Yours | ✓

Epilogue

   Epilogue
       three years later

"I came to life when I first kissed you
the best me has his arms around you
you make me better than I was before
thank god I'm yours,"
~ russell dickerson

┉

M O N I C A

I always hated cooking chicken. Especially chicken breasts.

If you didn't take it off the stove the minute they're ready... boom! A dry, mother fucking chicken.

I kept my eyes narrowed on the pan in front of me, carefully checking the temperature of the chicken as if it was still alive, laughing in my face. But just as a checked the temperature, two arms circled around me from behind, startling me.

"Hey, Bangs," his hot breath caressed my skin as he muttered next to my ear. "Anything worth being happy about today?"

"Not the chicken, that's what," I mumbled, my eyes glancing to the thermometer. When I saw it was one-sixty degrees Fahrenheit, I quickly turned off the gas before moving the pan to a different burner.

"Hey, Trip," I drawled out, slowly turning around, so I faced Liam. His bright blue eyes gleamed with mischief as he leaned down to kiss me. When he pulled away seconds later, I felt out of breath.

"Already working up a sweat?" He chuckled, holding onto my waist before pushing me against the counter top.

My eyes glared in his direction as I playfully slapped his shoulder. "It's your fault," I reminded him.

He simply laughed before nuzzling his face into the nape of my neck, holding me tight against him—well, as tight as he could, at least.

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't bite back my smile as I laced my fingers into his bronze, tousled hair—which he had kept the same, even after all these years. Although it was hot as balls outside, he still wore jeans and a basic tee.

When he pulled himself away from me, only to knock his nose against mine gently, I cupped his cheek, feeling his stubble under my hand. "How was it, walking through town?" I teased. "Make any small talk with the locals? I know how much you love that."

He gifted me with a groan, throwing his head back. We'd arrived from Seattle late last night, wanting to surprise our families. We hadn't been around since last year, after we got married in our own Lake Wisken.

Three years ago, I ended up staying in town for an extra month before moving to Seattle with Meredith. At first, Liam and I agreed to work it out long distance, but I was knocked back with surprise when I saw him outside my front door two months later.

He claimed to have gotten a place in the city as well, and from there, our relationship continued to grow until he proposed in the summer.

While I stayed in school, continuing my education, Liam slowly began to grow his own company of some sort. At first, he took offers from people in his building and made them things. They paid him, and he then got the inspiration to open an Etsy account.

It quickly gained popularity for the next year, and after we got married, he had enough money to open up his own store in the city. Now, people came to him with a lot of money and ideas that he had to hire staff.

I could not have been prouder.

"Why did we come back again?" He asked, bringing me back to reality.

I looked at him, dead in the eye. "Really?" I asked blankly, lowering my hand to my belly.

His lips instantly split into a wide grin before he dropped onto his knees, cradling my large stomach in seconds. "Hey, baby," he mumbled once he lifted my pale pink and very baggy dress.