“What about you two?” I ask.

“Orange juice for me,” Pippa says, and we all raise our brows.

“Since when do you drink only orange juice?” Rainer asks.

“Since I got pregnant.”

I squeal loudly and Tyke laughs, shaking his head. I practically throw myself over the bar and wrap my arms around her. Belle does the same and we all smother her with love.

“Oh my God, Pippa!” I breathe, cupping her face in my hands. “You’re going to be a mother?”

Her cheeks flush and she smiles. “Yes.”

“I’m so happy for you.”

I turn to Tyke. “Congrats, dude.”

He winks at me. “Thanks.”

Rainer walks around the bar and scoops Pippa into a hug, swinging her around. She laughs softly and hugs him tight when he puts her down. “So fucking happy for you, sweetheart.”

“Thank you. We’re pretty happy about it.”

“When are you due?” Belle asks.

I work, and listen to them talk. I’m happy for Pippa. She deserves a baby more than anyone. I know she’ll make an amazing mother, because she knows what it’s like to live a hard life. I look over to Rainer and he winks at me. My heart swells and I mouth an I love you, which he returns.

Yeah, maybe one day that’ll be us.

I can’t wait.

~*~*~*~*~

“Seriously, where are you taking me?” I laugh, grabbing Rainer’s hands that are sitting over my eyes.

“It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you. Now sit still. Your squirming is making my dick hard.”

“Rainer!” I laugh and he chuckles.

I can feel pavement under my feet and cars zooming past, so I figure we’re somewhere near houses. Rainer keeps walking me and finally, he stops. “Are you ready?” he asks.

“I don’t know.”

He laughs. “You’re ready.”

He lowers his hands and I stare in front of me, confused. We’re at his house, standing in front of the big tree in his front yard, but I don’t get it.

“Huh?”

“Look up, kid.”

I look up and gasp, pressing a hand over my mouth. There, in the tree, is the old tree house we used to sit in together.

“Where did you get that?” I whisper, my eyes burning with tears.

“The people who purchased your parents’ old house still had it, so I paid them and they sold it to me.”

“Oh, Rai Rai.”

“Come on.”

He takes my hand and leads me to the ladder on the other side. I climb up, with him carefully going up behind me. We climb into the tree house and my heart explodes with happiness. I crawl over to the piece of old wood we scratched our names in, and there they are, still there as if it’d only been done yesterday. Rainer and Emalie. Best friends for life.

“Oh God, Rai, it’s still here.”

He crawls over, with a big grin on his face. “What do you know? I guess no one else ever found love in it, like we did.”

“I guess not,” I breathe.

He chuckles and shifts us both so we’re sitting off the side, legs dangling like we used to.

“Hey Emy,” he murmurs, and looks towards me. There’s something in his eyes, something intense.

“What is it?”

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a box, shifting so he’s fully facing me. “There’s something I want to ask, and I know this isn’t so traditional, considering we’re in a tree house, but I can’t think of a better place for it to happen.”

Oh. God.

“I’ve loved you for a fucking long time, but you know the moment when I fell the most in love with you?”

I shake my head, feeling tears burn under my eyelids.

“It was this moment...”

I’m confused, but it all makes sense as he opens the box and reveals the bracelet he gave to me on my eighteenth birthday. He lifts it out and I choke on a sob as he wraps it around my wrist. I stare down at the words and my heart swells. Then, Rainer takes my hand and pulls out another box.

“Emalie, I want to spend the rest of my life making trouble with you, because you’re the only person I could ever want to do it with.”

He flips the box open and pulls out a ring that has the inscription “Highway To The Danger Zone...Together. Forever.”

I burst into tears as he slides it on my wedding fingers.

“Will you marry me, kid?”

I press my hands over my mouth, and nod frantically, before throwing myself into his arms. “Yes, oh God, yes.”

He laughs and pulls me into his arms, kissing me long and deep. I pull back and let my legs dangle back over the side, staring at the perfect ring.

“It’s the only thing that’ll ever explain us,” I whisper.

Rainer takes my hand. “And it will for the rest of our lives.”

I stare ahead, so happy my heart is swelling. Then I get an idea, and a big smile stretches across my face.

“Do you think we could still be as rebellious as we used to?” I ask and he grins.

“Oh, fuck yeah. You want to try?”

I turn to him, capturing his face in my hands. “I love you Rainer Torrence.”

He leans down, kissing my lips. “I love you too, Emy.”

“Forever this time?”

He smiles, big and beautiful. “Forever this time.”

I kiss him back hard and after a moment, he pulls back. “Now, let’s go and cause some trouble. You in?”

He jumps down from the tree house and extends a hand to me. With a massive smile, I follow. “Um, hell yes.”

He takes my hand and we start running. As we do, I start singing to him. “R is for Rainer, handsome as can be, A is for asshole, one he can be, I is for idiot, yeah, you know it’s true, N is for nerdy, you’re a little of that too, E is for energetic, there’s no holding you back, R is for rebel, one day I’ll fight back.”

He chuckles loudly.

And it’s the best sound in the world.

A sound I get to keep forever. Finally.

THE END