Epilogue

Three years. It had been three years since the fiasco that occurred during my senior year of high school.

Three. Long. Years.

And in that time, I'd graduated high school with top marks, gotten accepted into Harvard Law school (encouraged by my parents since I loved to debate and argue), and tried to brave the world with a smile on my face.

Alone.

Well, not fully alone. I had my parents, my ever-loving and overprotective parents, Seneva, and actually managed to forgive and maintain a bit of a friendship with both Rosemary and Kyle who had been dating before... The Event, and continued to date now.

Three years had passed and no word of Geek. None. He'd vanished right before... Landon... and he hadn't called or texted or emailed or... or... anything. It broke my heart. Because, despite the short time we'd known each other, I'd somehow fallen for him-hard.

I still cried myself to sleep most nights for the horrible experience I'd gone through, for the horrible experience Kyle and Rosemary were involuntarily involved in, and for the loss of the guy I loved.

For the guy I'd never be able to call mine.

It was late December now, close to the three year anniversary mark, and I should've been feeling so happy. I was okay. My friends and family were okay.

I could only hope Geek was okay too.

Snow was falling in a soft drift, carpeting the brick pathways of Harvard's campus grounds. It was only mid-afternoon but it felt late, with the non-descript gray misty sky and bright white as far as the eye could see. I tucked my scarf around my neck more securely to combat the chill beginning to cloak me and rubbed my palms together in the hopes of bringing more warmth into them. Fellow students were enjoying the snow much more than I, forming snowballs to chuck at their unsuspecting friends and catching snowflakes in their hands. I watched them with a hint of a smile tugging at my lips.

Snow crunched behind me, but I paid it no mind until a tentative, "Ainsley?"

I whipped around, my heart suddenly springing to life with... hope?

That hope died when I recognized my current roommate and best friend, Thalia. She was a gorgeous girl and almost sickeningly sweet. Long, curly yellow hair and dark, dark gray eyes-basically a total knock out. And yet she had decided not to distract herself with any of the very available guys on campus.

"Thalia," I greeted, "Hey."

She smiled. "Uh, I've got a massive test first thing tomorrow and a classmate invited me to pull an all-nighter study session with her, so I won't be home tonight."

"Okay..." I laughed, a bit confused. "Thanks for letting me know, I'll put away any leftovers tonight in the fridge. Hope you do well!"

She gave me a quick hug and a "thanks," then rushed off. Odd. Thalia had always been slightly kooky but that was a bit unusual, even for her. Couldn't a text message have sufficed?

I almost laughed from the bizarreness of that short incident as she trudged away, humming to herself. But I didn't, because as soon she disappeared into the snowy air, my heart sank and drained me of the energy to laugh.

The snowflakes began to fall sideways due to a pick up in windiness, and I sighed with relief, my breath visible in front of my face. When I reached my and Thalia's apartment complex, I climbed up the twisted staircase up, up, up to the veranda on top. Both of our families had money and had helped gift us with this lovely present as an incentive to continue being top-notch students.

We'd combined our saved up money, in addition the money we'd saved from our parents, and splurged on the vintage, too-luxurious top floor studio loft. I loved it; it felt like my own private bachelor pad.

I unlocked the front door that had been painted a bright yellow, and stepped inside. The layout had more of an open floor plan which allowed me to recognize the stranger napping on my favorite lounge chair.

His chest rose and fell slowly, deeply, and it struck me how odd it was for an intruder to fall asleep in the house they intruded upon.

I carefully pulled out the steel baseball bat that lurked, hidden, behind the umbrella bin by the door next to the front closet. It had been a relief to me that Thalia had understood the incident when I'd told her, crying, after waking up from a recurring nightmare once when we were dorm mates at eighteen. She'd given me self-defense items as kind of a serious joke that Christmas, which is why we had mace, a steel bat, pocketknives, and other unpleasant surprises hidden around the loft in case a situation arises.

It had been the funniest, most touching gift at the time. And now, it would come in handy.

The bat lifted into the air, menacingly, as I crept toward the chair. Better safe than sorry. If I had had this mindset back when Landon... abducted me, I would've hit him in the head with his stupid frying pan myself before he could have had the chance to hit me.

Sea foam green irises blinked at me a I loomed over the chair with the bat held in my hands in a threatening position.

I dropped the bat, not even wincing when it clattered noisily to the floor.

"You?" I burst out. I glared at him and planted my hands on my hips. "What are you doing inside my apartment? Who ARE you? How did you find me?"

He stared at me, almost in shock, before shaking his head and blinking. He licked his lips awkwardly and stood up, towering over my petite height.

"Ainsley-"

"Who ARE you?" I demanded, coiled tightly and ready to snap.

The green eyed intruder gave me a heartbroken half smile. "Three years ago I was assigned to your caseby your father as a private investigator and bodyguard."

I was dumbstruck, reeling. My knees buckled and I collapsed onto the couch behind me. "Why are you... why are you here?"

"To explain," he said gravely. He sat down on the chair I'd found him in, elbows on his knees. "And to see you."

I jerked and met his intense gaze. "Why?"

"Because it's a habit of mine to check up on the people I've been assigned to. Also, I'm sure you may have unanswered questions and I figured it might be time for you to get some answers."

I eyed him suspiciously. "Why did you break into my apartment?"

He smiled roguishly. My heart thumped in response. "I didn't. Your roommate let me in when I told her who I was."

My brows creased. "Again, who are you?"

"We'll get to that," he inhaled, "but first, how are you? I never had the chance to see you after busting Hannen at his lake cabin, and that was a mess. Are you alright now?"

I nodded. "I'm fine." I'm broken.

He leaned back. "So you managed to graduate high school and now you're here?"

"Yep," I answered curtly. Remembering how lonely the majority of that year was without Geek left me feeling hollow.

He fixed his sea foam gems on me. "Ainsley..."

"I don't know you," I whispered, shifting to sit on my hands. "And this unpleasant past-blasting is becoming too much. I'm still hurting, you know. I lost so many things with that whole event. It isn't something you forget with time, and the pain hasn't lessened yet, despite the third anniversary coming up," I sniffed. Crying had never been something I'd done much of, but I changed after The Event.

Sensing I was about to break down, the agent reached for my cold hand and clasped it in his large, warm one, offering a source of strength and comfort.

"You're wrong, you know," he said softly. "You do know me."

I gritted my teeth. "Well obviously, since I saw you twice when I was in the hospital, but-"

"No," he interrupted me. "Ainsley, we know each other. Let me show you."

I watched as he reached for a bag beside him, one I hadn't even noticed, and pulled out a wig, a pair of taped glasses, and what appeared to be a... contact lens container?

Before I could open my mouth, he pulled the wig on and began to pop the contacts in. His pastel mint eyes altered to a hazelly brown.

My jaw dropped before he put on the glasses. "Geek?" I whispered.

"Ainsley, I'm so sorry. I had to go undercover to protect you-"

I lunged at him, throwing my arms around him desperately. "You're you? Oh, I missed you!" I sobbed.

He wrapped me in his strong arms tightly, pressing his face into my neck. "Ah hell, I missed you."

Suddenly angry, I reared back and slapped him. My emotions were going everywhere. "You lied to me. This whole time you were lying to me!"

He ran a hand down his face.

It was him. My heart began to race. But it wasn't him at the same time.

"It was for your protection. My boss thought the best way for me to protect you would be to go undercover and somehow get you to accept and befriend me. It happened differently, and more easily, than I thought."

"Why did you leave me?" I whispered, missing the warmth of his embrace. "Why weren't you there?"

He closed his eyes briefly, pained. "I have a brother. At the time of... The Event, I had been called to a shootout happening at a warehouse in downtown Seattle. My brother was part of a gang and it was my last chance to get him out, to whisk him away. It's a long story from my childhood," he confessed.

"Your father was stubborn and thought you were safe after being released from the hospital, thinking the car bomb was the worst of it. He told me he didn't need my assistance with the case anymore. That's when I was informed my brother was found and in trouble, so I went to go aid him and take him to safety."

"Ainsley, I had no idea Landon would do what he did... and I'm so sorry I wasn't there to prevent the situation from getting so out of hand. I should've trusted my instincts and ignored your father dissing me from the case. If I had-"

"Three years is a long time," I said softly.

His hazel eyes looked up at me. "I know."

"Take off the costume."

He did, revealing his beautiful mint green eyes and thick, honey colored hair. It sprawled over his forehead in beautiful curls, soft and luscious.

"Why are you really here, Nate?" My heart ached to see him, so beautiful and himself and nerdy and sweet and apologetic and I loved him. I loved him.

"Because I missed you. Gosh, Ainsley, I missed you and I couldn't help it. It took me three years to resign and get out of the C.I.A. being in the position I had been in, and I'm here because I couldn't stand going another day not knowing what could have happened between us. Not seeing your hair, or your face, or your smile, or your glare again. I'm desperate for you," he sighed, completely baring his soul to me. Vulnerable to my response. I saw the sincerity of his confession, seeing my own torment at having been apart from each other for so long reflected in his own eyes.

"Geek, I missed you too," I sniffled, once again throwing myself into his arms.

He squeezed me half to death, both of us reveling in the feel of this new possibility and relief. "Ainsley, I'm going to kiss you."

I smiled through my teary eyes. "I've been waiting."

He lowered his head and I closed my eyes. "But first, my name isn't Nate. It's Oliver. Oliver Taylor."

"You're still a geek to me," I said, laughing.

He grinned. "Oh, and, I'm in love with you, you crazy redhead. I've been in love with you since you punched me in the face."

"I've been so in love with you this whole time too," I admitted, unable to keep the tears of joy from falling. Geek-Oliver-used his thumbs to swipe my tears off my face. I impatiently put my hand on the nape of his neck. "I'm waiting on that kiss you know."

"I know," he smirked. And then he kissed me and it was everything we had wanted and everything we had been waiting for.

I suppose happy endings do exist.

END

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: There WILL be a sequel... YAY! But, the twist? It's SENEVA'S STORY! Of course, Ainsley and Geek will be main characters as well, but their PoVs won't be written. I'm excited to begin it! Stay tuned!

And also... What would you guys think if I made a spin-off story for Carl, Geek's partner in crime? I have been thinking of this for quite a while... The more votes/comments I receive, I'll figure it's a positive idea and you guys encourage it! :)

UPDATE: For those of you just finishing this story, and those who aren't fans, I have begun writing Seneva's story. It is called My Nerd of a Romeo is Part of the Mob? And is on a roll. Check it out if you want to see Seneva all grown up and some Geek/Ainsley cuteness!