**edited 14/01/2021**

Elle's POV

Saturday 6th October 2018

We arrived at Sunshine Auto's around fifteen minutes later, we walked in together and asked to see any cars that met my standards even if they weren't Aygo's or Fiat's. "This beautiful purple Fiat 500 has just come in today and has already been a very big hit. I'll give you a few minutes to have a look," the salesman smiled and handed Ace the key before walking away from us.

Ace unlocked the car and opened one of the doors. "What are we looking for?" I whispered to him.

He looked at me with an amused smile. "I can't believe you thought you could come here and do this alone, what would you have done? Just seen a pretty car and bought it?" He teased before he ducked into the car and began inspecting it. "Come and sit in it, Elle. See if you like it," he said and I walked to the drivers side, sliding into the front.

"It's nice," I smiled and placed my hands on the steering wheel. "Anything wrong with the inside?" I asked.

"Few scratches here and there but nothing drastic," he commented as he ran his thumb over one of the shallow scratches on the dashboard. "I'm just going to look at the paintwork outside, see if there's any dents or scratches. Could you pop the hood for me?" He asked and I looked at him with a bewildered expression.

"The what?" I asked.

"The hood- you know what, I'll do it," he laughed and leaned over me which made my breath catch in my throat. He pulled back a flap and there was a popping noise, he then gave me a quick wink and hopped out of the car.

I stepped out after him and observed as he got down onto the floor and looked along the car, trying to see if he could see any scratches. "There's a small dent on the door and a scratch on the tailgate but nothing serious."

"How do you know so much about cars?" I asked as he moved to the hood of the car, he propped it open with a metal bar that came out of the car and then began looking around inside.

He shrugged. "My grandfather owned an auto repair shop when I was growing up, from fourteen to eighteen I worked there," he explained without looking away from the car's inner workings. "It was alright working there but not what I wanted to do, yaknow?"

"What do you wanna do?" I asked nosily as he shut the hood of the car, he turned to me whilst wiping his hands on his jeans.

"I'm majoring in Business and Economics," he told me. "Not the most fun job in the world but all I want to do is make money," a small smirk lifted on his lips. "What about you? An artist or something?"

"A photographer," I said back to him, watching as the salesman began to approach us. "Maybe nature photography, or maybe fashion, I don't care much for how much I earn," I said and he listened like he actually cared, I liked that.

"So, have we looked at the car?" The cheery salesman asked, clapping his hands.

Ace nodded. "Yes, a few scratches and a dent or two. What would you be willing to go to price-wise?" He asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Well the asking price is $9,200 but I can go down to $8,900 for you," I was about to jump in and agree, that was under my budget anyway.

"How about $8,650?" Ace asked, glancing at me to say 'shut-the-fuck-up'.

"$8,700 and that's the lowest," the salesman returned the offer and Ace looked at me to see if I would agree and I nodded.

"We have a deal," Ace held his hand out which the salesman happily accepted, firmly shaking his hand.

"Come with me then and we will sign the papers," the salesman smiled happily, marching back to the sales building. Ace smiled down to me before following him, me trailing behind whilst stealing glances and my brand new car.

. . .

After we had accepted on the deal and I paid the man with a bank transfer, I sorted out my insurance at the shop before driving my new car back to the dorms, following Ace's car as I had no idea where I was or how to get home. When we parked up, I got out of the car and ran to ace, throwing my arms around him. "Thank you so much!" I cheered.

He laughed and stiffly wrapped his arms around me also. "No problem Princess," he grunted back.

"I need to thank you somehow, let me get you lunch or something?" I offered pleadingly, he looked at with an unsure expression before finally nodding. "Brilliant! I can drive us there, where d'ya fancy eating?" I asked.

"There's a pretty great burger shack about ten minutes from here, they do the best burgers ever," he smirked and I nodded, agreeing.

"Perfect, come on then and I'll drive," I walked towards my car but Ace stood exactly where he was, arms crossed over his chest. "What are you doing? Jump in!"

He shook his head. "When we hang out, Princess, I drive," he said before walking to his car, slipping into the drivers seat. I rolled my eyes and locked the car, walking to the passengers side of the car to let myself in.

"You are impossible," I teased as I got into the car.

We drove towards the burger place and I turned up the music, humming along to the music that played. "You know, I know nothing about you. What's your family like? Do they live round here? Did you grow up round here?" I asked.

He looked at me briefly before turning his attention back to the road. "There's not much to know I guess. My mom and dad are still together and they live in New York, I have a brother and a baby sister. I moved here last year to start University, I'm now on my second year and that's pretty much it," he told me briefly and I nodded.

"What are your siblings names?" I asked.

"Well I'm the middle child at twenty, then there's Theo who's twenty-one, and Avery who's five," he told me as he pulled into the parking lot of the burger place. "What about your family?" He asked, turning off the engine.

"Well I have my mom and my two brothers, Harley and Sawyer," I told him and he nodded. "Um, my dad passed away when I was fifteen."

"Oh," he said with his eyebrows furrowing, he didn't look at me in fake sympathy and apologise like others did and instead offered me a small reassuring smile. I hated when people said they were sorry, like it was a jerk reaction to hearing the news of a parent passing, it was never actually sincere. "Want to get some food?" He finally asked with a grin, changing the subject.

Thank God.