Epilogue

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Excited screams reverberate around the stadium, green light sticks flashing.

“Hello, everyone,” a tall, serious-looking man says into the microphone. “I’m BJ.”

The arena erupts in more screams, and BJ waits a minute before speaking again. “Thank you for coming tonight!”

The camera pans to the next person in the row and I squeal. “Hey, guys! I’m Jax.”

If I thought the screams were loud before, now they’re deafening.

The girl next to me jumps up and down, screaming my boyfriend’s name.

“You missed me, didn’t you?” Jax says.

“Yes!” everyone yells back.

“I’m sorry I left you for so long, but I’m happy to be back,” he says. “Actually, I almost didn’t come back.”

“Why?” one lone girl yells from the crowd.

He points to her, giving a wink. “I was afraid of what it would mean for my family if I left them. But then I saw living in the shadows was no way to live. In fact, there’s someone here tonight that you have to thank. Jackie, can you come up here?”

Oh my goodness, I can’t believe he’s making me do this. I step forward, and the security guards let me up to the stage.

“Everyone,” Jax says. “This is my girlfriend!”

He says it with so much energy and happiness that everyone cheers for us.

My face feels like it’s on fire, but I resist the urge to cover it.

“It was because of Jackie,” he continues, once the audience quiets. His eyes are trained only on me, and I feel like the most important person in his life. “She’s the reason I came back, and an essential part of my happiness.”

A loud “Aw!” echoes around us.

“And today is her birthday. Do you think we can sing to her?”

Oh no. This time I do cover my face. Jax puts his arm around me and starts to sway as the audience, and all of Take5, sing to me. I eventually put my hands down and enjoy being in the moment. Jax never once looks away from my face, and at the very end he plants a kiss on my forehead, which gets another round of Aws from the crowd.

I exit to the backstage instead of to the audience since the concert is almost over. My heart is flying. I can’t believe I landed such a good man. Since we got back together, Jax has done everything in his power to make sure I feel loved, and he hasn’t once disappointed me.

When I get to the green room, I expect to find it empty, but instead it’s filled with warm faces. Both my family and Jax’s are waiting, a beautiful cake in the middle of a little coffee table.

“What are you all doing here?” Jax said nothing about them coming tonight.

Jax’s grandpa shuffles up to me, takes my hand, and says, “Good job.”

We all laugh, and I sit with them chatting about the performance and how we can’t wait for Jax to be back.

When he finally comes, he’s holding a giant teddy bear and heart-shaped balloons. I look around the room at all the people who are so dear to me and feel misty-eyed. Thanks to Jax, I’ve gained a whole other family, and having us all together is the best thing he could get for my birthday.

Jax hands me the gifts and I blush as I take them from him.

“Last year,” he says. “I really screwed up your birthday, and I hope this year I can make it right.”

It’s my turn to kiss him on the forehead. “You already have. I’m the luckiest girl in the world.”

We talk and eat cake, and the staff brings us the rest of the catered food from earlier in the day. Even though Jax has worked really hard, he manages to stay up for a couple more hours to celebrate with us.

Eventually, when the conversation begins to die, and we’re doing nothing but sitting on the couch holding hands, he drifts off to sleep on my shoulder. I lay my head on top of his, so content that sleep comes easily.

When I wake, he’s still there next to me, and I wonder if this is reality or just a dream.

The past eight months since he came back to me, we’ve seen and done it all. My mom allowed me to homeschool, and with her we followed Jax on his tour through Asia and other parts of the world. Jax knew he wanted the last concert of the year in be in LA, on my birthday, so after this we could all be together. Truly, I couldn’t ask for anything more.

It hasn’t been easy living on the road, but I’ve learned so much about his strong character and grown closer to him through our challenges.

Because that’s what love does—it allows you to forgive, and grow, and become better.

I don’t know what our future holds, or what struggles we might face, but I don’t want to be on this wild ride with anyone but Jax.

The next day, he texts me, asking to meet him at his house. I take my time getting ready, wanting to look my best. When I arrive, I find his family gone, and the house quiet.

“What’s going on?” I ask.

“Last night,” he says, “was your birthday with everyone. Today, it’s your birthday with me.”

I know how sore his body is from so much dancing and work, but he takes the time to cook me a meal, and we watch movies until the sun begins to set.

We go out on the deck and look over the mountains and to the lake, hot cocoa in our hands.

“What are you thinking about?” Jax asks.

I shake my head. “Just how lucky I am to have you.”

“That’s funny,” he says. “I was thinking the same thing.”

We sip our cocoa in silence until the last bits of purple fade from the sky, and the stars blanket the horizon.

“Jackie,” Jax whispers, drawing my attention to him. I understand why he keeps his voice down. We don’t have to be quiet, but it feels like a sacred moment in the wilderness.

“Yeah?”

He tilts his head. “I think this is the first time in my life I’ve been happy not to fill the silence. For once, I’m comfortable sitting here with you and enjoying the peace.”

I smile. “That’s because nothing more needs to be said. Us just being together is perfect.”

“Well...” Jax says, scrunching his face. “There is one thing that would make it better.”

“What’s that?” I ask, flirtatious.

I expect him to say something, but instead he leans down and kisses me. Everything that can’t be said is poured into that kiss, because an emotion this strong can’t be communicated through words alone.

And I know exactly what message he’s trying to convey. A love this powerful can’t be stopped, and we have the rest of forever to fill the world with our joy.