𝐈 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮

Epilogue: Althea

  I stretched my arms and yawned, careful not to wake Jonesy who was still sleeping soundly by my side. I smiled. It was the Fourth of July, my second favorite holiday. And this specific holiday was bittersweet; it was the last time the entire gang, plus a few stragglers, would be together until Christmas.
  Jonesy was off to New York in a few days after having been drafted by their PWHL team. Daria and Bela were going to Minnesota, Stella was staying in Westbrooke to work on her Master's degree and to be close to her mom.
  Gemma was flying to California to visit her parents before taking a trip to Seoul, South Korea to show Ellis where her family was from. Sterling was going to Mexico to put her secondary education teaching degree to use.
  She was excited to go but said she was worried about who would look after Bela. Daria said she would make sure she only got into just a tiny bit of trouble while they were apart. She had earned a swat to the head from Sterling for that.
  And me? I was headed back to my favorite state in the world. New York. Not only was Jonesy going to be there, my dad and his new girlfriend had moved back into my childhood home. I was excited to show Jonesy where I had grown up and what a real white Christmas looked like. I also had a job lined up for me.
  After the whole situation with Blake and Aiden, I had taken a step back from paired skating despite everyone's comments and concerns. I didn't want to even think of him, let alone let him put his hands anywhere near my body.
  Being a solo skater was freeing and I knew this was what I was meant to be doing. With the short amount of time I had left before Sectionals, I had come up with an entire solo regimen. I had wowed the crowd and had been in the top three.
  It wasn't quite first place but coming in second was just as important to me. It meant I was still on track for the Olympics.
  A private instructor from Brooklyn had reached out to me, inquiring about my plans for going from a duet skater to a solo skater. She offered me her private services, lessons, new skates, and tons of benefactors if I in return taught her daughter and several of her friends how to skate.
  I laughed at first. Why would a well known figure skating coach need someone else to teach her girls how to skate?
  She then went on to tell me that she had adopted her daughter from a small country in West Africa and she had insisted on having a coach that "looked like her." After seeing my performances from the Nutcracker and then my Sectionals tape, her daughter had informed her that I was the one she wanted.
  That had warmed my heart in such an indescribable way. All my life I had wanted someone who looked like me as a role model, someone I could look up to and the fact that I was now this little girl's made my heart explode.
  I quickly agreed.
  Everyone would soon be off on our new adventures, some of us together, some of us alone, but we made promises to come back to Aspen every year. Whether it was in the summer or the winter, we would always come back to this cabin, with this group of people.
  Jonesy cracked open an eye and looked up at me before sitting up and yawning. She ran a hand through her chocolate colored hair and smiled at me.
  Butterflies came alive in my stomach. I would never get used to this feeling; total and complete bliss, perfect happiness.
  "You're up early." She stifled a yawn behind her fist before leaning over and placing a kiss on my cheek. I leaned into her, a smile on my face. I was content. Everything was working out in my favor and I couldn't be happier.
  "I just want to soak in every last bit of this day. The last day."
  Jonesy snorted. "You make it sound as if this is the end and we're never going to see them again."
  "I know, I know, but this is the last time it will just be us and our friends in the cabin. Next year someone will have a new partner, someone might have a baby. We all won't be attending the same school together, or skating on the same team. You will probably be playing against Bela and Daria next year."
  I sighed. "A lot can happen in a year, I mean, look at the one we've had, and it hasn't even been a full calendar year yet. Who knows what might happen. I just-I just want to soak in this moment, this day, with these people."
  Jonesy nodded as if in deep thought. "I hope no one has a baby this time next year."
  I laughed and hit her hand. "Well, who knows; at the rate Gemma and Ellis are going at it, there just might be a toddler running around this cabin."
  She groaned and fell back into the pillows. "Oh, God. Stop talking about that, I do not want to know how often my brother and your best friend have been having sex."
  I leaned over her, resting my hands over her chest and her hands instinctively went to my hips, pulling my body atop hers.
  "I don't even know what she sees in him."
  I kissed her, breathing in her familiar scent. "Maybe she sees in him the same things I see in you." I kissed her again. "Ambition, determination, loyalty, humor." I placed a kiss on her jaw just below her ear. "Sexiness."
  Jonesy pulled her face away from me. "I know you did not just call my brother sexy."
  I couldn't contain the laughter in my throat. "No, I'm pretty sure I called you sexy."
  She squinted her eyes at me before breaking out into a smile. She reached up and tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear, her gaze dropping to my mouth.
  "I can't believe this all happened because of a stupid game of truth or dare."
  I cocked my head to the side. That was certainly an odd thing to say at this moment, but I had to agree. This all came into fruition because of a stupid dare. Two stupid dares actually.
  If someone had told me almost a year ago that me and Wolfcut Girl would end up like this, I would've laughed in their face. I would've said we had nothing in common; she was too infuriating, I was too stubborn. We couldn't possibly work out.
  It would be a crazy thought, the idea of calling her mine, and yet, here she was. Here we were. All of this happened because of a stupid game of truth or dare.
  Maybe not all stupid games came with stupid prizes.

The End.