the top. It's simple, but very elegant and beautiful.

"It's a promise ring." She explains as she gently extracts it from the box. My breath catches as she grabs my hand and slides it on my ring finger. It fits perfectly and comfortably on my finger and I randomly wonder how she knew my size, before I turned it back and forth on my hand, admiring the way it sparkles in the light.

"It's beautiful." I breathe, looking up at her with tear filled eyes. She smiles back at me and lifts her hands to my face, swirling her fingers over my cheekbones as she looks deep into my eyes, the blue of hers matches the stone perfectly. "It means that no matter what happens, or where life takes us, that we will always have each other. Always."

I sniff back more tears and grab her and pull her to me, crushing our lips together in a brief but chaste kiss.

"I love you so much." I practically moan out, almost bursting with all the wonderful feelings that are running through my body.

She smiles at me and pecks me on the nose. "I love you so much more, and would love to continue this conversation elsewhere but we should probably go before your mom ages another ten years." She laughs.

I laugh with her and nod reluctantly, but neither of us pulls away just yet, not wanting to accept that this will one out last touch for a while until the dinner.

Eventually we manage to separate after a few more kisses and honks of exasperation from mom and climb into our cars and head to the school. My heart pumps faster and healthier in my veins and the smile on my face is sure to be contagious as I admire the ring on my hand, forever grateful that I wasn't watching where I was going that first day of school.

|Hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! I've got one more to go and it's probably going to be one of the longest ones yet so gear up for the fun and tears! 😘❤️|