e p i l o g u e

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I no longer hated airports; because they no longer took me away from everyone I loved. I didn't have to leave every January or August. I just got to be home.

And by home, I meant the place Ace and I had rented together. I hadn't seen it in person yet, but I knew that since Ace's parents approved of it, it would be great.

I hadn't seen him since early January and I was practically bouncing in my seat as the airplane took off. I had officially graduated from Emerson with a bachelor's in creative writing and I was on the way to publishing my first novel.

Ace would graduate, in two weeks, from Sacramento State with a bachelor's in business since he still barely knew what he truly wanted to do. We had done it.

We made it through four years of long distance, minus the small breakup we had halfway through our Junior year. We had gotten into a fight in February and by the time June rolled around, all I had to do was see him in person and our break was history.

I would be coming home two weeks before he did, so I would move in our stuff and get situated before he got here. And then, I would attend his graduation, as a surprise.

When I landed in LAX, my mom was waiting with open arms. I ran over to her as fast as I could with two suitcases. Her grip was tight and I may have heard her sniffle a little bit. Next to her was her new husband, Matt. They had started dating three years ago and got engaged after eight months of dating. They had gotten married when I was home for Christmas break.

She was finally on her own two feet. Matt had moved into her two bedroom home after they got engaged. Matt had two children himself, Miley, who was twenty-three and Samuel who was nineteen.

"Hey Matt!" I greeted, pulling him into a hug as well.

"Hey Kiddo," he chuckled, hugging me back.

I turned to my mom as we started toward the exit. "Have you seen the house yet?"

She nodded with a smile. "Ace had us over during his spring break. He seems so excited for you guys."

"We're both excited. Finally, after four years, we get to wake up next to each other every single day, in our own house," I spouted giddily.

We had made it to the car and I was putting my suitcases in the trunk when my mom hugged me again. "I'm happy for you Melon."

"Thanks mom. I can't wait to see him. It's so hard keeping this a secret. I wish I could tell him I get to see him graduate," I sighed, pulling away from her embrace.

We got into the car and she started it up before turning to me. "I think the fact that it's a surprise will make him even happier when you're there."

I nodded in agreement and texted Ace to let him know I had landed and was on the way to our new home.

It was a two story, contemporary type of home. It had three bedroom and two and a half bathrooms. Ace had explained it to me as the perfect place for us. When I had asked him why, he had told me it was perfect for starting a family.

At the time, I had choked on my breath at the thought of having children at twenty-two. But after seeing the house in person, I could see why he had said it in the first place, It was sort of like his parents' house, all white picket fence vibes. I never thought I would live in a house like this. And it immediately made me want to have babies and raise them here.

I walked inside with both of my suitcases and saw boxes already sitting in the hallway. I knew they must have been some of the things Ace and I had ordered online for the house. I set everything down and started going through the boxes.

Some of them were plates and bowls and kitchen things, others were for various rooms like the living room and our bedroom. The large sectional couch was already set in the living room so I sat there and started unpacking as much as I could. Most of the big pieces of furniture were already put together in their correct spots.

Before unpacking though, I gave myself a tour. Our bedroom was, obviously, the biggest and most elaborate. We had an ensuite bathroom and a walk in closet, a luxury I had never had before. I already knew which room would be the first room we used for a baby eventually.

After a long night of facetiming Ace in our new home and the start of the unpacking process, I went to bed, alone, in our large bed.

Two weeks later, Ace's family and were I headed up to Sacramento for the graduation. I sat in the audience as Anna, Austin and the now twelve year old Noah were greeting Ace. Originally, I supposed to go over there with them, but then figured it would be even more surprising if he found out I was there as he walked the stage.

Eventually, the graduation began and I shifted in my seat nervously. Luckily, Ace's name was called early in the graduation with the last name Carter. I stood up with his family and whistled and yelled loud praises. But louder than them, I screamed, "that's my boyfriend!" I saw him whip his head toward the audience.

When his eyes settled on me, his smile widened so much I was worried it would get stuck there. He almost tripped over his gown so he accepted his diploma quickly and made it off the stage. He wasn't allowed to leave the area until after everyone was called so he sat back down in his seat; but he kept turning back to look at me every few minutes, smiling at me like I was the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.

After the entire ordeal was over, the graduates made their way out to their family and friends. I spotted Ace looking around for us and called him over. "Ace!"

He broke into a run until he crashed into me, wrapping his arms tight around me. I squeezed him right back, closing my eyes. After a long embrace, he pulled back and placed a kiss on my lips and then pressed little kisses all over my face. I giggled and pulled his lips back to mine for a few seconds.

"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be at home, unpacking," he murmured, kissing me again.

I shook my head. "I've been doing that for two weeks. This is more important to me."

"Well now I feel bad. You got to see me graduate, I didn't get to go to yours," Ace frowned sadly.

I smiled. "You had finals. It's not like you could fly across the country for one day and then come back for your finals."

"I know, but I wish I could have. Anyway, I'm so happy you're here," he squeezed me into his arms again.

We all went out to dinner at Ace's favorite restaurant and had dinner before we headed to the hotel. I had rented a room for me but Ace insisted that I come stay at his apartment for the night. So Noah got to sleep in his own hotel room for the night.

Ace shared his apartment with his friend, Kayden but apparently he was staying with his girlfriend in her apartment since her roommate moved out. We would have the whole apartment to ourselves, thank god.

I hadn't so much as kissed him since January, let alone anything else. We quickly made our way to his place and immediately started taking off our clothes. As soon as I was only in my lace bra and underwear set, Ace stopped us.

"You're seriously going to make me wait?" I breathed heavily.

He chuckled and stood from his couch, where we had ended up; poor couch. He was shirtless as he walked into the hallway, leaving me alone to stare at his disappearing back. I lifted my eyebrows in confusion when he walked back in, hands behind his back.

"What are you up to?" I asked him, quizzingly.

He rocked back on his heels in front of me. "Nothing." He sat down next to me and pushed back my wild hair. "I love you."

"I love you too. Now what's going on?"

"I wasn't going to do this until we were both home, but considering you are my home, I think it's appropriate," he paused, taking a deep breath.

Oh my god.

"I'm in love with you and I've been in love with you for four years. We handled long distance for most of our relationship, so I know we can get through anything. I'm going to spend the rest of my life falling more in love with you Melrose King. I promised you once that I would change your name, would you let me?"

I stared at him in disbelief. Was he proposing to me? I mean, there was no ring and he hadn't actually said the words yet. Maybe he was just-

"Mel?"

"Yeah," I whispered.

He pulled out a small, velvet box from behind him.

Oh my god.

"I'm asking you to marry me, sweetheart," he explained, a knowing smile on his face.

"Oh my god," I whispered, staring at the ring. It wasn't huge, knowing it wasn't my style. It was a single oval diamond with a gold band; it was gorgeous. "Yes! Of course!"

Ace smiled and slid the ring onto my finger. I squealed and wrapped my arms around his shoulders, pulling him in. He chuckled and embraced me, letting me have my freak out. "Can we go back to making out?" He asked me, holding me out in front of him.

"Shut up!" I yelled, making him laugh and kiss me. I let him.

So... I don't want to accept that it's over. This is it, the last official chapter of Ace of Spades. But knowing me, there will be bonus chapters. ;)

Thank you guys so much for getting to the end! 38 chapters of Mel and Ace, 18k views and 11 months of writing. Thank you!

Also, there will be a spin off about Ace's little brother ;) keep your eyes peeled for that!

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