Page 123 of Forever Golden
“Whatever, Southside,” he huffs, drawing a laugh out of me. I won’t push the issue, but I know I’m not wrong.
Next,myphone’s the one going off. I unlock the screen to find a pic of Scar and Mike posing like idiots in their 3D glasses in front of a movie poster. Heading to the theater has become part of their weekend ritual. It seems to have taken away the loneliness Scar would’ve felt from having lost Shane.
Scar: Wish you were here!
Blue: Have fun!
Scar: We will. Mike says he loves you.
I stare at that last message and smile a bit before answering.
Blue: Ditto
“Everything cool?” West asks.
I respond by showing him the pic and he laughs just like I did. “She looks happy,” he points out.
“She does. I’m glad I didn’t get in the way of that.”
Sometimes, it scares me to think how close I came to building a wall between them. One that would’ve caused them both undue pain.
West pulls me close and kisses my forehead before rising from the couch. “Let’s find the others.”
I stand when he lifts me to my feet, clinging to his hand as we move through the tightly-packed crowd. Of course, we make several stops because every few steps, someone’s calling his name—mostly just guys he’s played ball with over the years.
“I swear you know everyone,” I say, clinging to his arm.
He shrugs all casual like. “I’ve just run in the same circles as a lot of these kids my whole life.”
“What you mean is that the rich stick together,” I tease, earning myself a playful glare. “It’s true, though, isn’t it? It’s the reason our paths never would’ve crossed if I didn’t get a scholarship.”
“Whatever brought you to me, I’m just glad it happened,” he answers.
Not sure if he’s trying to rack up points or not, but I’m definitely rewarding him for that later.
I spot Dane and Joss first, chilling against a pillar near the patio. He’s talking and she’s smiling, both pretending they don’t wish to be more than they are. Sterling’s got two on his lap, one kissing him, the other… I don’t know. Waiting her turn?
The guy’s wild and single, so who knows what’s going on over there.
All in all, it’s a good night. Everyone’s in their element, having a good time, and I have my guy at my side.
“I love you, West Golden.”
He peers down at me, and I swear I feel his response before the words even leave his mouth. “Love you more. Forever.”
Epilogue
Three months later…
BLUE
There’s a bonfire, there’s music, but the Bellvue house feels completely different when there’s no party. Tonight, it’s just us—the solid fivesome Pandora’s dubbed “The Golden Crew”. Graduation’s been over for hours, but we only changed out of our caps and gowns twenty minutes ago. Guess we kept them on for so long because we’re all kind of proud we made it.
And maybe a little surprised, considering.
I’m perched on West’s knee, staring out across the water while we sit poolside. This just feels right. Like all the drama, all the chaos was to get us to this very moment.
As soon as I walked across that stage this morning, I felt the change. It was like a switch had flipped and we all took one giant leap forward. No, not every important person was present, but I’m okay with that. This chapter of my life is closing, and I’m beyond excited to see what’s next.