Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 73940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
“Come,” I said. “Let’s go get our seats.”
“Let’s,” Jay replied. “And let’s celebrate later.”
“Oh, you already know I’m going to celebrate so fucking hard with you. Until the sun comes up.”
He winked. “That the only thing coming?”
“Not if I have my way, it’s not.”
Jay bit his lip, and I kissed him again, and again, and again.
This was it. A new beginning. As we took our seats in the crowd next to my dad and the queen began her number, the energy in the crowd began to sizzle and spark.
As I looked over to a beaming Jay, I realized that every day forward with him in my life would be the same. It was as if I had leveled up and I could now take on whatever the world threw at me.
So long as I had Jay at my side, I knew it’d all be alright.
Epilogue
JAY
The stage lit up as if the sun had been caged and contained directly above it. The huge LED screens played an impressive reel of various different games that were all up for Game of the Year award. I sat at a round table close to the stage, an empty plate in front of me which had been home to one of the best damn steaks I’d ever eaten. Maddy sat next to me. She leaned into Colt on her other side, his arm thrown around his wife’s shoulders as he took a sip of the champagne.
“Jay, you inhaled that meal,” Ryan’s dad said from across the table.
“And honestly I think I still have room for another.”
Ryan’s mom, Mary, shook her head. “If I had an ounce of your metabolism I think all would be right in this world.”
I laughed and shook my head. “It’s a curse, trust me.”
She narrowed her sharp hazel eyes at me before cracking a wide smile. She played with the shining gold necklace that rested on her beautiful sapphire dress. “Well let me know whatever ancient Egyptian tomb you opened up for that particular curse. I’ll gladly take a trip.”
Chris leaned in and kissed his wife on the cheek. “You’re perfect the way you are.”
I could see a blush form on Mary’s cheeks. She smiled and sat back in her chair, looking at her husband with the adoration reserved for someone deeply in love even after years and years of being together.
Even if someone had told me back in college that I’d be hanging out and chatting with the Redpines as if they were my own family, I would have laughed in their face and dance my ass away from their delusional selves.
Joke would have been on me, though.
It all happened pretty quickly. The day of that beachside protest, almost seven years ago now, had been one of the most fateful days of my life. I remember thinking that Chris Redpine had come to shut it all down, and then I remembered the bone-deep pain I felt when I realized Chris and Ryan’s relationship was a taught thread away from snapping.
Whatever I said that day must have landed directly in Chris’ core. He had become a changed man from that moment on. He stayed to watch the protest and a couple weeks later we found out his company had pulled out of the oil drilling project entirely. They were the majority financial backers, which meant the environmentally destructive plan was effectively dead in the water.
All thanks to Chris.
After that, even more changes began to occur. He started to divest from all the problematic companies he backed, from all the projects I would have protested against. Then he began shifting that money toward green projects and conservation efforts.
It was incredible to watch. And what was even more incredible was seeing Ryan and his dad grow closer than ever before. I could see the pride radiating from both of them, knowing that both father and son were on the right side of history.
“Jay’s always had that going for him,” my mom chimed in. She was sitting to my left, looking like a glamorous old-timey movie star. Her silver dress shimmered with every move, her long brown hair falling over her shoulders like shimmering cascades.
“You raised a wonderful son, Mariela,” Chris said.
“As did you,” my mom replied. She lifted her glass of champagne toward the center of the table. “Cheers, to not messing up this parenthood thing.”
We all clinked our glasses together as the host of the awards show took to the stage. The audience simmered down, conversations ceasing as he grabbed the mic. The lights began to dim. The screen on the stage transitioned into a huge, scrawling title: Game Of The Year Award.
The host cleared her throat. “Thank you all for spending an evening with us. I hope you’ve all had an incredible time. Now, without further ado, it’s time to present the award of the night. Here are the nominees.” She moved to the side of the stage, the screen drawing everyone’s attention.