The Good Girls Secret

Chapter 39 - Epilogue

With a huff, I grab the box and unwrap it with careful fingers.

"Oh my gosh!" I gasp, reaching inside.

Two tiny brown eyes peer up at me, along with two ears that are slightly crooked.

"You got me a German shepherd puppy?!" I exclaim, taking him into my arms.

He nuzzles my neck softly with his nose. Best. Gift. Ever.

"We did," Simon starts, "he's going to be trained to work in protection, but he's got a long way to go. And don't worry, Bear and him will get along just fine."

I chuckle at the fact that he remembered my cat.

Next, Alice places a box in front of me that's from her and the twins, who by the way, know everything now.

"Our gift isn't nearly as good, but hopefully you like it..." Alice starts, sliding over a huge box.

When I unwrap it and look inside I find it filled with a giant stuffed bear and all of my favorite movies and candies.

"We figured we'd do a girls night." Stella explains, gesturing to the contents inside.

"We definitely are going to." I reply, grinning widely from ear to ear.

Next, Mikey walks over and places a small bag in front of me. I take out the paper and find- oh my god no. Well, looks like you guys can't know that. The problem with being best friends for so long is that he knows all my embarrassing moments. I'm not gonna share what was in the bag.

He's laughing like an idiot well I'm beet red. "Figured you'd like it."

Ignoring him, I rush over to everyone else.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you all!" I squeal, rushing over to give them all hugs starting with Alice and ending with me grandma.

"You're welcome, sweetheart." My grandma whispers, kissing me on the cheek. "Now I'm gonna hit the hay. It's late for an oldie like me."

She jokes and I laugh. "Age is just a number."

Slowly she stands up and smiles at me, "you're grandmother's right. It's getting late, Simon and I are off to bed too." Marsha says, not missing the wink I give her.

She just smirks and rolls her eyes, slapping Mikey on the back of the head motioning between Braiden and I.

"Ohh, I get it. Well, I'm not tired, but I get that you two want to be alone" he wiggles his eyebrows, "so I'll just leave."

I laugh as he takes his crutches and limps away.

"Yeah, we will too." Alice says, motioning for Stella and Claire to follow. "See you later, don't have too much fun."

They exit the room, leaving me, Braiden, who's still staring, and the new puppy.

"Stoppp." I grumble, covering my face with my hands.

"I can't help it, you're beautiful." He replies and my face turns beet red.

I don't know how to reply so I just busy myself with the little guy in my arms. He starts to lick my nose and I almost die of his cuteness.

I feel Braiden take my hand and lead me outside. I breathe in the fresh summer air and gaze at the stars.

"Remember are first real date. We spent it looking at the stars" he says, breaking the silence, "I made a wish that night. Do you know what it was?"

I look into his eyes and smile, "if you tell me it won't come true!"

He just chuckles "yes it will, because I wished to spend the rest of my life with you, and I'm never letting you go. Remember?"

I gasp when he gets down on one knee and reaches into his pocket, almost dropping the puppy in my arms.

"Don't freak out I'm not asking you to marry me... yet. Instead I want to make a promise, one that says that no matter what happens I'll be by your side forever. I promise to be there when you need a shoulder to cry on, when you need someone to pick you up, and when you need someone to laugh with because god, Ryan, I love to hear your laughter. I promise to give you a lifetime of unconditional promises, because I'm hopelessly in love with you." He finished his speech, revealing a promise ring in the tiny box.

Tears are streaming down my cheeks and the unnamed puppy is liking them off. I've never felt this much love for anyone or anything before. Braiden helped me to realize that love is out there, you just have to wait for the right person to show you it.

"Of course I'll accept your promises!" My arms fly around my neck after he slips the ring on my finger. "I'm hopelessly in love with you too, Braiden. I always will be."

The stars above us are twinkling like the ring on my finger, "happy birthday, Ry."

Braiden whispers, now facing towards me. Before his lips can touch mine, the little pup licks Braiden across the face causing me to burst out laughing.

"Wow, mood killer. What are we gonna do with you?" I chuckle, scratching his head.

"Have you figured out a name yet?" Braiden asks, wiping his face in his sleeve.

"I think I'm gonna call him Chance. Because through all of this I've realized that life is full of chances, what makes things interesting is deciding which ones you want to take. He's like a reminder of that." I reply, stroking his rusty colored fur.

"I'm glad you took a chance on us." Braiden mumbles, threading his fingers through mine.

"I am too." I reply, snuggling in to him.

In this moment I realize that everything happens because we decide to take chances. If we didn't life would be just boring. So go do it. Talk to the boy you've been crushing on, try to beat your own record, do something big! If you want to go skydiving, then do it!

Take the chance, because odds are, you'll have pretty great results. I know I did.