Always Ace

Now

Rory's perspective

I'm at the Gauzezbo with Mom. Everything is so quiet that you could hear a pen hit the pavement. I'm on my second coffee.

"I'm pregnant," I blurt. She seeks my eyes in near silence. Nothing but a chuckle leaves her lips. "Please say something."

"Thank God it isn't the Wookie," she laughs, finally breaking the whistle of wind. "Could you imagine?" I smile. "Does the father know?" Mom is clear and curious.

"It's Logan. I don't know what to do, Mom. Albeit, I want him to know." I'm stammering now, "How? What do I say?"

"That's up to you, kid. My only advice is to be direct and honest."

"How did you tell Dad?"

"We were 16. I solely said that I was pregnant. I sounded a lot like you just did." I sigh in question. Everyone seems to believe that Logan will like Dad. I don't want a repeat of a typically absent father for my child. I don't know our future. But I will tell him. I won't leave him in the dark. "Do you want some coffee?"

Mom pulls me out of my thoughts. "Yeah."

•••

Logan's perspective

I'm so hungover that I can't see straight. I'm foggy-headed and feel like I'm going to hurl everywhere. Collin, Finn, and Robert are passed out on the sofa.

It's been a month. One month. Thirty days since I've seen her, the woman who owns my heart, and the one who got my number by her dorm room. I can't stop thinking about her. Her laugh, her smile, her debate skills, and her devotion to just about everything she adores.

God, no woman compares. Not a soul even orbits my admiration for the woman I'd die to protect. No make-out at a party, no one night, no flirtation encompasses everything I dote towards her.

My coffee-loving, paper-smelling bookworm owns the brightest smile I've encountered. She's stubborn yet loves so deeply that it is tangible.

As if on cue, my phone yells. I groan loudly and pinch the rim of both my eyes together. The sound makes my brain scramble. However, when I recognize the song my phone is singing, my mood transitions to a bold grin.

"Hello?"

"Logan?"

"Hey!" My voice is at a chirp and I internally growl. "Ace! How are you?"

"I'm, uh, I'm good. How are you?"

"I'm feeling like crap, but I'm doing better now! It's been a month. How are things? What's up?"

She sighs. "I need to see you." I can deduce that something isn't tracking. What that may be I'm unsure.

"Ace, what's wrong?"

"There's something you need to know." She's afraid. I hate it.

"Talk to me."

"No, not like this. Not over the phone. Can we meet?"