Epilogue

~*~One year later~*~

“Kamylle Renee McCool.”

Kamylle took a deep breath before walking up the steps and towards the dean to receive her diploma. She’d finished school early and was proud of her accomplishment…and so was her boyfriend. She could hear Justin and the rest of her family and friends screaming for her as she finished another milestone in her life. She’d graduated with a Bachelors in Criminal Justice and Chemistry and an Associates in Music and her loved ones couldn’t be more proud of her. Priscilla was the first one to greet her once the ceremony was over with and tears were streaming down both women’s face during the embrace.

“You did it!”

“No, we did it!” Kamylle replied with a huge grin.

“Yeah ya’ll did!” Kamylle smiled once more and let go of her best friend when she heard her boyfriend’s voice.

“I can’t believe you actually made it,” she said, embracing him also.

“Now what kind of boyfriend would I have been if I would’ve missed this?” he asked before kissing her forehead sweetly, “I’m so proud of you, baby.”

“Thank you.”

“And I’m proud of you too, Priscilla,” Justin said, releasing his girlfriend and giving the other woman a quick embrace. Kamylle’s parents approached the trio and quickly enveloped their daughter.

“You did it sweetheart!” her dad said proudly.

“We’re so proud of you Kamylle. You graduated early and Cum Laude on top of that,” her mom said with a huge smile and Kamylle could see the moisture forming in her mother’s eyes.

“So what are you plans now? I know you want to do your grad school in LA so you’re closer to Justin,” said her father. She had introduced Justin to her parents over her Thanksgiving break and they took to him like a firefly to light. But then again who wouldn’t? With that southern charm and that smile of his, they’d be crazy not like him.

“Yeah, I’ll be at UCLA this fall, but I’m gonna spend the rest of my summer at home in Houston. You know, make the most of the month I have for a summer vacation.”

“Will you be joining her Justin?” Kamylle’s mother began, “You know we have extra room if you want to stay with us for the month.” Kamylle smiled, her mother had never offered that to any of her other significant others.

“As much as I would love to spend this next month with you lovely people,” Justin grinned, “I pushed my promotional tour up to this summer so I can be free to spend as much time with this girl when she gets to LA,” he said, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend. He kissed her forehead sweetly and Kamylle smiled before looking up at him.

“I did it baby.”

“Yes you did, and I’m very proud of you.” Kamylle’s parents beamed as they saw the love between Justin and Kamylle.

“I remember when we were like that,” Kamylle’s mom said to her husband.

“I do too sweetheart. And we both know what happens next.”

~*~

Kamylle took a sip of her drink and looked around the room at the various ‘Congratulations’ banners, streamers, and balloons. She couldn’t believe that she had actually graduated from college. It hadn’t quite hit her yet that in just a month she’d be moving out to California for graduate school and to move in with her boyfriend. The two of them had discussed it for awhile and after weighing the pros and cons {and in this case there were way more pros than cons} she decided that she’d move in with him. Her parents approved and even offered to help…in fact, her parents approved everything about her relationship with Justin. She was completely floored when she heard her mother offer Justin the guestroom in the house for the month that she’d be in Houston. Her mother had never done that for any of her other boyfriends. And her parents’ blessing on the relationship made her more comfortable having him around her them. A smile spread across her face and she continued looking around the livingroom, at the various family pictures that lined the wall, her gaze finally landed on the graduation cake Priscilla’s parents had bought them. It had four pictures on it, one of each of their high school graduation pictures and of each of their college graduation pictures. All of a sudden she felt a pair of arms wrap around her and a kiss on her shoulder.

“Penny for your thoughts.” Kamylle placed her cup on the table in front of her and turned around and wrapped her arms around her boyfriend’s neck before saying, “Let’s dance.”

“Ok,” he agreed, leading them out to the make shift dancefloor.

I…I’m so in love with you

Whatever you wanna do

Is alright with me

Cause you make me feel so brand new

And I want to spend my life with you

Kamylle and Justin smiled when they realized what song was playing. She wrapped her arms around his neck and his went around her waist as they sang along and moved to the rhythm of the song.

So since

Since we’ve been together

Loving you forever

Is what I need

So let me be the one you come running to

I’ll never be untrue

Kamylle couldn’t hold in her laughter as Justin sang to her and rocked her from side to side. Little did she know, he meant every word that he was saying.

Well baby let’s

Let’s stay together

Loving you whether

Whether times are good or bad

Happy or sad

Why

Do we all break up?

Turn around and make up

I just can’t see

If you ever do that to me

Cause being around you is all I can see

Justin spun Kamylle around and smiled as she giggled. He looked over at her parents and his smile grew wider when he saw them interacting like a pair of lovesick teenagers. He wondered if he and Kamylle would be like that when they were older.

Let’s stay together

Loving you whether

Whether times are good or bad

Happy or sad

Kamylle was spun around by her boyfriend once more but this time when she turned to face him he was kneeling. She immediately brought her right hand to her mouth in disbelief of what was about to happen. Justin took her left hand in his and looked up into her chocolate brown eyes with his own cerulean ones.

“Kamylle,” he began a soft voice, it was then that she noticed that the only sound in the room was his voice. Someone had cut off the music and everyone’s attention was now focused on them.

“Justin, what are you doing?” Kamylle asked.

“Kamylle, I knew from the day I bumped into you…literally in our case,” a soft chuckle was heard throughout the room, “that I wanted to be with you. I could tell then that you were the one for me. It was something about your goofy yet sweet personality, those deep brown eyes of yours that I could drown in forever, that smile that could light up a room, that silly smirk you do that drives me wild, I love everything about and I honestly couldn’t see myself continuing my life here on this earth without you by my side. I couldn’t even do it last summer and I didn’t even know you. I was the one who arranged for Drake to join the tour so I could get to know you. I didn’t believe in true love until I met you, and I don’t want to lose it, I don’t want to lose you.” Kamylle was shocked; she looked from Justin, to her parents, to Priscilla and back to Justin.

“I don’t know what to say,” she said slightly above a whisper.

“Say you feel the same way. Say that you’ll be wife, that you’ll be there to smile at me like you do when I wake up, that you’ll be there for me to hold at night, that you’ll be my partner in crime for the rest of our lives. Say that you’ll let me be your rock, your strength, that you’ll let me love you forever.”

“Yes,” she said, a single tear rolling down her cheek.

“Yes?” he asked, confirming her statement.

“Yes. I said to yes to all of that you silly goose,” she replied with a slight chuckle. She watched as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a black velvet box and opened it, revealing a 4 ct. princess cut diamond engagement ring. It was beautiful…and she was speechless once more. Justin took the ring out of the box and slid it on her ring finger, kissing her hand once he finished. Kamylle looked at him lovingly before she looked down at the ring on her hand.

“Damn, look at the size of that rock!” Priscilla exclaimed, breaking the heavy silence in the room. Both Justin and Kamylle chuckled before he rose to his feet and enveloped her into a hug. Then it hit her, she was really engaged…and she was hugging her fiancé. A single tear rolled down her cheek and her parents walked over and enveloped the couple in a hug.

“Congratulations!” exclaimed her mother.

“Welcome to the family, son,” her father said, smiling at Justin. Kamylle looked up at Justin, her face beaming with happiness and love. This was the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. The man who she’d loved long before he knew her name, and he felt the same way about her. She finally found a guy who her parents approved of, a guy they’d accept into their family, and she was elated.

“I want in on this lovefest!” Priscilla said, walking towards them.

“Of course! It wouldn’t be a ‘lovefest’ without you!” Kamylle replied, hugging her best friend.

“Congratulations…to both of you,” Priscilla said to Justin and Kamylle.
“Thank you,” Kamylle said with a smile.

“You snagged quite a catch this time girl,” Priscilla said.

“No, I’m the one who snagged a catch,” Justin interjected, causing Kamylle’s smile to grow wider, “And I’m never gonna let her go.”