Helios licked his nose insolently, before bending to lick drops of water off Ace’s feet. He washed one spot assiduously, before hopping in the shower and looking up at the shower head. Then he looked at Ace, tail waving, and back at the shower head.
She rolled her eyes at him, pulling lightly at his hair. “You would have been waiting a very long time then.” She glanced down at his chest, not really seeing it. “After … what happened with Brendan, I wasn’t going to — to reach out. Again. Take the risk.” Flicking her gaze back up to his, she bit at her lip, then slid sideways off his lap to curl up beside him, head against his shoulder.
“Mm,” Ace hummed in reply to her words. It was the only reply he could muster; his mind was elsewhere, though he acknowledged the weight of her words. Brendan. That single name triggered him into a wave of memories, ones he shared hand-in-hand with his former lover, so quick it gave him whiplash.
“Lily.” He offered that single name as if it were an explanation enough on his part. He loved her, he did. He always will, like he will Milla, Evie.
The lad reached up to trace over the outline of his locket and gave a short, pensive sigh.
Summer put her hand over his, lightly, before leaning up to kiss him again. “You wouldn’t be you without that. And I l-like you the way you are.” Firmly, she pushed memories out of her mind, and sat a little farther up. Another glance along his body, and she said hesitantly, “Uh. Ace … maybe you should get dressed? I’d kinda like to sit in your lap and kiss you for a while.”