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“Callum, will you leave Jaxson alone? He is a world-renowned chef. He doesn’t need you to tell him how to make a potato salad,” Knox calls inside the house after his partner. “Please, just get out here with the rest of the food you two, we’re starving!”
Callum and Jaxson join the rest of us outside, carrying the remainder of the dishes they prepared, and setting them on the table.
“Jaxson, this is great!” Kylie says appreciatively at the spread. “This makes me want to learn how to cook.”
“Sure, Kylie, I can—” Jaxson begins, but Madi cuts them off.
“Kylie, you don’t want to learn fine cooking. I can teach you the basics, that's what we can start on first,” she says, leaving Samantha’s side to go around to where Kylie is standing next to Jaxson. She hugs Kylie, and steers her to the other side of the table to take a seat beside Sam.
Sam and I share a look and a smile. This is how it always should be. Sam by my side, happy, and surrounded by people who care for us, and us for them. People who fill our lives with fun and laughter.
She and I both have begun to heal with our parents, and it has gotten better over the last few months. Sam has been talking with her dad more often over the phone, and stops by there every now and then.
The relationship between my dad and I has progressed as well. I’m now able to point out to him if and when he falls into his old habits again. Even my mom has been scolding him more openly about it.
I stand and pick up the beer I've been nursing. “Hey guys, come with me for a second. And bring your drinks,” I tell them.
They do as they’re told and follow me as I take Sam’s hand, leading them from the patio to the Treehouse.
“We’re a little too old to play in the Treehouse, Asher,” Kylie laughs.
“Humor me for a minute,” I tell them as we reach the base of the tree.
I raise my beer. “Guys, it's been a hell of a ride getting here.” I draw Samantha close by the hand, and lift her fingers to my lips. She smiles as I brush a kiss over them. “But we’re so grateful for the renewed friendship we have in all of you.”
Sam raises her glass of lemonade as I continue. “We're excited for this next chapter in our lives, and we couldn't have asked for better people to share it with than you. Every one of you has been the rocks we could lean on over the last year, and we just want to say thank you, and we love you.”
Sam’s eyes are wet with unshed tears as she says, “You guys have guided and supported us when we needed it the most. I’m so grateful to each and every one of you.”
I clear my throat and everyone turns to me. I hand Knox my beer, and turn to Samantha. “Sam, it took us a long time to get to this point. And I refuse to let us wait another decade to make the next move.”
I kneel and take a ring out of my pocket while the others hoot and holler in excitement. My heart is hammering in my chest and I feel anxious.
“Sam, we met, grew up, fell in love, and had so many memories together, all thanks to the Treehouse. I think it's only right that this next part happens here, too.” I open the box, and Sam smiles, tears already breaking free from her blue eyes. “Will you marry me, Dragonfly?”
She nods her head, her eyes bright, and bends down to leap into my arms. “Of course I will, Asher,” she whispers just before molding her lips with mine.
As we pull apart, I exhale, and the anxiety that’d been secretly building inside me for weeks, finally releases as everyone gives us their best wishes and congratulations. The girls gather around Samantha, hugging and trying miserably not to cry. While Knox, Jaxson, Dante, Callum, and I toast with our respective beverages.
I meet Sam’s eyes. Getting here has been a long journey, filled with doubts and fears. But now we have found our way back to each other, and we’ve promised to fight with all we have to protect our love.
We all make our way back to the patio to sit together and enjoy the summer afternoon. Our laughter and antics carry on into the evening as everyone shares stories and memories from years past.
Samantha turns to me and leans in to whisper, “I love you.”
I smile. “I love you, too, baby,” I say before wrapping her in my arms and kissing her deeply.
The group jeers at us playfully, but we don’t care. We are among friends, the people who have been on this journey with us all along, and the ones who helped us come to realize that life and love are eternally precious.
