Saving Athena ✓

30) Pretty

A t h e n a

"Are you asking me to go with you to a ballroom dance?" My brows raise. "Ace Hawthrone, I would love to."

He shoots me a glance and shakes his head. "Just wear a dress, and I'll pick you up."

"What if I wanna wear a suit?" I raise an eyebrow.

"Then wear a suit, you'll look pretty either way."

✧

"What are you doing?" Ace peeks into my room as I haul a little box of nail polish and nail tools.

"Painting my nails," I responded, lugging the box to my kitchen table as I set it down.

He comes and sits across from me as he watches me file my nails down, he purses his lips and holds the sides of his face. "You okay?" I ask, he nods and stands as he sits in the seat beside me.

"Let me," he says, taking the file from my grasp and holding my hand gently as he begins filing my nails down.

"Who taught you how to do nails?" I gasp in surprise.

"Rebekka," he shoots me a smirk before finishing my one hand and moving to the next. Once he's done filing, he asks me what color I want. I pick up the black and hand it to him, he shakes the bottle, unscrews it, and starts painting my nails carefully.

"I have a black dress, and a light blue one," I say, he nods. "Which one should I wear?"

"That's not my choice," he says.

"Can you choose a color?"

"Choose which one you like more."

"I'm gonna strangle you, Ace. Choose one."

"I'm a male," he catches my eyes. "I don't have the right to tell you what to wear. But oh, when you do figure it out, tell me because I need to get a matching color."

"You little-"

"Language, Athena," he licks his lips and ushers for me to give him my other hand. I sigh and relent as he finishes that hand and smiles. "Like them?" He smiles all proudly at my hands before putting everything away for me.

"Ace?" I call out as he comes back from my room.

"Hm?" He sits back in the seat across from me.

"What's the age difference between you and Zella?"

"She's twenty-six," he says, "I'm twenty-four."

My head tilts. "But you said you were twenty-three."

"My birthday was last week," he murmurs, my jaw slightly drops.

"What?" And you didn't tell anyone?"

"I don't like my birthday," he explains, eye narrowing.

"We have to do something-"

"No." He cuts off this idea almost immediately. Arms crossing against his chest as he shakes his head.

"Maybe just us and a few-"

"No, Athena."

"Ace-"

"Nope."

"How about just a little gathering-"

"No."

"Well," I shoot up from my chair and hold up a finger. "Your opinion is invalid. Get dressed, we're going to the town square." I go into my room and throw a sweater over me and slip on my jeans. I look out my room to see him, not even with his jacket on.