Chapter 32

After falling back asleep for a little longer, Anna woke us both up to eat and to get us out of the bedroom, alone. Austin was at the table, cutting up Noah's breakfast into smaller pieces. Noah sat there, rolling his eyes, but with a huge grin.

"What, can't cut up your own waffles, kid?" Ace asked his brother, sitting down next to him. 

Noah turned to Ace. "Why would I do it myself when dad wants to do it for me?" 

The kid had a point.

Ace just ruffled his hair and pulled me to sit next to him on the bench. 

"What are your plans for the day?" Anna asked us when she came back into the dining room with a plate full of fresh waffles. 

I glanced at my boyfriend. Was he going to tell them about Loki?

"I don't know, we'll probably just go hang out with the guys," Ace answered for us, evading the truth a bit.

Austin nodded. "How are Raze and Loki? We haven't seen much of them around here in awhile."

Partly my fault.

"We hang out a lot more at school now, I guess," Ace shrugged, acting weirdly nonchalant. Right then, Ace's phone played a text tone. He glanced at it quickly and gave me a look. 

It was Loki. It had to be.

"Speak of the devils, just got a text confirming our plans. Mad, you wanna come with me to Loki's house or would you rather stay here today?"

His voice begged me to join him. I had a slight feeling that Ace thought the conversation was going to get awkward and he wanted my support along with him. "I'll go with you, if that's okay."

"More than okay," he told me, placing his hand on my thigh, tracing small circles on my kneecap. 

So after we ate, we went upstairs, to our separate rooms and got ready. I pulled on a pair of jeans, a light sweater and vans. I threw my hair up into a quick ponytail and looked in the mirror for anything else to fix. 

Oh there was.

I stormed out of my room and knocked loudly on Ace's door. "Yeah?" I heard him answer.

I pushed open the door and found him lying on his bed, playing a game on his phone. "Ace!"

"What?" He looked up and then looked back down to his game. 

I moved closer, my feet stomping on his floor. I grabbed his phone and narrowed my eyes when he whined. "You did this," I pointed to the purple bruise on my neck.

Ace chuckled, "awe, you look cute with a hickey."

"No! I can't go out with this thing here! Everyone will know that-"

Ace laughed. "What? That your boyfriend kisses you?"

"That you sucked on my neck like a vampire!"

He smirked, "I did no such thing."

"Ace! That means your parents and your little brother saw it," I frowned, my eyebrows scrunching together. He grabbed my hands and pulled me closer, and puckered his lips for a kiss. "You're hilarious if you think I'm gonna kiss you now."

Ace pulled me even closer and moved his hands up my arms. "I love you?" He told me as a replacement for an apology. 

"Can't relate," I deadpanned. 

Now his eyebrows scrunched adorably and he frowned. "I'm sorry. But can't you just cover it up with makeup?"

"I could, if I knew how to cover up a hickey."

He smiled. "I'll text Katie."

"No! I don't want your little cousin to know either!" I whined. 

Ace stared at me. "Sooooo, what do you want me to do?"

"TO NOT GIVE ME HICKEYS ANYMORE," I yelled a little too loud and winced. 

He smiled. "I can agree to try but I can't promise anything."

"You're impossible," I told him and then walked out. I heard him chuckle behind me and I ignored him, walking back into my room. 

We left half an hour later. Ace drove us both to Loki's house and I adjusted my jacket for the tenth time to try and hide the purple bruising on my neck. When we got there, Ace grabbed my hand in an effort to control his nerves. 

I squeezed his hand and he ran his free hand over my cheek in a loving caress. He knocked on the door and Loki answered, looking haggard. 

"Hey man," Ace said and then cringed at how odd it sounded. 

Loki said nothing but stepped aside to let us in. He glanced at me and didn't look pleased or angry that I had shown up too. I saw Raze leaning against the back of the couch, waiting for us. 

"Hi," I broke the silence as I greeted Raze and Loki. 

Raze smiled. "Hey there Mad. Nice hickey."

I gasped and cupped my hand over my neck, ready to yell at him for calling me out. 

"Don't tease her," Ace told him with a smirk. "She's already mad at me for doing it in the first place."

Loki snorted and stepped over to the couch before sitting down. Raze glanced at him worriedly and bit his lip, anxiously. "So."

"So?" Ace egged. 

"I'm gonna sit down," I told everyone to ease the tension but I ended up sounding awkward. 

When was I not?

"Loki, would you like to start?" Raze nudged his friend. 

He sighed and sat up a little taller. "Well I'm sure you can tell now, but I'm gay."

"Aaaaand?" Raze asked as if he were child. 

Loki sucked on his teeth. "And I shouldn't have kissed you, Ace. I like you and I have for a while. I know it's no excuse, but I was drunk and stupid. I wasn't even planning on telling you anytime soon."

Ace nodded. "I forgive you Loki. But I'm not the only one you need to apologize to," he told him and squeezed my hand again.

I inched back into the couch, uncomfortable with all the eyes on me. 

Loki took a deep breath. "You're right," he looked right at me. "I'm sorry Mad. I've been terrible to you and I know it. I've been jealous of you. Ace has never liked a girl like he liked you. And I wanted that. I'm sorry for acting like a jackass, and not just last night."

I nodded. "I forgive you too Loki. But on two conditions." He nodded me on. "No more being mean to me and no more kissing Ace," I told him with a smirk. 

"I think I can handle that," he replied with a small smirk. 

"So I got an email today," Ace told me, gaining my attention. 

I looked up from my government homework and bit the eraser end of my pencil in concentration. "Yeah? What about?"

"Some college," he answered nonchalantly. 

I perked up. "That's awesome, Ace! What did it say?"

"Just that I should check out the programs they have on their website. It's not like they sent it directly to me, they probably sent it to a bunch of kids," he started to make it sound less than what it probably was. 

I set my pencil down and leaned closer to Ace, taking his hands in mine, lacing our fingers together. "I think you should check it out. Where is it?"

"Here in California; Sacramento to be exact," he murmured. 

I tilted my head to the side. "Why aren't you more excited?"

"Because I promised I would go to Boston with you when you got into Emerson." His face showed signs of guilt and it made me feel queasy. 

I shook my head. "Don't ever put my future above yours. Don't do that to yourself and don't do it to me. I don't want you to resent me one day because I was the reason you didn't go to college."

"I could go to college in Boston; a community college," he attempted to make me feel better. 

"It's not the same if you don't want that," I reminded him. "Please look into it Ace. This could be really good for you."

When the time came for me to send in my college applications, Ace was still barely considering applying to Sacramento State. He was next to me when I hit send on my Emerson application and he gave me a long and lingering kiss after. 

He had told me he was proud of me. 

I never realized how badly and how often I needed to hear those words from somebody until Ace said them to me. Every time I got a good grade on a test, every time I sent in another college app, and even when I woke up on time in the morning. And I did it back. Because I was proud of Ace. I was proud when he did anything. 

But maybe that was the love talking. 

Loki was a lot more friendly around me now. When I sat down at our lunch table and smile at him, he returned it. If I waved to him in the hallway, he rolled his eyes playfully and his lips would twitch up a little. It was progress I never thought would happen like it did. 

Ace and I were better than ever. I was pretty sure we were deep in the honeymoon stage of our relationship. Kimmy told me almost daily how gross we were with all the hand holding and cheek kisses before every class. 

But I couldn't help myself when I was around him. I never wanted to be away from him and I wanted to be touching his skin all the time. Whether it was holding his hand, running my fingers through his hair or kissing him between classes, I wanted to be close to him. 

And it wasn't like Ace minded. He was the same as me. It was rare that he wasn't looking at me when we were in the same vicinity. The amount of times he reminded me that he loved me was probably unhealthy. 

Once again, not like I minded. 

The only time we fought was when we talked about college. Ace was adamant on coming with me to Boston, if I even got in. But I felt it somewhere deep down that he wanted to apply to Sac state. But he hadn't yet admitted it to himself. 

And that's when we would fight. Then again, our arguments weren't screaming matches or physical in any way. We would just get so incredibly frustrated with each other that there would be no kiss goodnight. And the next day, it would be like nothing happened. 

"Wake up beautiful," I heard whispering in my ear. 

I rolled over in my bed and snuggled deeper into my covers. 

"Maddie Bear, wake up!" I heard again. 

I stretched and then curled myself into a ball under my many blankets. 

"Sugar pie. Baby. Boo boo bear. Honey bunch. Darling. Sweetie. Angel cakes. Princess. Babe," the voice spoke louder this time. 

"Please don't call me any of those things," I muttered, my voice muffled by my pillow. And then I thought about it some more. "Except baby. You can call me that."

I heard a chuckle and I opened one eye, spying Ace standing in his pajamas next to my bed. "Alright baby, get up."

"Time and place Ace. There's a time and there's a place for you to call me baby, trying to wake me from a peaceful slumber, is not one of them," I scolded. 

"Get up Madison," he told me with a monotone voice. 

I scoffed. "Well since you asked so nicely... no."

"Why not?" He frowned. 

I opened my other eye and rolled over onto my back. "What time is it?" 

"Eight," Ace replied. 

I groaned. "It's Sunday. Why did you wake me up at eight o'clock on a Sunday?"

He hopped onto the bed, well really more onto me. I yelped when he accidentally elbowed my boob. 

"Ow!" I shoved his elbow off of me and placed a hand over my now sore breast. 

Ace cringed. "I'm sorry! That wasn't how I planned it, I promise."

"You elbowed my boob!" I emphasized for him. 

"I'm sorry!" He whisper-yelled. His panicked face turned into a smirk. "I can make it better."

My eyes widened at his innuendo. "Oh no you don't, mister!" I smacked his hand away when it came closer to my chest. "Hands off the precious cargo!"

"That's why I want my hands on," his smirk grew. 

"Go away! You woke me up early and then you jumped on me like some MMA fighter. I don't like you right now."

Ace frowned again. "I wanted to cuddle."

"Well I wanted my boob not to hurt this morning. I guess we can't all get what we want," I whined. 

Ace readjusted himself so he wasn't lying directly on top of me. He wrapped his arm around my torso, his hand resting on the side of my hip. "I'm sorry, baby," he hit me with the strongest puppy dog eyes I've ever seen. 

"See, like I told you. Time and place, this is definitely a good use of that nickname," I snuggled into him, closing my eyes again. 

Ace held me a little tighter. "Do you wanna go on a date today?"

I brighten again, opening my eyes wide. "Yes! Where?"

"I can either take you out for lunch today and then we can hit up a movie, or we can get dinner and then we can both have dessert," he insinuated. 

I pushed him playfully and rolled my eyes. "What is with you today?"

"I just want to kiss my beautiful girlfriend," he pleaded, his eyes glimmering in want. 

I scoffed and cuddle into his body again. "Pretty sure you want more than to kiss me."

"I won't deny it," he shrugged. 

"I'm just not ready, Ace," my voice changed, becoming serious. 

He tucked my hair back behind my ear. "That's okay. I'll wait until you're comfortable. No matter how long it takes you."

"Even if we wait until we're married?" I tested. 

His eyes opened. "Married?!"

"I'm kidding, but you failed the test," I pouted. 

Ace kissed my neck and sighed. "Yes, I would wait for you even if it took marrying the shit out of you to get there."

"Do you think we'll get married one day?" I changed the subject completely. 

He kissed my cheek. "I hope so. I can't imagine marrying anyone else."

"Good, you're all mine."

"Ace!" I yelled, running through the hallway. His door was shut so without knocking, I burst through. He was still asleep, shirtless, and lying on his stomach, the sheets wrapped around his waist. 

I jumped on the bed, landing on his body, effectively waking him up. "Baby, wake up!"

"I'm up, I'm up, geez. What's wrong? Who died?" Ace questioned, his voice husky from sleep. 

I settled over him, until I was practically straddling him. I waited until his eyes were on me and he wasn't half asleep to answer him. "I did it. I got in."

His eyes immediately widened and then he sat up, my body moving with his. I fell backwards, sliding off of his lap. I yelped a little and then laughed when Ace cursed and started apologizing. 

He lifted me back up, settling me in his lap again. And then he pulled me into his chest into a tight embrace. "You got into Emerson?" I nodded into his chest. "I told you you would!"

"I know, but I didn't want you to jinx it," I told him as I pulled back. 

Ace wrapped his arms loosely around my waist and smiled. "I'm so proud of you." There were those words again, the sentence I would never grow tired of hearing, right alongside "I love you."

"I would kiss you, but you haven't brushed your teeth," I whispered, teasing him a little. 

He pouted. "That wouldn't stop me, sweetheart." I started to climb off of him to let him brush his teeth if he wanted a kiss so bad. "Where do you think you're going, college girl?"

"Let go of me and brush your teeth so I can kiss you," I batted his hands away and hopped off the bed. 

I saw a flirtatious look in his eyes as he rolled off the bed and practically jogged into his bathroom with just a pair of boxers on. 

I replaced his spot in bed, climbing under the covers and melting into his sheets. I wasn't expecting it when Ace came back into the room a few minutes later and threw himself on top of me. He kissed me suddenly; his lips sliding over mine roughly. A hand latched onto my side, squeezing my hip, making me squirm. 

When I felt his tongue against my teeth, I had to hold back the weird sound that wanted to escape my mouth. I slid my hand from his arm, over to his bare chest. We had made out before, but never both of us without a shirt; granted I was still wearing one. But at this point, I wouldn't be soon. I let my hand wander even further down, feeling the indentations on his abdomen. 

Ace's mouth moved from my lips to my neck, kissing all the way down the column of my throat. I let out a shuddering breath, which was slightly embarrassing for me. But Ace didn't comment on it; he just kept laying little kisses on my skin. His hands moved, settling under my shirt, on my waist. He slowly inched the material up, exposing a little skin. 

He looked up at me, asking if the movement was okay. I nodded feverishly and he hitched it up higher. I gasped when I felt cold air on my stomach, knowing my shirt was lifted halfway off my body. I sat up and removed it completely, getting less nervous and more bold.

Ace eyed my face before glancing down at my body. His eyes roamed as if my sports bra was the most intricate thing he had ever seen. And then his hands did the same thing. Neither of us were surprised when a content sigh left my lips. 

"What about your parents?" I suddenly asked, knowing this wasn't going to lead to nothing.

He glanced back up at me, his hands still on my skin. "They took Noah to go look at christmas trees and then to the zoo. They won't be back for awhile, I promise."

"I love you." It burst out quickly and randomly. It had nothing to do with the conversation but everything to do with our actions. Ace leaned forward again, capturing my lips with his before repeating the words back to me. 

And his lips had kept moving.

The amount of times a day Ace said the words, "my girlfriend got into college," was getting a bit unhealthy. He told teachers, his family and people we weren't even friends with. I got it, he was the most supportive boyfriend to ever exist, as he liked to put it. 

But what Ace hadn't told many people was that he had gotten into college too. And not only that, but he had also gotten a small scholarship too. But he didn't want to go. Scratch that; he wanted to go. He just didn't want to go somewhere where I wasn't. 

But slowly, I was trying to convince him to do what he felt was right, not for me, but for him. He owed it to himself to get what he wanted. And it wasn't like we were going to break up just because we would be across the country from each other. 

"Commit," I whispered into Ace's ear from behind him as he sits on his bed. He was staring at the Sacramento State website on his computer. 

He smacked the air beside my head and laughed. "Shut up and let me think."

I sat in silence for a few seconds. "Are you don't yet?"

He turned to me and landed a quick kiss on my mouth. "I love you, but you're annoying me."

"I'm sorry. I'll shut up," I promised without actually meaning it. Because a minute or so later, I said, "commit."

"You must really want to get rid of me since you want me to attend a school across the country from you," He pointed out. 

I shook my head. "I don't want that. I wish you had applied to a school close to me in Boston. But you didn't want that, so it was okay with me. I know you want to go to Sacramento, Ace. And it's okay."

"I don't want to be away from you."

I sighed. "I feel like we've had this conversation so many times, I've lost count of the words I've said in my head and the ones I've said out loud."

"I know, we have. This is hard for me. I've never had to choose between The girl and the school before," he frowned. 

"Well I would hope not," I joked, even though it wasn't the time. 

He shut the computer and turned to faced me, pulling me in for a kiss. "So you're telling me that you are 100% okay with me going to a school across the country from you?"

"Well not 100%, more like 78%. But if that's what you want, of course I'd be okay with it," I told him, kissing him again. 

He sighed and I leaned into him, wrapping my arms around his torso. "I'm gonna do it," he whispered and then twisted in my grasp but not enough to make me let go. 

He opened the laptop again and then, Ace was registered as a student at Sacramento State.