Counting Down with You(80)

“It wasn’t a what,” I say. These words are too honest, too truthful. But they’re the right words. “It was a who. Someone who said they saw a spark in me. They helped me realize that I could be brave. A lionheart, even.”

Ace laughs breathlessly. “They sound wise.”

“They are,” I say, my smile shaky. “But they’re also beautiful and thoughtful and patient and so very lovely.”

“Yeah?” Ace says, a smile pulling at his own lips. “You shouldn’t say things like that. They might get the wrong idea and think you like them.”

“It’s a good thing I do, then,” I say, the words unfamiliar and terrifying. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. “I like them so much, it’s kind of crazy.”

Ace’s smile stretches even wider, familiar dimples popping into view. “Say it again.”

“I like you, Alistair Clyde.” There’s something bright and colorful and warm blooming inside me, growing flowers in the gaps between my ribs and alongside the edges of my heart. “I like you so, so much.”

Ace’s eyes shine brighter than they ever have before. The midnight sky doesn’t begin to compare. “I like you beyond explanation, Karina Ahmed. You drive me insane and I wouldn’t trade that for the world.”

“I drive you insane?” I say, raising my eyebrows. My lips are stretching so wide that my cheekbones hurt. “You’re the one that won’t study no matter how much I beg you.”

“Actually...” He disappears from the screen and comes back holding a copy of The Merchant of Venice with colored tabs marking the pages. “I finished this.”

My eyes widen. “Are you serious?”

“Is Portia a cross-dressing fake lawyer?” Ace throws back.

There are explosions in my chest, little fireworks of glee injecting themselves into my bloodstream. “You really read it.”

Ace’s face softens. “I did.”

“I’m proud of you,” I say, my heart swelling with affection. “Maybe you’ll pass the Regents, after all.”

He laughs, throwing his head back. “Yeah, maybe.”

There’s a moment of warm, comfortable silence before Ace breaks it. “I want to ask you something.” For the first time since I’ve met him, he looks bashful. As if he’s somehow nervous to ask me whatever it is.

“Okay,” I say. My pulse is loud in my ears, because Ace is watching me like I’m holding the universe in my hands.

Ace looks down, his cheeks a lovely pink color I’ve only read about in books. “What do you think about dinner and a movie tomorrow?”

I knew it was coming, and yet my breath still hitches. “Are you asking me out?”

Ace’s smile doesn’t waver as he tilts his head at me. “Yes, I am.”

I think I’m choking on my lungs. Ace wants to go on a date. With me. A date.

“Okay,” I say, my voice high-pitched.

“Okay?” Ace repeats. There’s the beginning of what looks like it could be a full-blown grin hinting at the corner of his mouth.

Before I can second-guess myself, I nod. “All right.”

“All right,” Ace says, as if it’s that simple. The grin comes to life. It looks like the sun is shining from Ace’s eyes—the sun, the stars, and the moon, all together. “It’s a date.”

I’m helpless to do anything but grin back, butterflies fluttering in my stomach. “It’s a date.”



37


T-MINUS 10 DAYS

I’m the stupidest person alive. Why would I ever agree to a date with Ace Clyde?

“I am freaking out,” I say to my laptop, where Nandini and Cora are on FaceTime. “Why would you ever let me do this? What kind of friends are you guys?”

“Don’t start,” Nandini says. I don’t have to look away from the mountain of clothes piled on top of my bed to know she’s rolling her eyes.

She’s in the middle of assembling a puzzle with her brother, and Cora is in the bath, bubbles hiding half her face. They’ve been trying to calm me down for the last twenty minutes.

Four candles are burning in my room right now, and frankly, I’m worried I’m one candle away from starting a house fire. “I’ve never been on a date! How does this even work?” I start pacing back and forth, my fingers buried in my hair.

I told my grandma I was going out with a friend today, and she didn’t ask me who—I have a feeling she knows—but anxiety still tugs on my heartstrings.

“You’re being ridiculous, Karina,” Cora says, her voice shockingly gentle as she blows a bubble at me. “Relax. Don’t put out on the first date. Or do. Just enjoy yourself.”

“I haven’t even kissed a boy and you think I’m going to put out on a first date?” I ask, eyes wide. “Do you think Ace thinks that, too? I’m meeting him at his house.”

“I was joking,” Cora says, eyebrows raised as she lifts a bottle of face wash. “Does Ace seem like the type to pressure you into anything?”

“Yes,” I say, thinking of him urging me to live my life to the fullest. Nandini drops a handful of puzzle pieces and Cora squirts out a ridiculous amount of face wash. I look up to see the alarmed expressions on both their faces and hurry to add, “No. No, sorry, I—no. He wouldn’t pressure me to do anything.”