Blaze
Three weeks after Spooks was released from the hospital, we graduated high school.
And guess who walked with honors?
Both of us did.
I think that was a shocker to everyone, and even though I hated school, I brought my grades up tremendously after getting with Sapphire.
She was so proud of me when I walked across that stage and I was mesmerized by the way she graciously accepted her diploma as if she didn't deserve it.
This girl was deserving of everything good and I intended to give her the world.
Jordan didn't walk and apparently he was cutting a deal with the lawyers and bringing down Erica's dad instead. He really couldn't know what they'd be doing to Spooks, but he was still terrified and embarrassed to come around anyone anymore.
Erica obviously didn't walk and she was said to have told people her intentions were never to hurt Sapphire, but to get her away from me. Even her mayor dad mentioned that it was he who asked Chet and Lucas to bribe and blackmail Sapphire out of our lives, but not to harm her. She was rumored to be cutting a deal against her own father, even though he'd been adamant that Erica was just a wayward soul who didn't have any idea of the goings-on. There seemed to be no real evidence against her anyway.
For some reason, Spooks believed that. She believed it because Chet and Lucas were evil and she'd always seen their ways. Now? Now they were both dead and people were free from them, including Ruby and Fox.
Ruby and Fox were still Ruby and Fox, but they were trying to get help. Sapphire saw the good in her situation because it made Ruby realize what she was doing to her family.
Fucking Spooks. Always looking at the bright side of things.
Fox and Dad were actually talking for once and not being total dicks. It took our Mom and the absence of shit face Brenda for Dad to come around. We were sort of talking, but it would take more than that to get me moving. Sapphire was optimistic about my situation, of course.
Fox had to be an inpatient at the rehabilitation center, but was given a day to come see me graduate. I'd watched him graduate just six years earlier so it was nice to have him there.
My Mom and Dad were getting chummy, but time would tell how that was going to work out. Dad and I got drunk together after the warehouse incident and he'd told me that the only woman he ever loved was my mother and that broke me. I felt like if I was going to fight for the woman I loved, he should do it, too. He was slowly accepting Sapphire and I knew that meant he was seeing we brought out the best in each other and she made me happy.
Harry was still an asshole, but he'd resorted to drinking when no one was home. The girls had basically brought Linda home and all five of them confronted him about his abuse,but Linda wasn't left unscathed either. Ruby went off on her about abandoning them, but then Em and Opal went off on Ruby for her bad mothering.
I wasn't there,but I heard it was brutal. Sapphire told me that things would look up, but she was always a positive person.
Paul was back, but nothing changed there except he was helping with the kids and they divided their time between him and the Soper's.
Everyone was either going to college or working or just doing their own thing. Even Star decided to stay at the bakery for a while before heading off to her destiny.
And they did find Sapphire's car in an abandoned lot near the warehouse so that was a win.
Greg and Melissa ended up moving in together at our complex. It was interesting to watch them grow in their relationship. I had never seen Greg so smitten with a woman before until Melissa came along.
Love is weird like that sometimes.
Sapphire
I felt like everyone I knew was at our graduation, even Evelyn and Peter showed up which was a delightful surprise.
I just wanted to be with Blaze.
We'd been through so much and I couldn't stand to be away from him for more than a few hours.
The library had extended my hours which was nice of them. I had found a local college a few towns north of Edison where I also received a paid internship at their local paper. I accepted immediately and was completely thrilled when Blaze told me he was going to apply for a trade school for automotive that was close to my college.
He was still going to work for his dad as often as he could, but Shawn knew this was what his son wanted to do and he wasn't bitching anymore about it. We made each other happy and I think we made each other better people.
Hell, I had even talked Blaze into selling some of his artwork and when a few paintings actually sold, he was on top of the world.
It wasn't going to be easy and we rarely spoke about that day or the months leading up to it. I'd wake up with night terrors so often that Blaze just held me most nights as closely as he could. I knew he blamed himself for what happened to me, but I told him he couldn't keep doing that. He would have to move on from it. He would have to because our future depended on it.
I wanted to live in the now and so did he.
Blaze
I decided my girl needed a retreat from Avery and everyone's bullshit so I made plans to take her to Hawaii, specifically the island of Kauaʻi.
I'd made arrangements with my father to let me take some time off and then I used my savvy to ask the library to give her time off. She'd no idea I was going to take her on vacation until I pulled out the plane tickets that night after graduation. I'd made all of the reservations two weeks earlier without her knowing. For weeks, I'd been researching the best place for couples to go where it was fancy and top-notch, but still reserved and peaceful.
"I have something for you," I was telling her as we headed out to my car. We didn't want to go to any parties and neither one of our families had any care to hang out with each other just yet, so we didn't mind being alone.
"Oh?" She smiled at me as I pulled out the envelopes. Her eyes lit up and she looked like a kid in a candy store, "Blaze! Oh my goodness!" She flung her arms around me, nearly knocking me over, but I would have gladly tumbled to the ground with her if that's what she asked of me.
I'd never been to Hawaii, either, but I knew that this was a trip we needed to take. Together.. Alone..
Sapphire
I was in paradise.
It was such a change from home and I knew Blaze was taking it all in, too. We needed this time together away from it all. I loved the way he made me feel and I wanted him to know that he was my everything.
We'd grown up together and then grew apart only to be reunited in turmoil, but we were one and my heart skipped beats every time he was around. If he called me, my stomach was awash with butterflies. When he made love to me, I was at his command. When he thought I was hurting or sad, he'd make damn sure to take care of me the way no one else had in my entire life.
He wanted to give me the best, but he was my best.
We were set up in a little resort that had some private bungalows available. I knew why he'd done this. I'd told him about my fantasies of making love to him on the beach. I was so embarrassed telling him that, but he'd admitted that there were times he'd thought of me. I figured he was saying it to make me feel less awkward, but he laughed.
"Spooks, I'm a guy. It's what we do."
Our third night in, he'd made it happen.
I knew what was going to transpire after he beckoned for me to join him a few feet into the sand. He'd laid out a blanket, leaving our doors open for a little stream of light to cascade over us.
"What if someone comes up on us?" I asked him as he lifted my shirt over my head, popping off my bra like an expert.
"We're on a private beach and only a few feet from the door,"Blaze was saying as he proceeded to kiss me down the front of my body, getting on his knees. He pulled off my shorts and panties, running his hands sensually up and down my thighs.
He looked up at me as he parted my legs, dragging his tongue across my core. I was already wet for him and he knew it. The chuckles exuding from him made me blush, but that's what he did to me.
"Blaze, I want you in me now," I demanded of him.
"As you wish, baby," he smiled, laying me down on the blanket. I watched him strip, his cock already saluting me. I knew he wanted to make it special, but it didn't matter. All of the times with him were special.
He centered himself and looked down at me, but I was looking up at the stars.
"Ahem,"he laughed, cupping my chin and softly caressing my lips with his tongue, "Those stars don't hold a candle to your beauty, Sapphire."
I closed my eyes as I felt him push his way into me. This was really happening. I was making love on the beach to the man of my dreams.
He pushed deeper into me as we moaned in unison, but we were quickly drowned out by the waves crashing beyond us. Blaze kept a slow pace because he wanted this to last. I wanted this to last. It was so hard not to quake underneath him when he felt so good and it was even harder when he would curse under his breath at how good I was making him feel.
The things he would say to me when we made love sent me over the edge so many times that I knew he was doing it on purpose. The dirty talks switched up to flirtatious flattery had me rupturing like a volcano around him in no time.
He flipped me over to ride him. I didn't even want to go fast as I stared out at the ocean and back down to him. He so enjoyed watching me and I was still so nervous about pleasing him.
"I like to see the pleasure I bring to you, Sapphire," he'd say to me, "That's all I ever want to do."
When he grew closer to his climax, his hands would grip my hips tightly and he'd allow his eyes to close and this time, I would watch him. I would see the pleasure I was bringing to him and it was magical. When he'd release, I could feel every ounce of his warmth filling me to the brim. I'd slow my pace, watching him come down from his high, enjoying his little spasms as he descended.
We lay there on the blanket for a while until he asked if I was tired. We had a big day of hiking coming up and needed the rest. As long as I was in his arms, I didn't care what I was doing.
Blaze
My nerves were shot.
The last few days had been amazing and I never wanted our time here to end. We had about a week left, but I knew I needed to do this before I lost my will. I had little doubt what she'd say, but it was exactly that little doubt that made me scared.
We walked along the trails for what seemed like forever before making our way back onto the beach. We didn't say much for both of us wanted to take in the scenery. I was more taken with her than anything, but I loved how she would stop and take photos of every little thing she saw.
She finally put away her camera once we hit the beach again and I held her hand as we walked along. I gripped it tightly and she took notice.
"Are you OK?"
Always wanting to know how I was.
"Yes," I choked.
Get a grip, Baxter.
She stopped to look out at the water and I fumbled in my pockets.
When she turned around, I was on one knee and probably shaking violently.
Her mouth dropped and her eyes were as wide as saucers when I opened the box that contained her engagement ring.
"Sapphire, I know that we're young and this is all new and I'm not the best at showing my romantic side, but I only want to be with you,"I was sputtering the words out, not even realizing she was answering me, "I want to be with you forever. I want to hold you forever. I don't care if we're engaged for fifty years before you're ready to marry me. I want to see your belly swollen with my babies and take care of you and worship you and, -" I could tell she was saying something and nodding, but I kept going. I was so nervous.
"You're my everything. You're my best friend and you've always been my best friend,"I said as she knelt down in front me. I slipped the ring on her finger, "You're my Spooks, my lioness, and I love you so much that sometimes it hurts like hell. I don't ever want to be with another soul. I just want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"
"Yes!" She'd probably said it eight times while I rambled on, but when she wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me on that beach, I felt like the luckiest man alive.
I knew then that no matter what, we would both yearn for each other. We would be together for as long as time permitted and we would beg for more. More of everything. More love, more laughs, more of whatever the future held, we'd be ready for it. Good or bad, we'd see it through together.
As long as we had each other, I knew we'd be all right.
The End.
**FIND STAR'S STORY IN "LUCKY STAR"