Living with the Millers

Epilogue

Epilogue - Four Years Later

Ben's hand covered my eyes as he led me through the apartment door, carefully guiding me so I didn't run into anything. The past few weeks he had been super strict about not letting me see anything. He wanted it to be a total surprise. I told him I would help set everything up, but he wanted to do it by himself. I guess I could understand that, but the girl in me knew not to trust a man to furnish an apartment by himself, especially one I would be living in.

"Are you ready?" His voice in my ear sent shivers of anticipation down my spine. I nodded eagerly.  Finally, Ben lowered his hand, allowing me the first look at our space.  It was a small studio apartment, one I had insisted on because I wanted to do this without his parent's money.  But we were both full-time students living in LA, small was the only thing we could afford. 

I had seen it empty, bare but clean, with good bones.  But Ben had completely transformed it.  Our king-size bed sat in one corner, covered with a fluffy grey duvet.  In the middle was the door to our bathroom, which was small and only had a shower, but I would grow to accept that meant no bath nights with Ben.  The modern kitchen was big, considering the square footage of the apartment, with stainless steel appliances and even a small island separating the kitchen from the living room.  Ben had set up a long, gray sofa covered in colorful throw pillows.  A flat-screen TV sat in front of it on the coffee table, which was littered with my favorite magazines.

I turned to face him, a big smile on my face. "I have to admit I was skeptical, but this is perfect," I wrapped my hands around his neck as he snaked his around my waist, pulling me close. "Are you sure you should be going to law school?  I see a future in interior design."

Ben rolled his eyes at me, "Haha, so funny.  I just got accepted, I'm not dropping out so soon."  He had just finished his bachelor's and gotten accepted into law school.  He was about three years from being a licensed lawyer and I couldn't be more proud.  "Speaking of, how's that Ph.D. coming, Dr. Quinn?" I released him with a sigh, plopping down on the plush couch.  I sank in, which was fitting, considering my sinking feeling.  I had been in college for three years and I felt like I was drowning.

Psychology hadn't been my first choice.  It had actually been my own therapist that suggested I consider it for a career.  She said I had a knack for it because I always had a diagnosis for my own triggers and a desire to help people.  And I loved it, I did, but it was hard.  Between my full-time job at a bar downtown and maintaining my grades, I was struggling big time, but I didn't want Ben to know that.

"Let's talk about something else," I muttered, rolling my eyes.  Ben smiled at me, the big, genuine smile that seemed to always melt my troubles away, and pulled me to my feet. "Seriously, I love it here."

"I'm glad," Ben whispered, placing his hands to my neck.  He pulled me close, engulfing me in a bear hug.  "Mom and dad want to visit soon.  Not everybody at once, obviously we don't have the room, but they want to see it."

"Mhm," I hummed, nuzzling my head into his chest.  Jason still wasn't thrilled about his son's choices in life, but he had come around majorly.  At least now when he came to visit it wasn't super awkward, and Savanna and Jason didn't try to murder each other at the dinner table.

Savanna was much happier about the whole situation.  My senior year of high school had been tricky.  They knew they couldn't stop us anymore, but she still made it clear we had to be careful.  I ended up staying in the guest house behind her new LA home, separate but not far, where she could still check in on me.  Plus, I was close to my sisters.  Now that we were both out of her care and in college, she loved us together.  Even went so far as to sneakily as me when her grandchildren would be coming along.

Spoiler alert, not until we were both done with college.  I did not need to add another thing to my plate that I couldn't handle.

"What about London?  When is she coming to visit?"  Ben asked, releasing me to grab a water bottle out of the fridge.  I sat on the arm of the sofa, crossing my arms.

"Whenever that busy New York life allows, I suppose," I rolled my eyes, pretending to be disgusted by my sister's life choice.  We both knew I was insanely proud of her. "She said fashion week should be big this year.  Her boss might even let her design a piece."

"Wow, that's huge, right?" Ben asked, attempting to look like he knew what he was talking about.  I shrugged, almost as lost as he was.  That was her world, I just smiled and cheered her on, even if it was from a distance.

Everyone was all grown up.  It was like I had blinked and BAM, life just passed me by.  Ryder was going to Vanderbilt to be a lawyer, just like his father had always wanted.  It suited him better than Ben, I thought.  Dallas was in his first year at NYU to study cinema.  I felt slightly better with London in New York, knowing at least Dallas was nearby to keep an eye on her.  Gavin and Cora were graduating this year.  Zoe, Mason, and Matthew would be juniors.  And next year, Skylar and Arielle would be starting high school.

Time did just fly.

Ben could tell I was lost in thought.  He came to me and stood between my legs, looking down at me because of how tall he was.  I snapped out of it, smiling up at him.  He was my calming force, always.  My anchor when I needed it.  Which only proved how far we had come since I walked into his house, a newly orphaned teenager with so much baggage a horse couldn't carry it.  You almost couldn't recognize Ben as the moody teenager who was angry at the world.  But I could.  I could see him in his eyes, the way they sparkled extra special when he looked at me.  In the way he took no shit from the clerk at the corner store he stopped at to buy cigarettes (a habit I had yet to push him to break, but it was much less than it used to be). In the way he fiercely defended his family even if they were all spread across the country now.  He was mine and I loved him with every ounce of my being.

He leaned down to kiss me, something I'm sure was meant to be an innocent thing, but I gripped his shoulders, pulling him closer and wrapping my legs around his waist.  He responded immediately, gripping my hips and hoisting me into the air.  He lifted me like I was a feather, planting his hands firmly on my ass.  I sucked his bottom lip into my mouth, earning a throaty groan from him that made my stomach flutter.  His tongue entered my mouth, filling me with his familiar taste of mint and tobacco.  We stumbled backward, Ben still holding me, until he dumped me onto the bed. 

We ended up under the covers, a tangled mess of limbs and sweat.  He brushed hair out of my eyes, tucking it behind my ear.  Ben looked at me with such fondness I thought for sure I would melt. "If you don't stop looking at me like that, I might jump your bones again," I laughed, playfully shoving his shoulder.  His gaze didn't falter. "Do I have something on my face?"

"You're beautiful," he whispered, so quietly I wondered if he was talking to me. "Dr. Miller."  The words made my heart stop.  I froze, breath catching in my throat.  Surely I was imagining things.

I had thought about it.  We had been together for so long, of course, we both assumed it was going to happen eventually.  But we both had so much school left, and we had just moved in together. There wasn't any hurry.  I wasn't in a hurry.  And yet hearing that one word come out of his mouth made my heart skip a beat.

The color quickly drained from his face. "I-uh-I mean-" He coughed, trying to clear his throat.  He tried to sit up, but I quickly pulled him back.

"YES!" I exclaimed, a huge smile pulling at my lips.

His eyes widened in horror. "I didn't ask you anything!" he cried, freeing himself from my grip.  He stood, hands on his hips. "I didn't mean- shit. Shiloh, I didn't mean to ask you like this-"

"Yes!" I said again, climbing to my knees.  I placed my hands on his bare chest, begging him to look at me. "I don't need any of that fancy stuff.  Come on Ben, it's me.  I love you and that's always been enough.  Yes!"

"But I don't have a ring!" Ben exclaimed, eyes wide.  He clearly hadn't meant to ask me this way, hell, probably hadn't meant to even say it out loud, but I didn't care.  I was giddy.

"I don't care!" I cried, resting a hand on his face. "Yes, yes, a million times yes!" And he kissed me so hard my head spun.

Dr. Shiloh Miller.

I liked the sound of that.