Epilogue

 

 

One year later

 

RISKE

 

“Babe, I’m almost ready! I swear!”

“Taking a shower is not almost ready, darling! We’ve got twenty minutes, Kat!”

“I’ll be out in five!!”

I sat down on our sofa in my tuxedo, checking the time on my over-sized IPhone.

Five minutes. She had five freaking minutes, I swore. I adjusted my cuffs to distract myself from my anxiousness. I brushed imaginary lint from my shoulders with slightly shaky fingers. On the fourth minute, I busted into the bathroom, pulling back the curtain. Her brown hair was soaking wet, soapsuds sliding down her shoulders and between her breasts. She looked like Christmas morning. My eyes went wide. Damn, I was a lucky man.

I had to refocus.

“Baby, your five minutes is up. Now, get your sexy ass out of this shower and into some clothes so we can go to this ceremony.” I shifted her slightly, slapping her on the ass. “Right now.”

She yelped, turning afterward to blow a soapy kiss at me. I grinned, roaming my eyes over her form, but I left the room quickly. If I didn’t, I knew what I would do—jump right in there with her, tux and all, and we’d never make it to the awards show.

The Publishers Digest Awards.

The PD Awards were one of the most renowned award ceremonies for people in our line of work. I’d been to them before… but never with Tripping Out! Our “small potatoes” travel magazine was nominated. Our magazine. Mine, Chris’s, Griff’s… and Kat’s. She had become as much a part of the magazine as the three of us had.

Signing on shortly after we reconciled, she joined our team to make Tripping Out! one of the best new travel publications on the block. Technically, she was my employee, but all of us thought of her as more of a partner. And someday soon, she really was going to be….

As soon as I convinced her to be my wife.

The ring was in my pants pocket, ready to slide its way onto her finger. Ready to make its way to the only home it would ever know. Hopefully.

Kat assumed I had jitters about the ceremony. And I did… but not nearly as many goddamned jitters as I had about what was happening after the ceremony. I poured myself a shot of whiskey at my bar, downing the brown liquid and letting it burn my nerves away. I started to pour a second small shot when suddenly Kat bounced into the room.

Not bounced. More like strutted. Clad in a silky silver number that hugged her every dip and peak, she looked better than any medal or figurine that the award ceremony could ever give us. Her skin still slightly damp from her shower, her hair still wet even after a quick blow-dry, she gazed at me through a face of natural-looking makeup, her pink lips full and glossy. I could have dropped my liquor glass just at the sight of her.

“Done!” she sighed happily, reaching towards me.

“Not quite…” I placed my glass back on the bar, grabbing her waist and kissing her. Mmm. She tasted like cherries. I pulled back. “Now, you’re done. Let’s go.”

 

***

 

We hauled ass towards the venue, jumping into my Audi and doing twenty above the speed limit the entire way. Unlike Chris and Griff and the rest of the attendees, we didn’t arrive in a town car.

There was no pretense, no ostentatiousness. Frankly, I didn’t give a damn about being seen. The recognition was all I was looking for. Winning a Publishers Digest Award would launch Tripping Out! into a separate stratosphere. We ran into Chris outside of the main hall.

“Where have you guys been?” He started shouting. “You missed the red carpet!” As usual, he was a nervous wreck. I slapped a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

“Little Miss Lexington here is the reason.” I winked at her and shook his hand.

Kat waved us off impatiently. “Hey guys. Relax! Perfection takes time.”

I leaned in closely to her, whispering. “There’s nothing about you that isn’t perfect.” She blushed fiercely, kissing my lips before biting them briefly. Chris groaned. “Good God, you guys are sickening.” He slapped a hand into my chest. “Let’s just try to get our perfect asses in there before the proceedings actually start.”

I clutched Kat’s hand, and we all hurried into the grand hall where the ceremony was being held. We sat down beside Griff as the host took the stage. We settled in, waiting for our category to arrive. Award after award was bestowed. I could feel Kat’s legs shaking under the table. I placed my hand on her thigh to ease her agitation. I keep it there because she felt so good.

I watched Griff stiffen out of my periphery, and I pulled my own back straight. Here it comes. Best new travel publication.

I didn’t hear anything. Just a humdrum of voices as the presenters announced the nominees. I clutched Kat’s thigh tighter. I didn’t realize we’d won until Chris and Griff jumped out of their seats suddenly, grabbing each other in a huge bear hug. Kat turned to me, grazing my cheek with her lips. “You did it,” she whispered.

I stood up from the table, leading her to her feet. “No, Kat, we did it.”

We joined Chris and Griff around the table, hugging each other and shaking hands for so long that I swore one of the presenters cleared her throat just to get our attention. When we looked up at the stage, we saw…

 

The cover of our first edition.

We finally hopped up the steps to the stage. I stopped just shy of where the microphone stood when I realized that the entire Tripping Out! gang was standing behind me, the three most important people in the world, to me,  all motioning to me from the perimeter, encouraging me to take the platform.

I stepped up to the mic.

“Hi. My name is Brendon Foxx, formerly of Foxxhole Publishing. I’ve, uh… I’ve been to these awards before.” I gazed out into the crowd. “Met many of you… time and time again. And yet, I feel as if I’m looking out from behind the podium with new eyes.” I let my gaze take it all in. “Tripping Out! has been a journey—a long, arduous journey. It’s been much harder than anything I’ve ever experienced with Foxxhole. Much more strenuous… and I wouldn’t trade a second of it.” I stared behind me. “To Christopher Johnson and Lukas Griffin, thank you for standing beside me on this journey. You are the greatest partners anyone could have ever asked for. And to Kat Lexington… thank you for being the risk I never regretted taking.”

I looked back at her, winking conspiratorially.

“And to the Publishers Digest Awards, thank you for this magnificent recognition. We are truly honored.”

At that, I exited the stage with my Tripping Out! team to the sound of joyous applause. With the award in my hands, I sat back down at our table, floating through the rest of the ceremony in a lightheaded haze. Dozens of well-wishers shook my hand after the ceremony was over, congratulating Tripping Out! on our success. I didn’t remember any of their names; I recalled about half of their faces. Many of them wanted to collaborate, and a few pitched their proposals. I was nothing but indifferent.

Only one proposal mattered to me at the moment.

When it was time to leave, I stumbled towards the car, thinking about exactly what I was going to do as soon as I got Kat alone. Unaware, she strapped herself into the Audi, smiling widely at me. I grinned back at her, feeling the ring’s box in my pocket, noticing that she had never been more beautiful than she was at that very second.

Surprisingly, I wasn’t nervous. Just eerily calm. Probably because I knew, with everything in me, that for the first time in my life, this was exactly where I wanted to be… with whom I wanted to be.

“You ready?” she asked me, excitedly. Her eyes were bright, shining beacons of blue out of the darkness.

I was serene when I responded. “Never been more ready…”