Forever Is Now

Their Forever

Wayne  |  pov

"So UCLA?" She asks with a smile on her face. I nod and smile back at her.

"So Harvard?" I imitate her and smiles at me. It was expected for Mackenzie to get into Harvard, last I checked she had a 4.0 GPA. I guide her towards the waves and she follows. "How is the new city treating you?"

Mackenzie stares at the setting sun to think. This gives me time to study her face, she still looks just as beautiful as before but I'm noticing a new kind of confidence that the Mackenzie I knew before didn't have and it suits her. "It went great. I mean if I couldn't conquer that city, how am I supposed to become this badass black female lawyer taking over New York?" She laughs a little afterwards like she can't believe she just said that. She turns to me and stops laughing. "And you? I heard UCLA did not regret giving you the full ride," her face tells me it's a genuine compliment.

It's my turn to look at the ocean, I've been staring at her for too long. "Yeah but I didn't stay for football,"

"What?" She taps my arm to gain my attention.

I look down at her and I'm pretty sure that's concern I see on her face.  "Yeah, the scholarship was for football and I played but it wasn't my focus. Remember how I told you about taking over my dad's business?" She nods, "well I decided it was going to be my focus for a while. I hardly saw my dad growing up because he put so much into building this company. So I want to figure it out and grow into it now, so that years from now, when I have my own family, I'm not making the same mistake," I graduated with Business and Economics as my majors.

"You've already started with that family. I heard about Annabel, congratulations," she still looks genuinely happy for me and that makes having this conversation so much easier. 

I met my fiance Annabel, at a college party during my freshman year but stayed friends until after graduation. For 2 reasons. I wasn't over the girl standing in front of me and getting college over and done with, without committing to something big was the plan, especially while playing college football.  Yes, I hooked up now and again but nothing too serious.

The plan is to get married by the end of the summer. And maybe have 2 children later down the line. Annabel is an amazing human being and I love her, it was difficult to get to that point again because, again, of the girl in front of me. I needed to mature before hurting Annabel and myself, and those years of being single helped.

I'm surprised that I'm even having a conversation with Mackenzie because of how things ended in high school. She was the first one to say hello to me when we got here. This beach party was a reunion that took an entire year to work out and finally the entire Squad and their significant others were able to make it. Drinks have been flowing easily and I predict chaos before the stars are out.

But I look at them from the distance Mackenzie and I created, and I can't love these people anymore than I do. I kept in touch everyone and in any case, Luther, Tiffany and I went to the same college, so I saw them pretty often. A few years ago, we are all together in the same place but it was not a happy occasion.

My forever involves Annabel, my father's footsteps and the friends that became family.

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Mackenzie  |  pov

"So when is Noah popping the question?" Wayne nudges me.

"That's a question you're going to have to ask him," Wanye and I laugh. "But in all seriousness, I'm the one holding off on taking things there. My career is picking up," I stop there. And look back at the ocean, the sun is in full sunset now.

After high school, I got into Harvard Law School and fought my way to graduation. Years later, I'm a junior partner at a fairly new firm that is striving in New York City. Noah and I didn't happen until my Sophomore year. He enrolled at MIT for Architecture. Being so close, we often saw each other. One thing led to another one day and one day, he asked me out as more than friends. We moved in together that same year and have been together ever since.

He slowly nods and I think he picked up on the fact that my reluctance to get married is some thing more. "How have you been since we last saw each other?" His voice is soft and gentle like he is scared I'm going break.

I release that awkward giggle I give everyone when we get to this part of the conversation. "Well, considering that the last time we saw each other was at my mother's funeral, I'm doing better than I expected," I breathe out, I've been working hard on not crying and my healing has finally reached that point.

In the middle of my freshman year, my mother passed away from a brain tumour that was detected too late to operate on. By the time it was caught, she had about a month left. Not telling anyone until she had about 5 days left. My sister and I were there for her last breathe and I've needed therapy ever since. My hesitation to get married is the fact that neither of my parents will not be there for my wedding or see my children. I will marry Noah, I'm in love with him, I just need to work through my grief first.

Besides Noah, the whole Squad has been my rock. We were scattered all over the country but they came and spent the entire week at my house leading up to the funeral and stayed for week after. The girls and I made it a point to talk everyday and have weekly virtual catch up sessions. Luther and Tiffany had a baby boy the year after graduation. Daphne and Micheal broke up but stayed close friends, they blamed distance but looking at them interact right now, something might happen by the end of the night. Noel and Shawn got married, they had courthouse nuptials and are planning a destination wedding. Alliyah has a boyfriend she met in Chicago, Andre. And Ivan has chosen to live life like a bachelor playboy and is refusing to commit.

I'm happy with my life, I've achieved what I set out to and I believe in love after heartbreak. I have Noah who treats me like a princess and friends who would shake earth for me. What more could I ask for? This is my forever.

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