Then Came Blue_ girlxgirl.

Epilogue

"Riley and Blue, do you know that the world wouldn't absolutely end if you two weren't making out?"Kenji asks.
"Agreed. You know they are always doing that." Lou adds getting up and walking away probably to look for a non alcoholic drink. From hanging out with Blues friends so often I've kind of gotten used to drinking and I like it. Blue however still not so much of a drinker.
"I don't miss that shit," Skylar says from the small screen of Kiara's phone. She has to attend on video because two months ago she moved away for work and also to get away from all the drama she said and I agree with her because this lot has so much going on. Today is Lona and Ethan's engagement party. Yep, we were all as shocked as you are when those two revealed they had been bumping uglies for almost a year behind our backs. There was a lot of outrage from the friends who felt they had been lied to for so long but they quickly came around because there are no better suited people for each other than Ethan and Lona. So calm and so in sync in their love it's almost like they have one mind.
"I didn't even know she was capable of being this person," Shae says from her place in Kenjis lap. I don't exactly understand what is going on there but she hasn't gotten back with Brian since she met him and for that I'm grateful. She says there's nothing going on except for her enjoying him because he's a big comfy bear, I don't know if that's a sex thing and I don't want to find out.
When I got back to our hostel that night about six months ago I found Shae seated on her bed looking quite ashen even though it was already the following day. I think she had had the entire night and half of that day to sit with it because she didn't shout or act out in any way, at least until I told her that I had told Lou about me first.
"You told Lou and didn't think to tell me!? I thought we were close Riley."
"I honestly didn't know how you would handle this Shae, I really didn't."
"Oh but you knew how Lou would? So you trust Lou more than you trust me!?"
"Shae, it's really not that_"
"Then what is it Riley?" She was shouting then honestly offended.
"Lou figured it out so I had no option but to tell her." But even this explanation didn't placate her in any way. For two days she didn't talk to me but she made sure to let me know it was because I had told Lou first and not at all because of my girlfriend whom she couldn't wait to meet officially. And so I introduced both Lou and Shae officially to Blue and her gang and it was so easy for them to get absorbed into the group. Along the way we lost Lynn and Julie when I introduced Blue as my girlfriend. Lynn outright matched out of my room without a word and never looked back while Julie said she didn't judge me but unfortunately we couldn't be friends anymore. I was a little sad about Julie but not so much about Lynn. I had lost two friends but gained five very amazing very accepting friends so I was okay. Those who genuinely love you will stay.
"If y'all could just shut up and let me kiss on my girl in peace," Blue says without turning back to look at them. I'm seated on a high stool and she's standing between my legs her hands resting on my hips while I run my hands through her hair gently. This engagement party is as casual as it gets Ethan and Lona being the most low key people I know. We were asked to just show up in our most comfortable smart clothes. What they had organised and by they I mean Kiara was a simple barbeque with meat, beer and their friends.
"Don't mind the haters," I say loudly mostly for the others' ears than for Blue. Before anyone else can say anything about us Lona and Ethan walk in thankfully drawing everyone's attention away from us.
"We don't really make out too much, do we?" Blue asks me without a care in the world about Ethan and Lona.
"Not at all!" This lie I say looking straight into her brown eyes that to this day still give me that nervous excitement I felt that first night we met. We do kiss on each other a lot, I think, but I have no intention of changing that.
"What do you think they'll say when they see our tattoos?"she asks sheepishly.
"Blue I already told you, we are not getting matching tattoos. That's cheesy even for us."
She rolls her eyes because we've had this very argument one too many times. "But we are Riley, it can be now or it can be when we are old and our skins have withered but we are." I love how she constantly refers to a future when we are old and grey together. She spends days scribbling out tattoo ideas for us and she's right, I'll eventually give in but what I want I don't know if she's ready for or if we are there yet.
"What if we got bands?" I ask, my heart suddenly in my throat. It takes her a minute to catch onto what I'm saying so I wait for her. When it finally sinks in her eyes open wide in a shock.
"Bands? You mean like_?" She takes my hand and circles my ring finger with her fingers and I nod because my mouth has suddenly gone dry. I think I might be asking Blue if she will marry me, I'm not sure but the tattoos I want us to get are matching bands on our ring fingers. I know it's only been a short time but I know that there's no one else I'll ever love but Blue. "Riley?"
"Yeah?"
"You're not proposing to me right now are you?" Am I? Can I even do that? It's not legal. But technically we would just be two people getting tattoos, matching ring band tattoos to be exact. Is there anything more permanent than that?
"I don't know, I don't know Blue. I think I am, or maybe it's this whole thing with Lona and Ethan that is making think crazy thoughts or maybe it's_"
"Stop." She says and I stop. She doesn't say anything however and I don't say anything too so we just look at each other for the longest time and I realize that yes I'm asking. I'm asking this girl if she'll spend the rest of her life with me because there's no life for me without her. She sees the answer in my eyes the way I see it in hers even before I nod my head yes. Her carrying me off the stool and spinning me around I don't see coming however which makes me scream as I wrap my legs and arms around her. When we stop spinning I lean my forehead against hers and let her kiss my laughing lips.
"You guys can't let me have even this one day can you?" Lona says and we notice my scream might have attracted the attention back to us.
"I'm so sorry Lona. Hi, " I say climbing down Blue's body. "Congratulations you guys." I give Lona a hug and she lets me so I think she isn't that mad at us after all.
"So what's going on here?" She asks Blue and me. I'm the happiest I'll ever be in this moment and my heart might pump right out of my chest from how happy I am but I'm not ready to share this with anyone else yet. Blue and I turn and look at each other and respond at the same time.
"Nothing," we say together. "We are so sorry about that. Today is for you and Ethan and that's is what we are going to focus on," Blue says.
We don't tell anyone about what we've done and we don't talk about it again either for the rest of the evening but it's right there between us in every moment. The whole evening Blue doesn't wander away from me for so long and neither do I and when we do, our eyes are never away from the other even from across the room. It feels like we are tethered to one another, like we are two halves of a whole. When they play Ed Sheeran's Perfect she holds me in her arms and we sway together and I feel every word sink into my heart and soul. I found a love, I found a woman.
When it's time for us to go home she says to me with a wink, "Let's go home Mrs Tarzan."
I look into her beautiful pale brown eyes. "I'm already home."
She laughs and takes my hand in hers. "And you said I was the cheesy one."