A Spotlight Summer (Jack Gilinsky)

Chapter Forty-Eight

Kelsey POV

Three Years Later

I heard our alarm sound for the fourth time and I summoned all of my willpower to disentangle myself from Jack. "We're going to miss your graduation if we keep this up."

Jack bowed his head in disappointment and continued to trail kisses down my arm as I shifted into an upright position. "Somehow this seems way better than graduation."

Against my body's wishes, I hopped out of bed and out of his reach. I rushed to our closet, quickly getting my dress out as my eyes kept wandering to the clock. We were running late, but these days, it seems Jack and I never got anywhere on time. We were very easily...distracted.

"My body will always be here. Your chance to walk across stage and receive your diploma, however, will not." I stepped into the white fabric and threw his dress shirt at him. "Get your ass up and put on that cap and gown."

Jack huffed but got up anyway. "My mom is probably already there with Fiona and Johnson."

I tried not to openly rake my eyes down Jack's body as he stepped into his dress pants. Even after all this time, I still couldn't believe that all of that was mine.

You did good, Kels.

"Please, ever since Fiona got pregnant she takes at least an hour extra to do anything. Johnson says she either complains that nothing fits or just stares at her growing belly with a smile. In both cases, she refuses to be dragged away from the mirror."

Every time I thought of Fiona and Johnson's inevitable blonde baby I restrained myself from clapping my hands. That baby was already proclaimed as our godchild and he/she was going to be absolutely spoiled rotten.

I noticed Jack fumble with his tie, something that was usually second nature to him. I raised my eyebrows and came to wrap my arms around him from behind. "Are you nervous?"

"I just can't believe it's actually happening. I never thought I would be able to do it." Jack casted his eyes downward.

I pressed my cheek to his back and let my overwhelming sense of pride run through me. Jack was officially a sound engineer and was practically running the label he worked for out of its New York branch. He had grown so much and even though I missed the beginning of his journey, I was never going to miss another second.

Jack settled the cap on his head and handed me his tassel to secure on the top. Thank God I had put on waterproof makeup because I could already feel my tears start to well up. Jack bent down so I could reach the top of his head and once I had placed the dangling strings on his cap, he stood up to full height. The smile I saw spread across his flawless features made me throw my arms around him, engulfing him in a crushing hug.

"I'm so proud of you."

Jack rubbed his hands down my back and made no move to let me go.

Our relationship wasn't perfect—we still fought sometimes, having disagreements about stupid things and arguments about bigger things. But in the end, everything just seemed so small in comparison to our love. It was an all-consuming fire that challenged me and frustrated me and made me the happiest I had ever been.

We had tried long distance after Fiona and Johnson's wedding, but that was a borderline disaster. We needed each other too much, and Omaha and Manhattan were just too far apart. We were so miserable and lonely I even offered one night (it was late and I was on my third glass of wine, okay) to move to Nebraska. In the end, Jack came to me, because it was time we lived our romance in my city for once.

My lips found his ear. "Let's go get your degree. We can frame it right next to mine."

Jack rubbed his nose against my neck as his soft lips pressed a kiss on my throbbing pulse before releasing me from his arms. It didn't take long for his teasing voice to come out. "Always about you, Kelsey Jennings."

I shut the lights off in our bedroom and waited for Jack to come intertwine his fingers with mine. Once our hands were where they were meant to be, I shot him a wink. "Always about us, Jack Gilinsky."

THE END

A/N: Yeah, I know, it's been years. Yeah, I know, this is random. But I couldn't leave this unfinished any longer. Thank you all. Love you always.