For a while, we just talked — about everything, about nothing.
He told me about his childhood, the way his parents fought too much, the way he used to sneak out to the beach just to breathe. I told him about the time I broke my ankle trying to learn how to skateboard, how my mom had cried harder than I did in the ER.
And slowly, the space between us disappeared.
His arm brushed mine. My knee bumped his. Our laughter faded into something softer, something quieter.
Ace reached up, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear, fingers lingering on my skin.
“I’ve wanted to do this all night,” he whispered.
My breath caught — and then his mouth was on mine, slow and deep and devastating.
I melted into him, fingers fisting in his shirt, his hands sliding up my back, curling into my hair as he pulled me closer.
When we broke apart, gasping, his forehead pressed to mine, his eyes dark and hungry and so, so tender, I realized —
I was completely, utterly gone for this boy.
“Ace,” I whispered, fingers trembling against his chest.
“Yeah, Brit?”
“We can’t mess this up,” I breathed. “I can’t… I can’t lose you again.”
His arms tightened around me, lips brushing my temple.
“You’re not going to lose me,” he murmured. “Not this time.”
We stayed like that for what felt like hours — wrapped up in each other, hearts pounding, the rest of the world falling away.
And in that moment, under the hush of the night, I believed him.
I believed every word.
---
By the time I slipped out of his apartment just after midnight, the city was quiet, streets silvered with moonlight.
I paused on the sidewalk, pressing a hand to my chest, feeling the wild beat of my heart under my palm.
And when I looked up, I saw Ace standing in the window, watching me with a small, soft smile, hand raised in a silent wave.
I raised my hand back, heart squeezing so tight it almost hurt.
No announcements. No big declarations.
Just us.
And for now — maybe, just maybe — that was enough.
Chapter 34
Brittany
I barely slept that night.
Not because I was restless — but because every time I closed my eyes, I felt Ace’s hands on me, his breath against my skin, the whisper of his voice in my ear.
