Two Years Later

MELODY

I’m trying to study.

Trying.

But Steph has other plans.

"Your shoulders are so tense," she murmurs, her hands slipping beneath my hoodie, fingers pressing into the knots at my back. "You’ve been hunched over that laptop for hours. I think you need a break."

I exhale, but it’s shaky because she’s good at this. Too good. "Steph—"

She presses a kiss to the side of my neck, her breath warm. "What?"

I close my eyes for a second, trying to remember why I’m resisting. Oh, right. My midterms. My very important midterms. "I have to finish this chapter."

"Mmm." Her lips trail lower, teasing. "And then?"

"Then I write notes."

"And after that?"

I shift, turning to glare at her. "Then I ignore you because you’re a menace."

Steph grins, completely unbothered. She’s leaning over the back of my chair, hair damp from her shower, wearing an oversized T-shirt that she 100% stole from me. It should annoy me. It doesn’t.

"Menace?" she repeats, pouting like she’s wounded. "That’s rude. I’m being a supportive girlfriend."

"You’re distracting me from studying."

"Tomato, tomahto," she singsongs, hands still rubbing slow circles over my shoulders.

I groan, dropping my head forward. She knows exactly what she’s doing, and the worst part? I love it.

Two years ago, I never would have imagined this—us, here, living together in our tiny apartment, tangled between love and real life. I always thought long distance would break us, that the space between visits would stretch too wide, but we made it work.

And now she’s here. Every morning. Every night. Every moment in between.

And she still drives me crazy.

"Five more minutes," I say, trying to refocus. "Just let me—"

Steph hums, and the next thing I know, she’s kissing the back of my neck again, lazy and slow.

I slam my laptop shut.

She laughs, pulling me up from my chair. "Finally."

"You’re evil," I grumble, but I’m already turning into her, letting my hands rest on her hips.

"Uh-huh. And you love it."

I roll my eyes, but she’s right.

***

It’s funny how life keeps moving even when you’re not there to watch it.

Back in Hilton, Marco finally opened his own mechanic shop. Mom says business is booming, mostly because everyone in town already trusted him with their cars. He loves it, too—always has. Some people are just lucky enough to turn their passion into a job, and Marco managed to do exactly that.

Mom, on the other hand, did a full 180. After years of being a nurse, she finally quit and decided she wanted a quieter life—one where she didn’t have to deal with hospitals or people constantly needing her.

Now, she gardens. She grows tomatoes and peppers and all sorts of vegetables in the backyard and sells them at the farmers market every weekend. Says she likes talking to her plants better than most people. I get it.

Jeremiah and Diane are finally engaged. Took them long enough. I wasn’t even surprised when I heard—everyone knew it was coming, but it still made my heart warm.

They’re planning a summer wedding next year, and knowing Jeremiah, it’s going to be the biggest event we've ever seen. He’s always been that way, larger than life.

And Jess? She’s still in France. Still living her best life, still making impulsive choices that somehow always work out. Last time we talked, she told me she had a bisexual French boyfriend and that she was very in love with him, and honestly? Good for her. I don’t think she’ll ever move back, and that’s okay. She seems happy. That’s all that matters.

Even Amber has found someone. After years of disastrous blind dates, she finally met a guy she actually likes. They’ve been dating for almost a year now, which is a personal record for her.

She says she’s not rushing into anything, but I can tell she’s serious about him. The way she talks about him is different—less sarcastic, more… hopeful. I think she’s finally found what she’s been looking for.

It’s strange, seeing everyone settle into their lives, watching them build things for themselves. For so long, I felt like I was the one standing still while the world moved on without me. But now? Now I’m moving too.

"*"

Steph drags me onto the couch, practically forcing me to cuddle, not that I’m complaining. She tucks me against her chest, her fingers playing lazily with the ends of my hair.

"You’re thinking too hard," she murmurs.

"Am not."

She pokes my side, and I squirm. "Liar."

I sigh, letting myself relax against her. "I was just thinking about everything. About how much has changed."

Steph hums in agreement, her fingers tracing light patterns on my arm. "Yeah. But change isn’t bad."

I tilt my head up to look at her. "You think we’ve changed?"

She smiles, pressing a kiss to my cheek. "I think we’ve grown."

I let that sink in. Two years ago, we were just figuring things out. Long distance was hard. Trying to balance school and work and missing each other constantly—it wasn’t easy. But we kept choosing each other.

And now we’re here. Together.

I take her hand, threading our fingers together. "Do you ever wonder what’s next?"

Steph shrugs. "Not really. I mean, yeah, we’ll have to figure things out as we go, but…" She squeezes my hand. "As long as we’re doing it together, I don’t really care what’s next."

I smile, my chest feeling too full, too warm.

She’s right.

I don’t know exactly what the future holds. I don’t know if everything will go the way we planned, or if we’ll have to adjust and figure things out as they come.

But I do know this:

Right now, in this moment, in this life we’ve built together—

I wouldn’t change a thing.