Training for Love « Chase Elliott »

« Epilogue »

One Year Later - Gabby's POV

"Okay! I think that's the last of it." I tied a knot in the garbage bag full of clothes that no longer fit me and discarded them next to the giant pile of things I'm donating. I honestly never thought I'd reach this milestone when I first signed up that fateful day for a training program. But here I am, donating all of my old clothes because they were now officially too big for me.

With the help of Chase, Blaney and the wonderful staff at Infinity Fitness, I'm down 60 pounds. It's been a slow and tearful journey; a lot of ups and downs, but I've been pushing myself to continue on and I couldn't be more proud of myself.

My soul needed this change in my life. It was more than losing weight, it was finding myself in the process. I've found someone who's now strong and courageous. I mean, I ran a 3K with Chase last month! Who would have thought I could accomplish that?

My soul was now happy and so full of love and light. I'm surrounded by new friends who encourage and push me further than I ever thought possible. I'm only 20 pounds from my goal weight and I know my journey has only just begun.

I honestly couldn't have done any of this without Chase. Everything we've been through was absolutely worth it; the pain, the tears, the hardship. All of that brought us closer together. I may have been the one to start this journey, but it Chase who unexpectedly came along and had his life changed.

And who knew we would fall in love with each other in the process? Damn. I fell so hard and so fast. I never thought I would get to experience this joy in life but yet here I am, standing in the middle of my home packing up my belongings.

Chase asked me to move in with him. Well, kind of. Chase asked me to marry him AND then he asked me to move in with him. It was endearing actually. We were laying together in his hammock watching the sunset over Lake Norman when he sat up quickly and blurted out "marry me." He then backtracked and asked me to move in with him. He was a blubbering mess until I kissed him to shut him up.

"I just want to spend the rest of my sunsets with you," he sighed, placing his forehead on mine. I laced my fingers with his and told him I wasn't going anywhere and that I planned on spending the rest of my life with him. He made it official when he pulled out a ring when we vacationed in Colorado for Christmas. He surprised me by flying out our close friends and family for the celebration.

Our good days outnumber our bad days now, but for a while there it was the opposite. After the incident with Chase's ex, we thought it would be a good idea to start therapy. Chase realized his resentment towards her, and ultimately me in the beginning of this relationship, all stemmed from the trauma he experienced during his childhood. I cried during the first few sessions. I thought Chase should go alone, but he wouldn't talk unless I was there with him. There's nothing worse than watching the person you love be in pain. I wish I could have been there for him when he was a child, but more importantly, I'm here for him today that's what matters the most.

A soft knock on my bedroom door brought me hereto. Chase was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed and a huge grin on his face. "What?" He just shook his head and said nothing. "Stop looking at me like that." Chase laughed, walking towards me and pulled me into him by my hips.

"How am I looking at you?" I shrugged and bit the inside of my cheek from smiling. Even though Chase and I have been dating for about a year now, he still makes the butterflies in my stomach flutter like crazy.
"I don't know, you tell me." I tilted my head up and waited for him to answer but he kissed me instead.
"What was that for?"
"Because I love you."
"I'll never get tired of hearing that," I sighed, standing up on my tippey toes to kiss him again.
"And I'm so proud of you," he whispered against my lips and pulled me even closer to him. "But I'm going to need you to stop losing weight, I love your curves too much." Chase's hands went to my back and down to my ass. I yelped in surprise when he grabbed the back of my thighs and lifted me up.
"Chase!"

I laughed the whole time he carried me over to my bed where he haphazardly dropped me on my back. He was on top of me within seconds, kissing my neck and any exposed skin he could reach.

"Have I told you how sexy you are?" I suppressed a moan when I heard his raspy voice that was tainted with lust.
"Almost every day," I breathed out when he pushed my legs apart and settled in between them. My eyes rolled into the back of my head when I felt his hardness pressed against my center. "You drive me crazy," I moaned.
"That's the point." Chase sat up on his knees, taking his shirt off and throwing it behind him. I bit my lip as my eyes drank him in; his muscular tanned skin glistened from sweat from moving boxes out of my house.
"I can't wait to wake up to this every day." I reached up and pulled Chase down from the back of his neck.
"I can't wait to make love to you anytime I want," he grinned before he kissed me.
"Don't you already do that now? I specifically remember the other day you pulled me into the showers at the gym after closing time."
"Yeah," I could feel him smile against my skin and I just know his mind went back to that moment, "but now, it will be in our home."
"Home is wherever you are, Chase. I hope you know that."

Chase looked down at me with love and adoration. "I can't wait to make you officially mine."
"Forever and ever."
"Until the last breath."

Chase's kiss sealed our promise to each other, then his hands were on my clothes quickly taking them off.

As Chase made love to me that afternoon, I realized how just how utterly and completely in love with him, and I wouldn't have it any other way. 

~The End~

A/N: First and foremost, I want to thank you, the reader, for even clicking on this story and gave it a chance because I never expected it reach 5K in reads, nor did I expect to write about 26K words, either. 

I also want to thank those who left me sweet comments and voted on the story.

And I really need to thank those who reached out to me back in March when I got the worse news of my life.  I never thought I would write again after those first few days of my new reality.  I never thought I would feel again, or even want to come back to this fandom.  Life has been so hard, but somehow, I worked my way back to this story.  I was determined to finish it. 

I'm sorry if it felt rushed there at the end, but I wanted this story to be of Chase and Gabby overcoming their downfalls and building each other up.  Ultimately, this is a love story we all can learn from. 

Thank you again for taking time out of your day to read this.  Love you guys!

Oh! And I am working on new material. Not sure when I'll start posting new stuff, but it's in the works!