A/N
Last chapter :( Thanks for the reviews so much. I'm glad you liked the chapter before this. I love you guys. ENJOY
SONNY POV
Breathe… and don't fall…
"Sonny Monroe…"
The principal of USC read my name off. I walked across the stage smiling, hearing at least thirteen to sixteen people call my name out in the audience. My family is loud as hell. I graduated with my master's degree. It's been six years since I started at USC and thank God it's over. It was a lot of work. I shook his hand and then took the fake diploma they give us. The real one comes in the mail. I smiled as I walked down, giving a slight wave to them if they could see me well. I can see them. My mother is damn near crying, my father's videotaping and my brothers are standing… being loud assholes.
I sat in my seat after and clapped for everyone who walked across. Not a lot has changed in six years. My parents are okay. My father married his girlfriend who I don't like at all because she's a gold digger and my mother's dating a guy that's very nice to her. He's good to her and I like that about him. I'm an aunt and a godmother! Jake and Derek both had sons as their first kids. Penelope is still with Nico and… well… she's happy. Very happy. Daniel is still my good friend and has a new girlfriend. I don't really care where Travis and Hanna are, honestly. Travis took himself out of my life and Hanna was dropped out of Chad's.
I guess you can say Jake is okay with Chad now that I'm older and established what I wanted to do with my life. The guys in my family are okay with me and him and don't care what we do now but Jake still stands by his If-You-Make-Her-Cry-I'll-Make-You-Cry mantra.
Sophia's eight and prettier than ever. She's amazingly still best friends with Joshua. He plays the drums and she plays the piano like her father and I. She's the sweetest, smartest, most easy going girl in the world. I'm twenty five with long brown hair, the same height and maybe weigh a little more. Chad's thirty and hates it. But he's so fucking gorgeous it's insane. He's stronger and a little taller and ugh. He's too good looking for words.
"Congratulations, honey…" My mother squealed and hugged me tight. I hugged her back.
"Thanks, mom…" Next was my father.
"You did good, sweetheart." He hugged me tighter and almost suffocated me but I laughed it off. Next was Derek and Ariana.
"Aw, Sonny… you're not a baby anymore." He teased and kissed the top of my head. Two year old Asher gave me a hug after I hugged Ariana. I swear he looks just like Derek. Next were Jake and Nicole.
"You're all grown up… I'm so proud." He pulled me into a bone crushing hug and left a kiss on my head.
I groaned and chuckled, patting his chest. I hugged Ariana and two year old Cyrus. He had Nicole's eyes but Jakes face. He's so adorable. He gave me a big hug and I moved down the line again. After I hugged Penelope who damn near jumped on me and everyone else down the line; my daughter kissed my cheek and gave me a huge hug. Then Chad. My first love and my first and only intimate partner. He hugged me for a while and I melted in his arms.
"Congratulations, baby…"
"Thank you…" I smiled.
"I'm so proud of you." And I knew everyone was watching so I gave him a small peck on the lips.
"That was it, Chad?" I turned slightly and heard Jake say. "That pitiful kiss is what you give my sister after she just graduated with her masters in psychology from USC?" I burned a light pink when Chad put his hands on my waist and kissed me slowly, respectfully in front of my brother. I rested a hand on his shoulder and smiled halfway into it. "Aw…" He taunted. Chad hugged me again and breathed out in my hair.
"Sonny?"
"Mm?"
"Marry me?" What? I furrowed my brows and pulled back. My stomach took a drop inside me and my head went blank for a short moment. Did he really just say that I think he said?
"Wh-What?" I looked him in the eyes and swallowed. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a small black velvet box. I didn't know if it was possible for this to happen but my heart shook and then stopped. "Chad, what are you doing?" It's like time froze and I took in my surroundings. I just graduated from college, my daughters healthy and everyone's in a really good mood. It's a great time to celebrate. I inhaled shakily when I watched him get down on one knee. I looked at my mom who held her boyfriends hand with a smile and my brothers who just had smirks on their faces. Penelope looked giddy just like Sophia did. Were they all in on this? They knew…
"I've spent the last nine years trying to make things right by you. Trying to make you happy despite all the things I've done to make you unhappy…" I was going to cry. "…I want to make things right in the best way possible because there's no one else I'd rather fight with, hold hands, kiss, love or just laugh with..." Oh God, I'm crying. Stupid emotions. He just looked so sincere and I couldn't believe this was happening. This is happening… "Sonny Monroe, will you marry me?" A million times yes! In every possible way known to humanity, yes!
I wiped my tears and laughed lovingly. "Yes…" I nodded and covered my mouth to hide a happy sob. "Yes…" I said again. He smiled at me brightly and sighed a huge breath of relief. All the years of fighting and crying and saying that I didn't want to be with him, led up to this. He opened the box and the flash kind of hurt my eyes. The ring was flashy yet subtle. It was a silver ring that looked like it would weigh my hand down. He took it out the box and took my left hand, sliding it onto the place where he removed my purity ring once. I took off my cap and smoothed out my hair. I'm engaged to Chad!
He rose off his knee and cupped my face. "I love you." He smiled and kissed me. Besides the tears of joy streaming down my face, I can see the flashes of cameras behind my eyelids.
"I love you too…"
"Aw…" They all said at the same time. I glared at my family and snickered, burning a dark shade of red. I guess there's too things to celebrate today. Our engagement and my graduation.
"Yay!" Sophia squealed and threw her arms around the both of us. "You're getting married. We'll all have the same last name and I can be in the wedding party." She said happily. My hand feels heavy. It feels weird having this on my finger. I peered down at it and fought a smile.
"Let's go celebrate and do this the right way." Jake hugged me tighter than ever and patted Chad's back. "You just got engaged to my sister, you know we gotta have a party."
Chad laughed while I opened my mouth to speak. "You're so annoying." I shook my head and watched Sophia take Asher and Cyrus' hands so they wouldn't get lost.
"My fiancée has her Master's Degree. I can't believe… that… you're smarter than I am." That made me shiver… fiancée. Sonny Cooper. Mr. and Mrs. Cooper. I grinned on the insides.
"I was always smarter than you." I scoffed and looked up at him. He just had a smile on his face.
"We're gonna get food now, right?" Sophia turned her head and I asked. I nodded at the same beat of my heels clicking under me. "Am I sleeping over at Grandma's house so you and dad can be alone again?"
Chad sighed. "Yeah…"
"Do you talk about me when you're alone?" She smiled that smile Chad has when he's feeling smug.
"No." We both answered in a laugh.
"You suck." She snickered and turned her attention back to the two boys she was walking with.
"You have no idea how proud I am… and how happy I am that you said yes…"
"I bet I do and you made me happy. You always make me happy."
"Nah, you have no clue." He lifted my hand and kissed the back of it. I held his same hand with my other one.
"Aw…" I joked. He shook his head with a smirk. "What do you want to do tonight?"
"That's not a good question to ask me." He said deeply.
"Oh and why not?"
"Because you should know the answer." He muttered above a whisper. "It'd be all about you tonight." The baritone in his voice made me shiver.
"Oh…" I said happily.
I was excited now more than ever. I just wanted to throw him on the bed and feel him. All of him. Oh My God! I'm engaged. My heart won't stop fluttering and my excitement wasn't going to die down anytime soon. That's okay. I didn't want it to. We carefully entered the crowded parking lot of people hugging and piled into our cars. We were meeting at some fancy restaurant I've never heard of. Chad's mother chose it so… it must be good. Sophia was in the back seat listening to her iPod and I was in the passenger seat, taking off my robe and showing the dress I was wearing underneath. Chad took my phone out of his pocket and handed it to me. I didn't have any messages or anything so that was good too.
"Mom, Joshua's birthday party is next week." Sophia said. "Mrs. Santiago said she'd love to see you there."
"Okay, tell her I can't make it.
"Why can't you go?"
"Because you're eight and you can go on your own. Do you really want me to hang around you all day?"
"Not really."
"Okay, then…" I turned and smiled at her. She gave me a flashy smile back and laughed.
She hummed along to a song that she was singing and closed her eyes. Chad looked at her through the rearview mirror and smirked, shaking his head. My fingers laced with his and he ran one of his over the ring he slid on my finger.
CHAD POV
She said yes and my heart stopped. And when I slid the ring on her finger, my heart has never beaten faster. I can't believe she said yes. Well, I can believe it but Sonny's going to be my wife. Sophia, Sonny and I are going to be an actual family with the same last name. Sonny rested her head in the crook of my neck at the table, humming lightly and picking up her glass of Sangria and sipping it. After we had made a toasted and celebrated in the restaurant, things were just starting to wind down as we waited for the dessert that was ordered. No one was really paying us any attention and that was good. With this entire table asking you questions all night, you feel overwhelmed.
"All these years built up to this."
"Yeah, I was planning it out from the beginning."
"Right…" She pulled back and looked at me. "It was your master plan."
I nodded. "Yes, yes it was."
"That was one hell of a plan."
"There were a few bumps in the middle but you know, I got it to work out because you know, that's what Chad Dylan Cooper does." I brushed off my shoulder and smirked. She laughed softly and kissed my lips, cupping the side of my face and smoothing her thumb over my cheekbone. "Your father's watching me."
"I'm getting married to you. He has no say and he can't threaten to arrest you anymore." I chuckled shortly before pecking her lips.
"Later." I whispered. "I swear that there will be even more to look forward to… later and you know I don't disappoint."
"You're really cocky today." Sonny laughed loudly and sipped from her glass again. "More than usual."
"You'll get used to it. Shit, it might even rub off on you once you become Mrs. Cooper." She burned a bright red and covered half her face. The way she blushes is still cute to me.
SONNY POV
(Nine Years Later from then)
"Can I ask you something?" Sophia walked over to me in the house while I was sitting at the table with bills. I nodded absentmindedly. "If I had a boyfriend… how mad would you think dad would be?"
"Well, it depends… is it the same boy that put the hickey on your neck?" Her jaw dropped and her hand flew to her neck. She didn't think I would see that even if she just wore her hair down. "I've been in your position. If you were gonna hide it, use concealer. You're lucky your father didn't see." I chuckled.
"How did you see?"
"I'm your mother." I simply said. "I've been in your position." She looked up and smirked at me. Chad should be home in an hour. "What's his name?"
"Chase…" I replied. She smiled and ran her fingers through her hair.
"Are you gonna tell me about him?"
"Oh my God, mom." She shifted in the seat across from mine and smiled. "He's tall and his hair is brown. He has brown eyes too but that doesn't matter. I met him at a party with Marilyn…" Her best friend. "…and he's too cute. He's so nice and smart and he's perfect."
"Sounds like you like him." I grinned. "How old is he…"
"Twenty one." She stated. "Going on… twenty two." I nodded my head slowly… sighing heavily. Chad isn't gonna like that. The age difference is two close to ours and he's gonna hate it.
"Soph…"
"You can meet him. You and dad can meet him tonight if you want but I like him so much."
"You have to talk to your father…"
"No…" She whined. "Can you do it for me… please?" At least she had the right mind to tell me. I hid everything from my parents and we see how that turned out. I put give Sophia the right things now that I know about her and her… older… boyfriend.
"Are you and him having sex?" I leaned back in the seat and quirked a brow. She pulled her knees up to her chest and sighed. "What happened to waiting?"
"I wanted to… but we've been together for a while."
"He didn't pressure you into it, right?"
"No, not at all. It was my decision." Shit, she's so much like me. That relationship is so much like Chad and mines. But it's going to be nothing like that. "The real question I wanted to ask was… if you can… take me to get birth control."
It killed me on the inside knowing that she was having sex but I'd rather she'd tell me so that I knew to set her up for an appointment with the gynecologist and all that other stuff I went through after I told my mother. But when I told my mother, I was pregnant so it's different. Kind of. I exhaled heavily and nodded, swallowing all the yelling I wanted to do. If I yell, she'll go and do something stupid and that's not what I want. She's smart enough to say something so I might as well deal with it calmly. The big question was… how Chad going to take all this news? He's going to lose his mind when I tell him his daughters dating, she's sexually active and she wants birth control.
"The age difference is okay with you?" She asked above a whisper. I shrugged. It'd be hypocritical for me to say that I don't want her to see him.
"It's the same age difference with me and you dad. I was sixteen and he was twenty one."
"So… you don't mind?" I shook my head. She smiled brightly and put her feet down. "I'm gonna go call Chase and tell him to come over at eight… and I'll even cook dinner so there's less stress on you." She ran off up the stairs and into her room. I dropped my head on the table and groaned. This child is going to kill me…
When Chad got home, he was stunned to see Sophia cooking because she never cooks. He went upstairs to change his clothes and I went behind him with a beer in my hand. I need some sort of a bribe. A calming agent. He was pulling a pair of jeans on when I walked into the bedroom. He already changed his shirt into a black one. He looked all toned and sexy… Damn, he's going to be so mad…
"How was work?" I handed the beer to him and smiled.
"Work…" His answers never changed after all these years. His lips met mine for a moment before he pulled back and then kissed me again. "Why's Sophia cooking?" He sipped the beer and wrapped one arm around my waist, sipping the drink again.
"Well… her boyfriends coming to dinner." I said calmly. Chad hissed and cleared his throat, placing the bottle on the dresser as calm as he possibly could.
His voice got raspier. "Boyfriend? What… boyfriend?"
"His name is Chase…" He gritted his teeth together and swallowed. I rubbed his bicep soothingly and kissed his jaw line. He's tensing up. He doesn't want to lash out and scream. "They've been dating for a few months…"
"Months?" His voice rose. "Why didn't…" He inhaled through his nose to calm himself down. "Why didn't she tell anyone?"
"Because she wanted to wait until she was secure in their relationship…"
He scoffed loudly and dropped his arm. "She's seventeen. How secure can their relationship get?"
"Relax." I coaxed. "You'll meet him tonight…"
"He's her age?"
"Older." I tried easily.
"Eighteen?" I clicked my tongue and swallowed again. I kissed his cheek gently, trying to soothe him. "Nineteen?" But he knew what I was trying to do. "How old is the fucking kid?" He growled.
"Twenty one…"
"Sophia!" He yelled immediately and walked around me. I grabbed his arms but my ankle socks started sliding while he was walking. "Sophia!" I wasn't fazing him at all.
"Chad, wait." I tugged on his arm but once he reached the steps I froze. "If you make me fall down the steps, I'm gon-" He threw me over his shoulder and I yelped, my head bouncing off his back with every step. We were in the kitchen by the time he finished walking. I seriously hope that liking older men doesn't run in the family because of me. Can that even happen?
"What the hell are you doing with a boyfriend that's twenty one years old?" He exclaimed.
"I wanted to be like you and mom…" She replied nervously as he put me on my feet.
He snapped. "Bullshit."
It's a never ending cycle. For some reason, I smiled to myself when I looked at the both of them argue. My husband and my daughter both are trying to fight each other with the same blue eyes. I was amused at this. I wouldn't change anything in my life. I wouldn't go back and do anything over, I wouldn't change an argument, and I wouldn't change a moment in the past. If I changed the past I wouldn't have had a new neighbor and a new neighbor… I wouldn't have Chad.
A/N
Awww, Cheesy ending! :( Wah! I'm sad it's over. I want to thank you so much for sticking around for this long journey we call a story. I'm super glad you liked it. I'm not that happy with the ending but it'll do. I know I'm sad because I'm not going to be updating this anymore. It's gonna be weird for me not writing about this. But everything good has to come to an end. Thank you so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so much. I really do love you guys and I'm so amazed that some of you that have been with me since "Mine" are still reading my stories. It's so amazing to me :'). Thanks so much :)
WINNER! ROAD TRIP!
Channy going on a road trip is the last story. That should be fun writing. Currently, I haven't written any chapters for my last story. I'm still gathering a plot so please give me a few days. That story will be open for suggestions since they are going from NY to CA. You can send me little sexy things for them to do ;) in my inbox or you can DM me on twitter. So yeah… that's about it. Thanks so much for reading! :)
