Chapter 39: Chapter 39

Chapter 39 Proposal

*

Sometimes date night doesn't involve eating at a nice restaurant or going to the movies.

No, sometimes it's much more simpler than that.

Sometimes it just involves the couch, my date, a bucket of popcorn, and a movie that we put on. The popcorn has gone uneaten and the sound of the TV is nothing more than a quiet echo in our minds, though.

Why?

Because we currently are more involved in each other than the movie or the popcorn.

Ace's arms are around me, and one of his hands stokes my hair. I sit almost on his lap, my head resting against his shoulder.

Though we're both staring at the TV, we aren't paying any attention to it. I stare at it like a mindless zombie. My thoughts currently chant: "Ace. Ace. Ace. Ace. Ace. Ace."

Ace is the only thing - er, person on my mind.

I steal a glance at Ace's face, his eyes are blank as he stares at the TV too. I'm guessing his mind is chanting "Dakota. Dakota. Dakota. Dakota. Dakota. Dakota."

I drum my fingers on his thigh, mindlessly tapping away when Ace's hand engulfs my hand that's tapping him. He moves his hand to my chin and gently tilts my head to look him in the eyes. "Restless, are we?"

"Mhm." I reply.

"I can fix that." He drawls, his voice low and husky.

I don't have a chance to question what he meant when he suddenly brings our lips together in a kiss. He nibbles on my bottom lip for a moment before kissing me passionately.

He holds my hands as he kisses me, the warmth of his body radiates onto mine. My heart flutters as the kiss deepens.

"Better?" Ace asks with a knowing smile as he pulls away.

I laugh. "No, that made me even more restless."

Ace thinks for a moment. "Hmmm you know what I just thought of?" He asks.

"What?"

"I thought of a new pet name for you."

"Go on." I say, taking a sip from my root beer.

"Illegal drug."

I choke. "What?"

Most pet names are cute or innocent. Baby, sugar, angel, pumpkin, cupcake, sunshine, etc. And here is Ace wanting my pet name to be illegal drug. Only Ace.

"Illegal drug," Ace says, simply shrugging, "You're like an illegal drug I can't get enough of."

"I'm sorry, but you are not going to me that. That's.....weird."

"Maybe for you, but not for me." He says, smiling like an idiot.

"You're not calling me that."

"You're no fun."

I scoff. "What girl, or any person in their right mind would want to be called illegal drug?"

"Fine. Would legal drug be better?"

"No! A lot of drugs are bad why would I want my pet name to be something bad?"

"Because.....you're my drug that I'm addicted to." Ace replies in a 'duh' tone.

I roll my eyes. "Fine. But you can only call me that in private. In public it could be a disaster and people could misunderstand the usage. I wouldn't be surprised if people thought that we actually have illegal drugs."

Ace uncomfortably rubs the back of his neck and laughs awkwardly. "Uh, about that-"

My face falls and I inwardly facepalm myself. "Right. You do have illegal drugs because you're a gang leader."

"Mhm."

And so as the days roll by, Ace and I's relationship is getting more serious. The more we talk together, the more we realize that our futures both hold each other in it. No, our relationship isn't perfect, Ace is working on his communication skills and I'm working on not jumping to conclusions right away.

Al in all, we make a great team together, and I wouldn't want to have it any other way.

* * *

One year later:

I sit in my room, drawing a cheetah when Ace suddenly walks in looking cheerful. "Hey, I'm taking you somewhere today, get dressed and bring a bathing suit. It's a bit of a drive, so get ready soon."

"Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise.

Of course.

Ace leaves me alone, wondering what in the world he could possibly be up to. I pull my clothes over my bathing suit, and tie my hair into a french braid before heading out to find Ace.

Ace was right, the drive was a bit long, it was a couple hours. But the scenery was worth it, because like last time, we arrived at a beach. But this beach was different than the one we went to last time.

Vibrant blue waves crash onto the shore, the water drops spraying into the air in a mist and sparkling as they hit the rays of sunlight that peek out behind fluffy white clouds.

The sound of seagulls and ocean fill my ears, and the breeze causes my hair to flow around me. The sun feels good against my skin, and when I look back at Ace, he smiles radiantly.

"It's so beautiful, Ace." I say, my voice full of wonder.

Ace smiles at me, and strips his shirt off, revealing a fit body. "C'mon, let's hop in!"

I bite my lip, feeling nervous that when I take off my clothes revealing my bathing suit underneath, that my scars will be on display for all to see. Yes, I know Ace has already seen them but....I can't help but feel a little bit self conscious still.

"Hey, it's okay, remember?" Ace asks as he turns around, revealing his scar-ridden back.

I nod sheepishly, and slowly take off my own shirt and shorts, revealing a light blue and white bikini. I smile shyly at Ace, rubbing my arm in awkwardness.

"Dakota, you're beautiful, no need to be shy around me." Ace says, winking and grabbing me by the hand, leading me out to the water's edge.

The water is cool and refresh against my bare feet; the water lapsing against my skin. We both wade out until we are waist deep, the waves gently crashing against us. Some of the salty water sprays into my face.

Ace dunks his whole head in, disappearing under the blue depths. "Ace?" I call out after a few seconds of not seeing him. I yelp when something touches my ankle, and I try to move back, only to feel a feathery touch against my other foot.

A chill runs up my spine, I hate when something skims against me when swimming, it scares me. I try to back away from the feeling, when Ace suddenly shoots out of the water and tackles me, completely submerging me into the cool ocean.

I latch onto him like a cat frightened of water, and I wrap my legs around his torso and arms around his neck as he brings us back up to the surface of the water.

Ace laughs and I spit water at his face. "Don't eve scare me like that again! I hate it when something touches my foot in the water, it creeps me out!" I screech.

Ace laughs. "Alright, alright. I just had to, your face was priceless."

I roll my eyes. "Oh hardy har! You're so immature...." I mumble the last part.

Ace raises an eyebrow. "What did you just say?"

"Nothing."

"That's what I thought."

After spending more time swimming and relaxing in the ocean, we get out and wrap ourselves in beach towels.

We dry off, and bask in the sun's rays. I sunburn easily, and since I don't really want to turn into bacon anytime soon, I lather my skin in sunblock.

"Ace, are you sure you don't want any sunblock? You'll burn."

"Nah, I tan."

"No, you'll eventually burn. Sunburns hurt."

"Trust me, I'm fine." Ace says, trying to convince me.

I sniff the air loudly. "Smell that?" I ask.

"No, what's it smell like?"

"Skin cancer."

"Oh shut up." Ace replies, hitting me with his towel.

We laugh together, and share our lunch on the beach. The crackers got a bit of sand in them, but that's okay. Food is food, even though I may have sandy grits crunching against my teeth while I eat it.

"So, let me get this straight. So your mom actually told you that if you pee in a chlorine pool, your pee would look purple in the water because of the chemicals in the chlorine, and everyone would know that you peed because a purple cloud would be floating in the water?"

"She sure did. How else was she supposed to stop me from peeing in public pools?"

"You were five years old." I say, laughing as I imagine little Ace. That's something I have to see more of.

Ace chuckles and a silence falls between us. And sure enough, our lips meet together in a gentle kiss. I'd never been in a relationship with anyone this close before, especially a man. But I trust him 100%, and I know he does too.

The kiss starts to heat up, but Ace knows his limits, knowing that I'm not ready yet. Soon, I think I will be ready. But as for now, I choose just to enjoy and get lost in the moment and get drunk on the love we share.

When the sun starts to flee, brilliant colors clash together against the open sky. It's gorgeous and radiant, and just when I thought things couldn't get any better, it does.

Because Ace gets down on one knee, and flips open a ring box.

"Ace!" I squeal in shock, tears of joy brimming to my eyes.

"Dakota, from the moment I first saw you, I knew you were something special. I knew you were different from all the other girls. Even though I didn't show you how I felt about you in the beginning, I always knew that deep down that you were indeed more precious than jewels and riches." He says, I can hardly believe this moment as he continues.

"The time you let your true colors show, I knew then and there, that I wanted to be with you. The way you handled the gang issues, completely sealed the deal. It takes a special kind of woman to be able to handle this life. You are truly a marvelous woman who's helped me heal." My heart flutters at his words.

"So, without further ado, Dakota, will you marry me?" He asks, his eyes pleading as he looks up at me in wonder.

"Yes, Ace, YES!" I squeal, and when Ace stands up, I run into his arms, kissing him like there's no tomorrow. Ace smiles against my lips, and joyful tears finds their way out of my eyes. We embrace each other for the longest time.

"I love you." Ace murmurs.

"I love you too."

I can't believe Ace proposed to me. I knew out relationship was serious, and I knew we had already planned out our future together. And now, Ace has finally taken the next step. The ring on my finger is gorgeous, too.

It's not some giant rock that weighs down my hand, rather, it's simple but beautiful.

The ring is bright, just like our future. No, I don't expect our future together to be picture perfect. No relationship is, we both have problems and insecurities to work out. Besides, we live the gang life, so of course it's not going to be joyful all the time.

I look forward to the future, because thanks to Ace, I now have one.

The drive home was entertaining.

Not only were Ace and I high on each other and the atmosphere was bathed in joy, Ace complained about a minor issue.

Guess what he complained about?

His sunburn.