Star Shines In Her Eye

Weary Traveler

1 Year Later

The lyft driver pulled into the parking lot of my LA apartment and the butterflies that had been fluttering around my stomach got even more intense. I hadn't seen Josh in a couple of months and he was now only feet away. I took a deep breath and opened the car door. I grabbed my duffle from the trunk and headed towards the apartment building. I had been traveling since August for NatGeo and the guys completed their tour in the US for the year and took time to travel on their own. Josh came along with me for one part of my trip to Africa but we parted ways again when he had to go back to the states and I headed to the South Pole for further exploration. It had been the most incredible year but I was more than excited to be back with Joshua in the space we shared together. As I reached for the knob the door swung open and Josh was standing there with his arms wide open.
I dropped my duffle and jumped straight into his arms and we kissed deeply and passionately. I started removing my jacket in horny desperation but when I opened my eyes I noticed the room was full of loved ones. "SURPRISE!" Jake shouted. My heart stopped and I started hysterically laughing. I gave Josh a shove "You could have stopped me at ANY point there." "Yeah... but I was into it. Happy birthday!" Josh said playfully. "Well get over here, you sly mother fuckers!" I was soon pulled into a massive group hug of my four favorite boys. I greeted our other friends with hugs and kisses and took a drink Danny passed to me and quietly stepped out to the balcony, I was feeling very overwhelmed.
I had only spent a couple of months in LA in total throughout the year but I was growing tired of it already. I leaned against the railing and felt hands grab my waist, gently squeezing me. Josh leaned his head against mine and gave me a small kiss on my cheek as he wrapped his arms around me from behind. I turned to look at him, he held onto me as I looked into his eyes. "How are you feeling about living here?" I asked as I ran my hand through his curls, his hair was getting long again but it remained soft. "Yanno, it's been a whirlwind of a life, the last 7 years, I'm feeling the need to be somewhere quiet for a change. What are your thoughts, my love?" Josh's tone was raspy and sexy, I missed him so badly, it physically pained me. "I agree, I had no idea what life would be like the last couple of years but I have yet to feel settled anywhere, I want to be in the country, I want land and I want our own space. How would you feel about setting a date?" I asked Josh sheepishly, we hadn't talked much about getting married, he was waiting for me to be ready, he didn't want to be pushy. Josh kissed me hard on the lips, "I want nothing more."
We spent a while talking on the balcony, I caught him up with how the last couple days of travel were and we talked about where we wanted to be next. Sam slid the glass door open and he poked his head out. "Hey, can we cut the cake?" I rolled my eyes at my best friend and laughed. "LETS GOOOOO!" We went inside and everyone sang happy birthday to me while Sammy threw me onto his shoulders, a terrible tradition that we started as teens, I hated it. Sammy started chanting "Speech! Speech! Speech!" I cleared my throat and from Sammy's shoulders I addressed our small crowd. "Well, I want to thank my very best friends for setting this up for me, I've missed you all so very much and it so nice to be surrounded by loved ones after my solo travels the last 7 months. I learned a lot in my 24th year but the one thing that I can say is that there are bonds that are unbreakable and I'm so glad I have those with everyone here." Sammy squeezed my thigh and looked up at me with a big smile. "HERE HERE! To 25!" Sammy shouted and held up his cup.
     Sammy set me down and I hopped onto the counter so he could cut the cake. I chugged what was left in my cup and scarfed the slice of cake he handed me. Kenz walked over to me and I played with her curly hair as we chatted about my travels. "I think Josh and I are going to move out of the city soon." Kenzi turned around and pouted at me "You just got back, what do you mean?" I rubbed my legs uncomfortably, I felt sad about the idea of separating from our whole gang, I just really wanted to start my life with Josh. "I know, we'll stay for a bit, I don't think Jake can handle cleaning this space on his own... we're just talking a lot about the future and... yanno, getting married and all that jazz..." Kenz starred back at me in shock, she knew we were technically engaged, no one had really talked about the marriage aspect out loud yet though. She squealed and ran to tell Danny what I had just told her. I kicked my legs on the counter and looked around, Josh was in the corner chatting with a friend, making wild hand gestures. I smiled to myself and looked at my hands. I was exhausted and feeling ready for bed and for the next phase of my life to begin.
Jake came up to me and leaned back on the counter, "I hear that you're trying to leave and take my brother with ya." I rolled my eyes. "Jake, you could never control that kid anyway, I'm here to take him off your hands." "That's fair..." he turned to look at me, my legs still nervously kicking, this whole day has had me on edge. "Well if that's true, I'd be cool with it... Jita and I have been talking again... I was considering moving back to Michigan, anyway..." "Jacob, are you serious??? You know I love Jita, it's been years, why now?" "Well, I'm just growing up too, I missed her.... shut up!" I squealed and hugged him around his neck. "I think Josh and I should go back to Michigan anyway, I miss being near our families." Jake rubbed my arm and nodded. "When can we kick everyone out? I literally just want to dog pile onto the bed and watch movies." "Oh Kaz, clearing a crowd is my speciality and that is my birthday present to you."

Author's note: FIRST OF ALL, thank you so much for 3K reads! It seems small to others but it's HUGE for me! I'm getting close to the end of this story, I'm going to miss Leah and her wild adventures with the boys but we've got to let her spread her wings. I just started doing one shots as well so make sure to check it out in the link below!
THANK YOU AGAIN, LOVE YOU ALL!
https://my.w.tt/YmoZ5VvXmW