KISS: Road Trip

Ch 9: I'm Gonna Do It (Ace)

The bell on the jewelry shop rang as I walked in, immediately heading over for the display full of rings. "Hi! Can I help you with something?" the woman behind the counter asked, giving me a smile. I took a deep breath, giving her a nervous grin. "Uh...yeah, I'm looking for a ring to propose to my boyfriend with."

Her face lit up and her smile grew. "Oh that's wonderful! What's his style and what's your budget?" "Oh um...my budget is only like $250, I don't have a lot of money on me. He likes silver a lot, usually just plain bands is what he wears," I said hesitantly. "Hm, okay, let me see what I have," she said, reaching behind the counter and setting a case of rings in front of me.

An hour later I was back at the motel, ring secured in my pocket and the food I had used as an excuse to go out clutched in my hand. "I got dinner!" I called, setting the box of pizza on the table and trying not to show I was super nervous. Dinner went smoothly and we all just relaxed before Eric went to go sit in the hot tub while Bruce and Paul went to play cards and Peter went to drink on the balcony and I had the chance to shoot my shot.

I looked out at the balcony where Peter was standing and took a deep breath, running a hand through my hair. "Okay Ace, you can do this," I murmured, walking outside and leaning on the railing next to him, both of us watching the stars. We stood next to each other in silence for a moment before he rested his head on my shoulder, smiling softly. "This is nice." I nodded, kissing him lightly on the forehead. "I missed you."

His smile grew, stars dancing in his eyes. "I missed you too. Nice night outside, isn't it?" I slipped an arm around his waist as he took a slow sip of beer, trying to get my heart to stop racing. "Pete I--I need to talk to you," I said softly. He looked at me, raising an eyebrow. "What's up, cutie?"

I took a deep breath, trying not to panic and ruin the moment. "I'm tired of being on-again, off-again boyfriends with you. I love you, more than I've ever loved anyone, and I was wondering if you...you wanted to be on again husbands? I-I know that we've only been dating for like...like a week or so in a row but really we've dated for years and--and I love you and I want to marry you," I stammered, dropping to one knee and pulling the ring out of my pocket.

Eyes wide, he stared at me in shock, setting down his bottle of beer and covering his mouth with his hand. "Are you...are you asking me to marry you?" he whispered.

I nodded, watching the ring gleam in the moonlight. His face split into a huge grin and he pulled me to my feet, throwing his arms around me. "Yes, yes, yes, a thousand times yes!" he cried, kissing me. Laughing, I wrapped my arms around him, running a hand through his hair and kissing him back, pushing him against the railing of the balcony and accidentally knocking his beer to the pavement, where it smashed into pieces. "Oops," he said, kissing me again, wrapping his arms around me.

So happy my hands were shaking, I tried to put the ring on his finger, but to my horror it slipped from my grasp and bounced off the balcony. We stared at each other in stunned silence, the mood immediately killed. "Oh no," I whispered. Grabbing my hand, he ran inside, dragging me down the stairs to the outside. "It's gotta be here somewhere, we'll find it!" My hands were shaking again but this time it was because I was panicking. "Peter I'm so sorry I didn't mean to-" He cut me off with a kiss, shaking his head. "It's okay! It's okay, we'll find it, don't worry!" he said, pulling out his phone and turning on his flashlight.

Chest heaving, I joined him in searching the ground, praying we'd find it. "What are you guys doing?" I jumped, turning to stare at Eric, who was standing a few feet away, wrapped in a towel and dripping water on the ground. Peter gave me a smile, taking my hand. "Ok so, Ace proposed on that balcony up there but then he accidentally dropped the ring and it fell off the edge and we're trying to find it."

Eric gave us a huge smile. "Hey, nice! Aw congrats, guys!" "It would've been nice if I hadn't fucked it up and lost the ring," I said miserably. Peter shook his head, kissing me. "Ace baby it's okay, we'll find it! And if we don't, that's okay too!" "Here, I'll help you look, what does it look like?" Eric asked.

"It's uh, it's just a silver band," I mumbled. "Oh, like this?" he said, stooping over to pick up a ring and showing it to me. I took it from him, finally slipping it on Peter's finger. "Eric I could kiss you," I choked. He laughed as Peter turned my face toward his. "Nuh-uh, kiss me instead," he murmured. I happily obliged as Eric walked past us, heading for the stairs. "Okay, I'm freezing because the air is not as warm as the hot tub, congratulations you two! I'll let you tell the others your good news, I don't wanna spoil that for you," he said, walking up the stairs.

I took Peter's hand, running a finger across the ring and smiled at him, kissing him softly on the nose. "This really is a nice night, isn't it?" He grinned, nodding. "A perfect night. I'm gonna be your on-again boyfriend forever. Your husband. I'm gonna be the best husband there is."

Giggling, I kissed him again, running a hand up his back. "George Peter John Criscuola, you have no idea how happy you've made me."

"Nuh-uh babe, you already made me the happiest man alive, my dearest darling fiancé," he purred. "Ooh, fiancé! I forgot we get to call each other that now!" I cried, making him laugh, which melted my heart. "Should we tell the others? Or do we wanna wait a bit?"

I giggled again, shaking my head and kissing him. "No, I wanna do it now!" I said, grabbing his hand and feeling the ring on his finger, loving the feel of the cold metal against my skin. "Mm, I need to get you a ring too, don't I?" he murmured. I shrugged, leading him back upstairs. "Only if you want to!" "Well hell yeah I do! I want everyone to know we're engaged!"

Hand in hand, we walked into the little living room area where Bruce and Paul were playing cards, Eric off in the shower or something. Peter walked over, slamming his hand down on the table. "Look! I got engaged!" he cried.

They immediately burst into all kinds of congratulations and all that as I just stood there, beaming as I watched Peter proudly showing off his ring.

Later that night, as we laid in bed together with his head resting on my chest, I played with his hair absentmindedly. "You know we're gonna have to plan a wedding, right?" He nodded, reaching up to kiss me on the cheek. "Oh, I know, I know. But we'll worry about that later. Let's just enjoy the moment tonight!" I grinned, pulling him a little closer and pulling the blankets higher, resting my forehead against his. "Yeah, but you're taking my last name. Ace Criss sounds stupid but Peter Frehley has a nice ring to it," I murmured.

He giggled, kissing me. "We'll talk about it."