“That’s nice of him,” Aria said. “I still don’t like him, or what my father did.”
“You ever going to forgive him?” Eli asked. He knew Aria and her father went out for coffee every now and again. When they went out, he kept a safe distance to make sure his girl was safe.
“I don’t know. Mom’s moved on. She’s dating some computer genius. I don’t know who, and Dad is Dad. It’s complicated, and I’m not going to concern myself with it.”
“They were both at graduation,” Eli said.
“I know. There’s just so much bad blood between us. I don’t know if I could trust him again. Besides, we’re moving on with our lives. College is next.”
“Work for me,” Branson said.
“I’m not going to focus on the past. I’m going to focus on the future,” Aria said.
“That’s a pretty positive way to look at it,” Rachel said.
“Thank you. It’s my new motto in life, always think positively, and look ahead, not backward.”
“I like it.”
They all lifted their bottles in the air. Branson and Mary had bottle of soda while the others had light beer. Eli kissed her neck, breathing in her scent.
“We found this place when we were ten years old. Do you remember that?” Chris asked.
“It was a lifetime ago,” Rachel said.
“On this very ground we made a pact to be the best of friends, and to never fall out.” Mary laughed. “Was it silly that it meant so much to all of us?”
“Not silly,” Eli said. “We all had each other’s back. Just because school is over, we’re not going to be over. We’re friends, and not just because we were cool, or rebels, or anything. We were friends since we were kids. That has got to mean something.”
Aria leaned back. “I love you.”
“I love you, too. Besides, I’m not going to abandon little Elizabeth. Not now, not ever. She’s part of all of us. Our future, our extension.”
“You ever thought of going into politics?” Branson asked. “I would totally vote for you.”
They all started laughing. Drinking his beer with his girl in his arms, Eli knew every day was worth it to be with these guys. He would fight for the rest of his life to have this.
“The future doesn’t scare you?” Aria asked, later that night in bed.
“No, it kind of excites me. Doesn’t it you?”
“I don’t know. I worry what the future will bring.”
Taking her naked body beneath him, Eli used action rather than words to prove to her exactly how good it could be, not just today but the future as well.
Epilogue
Fifteen years later
“Where are we supposed to be meeting them?” Aria asked as she cut up the last of the Halloween brownies she had made.
“Mommy, I want to stay at home. It’s lame going out,” Robin said.
Staring at her eldest daughter at ten years old, Aria raised her brow. “You think trick or treating is lame?”
“Yes. It’s totally last year. I’m a grown up now.”
“You’re not even a teenager.”