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“Yes,” Ellen laughs through tears of happiness. “Yes, we will.” Then, my hand slides into her brunette curls as I lower my face to hers.
“I love you, honey. You know that. I’ll take care of you forever.”
With that, our lips lock as our hearts meld because this is the first time we’ve ever exchanged words of love. It’s the first time we’ve exchanged promises in fact, but the sentiments are on-point, and even more importantly, they feel right. Ellen Massie was made for me, and now that the mystery of her pregnancy is solved, we have forever to look forward to.
EPILOGUE
Ellen
“Sit down and let me do that,” Ryder growls, guiding me to the sofa. I lower my heavily pregnant body down gratefully onto the soft cushions and sigh with relief. Meanwhile, I smile as my boyfriend rushes to get me a glass of water. We’ve known for a while that we’re expecting a baby girl, and Ryder has been adorably obsessed with making sure we have every detail planned for her arrival. Meanwhile, I smile while taking a sip of the cool liquid because I love having my man wait on me hand and foot.
“You never believed me, did you?” I hum.
Ryder looks distracted, holding up a small purple dress for a newborn.
“About what?” he asks.
“About getting pregnant from sperm in the water!” I laugh. “What else?”
He grins.
“Yeah, it was such a far-fetched story, honey. I can’t believe that anyone actually believed it because it’s so improbable.”
“But the rumors really were going around campus, and you saw how many pregnant girls there were!”
His handsome face breaks into a smile.
“That’s true, but it’s more like a ghost story, right? There’s always a real, scientific reason for the creaks in the walls and the lamp that goes out on its own.”
I giggle.
“Yet Coleman University actually put medical staff on the case,” I muse. “How insane it must have been!”
“Yeah, but I’m sure all the girls confessed, just like you did,” Ryder winks. “Hell, male swimmers are powerful, but they’re notthatpowerful.”
I laugh because it’s true. I suppose a bunch of girls were interviewed by Dr. Steiner, but I’ll never know. All that I know is that the rumors died down, and now, no one thinks of the pool as a potential cause of pregnancy. Ryder’s right – it’s crazy that the rumor even ever existed.
But my life has changed dramatically ever since that day. I’m not at Coleman anymore because after Ryder and I admitted our love to each other, I initially carried on going to class, with him visiting me every weekend. But as I got bigger and bigger, it just wasn’t worth it. All the cafeteria food tasted like cardboard to me, and it was tough sometimes to even get to my lectures. As a result, we decided that I’d withdraw for the rest of the year and move in with Ryder. It’s fine. I’ll go back to school after the baby’s born and finish my degree. But for right now, I want to focus on being a mom.
Plus, living with Ryder is a dream come true. I’ve since moved into the master bedroom, which is nowourbedroom, and the cozy nook in the living room has been transformed into a cute play area for our child. As to where the baby will sleep? Well, we’ve remodeled the house a bit so that it has a second bedroom, and I’ve spent many hours happily decorating it in shades of pink and purple. I know the color scheme is very girly, but it's pretty and that’s what I want. Even better, the window in the nursery looks out into the beautiful back garden with the fountain, and it makes me happy to know this will be my daughter’s view.
But speaking of family, I still haven’t heard from Angela, believe it or not. We drove past my mom’s house the other day, and Ryder waited in the car while I knocked on the door, hoping to start a conversation, but no one answered. I think Angela was inside, but she just didn’t want to talk. It’s disappointing, but what can a girl do? I just hope that my mom comes around at some point, but until then, my hands are tied.
Meanwhile, my boyfriend shoots me another look.
“You remember Club Z?” he asks. I laugh, remembering that fateful night.
“How could I forget?” I reply with an eyebrow raised. “Why?”
“Well, they're having more events,” Ryder growls. “Do you want to go?”
I pause.
“Really?” I ask, looking up at him. “Do you mean it?”
Ryder grins.
“They have couples’ rooms, you know,” he adds, his voice husky. “We could have a lot of fun, honey. It could be wild, in fact.”
