Sixty Seven

CHAPTER 67

Alicia's flat, New York.

"I told you yesterday, you don't have to pick me up here!"

But Ace laughed amusedly at his girlfriend's response. She then did her usual thing to Alicia, rubbing the top of the dark-haired girl's head and stroking it gently. Next, Ace looked deeply into his girlfriend's eyes. "You're so adorable when you're angry like that, you know," he said trying to tease Alicia.

But Alicia only replied to Ace's words with a short snort.

Ace had just arrived in front of Alicia's flat to pick the girl up a while ago. Because tonight, Ace was going to Italy and all he wanted before leaving New York was to see Alicia's face.

"We still have time here. How about a quick stop at Uncle Chuck's for some ice cream now?" Ace asked enthusiastically.

But Alicia, who had not been able to shake off the annoyance caused by Ace's attitude earlier, just scowled and huffed without interest. "You'll get a stomachache if you eat ice cream now," she snapped sternly. "And a stomachache will ruin your trip to Italy."

"What about pizza?"

"You don't have that much time to wait for a slice of pizza, Ace."

"Alright. Let's go order McDonalds," Ace exclaimed, like a child. "We'll probably only need a few minutes, right?"

Which only made Alicia roll her eyes lazily. "Ace, stop that!" And Alicia managed to get Ace to shut her up now. "We need to get to the airport now before that plane leaves you."

"So...," the tall man put on an obviously sad face in front of Alicia. "You really want me to leave, hm?"

Again Alicia had to roll her eyes lazily at her lover's silly behavior. And finally, Alicia took the initiative to get into Ace's car first so that Ace wouldn't waste any more time. Didn't they have to hurry now?

And as it turned out, Alicia's trick worked. Ace immediately followed behind her and got into the car before Alicia got really angry with him.

"Come on, honey," Ace whined. "Buying two ice creams doesn't take much time, does it?"

"I don't know how a silly guy like you can be the CEO of some of the biggest companies in town," Alicia said sarcastically. She then fastened the seat belt on herself. "Come on, hurry up, I don't want to miss my caramel ice just to keep you looking at me like that."

Ace then laughed again, this time he even clapped his hands like he had just been given a gift. Alicia had just agreed to his invitation. "Ayey, Captain!" she exclaimed excitedly. Then the only child of Wilson Blake immediately stepped on the gas and drove to Uncle Chuck's on the corner of Manhattan, New York.

Accompanied by their favorite tunes, Ace and Alicia seemed to enjoy the ride. And it only took about fifteen minutes before they finally arrived in front of the famous ice cream parlor.

"I'll have one iced coffee latte and one iced caramel for this beautiful girl," Ace asked when the waitress asked for their order.

And after the waitress left, Alicia was struck by a sudden sense of worry. "Ace," she called out hesitantly.

"Yes, dear?"

"Are you going to be there long?"

And the dark-haired man smiled slightly in response to Alicia's question. "I'll be home as soon as all my work is done," he said in an attempt to calm her down. He also gently rubbed the top of Alicia's head again. "I'll come back to you soon, Alicia."

"This is the first time we've been apart," Alicia bit her lip in doubt. "Suddenly, I'm worried and scared."

But the man named Ace Blake looked at his beloved with a reassuring gaze. Trying to soothe Alicia, who he knew was now suffering from a great deal of worry. "You don't have to be afraid of anything, Alicia. I love you and I think that should be more than enough to erase all your worries."

If truth be told, Alicia was not only worried about her feelings for Ace after he left. But also for Nicholas who managed to pull her back into a criminal case that Ace didn't know about.

Alicia was beginning to fear that Ace might find out one day that she had been covering up all these cases and lying behind his back.

"I hope so," said Alicia.

And soon after, their order was placed on the table by a waitress. A glass of iced caramel and a cup of iced latte for the two couples who were about to part ways that afternoon.

"Today my caramel ice didn't taste as good as usual," Alicia said sadly.

"Maybe it's because you'll miss me so much." No, it wasn't. Not because of that. It was because Alicia was feeling more and more guilty about her recent decisions. "By the way, what is this assignment that you can't come with me, Alicia? If you want to change your mind, I can find a ticket for you so we can go to Italy together," Ace offered.

But Alicia clearly refused. She argued, "I have some basic psychology and law assignments that I need to submit in a few days." She gave a quick shrug of her shoulders. "I don't think I can put off those assignments," she lied.

Before Alicia told all those lies, of course the beautiful girl had been working with Brittany. At the very least, Brittany would tell Ace the same thing if he asked her later.

Making the possibility of Alicia's lies being exposed even smaller.

"I'll try to keep you updated as often as possible, dear," Ace told her. "So you don't have to worry."

But Alicia only responded to her lover's sweet words with a forced smile. She didn't know how to react now and that strange feeling suddenly surfaced again.

"You're okay, right, Alicia?" asked Ace worriedly.

And quickly, the eighteen-year-old girl nodded her head in front of Ace. "What's wrong with me?"

"You look pale, like you have a lot on your mind," said Ace. Her black irises did look more intently at Alicia. She knew very well that Alicia was hiding something, although in the end all she could do was pretend not to know. "If you were sick, I would have canceled my trip to--"

"No, no!" cut Alicia off quickly. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

Alicia nodded again, though it was clear to Ace's eyes that she was faking it.

"Don't push yourself while I'm not around, Alicia." Ace grabbed Alicia's wrist and grasped her fingers tightly. "You won't let me down, will you?"

And the blue-eyed girl again only smiled slightly in response to Ace's question just now. It wasn't satisfying, but all Ace had to do now was believe in Alicia.

Believe that distance wasn't something that would destroy their relationship.

Ace also had to believe that Alicia would keep her feelings for him to herself.

Although the truth is, we all finally know that now...

Alicia is standing at a crossroads that is misleading herself. []