Page 115 of It's Always Been You
Epilogue
Molly
4 Months Later
“Ifucking love this,” I declare, settling into the passenger seat of Gabe’s car, looking down at the brand new tattoo on my wrist.
“Rory baby, you look so hot with a tattoo.” I glance up at Gabe with a grin, thrilled with myself and him and this whole entire day.
“Oh, I know,” I say, running my fingers over the clear bandage covering the two lines of numbers and letters. Coordinates to our tree in Berkeley to match the one Gabe already had, and coordinates to our house in Pittsburgh. Gabe got that one too. Our past and our present. Two homes, side-by-side.
Was it risky to get tattooed by a toothless guy named Clyde at some hole in the wall tattoo parlor in Deep Creek, Maryland that no one has ever heard of? Probably. Did Gabe and I care? We certainly did not.
Last night while we were lying in bed riding a post-multiple orgasm high, I was tracing the tattoos on Gabe’s thigh, and Imentioned I had always wanted one. He told me he wanted a new one to commemorate this new phase in our lives—the one where we’re back together and engaged and living together and building forever—and neither of us could get the idea out of our heads.
We’re in Western Maryland for our annual two-week family vacation at the Parkers’ lake house, but for some reason, getting these tattoos felt like something we urgently needed to do. Hence, toothless Clyde and his tattoo parlor of dubious cleanliness. It was perfect.
Gabe lifts up my hand, smiling at the jingle of my bracelet stack that now includes a thin rose gold bangle set with the diamonds from my first engagement ring. He kisses my wrist over the bandage while I run my fingers over the one on his thigh. Then I snort out a laugh.
“God, we really are that couple everyone makes fun of now, aren’t we?”
Gabe winks at me then slips on his sunglasses and fuck me, it’ll be a miracle if we make it back to the house without me mauling him right in the front seat of this car. He really is the hottest man to ever walk the face of the earth.
“Rory, if it’s with you, I’m fine being that couple.” Gabe starts the engine and heads back towards the house. “So, what’s the plan for tonight?”
“What do you mean?” I ask innocently, knowing exactly what he means. This is Gabe’s first family lake vacation, and he’s endlessly amused by all of our little traditions. I’ve been coming to the lake every summer for so long that I never think about how they look from the outside. Having Gabe here this summer is like experiencing it for the first time all over again, and it’s been so much fun.
Gabe pokes me in the side. “You know what I mean. This is night three, so what can we expect? Jump naked into the lakenight? Everyone run around the house five times and jump into the pool night?”
“You joke, but at one time or another we have done all of those things. Lake weeks are wild times.”
He smiles over at me as he signals for a turn. “I know. Rachel has made it her mission to tell me all the stories of lake trips past, with pictures.”
“How is it possible that you’ve only been around for, like, seven months and you’re already her favorite?”
Gabe shrugs, all casual like. “I’m a really likeable guy, Rory.”
I eye him suspiciously. “You promised her early access to Redwoods, didn’t you?”
“You bet I did. Her love was for sale, and I bought it.”
I throw my head back and laugh because the way Gabe has slid right into the fold of my most favorite people is the best part of my life. Rachel and Steven treat him like another one of their kids, the way they do with all of us. He’s been teaching Maddy how to code, and she comes over all the time to play with Gabe’s tech toys and build Lego with him. He comes to the office and hangs with the girls sometimes and is our office IT expert. He goes to the gym with the guys and hangs out at the bar with Ben, Jeremy, and Asher. And as the person in our group who has the most experience with grief, he has spent a lot of time with Jordan over the past four months. Gabe never tells me what they talk about, but I think to the extent anything could possibly help Jordan, Gabe has.
“Well, you, my friend, are in luck, because tonight is the very best night of all.”
“Oh, yeah?” Gabe reaches over and lays a hand on my leg, squeezing lightly. Even after all these months, he’s still always touching me, always turned to me in some way. I hope that never changes.
I cover his hand with mine. “You bet. It’s bonfire night.”
The fire snaps and crackles, sparks flying up into the dark sky. The lake laps along the shore, and the starry sky stretches above us. I’m settled on a blanket between Gabe’s legs, his arms wrapped around me, and it is the most perfect night.
I glance around the fire, taking in all my friends with their men. Ben tugs a sweatshirt down over Hallie’s head the way he does every year and then settles in next to her, kissing the side of her head. Asher tosses an arm around Julie’s shoulders as she grins up at him. Emma and Jeremy are curled up together on a single lounge chair, his chin resting on top of her head. Everyone happy. Settled. In love. It’s a really good life we’ve all made together. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.
“This is basically summer camp. I’m just waiting for someone to burst into song,” Gabe says, looking around.
“I could throw you a little Taylor concert,” Asher says. “What’s your favorite song? I’m in myLoverera right now because…” He captures Julie’s chin and kisses her like the world is ending. When he breaks the kiss, Julie rolls her eyes at him, but her face is full of amusement and love for her puppy dog man as Asher directs his attention back to Gabe. “But since you invented my favorite phone, I’m willing to sing whatever you want.”
“Asher, you’re the best friend a guy could ever ask for,” Gabe says, rummaging around in the bag of snacks we brought down and tossing Asher a bag of gummy worms. He catches them one handed and grins at Gabe. “All of you are. I really love it here. You’re lucky to have had this place to come to together all these years.”
