Two Months Together

Here's To Forever

Here at last, the final chapter to this epic love story. Thank you to all here on Wattpad and also Fanfiction.net for joining me on this journey. I started this story back in 2010 and it's technically been finished since 2014 but with regular life and its ebb and flows, things get pushed back and left behind. It is now 2021 and I recently rediscovered this past of mine and wanted to make sure that this small part of me was completed on all ends. And with that, read, review, vote.

many thanks,

Claire

Chapter Seventy One:

Claire's POV

August 2033

Time has flown by faster than I could have ever imagined. Weeks, months, years have passed and the twins were already well into their late teens. Nineteen to be exact. Taylor and I, although still feeling young and full as always, we still had the nagging sensation of growing old by the minute. Especially witnessing the growth of our kids each second. They had both graduated high school, excited to start their newest journey of attending NYU. Obviously together, they never really left one another's side ever since they were born. But that didn't mean that they didn't have different interests, or friends, or styles. We were proud of who they have become thus far in their lives. Proud to say that we were their parents.

Danielle fell in love at an early age. At just 16, she met the love of her life she always told me. Alex has always treated her with the upmost respect and care, which both Taylor and I highly appreciate. They have been together ever since, but now having been accepted into different schools, distance would test their bond for the first time. Not only for Alex, but for her parents as well. Andrew has grown into a fine young man. Looking so much like his father it was scary. Of course the girls fell for him daily during the school days, which he didn't pay too much attention to. I figured he wasn't that kind of guy. He had one serious relationship at one point. For about three years. Until he caught her cheating with his best friend of 13 years; his heart hasn't been the same since. My little hopeless romantic.

Taylor has filmed countless movies during all of this, still doing what he loves no matter what life threw at him. Me on the other hand? Well, being a loving wife and responsible mother was and is always my number one priority, dancing was continuously on my agenda. I followed my dream and started looking into major contemporary ballet companies across the globe. I stumbled into San Francisco one April afternoon and stopped by Lines Ballet to take an open ballet class just to keep myself in shape. Next thing I know, I'm being offered to audition for their company, Alonzo King LINES Ballet. I got in, rehearsed and toured with them for three seasons and to be honest, it was the most thrilling time of my life. Although living a little farther from my family for that amount of time was tough, they understood that it was what I needed at that point in time.

What about Jack, you ask? Well he and Hayley got serious, which I had envisioned from the beginning. They ended up picking up their stuff and moving to New York to both pursue dance. Hayley stayed with her classical ballet route, ending up auditioning and getting into the core for the world famous American Ballet Theatre. Jack got gigs with several music videos as well as being an extra those popular Step Up movies. They both succeed in careers as they did relationship wise. I remember when Jack came to me for advice a few years back. He was going to ask Hayley to marry him. I had never seen my best friend so happy before when the moment finally came. From the actual proposal to their wedding day on the beautiful west coast of Carmel, California. All that had happened between Jack and I was in the past. Back there but not forgotten.

Now at present day, all of us were in New York City helping the kids move into their dorm rooms. It was the middle of August and as hot as ever. It immediately brought me back to the time when I was on tour with Selena. The amazing day when Taylor and I reunited for our one year anniversary. I was snapped out of my memory as a pair of warm lips connected with mine. His sweet taste melded through and along the walls of my mouth, sending goosebumps down my arms. His strong hand grasped the side of my face as the kiss deepened, sending me into a frenzy. Our lips parted, nose grazing one another for a small moment. I sighed deeply into his eyes feeling as if we were teenagers again.

The kids were off on their own with their newly found friends, roaming the city. They weren't due to start classes for another couple weeks but of course they had wanted to come early to explore the new territory.

"Remember when we first met?" Taylor looked over at me as we walked over to a bench resting within the forest of Central Park.

"I do." He responded with a half smile. His long arm draped over my shoulder, my fingers twining through that hand comfortably.

Inhaling the humid summer hair, I rested my cheek against his broad shoulder. "Can you believe it's been 23 years?" I murmured.

I could feel that he was shaking his head in disbelief. "So many things have happened." He paused, taking a squeeze on my hand. "And yet, I still feel the exact same way I did the moment I first laid eyes on you."

My heart skipped. A mother with a stroller passed in front of us, the little girl absently shaking her toy as she seemed distracted by the balloon artist that was posted right across from us. I craned my neck to stare at Taylor, his hazel eyes already there waiting for my chocolate ones.

It certainly has been one hell of a journey. Now that the kids are out of the nest, once again, it's just him and I. I wondered what we would do next, maybe take a break from reality and take a vacation. Travel around Europe, go backpacking in the mountains, consume foods that we would never think of trying. I didn't know what was in store for us but what I did know was that the man that I met all those years ago, he changed my life. Throughout everything we both endured, throughout the struggles and pain, we continued through it by each other's sides.

"I love you," I breathed a wide smile.

He pulled me closer, kissing my forehead. "As I love you." His white teeth shone, eyes boring through me. "Thank you for changing my life...for the better."

"Thank you." I almost whispered, the breath in my lungs choking from the emotion that was overtaking me. We kissed under the willowing trees, stopping time, stopping the people and objects around us. Everything was black and white and we were screaming color.