Bonus Chapter

Everly

“C’mon, guys! We’re going to be late!”

I swear, no one has any hustle in this house. Even Solene, who usually thinks fifteen minutes early means being on time, is nowhere to be seen. It doesn’t shock me that Hector and Thane are upstairs dilly-dallying, but I thought the woman of the hour would be ready by now.

Strangely, Hector is the first one to bound down the stairs. He looks uncomfortable in the pale blue button-down I gave him, doubly so with the matching slacks. They’re a stark contrast against his myriad of dark tattoos covering his arms, neck, and God help me, the small ace of diamonds on his temple. But he’s still incredibly handsome.

“How do I look?” he asks, his face straight and unreadable as always.

“Good,” I appraise with a nod. “But it’s just graduation, so it’s not that big of a deal.”

And it’s in these moments, standing in the foyer of Thane and Solene’s house, looking at this man, that I recount just how lucky and stupid I am.

Stupid, because for the last three and a half years, I haven’t been sure what I want from Hector. The day I met him was the most traumatic one of my life. After I was shot, he not only killed two people to save my life and Solene’s, but he stayed with me every second after. From the ambulance to the long recovery in the hospital, he never left, even though we were strangers.

At the time, Solene mentioned that he stuck so close to me to get a “do-over” and to save someone this time, but I still have no clue what that means. I know he lost his sister years ago in a gruesome accident, but I’ve never really compared what she and I went through.

And I should’ve let the weird affection between us blossom naturally. But instead, my self-esteem and history of manipulative exes clouded my judgment.

Hector is sweet and gentle, exactly what I want but not what I’m used to, and that played a part in the three-year on-again-off-again friends-with-benefits situation I created with him. We’d have mind-blowing sex, swear to each other we wouldn’t spill the beans to Solene or Thane—though I think they knew—and move on. Except Hector is the type to check up on me and send me good morning texts with a wall of affirmations, something I didn’t think someone as stoic as him was capable of. He’d walk me to my door, and remember all my preferences, fears, and aspirations.

And no matter how many times I vowed to cut things off with him and put distance between us, he always forgave me and welcomed me back with open arms.

I hate how long it took to come to my senses. And that’s how lucky I am; he’s given me more chances than I deserved.

Plus, now that we’re open about our relationship, I’m happy that I finally have a guy that Solene is fully supportive of. Or maybe he’s just the first decent guy I’ve been with…

“Where are the mister and missus?” I ask, digging around in my purse. I’m mindlessly looking for nothing, this is just a distraction, so I don’t ogle at the man. My hormones are out of control, and I don’t have time to jump his bones.

“Thane should be down shortly. No ETA on Solene.” There’s a little wrinkle that forms between Hector’s brow, and it’s the most emotion I've ever seen from him. “Did you eat? The ceremony will be long, and I’m not sure when we can get you food.”

I sigh a little, both touched by his constant worry and a little annoyed that this is going to be for the next few months. “Yes, I did. Plus, I’ve got some granola bars in here.”

“What about sleep, did you take a nap today? We might be out late, and you need rest.”

I smile up at him and zip my purse. “All rested up.”

Hector’s shoulders drop slightly. “I don’t mean to nag. You’re growing a baby, and I want to make sure you’re getting everything you need.”

“What about a baby?”

Thane's voice at the top of the step makes me jump. Heart sputtering, I cast my gaze up to see him descending the steps, exchanging a frown between the two of us.

I’m absolutely, in no way, taking the spotlight from my best friend’s graduation to announce that we just found out I’m pregnant. 

“He’s calling me baby,” I quickly reply, “and he’s talking about spoiling me. Maybe consider doing that to your wife.”

By the time Thane reaches the bottom of the steps, he snorts. “I do.”

I’m happy for Solene and all, but I don’t need the mental image of what these two heathens do in the bedroom. There have been times when Hector and I will come over to visit, and he’ll use his old key to let us in, and we’ve heard some seriously unholy stuff. There was a time when furniture was banging around upstairs, Solene was yelling obscenities, there was the sound of flesh-on-flesh, then she screamed, and I thought they were having a physical altercation.

But then they both came downstairs with serious sex hair and that glassy, ultra-satisfied look in their eyes.

Like I said, they’re heathens, but I’m happy for them.

“Do I look okay?” Thane asks us, adjusting his tie uncomfortably. He’s in black button-up, black slacks, and a black tie, giving straight-up funeral procession. Typical.

“You don’t look like crap,” I offer.

“It’s good,” Hector chimes in, giving him a stiff nod.

“I’m not too flashy, right?” Thane’s face is tight, almost like he’s nervous. It’s cute. “I don’t want to be too flashy and upstage her.”

I get his sentiment, but I can’t help but give the guy I consider to be my brother-in-law a hard time. “Thane, you couldn’t upstage that woman if you were in an Armani suit and she was in a potato sack. She’s stunning and you’re just there.”

Thane smiles a little to himself, fully agreeing with my ribbing. He’s focused less on my insult to him and more on Solene’s beauty. “Yeah, that’s true.”

“Sorry!” Solene’s voice echoes a little from the top of the steps. She starts racing down the steps, two at a time, nearly twisting her ankles in her heels. Her navy-blue tent dress flutters as she runs. “I’m ready now, let’s go!”

Solene half trips on the remaining steps, but I don’t have a chance to even freak out, because Thane catches her instantly.

“Cap and gown?” Thane prompts as he steadies her back on her feet. He tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. I don’t fail to notice that his voice gets a little softer whenever he speaks to her.

Solene panics for a second but Hector, who I didn’t even realize ducked into the living room, re-emerges with both in his hands.

“Got ‘em,” he says and hands them over.

“Thank you!” she chirps and b-lines for the front door. “Let’s hurry!”

Everyone piles into my sedan. It’s definitely a change from the Maserati I got for my own college graduation. Actually, a lot about my life is different, from the tiny little rancher Hector and I share, to my modest job at a local credit union in the city. But I wouldn’t have it any other way, even if Dad is gone.

The engine in my car only ever works because Thane has tuned it up about a billion times. It’s really testing fate for me to be driving at all, but we all can’t fit into Hector’s truck.

And Thane can’t drive because he and I both know he’s needed right beside Solene.

“I’m going to fall flat on my face,” she says quietly.

“No, you’re not,” I tell her in the rearview mirror as I start backing out of the driveway. “You’re a beautiful, graceful swan. You won’t fall, you’ll fly.”

There’s a pause and she’s uncertain for a moment. “I think I’m going to throw up.”

The three of us immediately start giving her words of encouragement, and our voices blend together in a cacophony that makes Solene break out into laughter.

I catch Thane holding her hand before I take my eyes off the mirror and focus on the road.

“You’ll do great,” he says.

I thought I hated Thane. The moment I first saw him, he unnerved me, made worse by what he did at my father’s house. I spent weeks thinking Solene had been killed or worse. Yet, I saw how she looked at him at the charity gala. She loved and wanted him, even back then.

And I can’t hate anyone my best friend loves.

“I can’t believe I’m graduating,” Solene says with a quiet, humorless laugh. “Is twenty-eight too old to be attending graduation? It’s lame, right?”

Before I can think of saying anything, Thane’s reply is soft but assured, “You’ve done something not many people get the chance to do. That’s incredible in its own right. Don’t downplay your accomplishments, melilla.”

Given the comfortable silence and the timid smile on Solene’s face when I glance back at her, I can’t say I regret forgiving the guy.

The university parking lot is packed. We’re not late for the ceremony, thankfully, but we’ve arrived after most graduates, meaning that all the parking left is on the fringes of the campus. Once Solene yanks her gown on over her dress, the four of us run to the auditorium.

The hallways are shoulder-to-shoulder stuffed, and we form a daisy chain of handholding to make it through. Hector leads with his hand in mine, Solene’s fingers grasping mine, and Thane bringing up the end. When we finally get her to an area of other nervously waiting, blue and red gown-clad graduates, I pull her into a hug.

“We’re all so proud of you.”

We break apart, and just as I turn to leave, I see her swiping a tear from the corner of her eye.

I intercept Thane before he can reach her. “Slow your roll, you are not going to ruin her lipstick before she crosses that stage,” I warn. “You can do it after.”

I expect him to argue with me, but he glances right past me at Solene. They share one of their mysterious looks that conveys a multitude of things I can’t quite put my finger on. I guess they wordlessly tell each other everything they want to convey because he willingly follows Hector and me into the crowded auditorium.

It’s a little nostalgic being back here. A little over four years ago, Solene sat among these bleachers alongside my Dad. It’s just a shame he couldn’t be here for her this time; a shame that she didn’t mean as much to him as he did to both of us.

Hector holds my hand to steady me up the steps toward a few free seats. He keeps checking out my foot placement, probably worried I’ll trip like Solene did and he’s not as confident in his reflexes as Thane is.

“I’m fine, honey,” I assure him as we make it to our seats. He doesn’t even sit next to me until I’m settled.

“So,” Thane says with an exhale as he sits next to Hector, “how far along are you?”

My heart thumps painfully for a single beat. “What?” I sputter and laugh. “I’m not—”

“Around nine weeks,” Hector answers and ignores my dagger-eyes of betrayal. “We’ve only been to one ultrasound so far, so no gender yet.”

Thane smirks at him. “You domestic motherfucker. Look at you,” he says, and I think it's the closest he'll get to congratulating his friend.

“Don’t tell Solene,” I warn, jabbing a finger in his face. “I’ve been dying to tell her, but this is her night. I’m not about to make it about me, Hector, or the baby.”

Thane quirks a brow. “I hope you don’t plan on keeping it from her like to did your relationship,” he says, casting a look between the two of us. “Which you were shit at, by the way.”

“I’m going to tell her eventually,” I quickly amend, feeling a prick of guilt. Was he going to hold onto that forever? We apologized to them, like, a million times. “I just...don't know how or when. I’m worried about her response.”

Worried how, I’m not sure. She’s never been the sort to judge me, but a little part of me wishes I had my life together. This pregnancy wasn’t planned at all, and I’m more scared than excited. If I go to tell her, I’ll be the one throwing up…right on her shoes.

There must be something in Hector’s face that gives him some comfort because Thane eventually shrugs and sinks into silence.

The ceremony takes longer than expected; I swear, mine was much shorter. Maybe all the speeches and addresses to the graduating class feel so much quicker when you’re the one turning over a new chapter.

Although the crowd is instructed to hold their applause, we tense the second the graduates lined up to receive their degrees. I don’t even look at the others once they started calling names, if I’m to only one to clap and cheer for Solene, then so be it.

“Solene Kay Oberon,” the class president says into the microphone.

Hector and Thane are on their feet immediately, their claps drowning out my own woos.

The three of us must be loud enough for her to hear on the main stage because, on the projector, she approaches the Dean with a half laugh brightening her face. She’s beaming, her tassel bobbing as she crosses. Once her tassel is moved to the other side of her cap, she leaves the stage, and only then do the guys return their seats.

The rest of the class gets called, and after a second address, they’re certified as the graduating class of 2028. Everyone tosses their hats into the air, making it rain blue and burgundy as they erupt in applause and cheers.

We wait for most of the crowd to disperse into the adjoining hallways, to exit to the campus for photos, before we descend the steps toward the main floor of the auditorium.

I search the crowd for Solene, but I don’t find her until she’s a red blur. She runs straight for Thane, colliding with him as he scoops her up. Their mouths crash together like two unstoppable storms slamming into one another. They fist each other’s hair, fingers clawing into one another like they can’t get enough of each other.

I stare at them and wonder if this level of intensity will ever dissipate. They've been together for a little over four years, married for three; the passion would’ve sizzled out by now, right? Except they’re both ablaze, with no signs of burning out anytime soon.

Reluctantly, they break apart, with Thane still holding her chest to his, her feet off the ground, and her arms around his neck.

“Congratulations, mellilla,” he breathes.

If you were to look only at their faces, you’d think they were the only ones in the world.

Solene offers only one nod, her smile so bright I’m sure it hurts her cheeks, and her mouth descends onto him again.

If I don’t hose them down, I’m sure clothes are about to start hitting the floor.

“Hey!” I say, waving my arms. “You’re going to ruin her makeup, and we haven’t taken any pictures yet! Can you keep your paws off of her for two seconds?”

Solene giggles when Thane reluctantly puts her back on her feet. She twirls around and throws her arms around me next, bringing me into a tight hug.

“Thanks for talking me into coming back,” she says, her voice shaking.

I laugh a little. “You didn’t need a lot of convincing. You’ve always had this in you.”

When we pull away from each other, I take a look at her. I’m lucky in more than one way; I have Hector, but I also have Solene. Not many people get someone so special in their lives, and I can’t believe I’ve won the lottery twice.

“Ladies?” Hector prompts, and when we both lift our eyes to him, he holds up his phone in display. “A picture?”

We both smile at each other and lace our arms. We playfully bump shoulders and lean against each other.

Hector snaps a photo but keeps the camera up. Considering I’ve been teaching him to take multiple pictures just in case the first one's bad, I’d say I’ve taught him well.

Thane stands at his side, arms crossed, and there’s a mischievous smirk on his face.

“Solene,” he calls, and just as she curiously perks up, he says, “Everly’s pregnant.”

My eyes go wide, and she tenses at my side. Hector snaps a bunch of pictures.

“No,” Solene shrieks and turns to face me. “No way, for real?”

I blink at her. She’s ecstatic, a grin lacing her face. I can only nod in response. Relief and joy sweep through me, and I'm not even sure what I was so worried about.

Solene squeals and yanks me into another hug. “I can’t believe it! That’s so amazing. This is the best day ever!”

“Did you get it?” Thane asks, leaning toward Hector, who shows him the screen. His smirk turns into a smile that might actually be perceived as warm. “That’s a perfect picture right there.”

“Sorry, honey,” Hector says, "but you've been agonizing how to tell her...and I knew you would've wanted the moment recorded."

And he’s right. I can’t even be mad at Thane; they both knew how badly I hated to keep this from my best friend. I’ve kept enough from her.

I give into the pure joyous energy pouring out of Solene and let myself laugh as she hugs me. I’m still so unsure about motherhood, unsure about what to do next, but if I have Hector, Solene, and even Thane to an extent, I know the baby is going to be loved.

“Okay, well, we need to get something to eat, pronto!” I say, if only to distract from the tightening of my throat. “I’m starving.”

Hector frowns at me. “Honey,” he chides.

“Hurry, let’s go, my best friend is eating for two!” Solene cries, still grinning from ear to ear, and pulls away from me.

Thane appears at her side, taking her degree in one hand and hers in the other. “You don’t want to take a moment to celebrate? Bask in the glory of your success?”

Solene scoffs. “If I have to spend another second on this campus, I’ll scream.”

Thane nods and begins to lead us out. “It’s a shame, I thought I saw a janitor’s closet that could use some…christening.”

Solene blushes at some sort of inside joke or hidden meaning in Thane’s words, but I don’t have to be in on the secret to know he’s implying some debaucherous.

Their freakiness is almost mirrored; these two are absolutely meant for each other.

The End