My Life Plan...Undone

Epilogue

1 Week Later

"Jules, you coming in the water?" Matt asks me from the water. He's hip deep in the surf and walking out towards me on the beach like he's in some James Bond movie.

"I'll be there in a minute! Just finishing up this chapter," I say with my book in hand and big straw hat on.

Matt, Cara, Jenn, Trey, Dan, and I rented a house at the beach for the week. We booked it as a threesome before Jenn and Dan broke up, but surprisingly it was their idea to still go ahead with it. They're still great friends so it works out really nicely for us.

I save my spot in the book I'm reading with a bookmark and put it inside my beach bag, safe from the blowing sand. I slip my wide brim hat off and flip my head over to put my hair in a top knot. Jenn is napping under the beach umbrella on her towel. Dan is over on the boardwalk with some of his friends who are also in town. Matt, Cara, and Trey are in the water chatting and treading water between waves.

The ocean always gives me a sense of renewal and it's the perfect place to bridge the gap between high school life and college life. It's going to be a week of sun and fun. I watch the waves come in and out onto the shore and I can't help but think about how it feels like the ocean is cleansing me off of my childhood and teenage years, readying me for my future and at the same time pushing me forward to my future. That gentle, and sometimes aggressive, nudging of the ocean. Where is it pushing me? Who knows. There was a time when that thought would terrify me. But, not anymore.

I get up from my striped beach chair and jog over to the water to limit the amount of time my bare feet have to touch the scorching hot sand and slowly make my way over to Matt, Cara, and Trey, trying to not get knocked over by the waves. I make it past the waves that keep breaking to the calmer water and swim over, wrapping my arms around Matt from behind who can still touch the bottom. I make myself comfortable on his back with my arms gently around his neck and he hooks his arms under my legs so I'm on him piggyback style.

"Hey, what are you guys talking about?"

"I was just saying I'm really pumped for the Chainsmokers concert next week," Matt smiles.

"Oh my god, me too! I've been watching videos on social media of their shows so far this tour and it looks so fun!"

"You guys are going to have an awesome time," Cara says.

"Any time with Jules is an awesome time," Matt says and turns back to give me a kiss on the cheek.

"Ugh and I thought we were too much," Trey jokes.

"Oh stop, they're cute," Cara playfully slaps Trey's chest with the back of her hand.

Matt and I laugh and talk with our best friends a while longer.

"Okay, I'm getting pruney, I'm going to go dry off before we head in for dinner," I tell the others and start swimming back to shore. They tell me they'll get out in a few.

As I towel off and sit in my beach chair I can see my friends in the water still. The ocean shimmering in the sunlight. Matt catches me looking out at them and gives me a big goofy smile and a wave. I wave back.

My future might not be quite as planned out as I originally thought it had to be. I guess I've learned you can't really plan out things like that. It was definitely a lesson I had to learn.

Matt starts to get out of the water and jog towards me with that smile of his. Even after all these months it still makes my heart flutter. My journey may not be planned out, but I know who I want to go on it with. 

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Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. We may see these characters again in the future. I have an idea for a spinoff, but first I am working on something new. Please check back in a week or so for the beginning of a new book! 

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