Epilogue
~Ava~
“Okay, I know I fucked up. But just hear me out, okay?”
I rolled my eyes at the sound of Thor pleading for forgiveness. This was the last straw. I had simply had it. “Thor…I don’t know if I can do this anymore…”
He guiltily wiped his hands against his pants and looked everywhere but at me as he searched for an explanation.
“I mean, look at this!” I held up the evidence in my hand. The inside of the pot was blackened from the food he had been trying to prepare. “This is the third pot you’ve ruined! These are expensive, you know. From now on, you are banned from my kitchen.”
“What?!” Thor’s mouth gaped open in shock at my announcement.
“You heard me,” I reached out and pulled on his forearm. It was quite comical seeing my shorter frame try to pull his gigantic body out of the kitchen. Initially, he protested but soon gave in and allowed me to pull him out.
Flopping down on my couch, he sighed dramatically. But with a gentle tug on my arm, he soon pulled me down with him before I could escape. I straddled him, sitting comfortably in his lap with my arms around his neck. I knew what was coming next.
“I’m sorry for fucking up your kitchen. I just wanted to make something nice for you. Women always go crazy over anniversaries.”
He was right. It was our one-year anniversary, but I hadn’t mentioned it to him at all. I didn’t want to pressure him into doing something that would make him feel trapped or like our relationship was somehow a burden. It meant more to me that he had remembered it and wanted to commemorate it himself without my prompting. Unfortunately, he chose to do it in one of the worst ways though. Thor had yet to master cooking in the slightest; it still amazed me how he kept himself so fit if he didn’t know as much as how to properly prepare basic vegetables.
“It means a lot to me that you even tried, Thor. But I can’t keep spending money buying new appliances, so just stick to what you know. Like mind-blowing orgasms…” I hinted with a whisper, leaning over to place my lips against his to lighten my chastisement.
Thor responded immediately, placing his arms around my waist and pulling me closer into him in order to deepen our kiss. I playfully suckled at his bottom lip and then swiped it gently with my tongue, teasing him with the promise of what was to come.
I felt his chest rumble beneath me as he groaned in desire.
“Baby, wait. There is still something I want to give to you.”
Too overcome by my need, I moved my lips down to his neck and mumbled into his skin, “Make it quick.” I could already feel my body responding to him, the heat between my legs growing with each passing moment. There were goosebumps developing on my forearms as my body shivered and undulated against him.
He placed his large palms beneath me, lifting me up and over onto the seat cushion. I pouted with protest as his warmth left me but watched in curiosity as he waltzed over to the coat closet near the door. I heard the rustling of bags and my back straightened in anticipation. Gifts? What girl doesn’t like presents?
Sheepishly, he looked over his shoulder at me as he used his body to hide whatever it was hidden in the closet. There was no hiding my avid curiosity by then. I placed my legs beneath me and nearly leaned over the edge of the couch trying to catch a glimpse as he walked back my way.
“No peeking, Ava!” He demanded when I reached out to pull his arm out from hiding. “I have something to say…” he cleared his throat as if he was preparing to make a big speech.
I couldn’t help my laughter at the sight of him. In our relationship thus far, Thor had proven to me just how playful he could be. It was such a difference from the cold persona he held when we first met and slept together. Now, I never feared expressing how I felt about him or seeking out the intimacy I wanted with him. In fact, he always seemed just as eager for those moments together; moments that were not characterized by sexual lust but just affection. His touch still always made my knees weak.
In spite of all this, we still hadn’t expressed our love for one another. I don’t know what it was, but there never seemed to be a right moment. I found the words coming to the tip of my tongue at the most unromantic moments, like when he soothed my embarrassment the first time we accidentally had period sex. Not one of my proudest moments for sure, but he made me laugh so I would stop apologizing about something natural.
I couldn’t help but wander to myself as he began to speak, whether today would be the day we both finally said it. Because I knew he felt it too. It was in the way he looked at me when we woke up in each other’s arms. Or the way he had to touch me any time I passed him, as if he couldn’t go a moment without feeling me in some way.
“Bear with me, because I’m not great at these things. But if there was anyone that would make me want to become a better man, a better partner, it’s you, Ava. For the first time, my thoughts aren’t just about myself and how I’m feeling. In fact, my first instinct is to think and worry about you, because you are not just my lover and partner, but you have become my best friend.
“This year has been amazing, despite the kitchen fatalities because you’ve taught me it’s possible to love someone other than myself.” He gave me his familiar mischievous grin. “And there’s no one else I could’ve seen myself falling for, even when you yell at me like a crazy woman.”
I covered my mouth to hold back my laughter. But my smile soon went away when Thor bent down on one knee. Umm…what?
Knowing exactly where my thoughts were heading, he held up his hand and shook his head. “All in good time, babe. However, there is something you deserve more than anything else.”
When he handed me the white box, my mouth went dry. With my hands shaking, I opened the cover and couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. Between sobs and laughter, I leapt off the couch until I was in his arms. Hearing his laughter in my ear, I buried my face into his shoulder and squeezed with all my might.
“I love you too,” I whispered to him.
“Oh, now you say it,” he teased.
Playing along, I added with a wobbly smile, “Damn, right. You finally gave me back the shoes you ruined.”
But despite how long I had waited for my precious Manolo Blahniks, the ones he had ruined that fateful day at the coffee shop, my attention was focused elsewhere. The box soon fell to the floor as his mouth covered mine, and his body fell on top of me. He kissed me everywhere, whispering his love with each peck. And he didn’t need to worry, because I whispered it right back.