A/N: Hello there. I know it´s been ages since I last updated this fic and it has been nagging at the back of my head that it was unfinished. So, I decided to write one more chapter to end things up.
I got a couple of reviews saying they were disappointed because I didn´t develop the bank robbery a little bit more. It was a prompt that I liked but in the middle of it I discovered that action sequences are not my forte; maybe in the future I´ll be able to produce a good kick-ass kind of story but at the time I stuck to what I knew. I´m sorry if it wasn´t what you expected but I thank those who read it thought it to be good, regardless of the lack of action.
I appreciate the constructive criticism I got here, though; because it helped me improve my writing. I compare this first fic of mine to the one I´m working on right now and I see the difference, so for that I´m thankful.
As a means to compensate for the lack of updates, this final chapter is full of romantic and sexy stuff and I really hope you like it.
Thanks for everything and if you are a Klainer you might want to check my other fic (just a thought).
Until some other time!
CHAPTER SEVEN
After everything got clear up at the bank, everybody went back to the hotel where a very anxious Kristen was waiting in the lobby.
"Seth! Ryan! Oh my god! Are you ok?" – Kristen asked while hugging Seth and Ryan in turn.
"Yes, mom. We´re fine. Don´t worry"
"I can´t believe what happened!"
"It was not a big deal. Fortunately for us, the robber didn´t have much experience so the police controlled the situation pretty quickly" – Ryan explained
"Did they catch him?"
"Yeah. The stupid moron got lost finding the way out of the mall and with the surveillance cameras they found him in a heartbeat. Jeez! How hard can it be to follow the exit signs on the walls?" – Kaitlin asked around crossing her arms.
"Well, you can count yourselves lucky" - Sandy told everybody
"I definitely do" – Ryan said pulling Taylor closer to him. She beamed at him.
"So I see you two have worked things out" – Kristen interjected with a knowing smile – "I´m happy for you. Just don´t mess it up this time" – She pointed sternly at Ryan.
"I won´t. I promise"
"Good. Now that all my children are safe and sound, I´m going to bed again. I´ll see guys later"
"I´m right behind you sweetheart" – Sandy offered a supporting arm for his wife and they walked away.
"Bye Mom! Bye Dad"
"Bye Kristen! Bye Sandy"
"Bye kids. Behave!"
Right after Kristen and Sandy left, Kaitlin started her way towards the elevators.
"Hey, where are you going?" – Summer asked
"To my room. I need to get the disgusting floor dirt off of me. Why? Were you expecting me to stay here with you guys while you make out? Sorry, I have a life, you know?" – Kaitlin turned around and left. She smiled when no one could see her. She was really happy for all of them working things out, but they didn´t need to know that.
"I pity the guy that ends up with her; I seriously do" – Seth said with sympathy in his voice –"So! What now?"
"Now, you are going to help me pack and we are going to leave these two enjoy the rest of their day alone" – Summer told Seth grabbing his arm to drag him to the elevators.
"I guess we can start on that date, huh?" – Ryan asked Taylor – "Let me work on some details and I´ll go get you to go out"
"Who said we had to leave the hotel room? I want to start my date right now!" – Taylor took Ryan´s hand and pulled him towards the elevator as well with a devilish grin – "Besides, who knows how long it will be before we can be together again. I´m not wasting my time with you, doing mundane things like having dinner"
"Ok" – Ryan breathed out. He knew he was in for a rough night.
Taylor opened her door and stepped in, closing it behind Ryan. The moment she turned the lock she threw herself to Ryan´s arms and kissed him passionately. They didn´t say anything, they didn´t need to.
Ryan started the process of taking Taylor´s clothes off, taking his time to explore every inch of uncovered skin. Taylor followed Ryan´s lead and did the same.
The night before they had been enveloped in pure lust, so they didn´t take things neither slowly nor gently. It had been all about getting naked as fast as possible and seeing how fast and how many times they could take each other to the edge. It had been mind-blowing but this time things were different. They were taking their time. They were being gentle and every touch was meaningful.
Ryan took Taylor to the bed where he finished taking the rest of their clothes off painstakingly slowly. They touched and kissed everywhere possible, whispering sweet loving things to each other for who knew how long before he, staring directly into Taylor´s eyes, connected their bodies in the most intimate way possible, raveling in all the passion, trust, and love for him he saw reflected in his girlfriend´s eyes. He knew he had been a complete idiot when he let her go and he was not making the same mistake again.
Taylor took Ryan´s face between her hands and brought his head towards hers to kiss him deeply while Ryan made love to her in the most delicious and tender way possible, building the feelings inside them until they both shattered in pieces together.
"I love you" – Taylor said sweetly
"I love you, too. You have no idea how much" – Ryan answered and Taylor just swooned because it was great to hear him say that to her with that much conviction and sincerity in both his voice and eyes.
"I do, now"
"Good. That´s all I need"
"Well, now that that´s settled and that I´ve just had the best first date I´ve ever had… How long do you think it would take for you to be ready to take me on a second date?"
"Are you serious?"
"It´s just that you know what they say… while in Rome…" – Taylor answered motioning her glance to where their lower bodies were still joined.
"Oh God Taylor! You´re going to kill me!"
"So, is that a no?" – Taylor asked in disappointment
"Hell no! I was just stating the obvious" – Ryan grinned and kissed Taylor again.
The new love-birds stayed in Taylor´s room for the rest of the day and night; making up in advance for the time they were going to be apart, as Taylor had put it. They only stopped loving each other to take little breaks for food but as soon as that hunger was seated, they did their best to satisfy the other.
It wasn´t until the early hours of the morning, that Ryan and Taylor got worn out enough to go to sleep. She turned around to become the little spoon, feeling safe and warm with Ryan´s strong arms wrapped around her.
The morning light came through the blinds and Taylor smiled happily as she felt Ryan´s grip tightening around her.
"Good morning" – Ryan greeted placing soft kissed on Taylor´s shoulders.
"Good morning"
"How are you feeling?"
"Like I´ve been throughoutly loved by the man I´m in love with" – She giggled – "but I could use an Advil, though"
"Oh God!" – Ryan laughed and Taylor loved the sound as she didn´t get to hear him laugh very often. She promised herself to be the cause of that beautiful sound as much as possible from now on. – "Is it really that bad? I´m sorry" – Ryan asked in concern when he sobered up.
"Not as bad as to not want a nice bubble bath with you and maybe a shower after that"
"Jeez! Sweetheart, I don´t think I can stand on my feet just yet"
"I wore you out, didn´t I?"
"You did. But it was amazing"
"It was, right? You don´t think I´m some kind of nymphomaniac or something like that, do you? Because I´m not"
"I know you´re not and I´m ok with you being the way you are or did you hear me complain last night?
"No, but…"
"No buts" – Ryan moved around on the bed to rest on his back and pulled Taylor towards his chest – "When I say that I love you, I mean it. That includes all of you, even the crazy sex"
"Really?"
"Yeah. This is why I know we will be able to make it. You´ll make sure the distance is not going to be an obstacle for you and I to be together"
"I promise I´ll do my best" – Taylor gave Ryan a sweet smile – "So… about that bath…"
Around midday, Taylor and Ryan joined Summer and Seth in the lobby. They were ready to go see Summer off. It was the end of an era for them and they all knew it.
"So, are you ready?" –Seth asked Summer
"Yeah. I have everything so we can go" – Summer answered with a sigh taking Seth´s hand.
They took one car and drove to where the G.E.O.R.G.E bus was. Saying good bye was hard but they knew this was something Summer really wanted. They were still going to be friends for the rest of their life but now they had to adapt to their new adult life, making adult decisions, and learn from everything they had been through in the last few years.
Once Summer was gone, Ryan drove Seth back to the hotel. He had only the rest of the day with his girlfriend before having to say good bye to her as well and there were still a lot of things to talk about and details to work out.
Taylor guided Ryan one more time to her room and this time she took his hand and led him towards the bed. She sat down and crossed her legs and motioned for him to do the same. She kept their hands holding each other.
"So, I´m leaving tomorrow and although we have established that we love each other and want to be together, there is still the fact that you´ll be here and I´ll have to be in France for the next four years"
"I know"
"So, how is this going to work out?"
"Well, I think the first thing we should agree on is the trips will have to do to see each other"
"Ok. Sounds good. How about if you come to visit me on Spring break, I´ll come here for Christmas and New Year because those holidays are to be spent with family and my family is here and we can plan whether we spend our summers here, France, or some other place?"
"I think that will work"
"Great. Now what do you propose we do the rest of the time? There is an eight-hour time difference"
"That´s going to be tricky"
"Yeah, I think so"
"I think that we can talk after my morning classes. That way you´ll be free because in France it will be evening. You´ll have time to make you work before I call you and I´ll be able to do my work after I talk to you"
"You really think we can keep it up?"
"It´s worth the try. We can also text each other throughout the day and we can talk longer on the weekends"
"You can also write me long romantic emails" – Taylor suggested with a mischievous smile.
"Honey, you know I´m not good at that"
"I know but I know just the thing to help you get inspired"
"What´s that?"
"For every romantic email I get from you, I´ll send you a really hot one telling you everything I´d want you to do to me or do to you the next time we´re together"
"Oh…mmmm… I think I can give it a try" – Ryan answered rubbing his neck with his free hand. He could already imagine what reading those email would be like.
"I thought so, too" – Taylor giggled.
Ryan and Taylor talked some more and then he decided they needed to leave the hotel room. He knew that they were not going to be doing any sleeping that night neither and he wanted their last day together to be more than just them and a bed.
Taylor was really touched at how Ryan wanted them to have a proper date so she accepted his invitation for a walk around the park nearby and then going to have dinner together in a nice restaurant.
Their date was everything they wanted and more. Ryan made sure Taylor had a wonderful time and Taylor made sure Ryan smiled and laugh as much as possible. The restaurant they chose served a truly delicious meal and after that, they walked back to the hotel.
As Ryan had anticipated, the early rays of sunlight caught them loving each other as they tried to make the best out of the time they had. There was going to be enough time for sleeping later.
They had breakfast together and then Ryan went to his room to change while Taylor finished getting ready to leave.
They went together to the train station and Ryan got on the train with her. He was going to stay by her side until the very last minute and that ended up being all the way to New York. Those extra hours had been a gift that Ryan decided not to let pass by him. He saw her board the ship and waved at her until he could not see her any longer. He was going to miss her but at least he knew she was his to miss. Taylor was his girlfriend and he was going to make sure she will keep being his girlfriend until they were ready for something else.
Four years passed.
Ryan was standing next to Seth, watching Summer walking down the aisle. His two best friends were getting married after so many years of loving each other and battling the distance; just as Taylor and him. It was a wonderful event and he saw the love of his life looking sweetly at him from the other side of the altar. She looked beautiful.
Being with Taylor all this time had been quite the ride. Four years of transatlantic flights, countless hours on the phone, hundreds of emails, a few fights and make ups, and lots of phone and cyber sex had made the trick; and now here they were.
Taylor had graduated with honors a few weeks ago and Ryan had been there to see it happen like the proud boyfriend he was. His own graduation had been a week ago and now they were all together to see Summer and Seth get married.
Ryan´s mind wander briefly to the ring box resting at the bottom of his sock drawer back in his room. He had planed the perfect way to propose to Taylor for weeks and once Seth and Summer were off on their honeymoon, he was going to make sure that Taylor knew that he wanted her for always.
Ryan looked at Taylor and mouthed a sweet "I love you" across the altar, his girlfriend mouthed an "I love you, too" accompanied by a wink and his heart skipped a beat. After all this time, Taylor still managed to affect him in the most amazing way.
He was ready. She was ready. It was time.
THE END
