Reputation: Book One

Epilogue

Eighteen months later: In Autumn's perspective...

"Okay," Tripp breathes, bouncing on the balls of his feet and shaking his hands out. I smile, looking him up and down. He looked so nice all dressed up in a short-sleeved button down and jeans, and it's the first time I've seen him actually bother to try. He lets out a giggly shriek and runs a stressed hand through his hair, and I cant help but giggle. I lift my hand to his face, brushing his hair to the side with my fingertips. "You're messing up your hair," I tell him. "Keep messing with it and it'll look like you stuck your finger in a power socket."

"Damnit, I'm so nervous," He cries, cupping a hand over his mouth as he exhales sharply. His widened green eyes dart around wildly, checking everything over.

"Does everyone have the signs in the right order?" He asks, standing on his tiptoes to see over me and down to the house. After repairing the my mom's house following the event leading to Adrien's death, I soon realized I couldn't stay there, so I got a smaller house out in the country away from the city with a large yard, a pool, a gazebo, and outdoor kitchen. Figured it would save me more house space and give the girls something to do. Living alone has been hard, but Tripp adopted Jhordyn for him and Qrow's anniversary and took full custody of her as a parent. I cried when they broke the news. Adrien would be proud.

"I really hope this weather doesn't give out," I mutter, glancing up at the sky.

"Me too," Tripp agrees. The cloud coverage was a little bit much, but we had been planning tonight for months. We cant keep kicking Qrow out for grocery shopping with the girls; that's torture.

"Honestly, I'm kind of nervous too; not that I'm the one making such a big move, but I'm giddy for the reaction," I smile, and a smirk pulls on the corner of his lips. With the baby blue and pastel pink clouds swirling down the drain of dusk, the hanging fairy lights lining the gazebo began to illuminate the setup. I never would have thought of anything better than Tripp did: a 'date' in my backyard gazebo where everything is planned to go down. With the help of Marianne, Jake, Talitha, Jerzei, and I, we would all back Tripp up when he got down on one knee tonight.

I looked back over at Tripp, and he was nearly completely washed out in the face. "Hey, look at me," I say softly, reaching out for his shoulder. He lolls his head towards me, his eyes flickering with fear. "Autumn, what if-"

"No!" I scold, point an accusing finger. "No 'what-if' statements. This is going to be extremely successful, so stop freaking out."

He groans uncertainly. "It's not that easy!"

"I said yes, and that was easy. All you need to do is just ask," I shrug, pressing the back of my hand to his forehead. He was clammy and sweaty. Probably about to pass out.

"You look pale," I tell him, grabbing his hand and pulling him to the house. "Grab a drink from the cooler. It will calm you down and cool you off."

We walk side by side back down to my house, and I see that the women almost have all the lights up on the porch.

"Autumn!" Jerzei calls, waving her hand in the air. I look up and she smiles, and I get a wave of butterflies.
She looked so pretty. I've never seen her wear makeup before. When she raises her arm above her head her shirt raises above her hip, revealing her toned abs. It was kind of hot.

"Does this look straight across?" She asks, looking over at the lights. "I've nailed like, six holes in your house trying to get it right but it's never level."

I lightly brush off the comment, my eyes following the string of lights. It looked pretty level, so I nod in satisfaction, giving her two thumbs-up. She climbs down off the ladder and I can't help but watch her thigh muscles churn under her jeans. She looked stunning tonight, and something about her hit me differently. I couldn't put a finger on it.