Starting Over

Bonus Chapter: Engaged

4 years later, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

I've been twenty-four about awhile now. I was expecting a proposal on my birthday because I mean that's how Chase acted. He acted like he was gonna wife me up as soon as possible.

I'm been mentioning an engagement to him, but he's making it seem as if he wants to wait a year. I doubt he really wants to wait a year and he's trying to throw me off my game.

Right now I'm in North Carolina. For a weekend getaway.

I'm meeting up with my girls.

New York is great but it gets a little hectic. I can't get over all the traffic. I'm getting to the point where I want to sell my car but I know I need it.

Chase's basketball team is doing great. I go to all the games and have made friends with basketball wives.

Nicole is a great speech therapist for kids in Charlotte. She lives on the outskirts of Charlotte not directly in the middle. She didn't want to be that close to her family. She's married. She was the first one married out of the girls. Who would've thought? I was her maid of honor at her wedding and gave a great speech. I didn't forget to mention how we were mistaken for lovers.

Gabe did the NBA for two year after college and then decided he didn't like it. It wasn't for him. So now he coaches at a high school. Chase talks to Gabe a lot. He's always asking for advice from Gabe. I'm not sure on what. He won't tell me. Gabe is also married.

Ethan and Gracie got engaged our junior year. So when we graduated they were married. Ethan did basketball in college and now has a degree in business. They live back in his hometown in South Carolina. We don't hear much from them we just get invites to their kids birthdays and Christmas cards. They have three kids.

Hayden lives in Chicago and plays for the Bulls. He's not married nor engaged, but he has a three year old and a golden retriever. He's happy. At first he was confused. We all were. He had a baby at twenty-one and didn't know.

Loren our sweet Loren. Her senior year everything with her and Hayden was going great until her mom got sick. Then everything took a complete 180. She's now lives in Illinois. She didn't know Hayden was there. She took a job over there. She ran away from everything in North Carolina.

Safe to say the friend group is now stable and scattered around the U.S.

"I can't believe we are all here." Nicole says trying to pull into a hug but she's ready to pop any day now.

"I can't believe you're pregnant." I point out.

"Me either. You know I told him I wanted to wait but this baby was so unexpected." She tells us as a car pulls up in the driveway.

We rented a house this week.

"Nicole! Taylor!" Loren screams getting out of the passenger side of car and running towards us. I watch as Gracie gets out of the driver side.

"Who would've thought we'd be back here?" Gracie question. "I feel like I'm traveling to Ethan's games all over again."

"Well since Nicole can't travel this was the only option to get her out of Charlotte." Loren tells us.

"Let's go do something." Nicole suggest as we all pile in Gracie's Tahoe. She's such a mom now. She has kid toys scattered everywhere in the back.

"Sorry for the mess. Children are messy and when you have three under five, you clean but it doesn't stay clean long. So I gave up cleaning long ago." Gracie apologizes. Gracie and Ethan have a four year old, a two year old, and a six month old baby.