Epilogue

"I don't want you to leave me," the voice beside me murmured before throwing an arm around my waist, snuggling into me. Ace had been extra clingy the last few weeks, knowing he wouldn't be able to stop the inevitable; the two of us being separated and going off to our different schools. 

I was leaving first, a whole two weeks before Ace would go off to Sacramento State. And as much as he wanted to go with me, to help me move in and get situated, I wouldn't let him. I wanted to just be able to say goodbye to him and try to forget that I wouldn't be seeing him until Christmas. 

So Ace probably wasn't the only one who had been extraordinarily clingy.

When I felt Ace's head lay against my chest, I kissed the top of his head and wrapped my arms around him as much as I could. "I don't want to leave you. But i've heard a college education is kind of important."

"More important than me?" I could almost feel the puppy dog eyes he was sporting. He wasn't even facing me and I could still see the frown he was sure to be wearing. 

I chuckled a little and ran my hand through his hair, calming him a little. I felt his shoulders melt from their stiff state. "Nothing is more important to me than you and Kimmy. But you don't see Kimmy holding me down on her bed, clinging to me like a baby monkey."

"Kimmy isn't in love with you," he concluded.

I gasped. "She isn't?"

Ace snorted and sat up a little, only to lay his head back down were it was, facing me. "Kimmy calls you every hour and comes over here every single day. Don't try and tell me she isn't acting clingy too."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. And it's not like I mind all the attention. It's more than i've gotten in my entire life," I sighed.

Ace brought one hand up to cup my cheek and he smiled, bringing my body warmth. "You deserve all the attention in the world. And I bet you at Emerson, you're going to get it," his voice turned playful. "It better not be from any guys."

My heart swelled at the affection clouding his voice. I needed to change the subject before I turned into a puddle. "You're mother is going to kill us, again."

He swatted a hand as if brushing off a fly. "We're adults, she can't do anything."

"So what was two days ago?" I saw him blush a little after Anna walked into his room, claiming to need his dirty laundry, when she caught us heavily making out. But I told myself we were lucky it was only that.

"It wasn't that bad," Ace rolled his eyes.

I gave him the girlfriend look, the one that told him to shut up. "We were banned from seeing each other for twenty-four hours, Ace. We live in the same house. She might as well have locked us both in our separate rooms for a whole day."

"Okay, so maybe she can still get us in trouble. But we're only cuddling. What is she going to get mad about?"

I looked down at our bodies that were covered in the bedsheets. 

Only the bedsheets.

"Alright, then get your cute ass up and get ready for the day without me then," Ace moped. 

I tried to wiggle out of his grasp but he wasn't exactly helping me get to my feet. "You gonna move, or am I supposed to just shove you off the bed?"

"You can get up if you move me, sweetheart," his smile was charming, supposed to keep me from leaving the bed. But I truly didn't want to go through another lecture about birth control with Ace's mother.

"I have my ways baby," I warned him.

His smile twisted, into the mischievous smirk that made my insides pool with heat. "Do your worst, beautiful."

I moved my hand down his chest and down, and down, and down. Ace's features immediately softened and his face contorted in pleasure. His eyes closed. And I-

Shoved him off the bed.

"Ah!" Ace squeaked, laying on his back on the floor.

"That's a good look for you, sweetcheeks. But you might want to put on some clothes before your mom comes in," I told him and then got up from the other side of the bed, stretching and looking around for my clothes. When I found them crumpled on the ground across the room, in various places, I sighed and went to Ace's closet.

Ace still hadn't moved. "What are you doing?"

"Borrowing your hoodie," I told him, pulling one off a hanger. I walked over to the multiple piles of clothes and sifted through them, pulling out the necessities. I lifted the hoodie over me until it billowed out around my thighs. 

Ace finally stood up and started dressing too, the two of us in comfortable silence getting ready for the day. One day I hoped this would be our everyday. 

I decided that I hated the airport. I hated the airport because it was the place that would be taking me away from my life for the next four years, starting now. 

I had only twenty-three minutes before I was due to board my flight to Boston. So I spend the majority of them making out with my boyfriend while my mom awkwardly sat across from us. It wasn't my smartest moment, I'll admit. But I wasn't going to see Ace for three and a half months. 

She understood. But I also understood that I wouldn't be seeing her either for three and a half months. And I had just started getting used to having her around again. 

I had stayed at Ace's house even though she was here again. She couldn't afford a place for the both of us quite yet. But she was working toward better things. She was currently working two jobs, one for her rent and bills and the other went toward her savings. 

She was adamant on putting me through college.   

After making out with Ace for a good half an hour, I chatted on the phone with Kimmy since she was unable to come to the airport since she had left for school three days ago. 

When there was ten minutes till boarding, we all stood up and they walked me to the line I was supposed to be in. Ace held tightly onto my hand and I did the same. My mom walked on my other side, her hand brushing back my hair a few times. 

The gate was just ahead of us when I heard Ace's breath stutter a little bit. I stopped and turned toward him, taking both his hands in mine. "I love you," I told him, looking up into his sad eyes. 

"I love you more, sweetheart," he whispered and pulled me into a tight hug. I could feel the tears well up in my eyes but I refused to cry. It wasn't like I wouldn't see him ever again. 

After we let go of each other, albeit reluctantly, I turned to my mom who I had quickly been able to forgive and love wholeheartedly again. Unlike me, she didn't hold back the tears. A few ran freely down her cheeks, but she bore a smile. 

"I'm proud of you angel. I'm going to miss you so much," she whispered, barely getting the words out. 

I practically ran into her arms and squeezed with everything I had. "I'm going to miss you too mom."

"I love you Melon."

And I loved her too. 

And although I told myself I wouldn't cry, as soon as I got on the plane, my sob couldn't be held back. 

And I was gone. 

I no longer hated airports; because they no longer took me away from everyone I loved. I didn't have to leave every January or August. I just got to be home. 

And by home, I meant the place Ace and I had rented together. I hadn't seen it in person yet, but I knew that since Ace's parents approved of it, it would be great. 

I hadn't seen him since early January and I was practically bouncing in my seat as the airplane took off. I had officially graduated from Emerson with a bachelor's in creative writing and I was on the way to publishing my first novel. 

Ace would graduate, in two weeks, from Sacramento State with a bachelor's in business since he still barely knew what he truly wanted to do. We had done it. 

We made it through four years of long distance, minus the small breakup we had halfway through our Junior year. We had gotten into a fight in February and by the time June rolled around, all I had to do was see him in person and our break was history. 

I would be coming home two weeks before he did, so I would move in our stuff and get situated before he got here. And then, I would attend his graduation, as a surprise.

When I landed in LAX, my mom was waiting with open arms. I ran over to her as fast as I could with two suitcases. Her grip was tight and I may have heard her sniffle a little bit. Next to her was her new husband, Matt. They had started dating three years ago and got engaged after eight months of dating. They had gotten married when I was home for Christmas break. 

She was finally on her own two feet. Matt had moved into her two bedroom home after they got engaged. Matt had two children himself, Miley, who was twenty-three and Samuel who was nineteen. 

"Hey Matt!" I greeted, pulling him into a hug as well. 

"Hey Kiddo," he chuckled, hugging me back. 

I turned to my mom as we started toward the exit. "Have you seen the house yet?"

She nodded with a smile. "Ace had us over during his spring break. He seems so excited for you guys."

"We're both excited. Finally, after four years, we get to wake up next to each other every single day, in our own house," I spouted giddily. 

We had made it to the car and I was putting my suitcases in the trunk when my mom hugged me again. "I'm happy for you Melon." 

"Thanks mom. I can't wait to see him. It's so hard keeping this a secret. I wish I could tell him I get to see him graduate," I sighed, pulling away from her embrace. 

We got into the car and she started it up before turning to me. "I think the fact that it's a surprise will make him even happier when you're there."

I nodded in agreement and texted Ace to let him know I had landed and was on the way to our new home. 

It was a two story, contemporary type of home. It had three bedroom and two and a half bathrooms. Ace had explained it to me as the perfect place for us. When I had asked him why, he had told me it was perfect for starting a family. 

At the time, I had choked on my breath at the thought of having children at twenty-two. But after seeing the house in person, I could see why he had said it in the first place, It was sort of like his parents' house, all white picket fence vibes. I never thought I would live in a house like this. And it immediately made me want to have babies and raise them here.

I walked inside with both of my suitcases and saw boxes already sitting in the hallway. I knew they must have been some of the things Ace and I had ordered online for the house. I set everything down and started going through the boxes.

Some of them were plates and bowls and kitchen things, others were for various rooms like the living room and our bedroom. The large sectional couch was already set in the living room so I sat there and started unpacking as much as I could. Most of the big pieces of furniture were already put together in their correct spots.

Before unpacking though, I gave myself a tour. Our bedroom was, obviously, the biggest and most elaborate. We had an ensuite bathroom and a walk in closet, a luxury I had never had before. I already knew which room would be the first room we used for a baby eventually. 

After a long night of facetiming Ace in our new home and the start of the unpacking process, I went to bed, alone, in our large bed. 

Two weeks later, Ace's family and I were headed up to Sacramento for the graduation. I sat in the audience as Anna, Austin and the now twelve year old Noah were greeting Ace. Originally, I supposed to go over there with them, but then figured it would be even more surprising if he found out I was there as he walked the stage.

Eventually, the graduation began and I shifted in my seat nervously. Luckily, Ace's name was called early in the graduation with the last name Craige. I stood up with his family and whistled and yelled loud praises. But louder than them, I screamed, "that's my boyfriend!" I saw him whip his head toward the audience.

When his eyes settled on me, his smile widened so much I was worried it would get stuck there. He almost tripped over his gown so he accepted his diploma quickly and made it off the stage. He wasn't allowed to leave the area until after everyone was called so he sat back down in his seat; but he kept turning back to look at me every few minutes, smiling at me like I was the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.

After the entire ordeal was over, the graduates made their way out to their family and friends. I spotted Ace looking around for us and called him over. "Ace!" 

He broke into a run until he crashed into me, wrapping his arms tight around me. I squeezed him right back, closing my eyes. After a long embrace, he pulled back and placed a kiss on my lips and then pressed little kisses all over my face. I giggled and pulled his lips back to mine for a few seconds.

"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be at home, unpacking," he murmured, kissing me again.

I shook my head. "I've been doing that for two weeks. This is more important to me."

"Well now I feel bad. You got to see me graduate, I didn't get to go to yours," Ace frowned sadly. 

I smiled. "You had finals. It's not like you could fly across the country for one day and then come back for your finals."

"I know, but I wish I could have. Anyway, I'm so happy you're here," he squeezed me into his arms again. 

We all went out to dinner at Ace's favorite restaurant and had dinner before we headed to the hotel. I had rented a room for me but Ace insisted that I come stay at his apartment for the night. So Noah got to sleep in his own hotel room for the night. 

Ace shared his apartment with his friend, Kayden but apparently he was staying with his girlfriend in her apartment since her roommate moved out. We would have the whole apartment to ourselves, thank god. 

I hadn't so much as kissed him since January, let alone anything else. We quickly made our way to his place and immediately started taking off our clothes. As soon as I was only in my lace bra and underwear set, Ace stopped us. 

"You're seriously going to make me wait?" I breathed heavily. 

He chuckled and stood from his couch, where we had ended up; poor couch. He was shirtless as he walked into the hallway, leaving me alone to stare at his disappearing back. I lifted my eyebrows in confusion when he walked back in, hands behind his back. 

"What are you up to?" I asked him, quizzingly. 

He rocked back on his heels in front of me. "Nothing." He sat down next to me and pushed back my wild hair. "I love you."

"I love you too. Now what's going on?"

"I wasn't going to do this until we were both home, but considering you are my home, I think it's appropriate," he paused, taking a deep breath. 

Oh my god. 

"I'm in love with you and I've been in love with you for four years. We handled long distance for most of our relationship, so I know we can get through anything. I'm going to spend the rest of my life falling more in love with you Madison Grey. I promised you once that I would change your name, would you let me?" 

I stared at him in disbelief. Was he proposing to me? I mean, there was no ring and he hadn't actually said the words yet. Maybe he was just-

"Mad?"

"Yeah," I whispered. 

He pulled out a small, velvet box from behind him. 

Oh my god. 

"I'm asking you to marry me, sweetheart," he explained, a knowing smile on his face.

"Oh my god," I whispered, staring at the ring. It wasn't huge, knowing it wasn't my style. It was a single oval diamond with a gold band; it was gorgeous. "Yes! Of course!"

Ace smiled and slid the ring onto my finger. I squealed and wrapped my arms around his shoulders, pulling him in. He chuckled and embraced me, letting me have my freak out. "Can we go back to making out?" He asked me, holding me out in front of him.

"Shut up!" I yelled, making him laugh and kiss me. I let him.  

****

"Have you seen a tall man, light brown hair, green eyes, ye tall?" I shouted, going on my tiptoes to try and demonstrate my husband's height. The random stranger looked at me as if I had grown my brain outside of my body and shook his head. "Nevermind," I sighed.

"What?!" They shouted back.

I shook my head and yelled, "Nothing!" They gave me one last weird look before they scattered away, probably off to tell their friends about the weird girl that tried to talk to them.

Me. That weird girl would be me. 

I shrugged and started looking around again, trying to locate Ace who had left me standing with my best friend over half an hour ago to get us both drinks, even though I didn't really want one. And after Kimmy started making out with Raze, a funky combination those two were together, I know, I got curious as to the whereabouts of my husband. 

I went into the foreign kitchen of a stranger's home, where most of the alcohol was placed but he wasn't there. I had knocked on bathroom doors and had been met with a few very awkward first greetings, but no Ace. I wasn't exactly worried about anything in particular, I was just lonely and now, thanks to him leaving me, bored. 

My best friend was my favorite person to be around, when she wasn't making out with my husband's best friend. And it seemed like that was all that they did this winter since they came home for Christmas. 

Imagine going over to your best friend's family home to welcome her back, only to find her half naked with the man you had seen throw up an entire box worth of pizza rolls, on top of her. I had shrieked, literally; but not in disgust or anger, with happiness. 

I had been trying to get those two together since the summer before we left for college. Kimmy had claimed that she didn't want to start anything right before moving across the country to New York and Raze had told Ace that he didn't want a "strings attached" relationship. Now, over five years later, my plan was finally in the works.

They claimed that they were only friends with no strings type of deal, but that was complete bologna. Kimmy Ford and Raze Park were going to be together by the time Kimmy went back home in New York in mid January. I would make sure of it. 

But in order for that to happen, I needed to give the two of them alone time, to get to know each other again. That meant, I was alone on New Years Eve, looking through a large crowd for my disappearing act of a husband, ten minutes before the metaphorical ball dropped and all the kissing started.

I was not going to miss out on the chance to kiss Ace, even if I had done just that every single day for the past year and a half. I had this entire plan for the night; leave Lilli and Ryder alone so they could do what all new couples did, participate in an extensive amount of PDA: check. 

And then go off somewhere quiet with my husband and kiss him at midnight and then tell him some news that would rock the start of the new year. 

I was beginning to get frustrated when I realized I had been going in circles for almost twenty minutes, trying to find Ace. I took a seat on a couch and watched as people danced and drank and kissed their dates, or strangers. I checked my phone to see if I had missed any calls or texts, nada. 

Where the fuck was my husband? 

I made my way back over to Kimmy and Raze and waited until they pulled their mouths away from each others. "Are you okay Maddie?" Kimmy asked me, out of breath and lipstick smeared across her check, and Raze's. 

"I can't find Ace. I've been looking for over twenty minutes. He told me he was getting us drinks almost an hour ago," I frowned, trying not to cry of frustration. 

Raze squinted and me and shook his head. "What are you talking about? He told me he was gonna go get some fresh air and sit by the lake?"

"You're kidding..." I deadpanned, glancing over at Kimmy, who shrugged. "Ugh, I can't believe I married that," I groaned, already walking away from the two of them to go down the lake. We were at some lake house Raze's friend owned and we had all been invited to stay the weekend. 

Of course he would be down by the lake, of all the places I looked, he was in the one place I didn't think to look. Typical Ace Craige move. 

I stormed my way down to the lake, which wasn't far from the house at all. I could still hear the party raging inside. By the time I saw him, everyone in the house was counting down from 10. But I couldn't care less at that moment because all I wanted to do was yell at my husband for making me worried and angry, two emotions I hadn't felt until 20 seconds before this. 

He saw me coming toward me and he smiled, standing up from the side of the lake and met me in the middle. "Ace James Craige you have no idea how angry I am at-" 

Everyone screamed, "Happy New Year!" 

And Ace took my face in his hands and kissed me. 

I melted into his touch and kissed him back, obviously. I smiled into the kiss and ran my hands through his hair, as I often did when he kissed me like that. When we finally pulled away from each other, Ace smoothed his hands down my hair, which had most likely been messed up from his hands in the first place. 

"So, what's your new year's resolution?" I asked, coming back to my plan.

He stared at me and smiled sweetly, "keeping my wife happy."

I rolled my eyes, "kiss ass."

"Can I change my resolution to that?"

"No."

He snapped, "dang it."

I giggled and reached down, grabbing his hands in mine, hoping he would ask me the same question as I had asked him. He got the hint. "What about you, sweetheart? What's your goal for the new year?"

"To push out a baby," I answered quietly, watching as his face went from confused to complete shock. 

His eyes widened considerably and his mouth hung open awkwardly. "What are you saying? What baby?"

I pointed down at my flat stomach. "This one."

"No way," he sounded in disbelief. "When did that happen?"

I raised an eyebrow. "You know what you did," I answered, my voice going up an octave. 

He smirked. "Yeah." Then he glanced down at my belly and knelt down on the ground. He turned me by my hips, so he could see my stomach from a side view. He ran his hand over my shirt covered belly and smiled. "There's a baby in there?"

"There is," I nodded. "By this time next year, we'll have a baby in our arms."

"Holy shit! Best New Years party ever!" Ace stood up and kissed me on the lips once again, warming me from the inside, out. 

****

"No way in hell am I naming my kid that," my husband told me for the tenth time that day. 

I scowled. "Why not? Daisy is an adorable name."

"I'm not naming my kid after a flower," Ace shook his head. 

I raised an eyebrow. "Your wife is named Madison," 

"And your name is beautiful. But I'm not changing my mind," Ace confirmed. 

I frowned, but I wasn't really upset. I was only throwing out names that I had written down as possible choices. There were plenty others on my list. He had to at least love one of them. 

"Then how about you throw out some names if you're so picky," I laid back on our bed, propped up on a bunch of pillows. 

Ace reaches out and took my hand and then kissed my knuckles. "Alright. How about Danielle?"

"It's cute but I don't know. I can't see myself calling her that," I admitted. 

He nodded. "Emma?" 

"Too popular. I don't want 5 other Emma's in her classes with her." Okay. Maybe we were both pretty picky. 

Ace sighed and plopped back on our bed. "Baaaaby, we've been going at this for weeks. And we're nowhere near close to finding her a name."

"I'm sorry! It's just one of the most important parts of this. I can't name her something I'm not 100% in love with," I sat up, with a little difficulty, being seven months pregnant. 

Ace sat up with me and placed his hand on my belly. "What do you say, kid? What do you think your name should be?"

"Daisy!" I piped quietly, pretending to be the voice of the baby. 

He shot me a glare. "Excuse me, I was talking to my daughter."

"She's in my stomach. She's talking through me," I smiled, knowing I wasn't convincing him of anything. 

He squinted. "Not sure that's how it works, sweetheart. It would be cool though."

"You dork," I lightly smacked his arm, giggling. "Okay, what about Luna?"

He smiled. "I like Luna. I had a dog named Luna growing up."

"Nevermind then. I don't want you to look at our baby and think of a dog," I basically shuddered at the thought. 

He rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't think that."

"Well we obviously aren't going to come up with a name right now. How about we go get dinner?" I suggested. 

Ace laughed. "Baby names or food. That's all you think about, huh?"

"I will always be thinking about food. It's not my fault; I can't help it!" I pointed to my bump, blaming the baby. 

He leaned forward and kissed my cheek before getting up. He held out his hand for me and helped me stand up, even though I could do it on my own. "Where did you want to eat?"

"Anywhere honestly. Chick Fil A sounds so good right now though," I gave my husband puppy dog eyes. 

Ace sighed. "That's a twenty-five minute drive."

"I'm carrying your baby for 9 months, the least you could do is drive us to Chick Fil A when we crave it," I smiled, knowing I would win this battle. 

He glared at me but the edges of his lips curled up. "Alright, you're coming with me though, right? None of this "I'm too tired to sit in a car for an hour"' stuff."

I laughed a little. "Yes, I will go with you. Otherwise I have to wait an hour to eat and I just can't do that."

"That's the only reason? Not to be in a small, confined space with your sexy husband?" Ace winked at me. 

I rolled my eyes and moved over to our closet, trying to find a change of clothes that weren't sweatpants and a baggy shirt. "Oh no, you've found me out. That's been my plan this whole time," I told him sarcastically. 

"Just keep your hands to yourself this time, okay? We don't need a repeat of last weekend," he was only half kidding. 

I shrugged, settling on a pair of maternity leggings and another tee-shirt, but with a tighter fit. "It's not my fault you can't pay attention to the road at the same time."

"You know, I'm pretty sure it's against the law to-"

I turned around and cut him off with a quick kiss. "Don't tempt me to do it again," I warned him. 

When we had successfully made it back home from Chick Fil A, I was stuffed. That being said, I still could totally scarf down another carton of their waffle fries. They were amazing. 

"Chick Fil A was a good suggestion. I think I would die for Chick Fil A sauce," Ace joked. I hoped. 

I nodded, agreeing with him. "And now that we've had our food, we can go back to baby names!"

"Ughhhhh," Ace whined. 

I scowled at him. "Rude! I just wanna have something to call her other than baby."

"I know, I do too. Alright, I have one! What about Ava?" He suggested. 

I smiled. "I like that one! It's cute! I'll add it to the maybe list."

"Macey? We could call her mace," he smirked. 

I tilted my head. "Kimmy suggested that. Because Mace is our ship name."

"She would be named after the both of us," Ace nodded. 

I shook my head. "No way."

"damn," he sighed under his breath. 

"Can we just go online and do a random generator with baby names? Maybe that will help with good suggestions," I offered.  

Ace walked over to our desk and grabbed his laptop, opening it up. "Let's let google do its magic."

The first name that popped up was Gertrude. I don't know who in their right mind decided to do that to us, but it was plain wrong. 

The next name was Stacey. It reminded me too much of the song. 

We continued on, clicking through random names and I was beginning to lose hope in naming our daughter anything at all. Nothing that popped up even remotely sounded like a good name for her. 

In a fit of anger I reached over and slapped my hand over the keys, trying to stop Ace from continually clicking the next button. In my attempt, I had been the one to click next. 

Ace looked over at me, confused by my sudden anger. But my anger disappeared quickly when I glanced at his screen. The name was staring at me right in the eyes and I couldn't look away. 

I nudged my husband and pointed at his computer, needing him to see what I was seeing, hoping his reaction was similar to mine. When he did see it, his eyes widened and his lips parted just a little bit. 

That's how I was able to tell that we had found our name. 

Ella.