Him and Me.

Epilogue.

Six months later

A pair of hands covered my eyes, and I rolled them automatically in response. He had always done this the past couple of months. How he thought that I wouldn't know it was him both baffled and amused me.

“Guess who,” he sang out playfully.

I tilted my head and pretended to think. I then snapped my fingers and gasped.

“Idiot?” I asked loudly, trying not to snicker.

He groaned. “You’re so mean, Kayla Johnson. I don’t know why I put up with you.”

Despite my annoyance, I grinned. “You like me, that’s why. Now get your paws off of me.”

With a slight press against my eyes which made me scowl, he stepped away and I opened my eyes, blinking away the light. It kinda hurt. He took the seat in front of me and smiled widely. I glared at him in response.

Ice raised up his hands in mock surrender, the grin never leaving his face. “Easy, tiger.”

“Oh, shut up,” I muttered as I reached for my coffee cup. We were at our usual hang-out place, a café just beside the university. Ice and I made a habit of going here, usually also meeting up with Kyle and Cynthia. They had been dating ever since my birthday last year, and seriously I had not seen any other couple more in love than those two.

“Well, aren't you just cheerful this morning,” Ice said teasingly. “Are the lovebirds coming?”

I took a sip of my latte and nodded. “Yeah, they are.”

“How about Tyler?”

Shrugging, I held the cup in my hands, liking the warmth. “I don’t know, he said he wasn't sure if he can go home this weekend.”

Ice wrinkled his nose. “He should make it home, it’s summer break.”

“I think he’s going to come home with Maya,” I replied, to which the boy sitting across me chuckled at. I had to smile at that. Tyler and Maya had both decided to go to UMich, and they were still going strong. Maya had got to be the most patient person on the universe to be able to deal with Tyler Simmons.

The dark haired boy crossed his legs and leaned back on his seat. “Did you get another postcard?”

My smile grew bigger and I nodded, reaching for my bag on the chair beside me. I fished out a postcard, and handed it to Ice. He looked impressed.

“Cambodia eh?” He asked as he gave me back the postcard. “Your boyfriend has traveled all over the world. I’m kinda jealous.”

I nodded absently, looking at the picture of beautiful temples on Colby’s postcard. He had sent me one for every place he had been to, and I had almost 20 postcards in total. From elephants in Kenya to the Machu Picchu in Peru to the Big Ben in London and the Eiffel Tower in Paris. It felt like I had traveled the world with him.

There was a familiar tug at my heart. I missed him so much, but he was living his dream and I couldn't be happier for him.

About a month after Colby left, his grandmother passed away. We were constantly communicating then, over Skype, and he would call me as often as he could. I was still a bit of a mess, but eventually got it together with my friends’ and family’s help, and Colby’s too. Even when he wasn't right there with me, he had helped me. He would encourage me, and he told me he loved me so many times that I was left with no doubt that he truly, truly did.

During one of our conversations, he told me that he would travel, but only if I was okay with it. I was both touched and baffled by his statement. I was also put in a very stressful situation—much like when I had to push him to go to Brazil. I didn't choose to be selfish then; could I be selfish this time? It was overwhelming, and it caused me to hurt again. I knew Colby wasn't doing it intentionally, but still, it hurt.