He'd arrived at her house early because he needed to get out of his home and into the road before exploding. Slowly driving and even managing to take the long route, Ace had begun to calm down.

He finally got the date. One with Veronica Delgado had been on his wishlist for four straight months and no amount of teasing and flirting seemed to budge her high walls. She was undoubtedly the best flirting partner and it made Ace realize that's exactly why he wanted more of her.

Her energy never seemed to wane, a sarcastic know it all grin was permanently glued to her face and feline eyes always appeared to be provoking him.

She made him feel a million sensations at once.

He effortlessly leaned against the passenger door, waiting for her to most likely cartwheel out of the house. You never knew what to expect though.

The sight of her in a off the shoulder white sundress with printed cherries made his mouth go dry. Her melodic laughter squeezed his heart and once she was close enough Ace feigned confidence. Inside he was crumbling with nerves.

"Damn Veronica, I could just eat you up." As soon as the words left his mouth, Ace realized how lame he sounded.

"I thought you weren't the biggest fan of cherries." She shook her head to get the bangs out of her eyes and stepped closer to the car.

You never knew what her responses would be, Ace liked being kept on his toes and Veronica's batting eyes told him she liked doing it too.

He glided the door open for his date and once she was halfway into her seat, his hands were propped on top of the car door. He clicked his tongue and made a sizzling sound. "I'm not talking about eating no cherry, sunshine."

"Well in that case, you might as well starve Ace." Smirking, Veronica gave him her best innocent look and leaned forward to shut the door closed, leaving the boy at a loss of words for a second before he decided he loved the feisty response.

He'd been surprisingly calm throughout their outing. Making countless of remarks and matching her teasing ways was like second nature to Ace. He had packed a picnic basket with food he knew she liked and new things he wanted her to try.

They'd played random games after Veronica told him she was epically skilled and impossibly lucky at most of them. Her words were proved true after beating him at innumerable tournaments of thumb wars, red hands and Rock Paper Scissors.

Each time she won, the brunette got to gloat for a solid minute before Ace demanded a rematch.
Sometimes he'd purposefully let her win, especially during thumb wars since his hands dwarfed hers. The smile and confidence Veronica would show afterwards was all worth it.

The physical contact drove him over the edge every once and a while.

Now, as the sun began to set and the end of their date was nearing, they sat with his head on her lap, gazes locked on each other and no where else. Her fingers absentmindedly running over his buzz cut.

"Did you have fun?" Moments after Ace's question Veronica was already nodding. That made a smug look bloom over his attractive features. "Then why didn't you agree earlier? See what you've been missing out on?" His tone was playful.

"Want to actually know?" She quirked a perfectly plucked eyebrow.

He reached out to bop her nose and then rested his hand over hers. "Don't I always?" Ace scrunched up his face.

"My mom doesn't really want me to date. It's been a thing since I was in middle school. She just really wants me to have a career I love before I even think about devoting my time to someone else romantically. She's a really hard worker and it wasn't always easy for her." Veronica nibbled at the inside of her lips after answering, guard after guard slipping down in front of him.

Ace's eyes are understanding. "I get it. She doesn't think distractions are the best but hey I'm must have sure made an impression on you, look at us now, on a date."

She humorously rolled her eyes at him before squeezing his cheeks and gently shaking his head. "You're so full of yourself, I'm over it at this point."

His laugh makes a fuzzy and warm feeling etch from the bottom of her stomach and flourish through her chest. The things he made her feel were so refreshing and new, the high after joking with him was intoxicating. "I can think of two innuendos you just walked yourself into, baby."

He really went out on a limb by throwing that endearing nickname at the end of the sentence, however in the moment it felt right but the way her breath hitched at the word made him regret it.

"Really? Well, I can think of three, Ace. Always one upping you." The way she bit her lip drove him insane and he playfully reached out to stop her. He kept his hand on her jaw afterwards and her fingers wrapped around his wrist.

"You a crazy one Delgado. Knew it the moment I laid my eyes on you." He grinned, his full lips stretching.

"If I were you, I'd seriously watch my back." Veronica learned closer, they could feel each other's breath.

"Or what?" He whispered, eyes fixated on warm brown ones.

He'd moved his head away from her lap at this point, now lazily sprawled out on his back on the blanket. Her dark hair fell behind her back in messy waves that he imagined running his fingers through.

She was uncomfortably crouched down, resting her body weight on her knees as she stared at his unwavering eyes.

This was it.

Months of going back and forth, of stolen glances and coy grins were all leading to this. This moment.

His question stilled in the air as they kept their gazes on each other and nowhere but. It was invigorating. The feeling of being deliriously captivated in another's soul. Not wanting anything else. All that mattered was them. And their proximity. Both emotional and physical.

They held an unofficial staring competition for a while before the sound of a loud bird flying over their head broke the entrance.

"You might just get burned." She whispered, answering his previous question.