He grasped my hands and pulled me to him until our chests were pressed together. Then he dropped our hands and wove his arms around my waist, holding me close. The moonlight illuminated his handsome face as he gazed down at me.

"What I'm saying, Sierra, is that you're not moving." He said it so matter-of-factly.

I opened my mouth to protest, but he dipped his head and captured my lips, effectively shutting me up.

"We—we're moving. I'm coming with you. I discussed with your parents—and with mine. And, when they realized I was coming with or without their blessings, they gave them to me. In fact, your dad—after threatening me within an inch of my life—offered to let me stay with you guys until I can find a job and get on my feet since out-of-state tuition will be a bitch."

My eyes widened as my heart nearly leapt into my throat. That's what he'd talked to my parents about? And they'd agreed? I wanted to jump in his arms, both thrilled and excited at the prospect, but I hesitated. It all seemed so perfect, but was he sure? Was that really what he wanted?

"I can't ask you to do that, Jeremy. Just pack up and leave your whole life behind? What about school? Football? Your family?” I protested even though I didn’t want to. I had to give him that: the chance to back out so he didn’t have to uproot his entire life for me.

"Don't you get it, Sierra? You are my whole life. You are my family. Without you, I'm nothing. If you tell me to stay here, then you're packing up and taking my whole life with you. I'd be just a shell, and a pretty damn miserable one. So please. Take me with you. Or stay here with me. Just don't…just don't leave me. You promised you wouldn’t."

"Are you sure?" Even though I didn't want to, I gave him one last out, as halfhearted as it was.

"Sierra, the only reason I'm not on one knee right now is because we just graduated high school and your dad might rescind his offer if I did so. But rest assured. As soon as I'm on my feet and I think we're ready, there will be a ring on that finger. I'm never letting you go."

His impassioned plea was my undoing. It might have been selfish, but I wasn't going to argue with him. I was going to take what he was offering and not look back.

"Ever?" I asked, my heart soaring at the idea of being Mrs. Jeremy Banks.

Sure, I might have barely been out of high school and I had my whole life ahead of me, but I couldn't imagine Jeremy not being a part of said life. We'd been the only two peas in our pod for so long that I no longer knew where he ended and I began. I didn't want to find out.

He leaned forward and pressed a sweet kiss to the tip of my nose. "Not in this lifetime, or any other. You're it for me. You're not Tod or Joey or anything else. You're my Sierra, and you always will be."

I slid my arms up his chest and wrapped them around his neck. Lifting up on my tip toes, I placed my lips on his. "Because, after all…where you go…”

"I go."

And, as we entered the next chapter of our lives, we were doing it together. Just like we’d done everything else.

Once it was all said and done, I did what any respectable man who was being threatened with the loss of the love of his life would do. I packed my room up, loaded my car, and declined my scholarship, and as soon as the Sullivans hit the road, so did I.

Was it crazy? Maybe. Sure, we were only eighteen and the odds were against us. But Sierra’d been my best friend for ten years, my girl for three, and she was the love of my life. Age didn’t change the fact that Sierra was my soulmate.

So, where she went, I went, and that sentiment would never, ever change.

2005

"I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M about to do this. Holy shit. Holy shit." I paced the back deck of the Sullivan home, the engagement ring burning a hole in my pocket.

A rumble of laughter from Lexi's boyfriend, Ty, answered me. I shot a glare to where he was messing with the grill.

"You're just glad I'm buttering him up for you. I know you’re not that far behind me, Tate."

He blanched a bit before his face turned red. His sheepish smile told me I wasn’t wrong. As protective as I was over Lexi, I knew Tate was good people. The way he had taken her out of her post-Jace funk had everyone relieved, and he’d always take care of her.

"Dude, how'd you know?"

A coy smile crossed my lips. God, I loved being right. "I see the way you look at her. It's the same way I look at Sierra. The way I’ve always looked at Sierra. Like a man in love. That's how I know."

He nodded and released a deep sigh as he ran a large hand through his sandy-brown hair. "I know it seems soon. But I love her, Banks. I love her so goddamn much, and I want to spend my whole life with her. And I want that life to start as soon as possible. Why wait?"

As I studied him, I remembered how overprotective of Lexi I’d felt when we’d moved to Ohio. Sierra and I weren’t sure what had happened, but she had obviously been nursing some sort of broken heart from Jace’s enlisting in the Army. Her entire senior year, she moped around. It wasn’t until she started college that she came out of her shell and began dating.

I won't lie. It was kind of a struggle when Lexi first brought Ty home. She was so infatuated though, and for the first time in so long, her smiles were genuine. Bright. And she finally looked happy, thanks to Tyler Tate. How could I have begrudged the man for that?

The answer was: I couldn't. And the more time we spent with the guy, the more I was convinced he was exactly what she needed. Not that I didn't want to track down Jace and get him to throw his hat in the ring, but even I knew that it was too late for them. Hell, at the time, I wasn’t even sure the guy was in the country, so I dropped any hope of a reunion between the two of them and embraced Ty as her new guy.

As long as Lexi was happy, I was happy for her. But Ty was aware of the standing promise should he ever hurt her. My fist would meet his face.

But back to me. It'd been a little over three years since we’d made the move to Ohio, and I hadn't regretted a single second of it. The Sullivans, true to their word, allowed me to crash in their basement while I got on my feet. Three years later and I was just now moving out. It's not that I’d mooched off them or anything. They’d just never asked me to leave. And the one time I’d told them I was going apartment shopping, they’d told me not to even consider doing such a thing. Focus on school, they'd insisted. So I had.

It paid off in dividends. I overloaded myself with courses and graduated a year early with my real estate degree. When we’d moved to Cincinnati, I’d gone crazy helping the Sullivans find a home. It’d almost been an obsession, finding what was perfect, in the best location, for the best price. Like Dad had told me, I’d found something I was good at and enjoyed, so it was a no-brainer when it came to declaring a major.

I'd already tested and earned my license, and I was starting my new job at a large Cincinnati real estate agency in a few days. If it hadn’t been for the Sullivans, this wouldn't have been happening, and for that, I would be eternally grateful. Still, as grateful as I was, I was also ready to move on to the next chapter of my life. On to the next chapter with Sierra. Like my dad had told me on my graduation day, I’d had to work for a future with Sierra, and I’d busted my ass. And, now, I wanted that future to begin as soon as freaking possible.