Chapter 61 Epilogue: The Honey Moon

Chapter 61 Epilogue: The Honey Moon


ONE MONTH LATER

HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA



\[ K A R A \]

The first thing I noticed about California was the air. The air was salty, but breezy and cool. Ryder and I arrived in the golden state a few days ago. We were living in a cute little Airbnb right by the beach. It was the coolest thing ever.

Every morning, Ryder would go out to train by the beach. The first contest on his world tour would be held here next week. Every morning, I would wake up with him, make coffee, and I’d do a little writing as I sat in the backyard. Oh yes, my backyard was the beach itself!

I couldn’t believe that I get to do this for a living. I was writing while waiting for Ryder to finish training at the beach. This was my job. How cool is that?

Sometimes when I got writer’s block, I’d take a break from writing and go down to the shore. I’d wait until Ryder finished surfing and he’d come out of the water. Until this day, watching Ryder’s toned body glistening with water as he walked in his low-hanging broad shorts was the sexiest thing ever. I’d get knots all around my stomach every time I saw him like that.

Today was no exception. I was waiting for him at the shore as he just finished his lap. He was carrying the board in one hand and his other hand went to rake his messy hair. Drops of water were trickling down his perfectly sculpted body. The sun was shining bright and his skin was glowing a golden hue.

Hubba-hubba.

My husband was an absolute Greek God. If you don’t believe me, don’t take my word for it, ask all these other girls who were checking him out as they sunbathed. Oh yes, girls everywhere would always drool at the sight of Ryder. I was well aware of that. Ryder even had his own fan club.

As Ryder got out of the water, a group of girls was approaching him, looking to get a picture or an autograph. I wouldn’t mind if he had to take pictures of sign autographs, but Ryder’s eyes were already locked on mine. He didn’t even stop for those girls and he was jogging over to me. I honestly felt a little bad for them. They probably spent hours waiting around for him.

“Hey,” he beamed and leaned to kiss my cheek.

“Hey,” I replied. “How was the water?”

“It was smooth and glassy,” he laughed happily. He was always happy when the surf was good.

“By the way, I think those girls over there want to get a picture with you,” I said, motioning for the group of girls who were still staring at us. One of them was looking at me and giving me the stink eye.

“Meh,” he shrugged. “Who cares?”

Ryder linked his arm around me and pulled me towards our house, totally ignoring the fan club that was expectantly waiting for him.

“But, Ry…” I protested. “They’re your fans,”

Ryder stopped his tracks and turned to me. He knew perfectly well that those girls were still watching. One of them even pulled out a camera to snap pictures of us.

“I’m done with surfing for the day,” Ryder said as he cupped my cheek. He was leaning down so that our lips were almost touching. “Now it’s time for me to hang with my girl,”

I couldn’t stop the smile forming on my face. Ryder closed the distance between us and claimed my lips. He was purposefully kissing me in front of all those girls.

And I must say… I don’t hate it.



\[ R Y D E R \]

I was absolutely nervous and excited about starting the world tour with Kara. We’d be traveling around the world together for the next five years. It was hella exciting, but also scary. I really hoped she could adjust to life on the road. I hoped it wouldn’t interfere with her writing. And most of all, I hoped she won’t get homesick.

I couldn’t give her a normal and stable life like other guys could. Even though she said that didn’t matter, I was always self-conscious about it. I only wanted her to be happy. So when it was time for us to move to California for a month, all the nerves were kicking in. California was only the starting point of the world tour. After this, we’d go to South America and Europe. If she couldn’t be happy here, I didn’t know how the rest of the world tour might be.

I really hope she’s happy. I hope this is good enough…

“Ry!” I heard Kara yell from the kitchen. “Can you come over here a sec?”

We were doing movie night tonight and Kara was making some snacks. I got up from the couch and quickly went over to her.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“I’m gonna need your strong manly hands,” she smiled sheepishly.

I gave her a knowing and look and cracked my knuckles.

“You got a jar that you can’t open, huh?” I chuckled.

“I had half the mind of returning it to the store,” she said as she showed me a jar of pickles.

I didn’t know what kind of movie snack she was making that she’d need pickles, but sure. Whatever makes her happy.

“Give it here,” I took the jar and opened it fairly easily. Kara’s eyes lit up in excitement.

“Wow, you’re my hero,” she chirped and took the jar.

I was about to dive in for a kiss, but she already turned her head away and grabbed a fork, eager to bite into those pickles. I just shook my head and laughed.

On the kitchen counter, I noticed that Kara had prepared a bunch of junk food, of course, and some milkshake for our movie night tonight. She went a bit extra this time around. Normally it was just some popcorn and soda, but tonight was different. I eyed her suspiciously but Kara only smiled innocently. She was eating pickles from the jar and beaming at me with those cute little eyes.

“Hey, Kar,” I said as I cocked my head to the side.

“Hm?”

“You’re happy out here, right?”

“What are you talking about?” she narrowed her eyes.

“Like, we’ve been living out here for a few weeks now. I just wanna know if you’re doing ok, or if you miss home or anything—“

“Ry, I told you already,” she cut me off. You’re my home. I don't need to be anywhere else that’s not with you,”

Her words made my heart swell, but I was trying to be realistic. I didn’t want her to say these things just because it was what I wanted to hear.

“Are you sure?” I asked again.

“Ry, are you kidding me?” she asked back and put the jar of pickles down. “Look at us. We live right on the beach, we’re only an hour away from Disneyland, and every morning I get to wake up to this,” she gestured up and down my body and smiled victoriously. “How can I not be happy?”

That made me laugh. That was high-key real cute.

“For real, though,” I said as I wrapped my arms around her. “Like, can you see yourself doing this with me for the next five years?”

“Five or twenty years, I wouldn’t trade this for the world,” she said as she cupped my face. “This is my home,”

That was hella sweet. I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I leaned forward and captured her lips with mine. She tasted like pickles and she was giggling, trying to get away from me, but I didn’t care. I only kissed her deeper.

My sweet little pickle.

When I was finally satisfied, I let her go and Kara was catching her breath. She rolled her eyes at me and grabbed some water.

“Why are you suddenly asking me this anyway?” she said after she drank.

“I dunno, I just… want you to be having a good time,” I shrugged.

“I’m always having a good time with you,” she said as she cocked her head.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,”

I stepped closer and linked my arms around her waist.

“Like, right now?” I asked.

“Sure,” she giggled and put a hand on my chest. “You kissing me and making me lose my breath. That’s always a good time,”

“Oh, baby, I’ll show you a good time,” I smirked and leaned for her neck. My lips were about to connect with her skin, but Kara suddenly put her hand out and pushed me back.

“Wait!” she said.

“What?” I staggered back. “I thought we’re gonna have a good time together?”

“I know and we are, but wait,” she put her hand up and glanced at the clock.

“What?” I asked her.

“It’s almost time,”

“Huh?”

“Come here,”

Without so much as an explanation, Kara pulled me by the hand and led me out to the backyard. She had a spring in her step and I just followed her with a confused look. Once we got outside, she stopped her tracks and stared up at the sky. I followed her gaze and then I saw sparks of red and green lights flying up high.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

There was a fireworks show happening right before our eyes. My eyes widened in shock as the bright colors filled the sky. Kara turned to me with a sneaky smile and linked her arms around my waist. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. This felt surreal. This reminded me of the fireworks show on the fourth of July when we first got together.   

“It’s 12 AM, November 22nd,” Kara stood on her tippy toes and whispered to my ears. “Happy twenty-fifth birthday, Ry,”

“Woah,” I could only gape in response. Kara did all these, for me?

“Do you like it?” she asked.

“This is crazy cool,” I shook my head in disbelief, my eyes were still glued to the colorful night sky. “How did you do this?”

“I have my ways,” she giggled. Then she glanced far down to the shore and I noticed a group of guys and girls lighting up the fireworks for us. “And I may have promised the members of your fan club that you’ll take pictures with them tomorrow,” she grinned sheepishly.

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“You’re an evil genius,” I said as I kissed the top of her head.

My sweet evil genius.

“This is the best birthday ever, thank you,” I said again.

“You’re welcome,” she beamed. “Oh, and I have one more thing,”

Kara quickly ran back inside, and she came out seconds later with something wrapped in gift paper. She stood in front of me and gave me the present. I felt like a kid on Christmas morning. I unwrapped the gift so fast, my fingers were shaking. Under the wrapping was a book without a title on it, and on the first page it read: “Dedicated to the love of my life, my Ry”.

“What’s this?” I asked.

“It’s a sequel to my novel,” she said. “Well, it’s still a working progress, it’s a rough draft. But I want you to be the first person to read it,”

I flipped through the pages and I saw glimpses of our story written from her perspective. There were even pictures and sketches. And on the very last page, the ending didn’t say ‘you, me, and never us’ but it said, ‘you, me, and always us’.

“Wow… this is… so cool!”

I couldn’t believe she wrote our entire love story out in a book. And I got to read it through her eyes. This was freaking amazing.

“It took me a couple of years to get it done, but you’ve inspired me, Ryder Jake Williams,” she said as she bit her lip. Her eyes were glimmering and the fireworks above were still roaring. “You brought out the magic in me. So I did exactly what you asked me to,”

I raised an eyebrow and waited for her to continue.

“I wrote us a brand new ending,” she said. “Wait, no, not an ending. A brand new beginning,”

That’s right. This is only the beginning to our forever.

“Here’s to more and more adventures with you,” she said as she linked her arms around my neck.

My heart never felt so full. It was exploding in my chest, just like the fireworks above us.

I really am the luckiest guy on Earth.

Grinning from ear to ear, I cupped my beautiful wife’s cheeks with my hands and rested my forehead on top of hers.

“I love you, K,” I said.

“I love you, Ry,”

Closing the distance between us again, I knew for certain that I made the right choice. Kara was my home and I was hers. It didn’t matter where we’d be and what we’d be doing as long as we had each other. There was nothing greater than this. And I know I was only 25 years old and people might say there was still more to life than this, but I’d disagree. At 25 years old, I already knew that I had lived the fullest life. I’ve reached my dreams, I’ve met a girl, I fell in love, and it was fucking epic.

Because it’s you, me, and always us. Always.







\- - - - - To Be Continued - - - - -