Different

51.

"Nice to meet you" Jace answers, smiling back at him too.

"Ryan why don't we help mom in the kitchen" my sister says with a smile, wanting to give Jace and me a moment.

I'm grateful to have a little time with him before the whole family arrives. I'm not worried one bit for Jace to meet them, but I can't help but be nervous with him. He doesn't even seem nervous at all, but my anxiety won't give me a break from it. I grab Jace's hand and pull him onto the couch next to me. 

"Ready to meet everyone?" I say gently. 

Meeting the whole family can be a big deal for someone, especially if you've never been in a relationship before. Even though he's the one that agreed to this, I don't want him to feel trapped or overwhelmed.

"I'm fine, Mila. I'm good with people, I don't mind one bit" Jace chuckles at me, lifting my legs over his lap.

Right. I forgot he's an extrovert. The complete opposite from me.

"Okay" I say, laying my hand on his neck so I can stroke the back of his hair.

"So, how many people are coming?" he asks me, making conversation.

"There's my uncle and his wife along with my cousin who's our age, his grandma, and my own grandparents" I let him know.

"Sounds good" Jace say, pulling me closer towards him.

Even though it was just one night that we didn't spend together, I feel that I've missed his touch. I bring my hand up to his face, to stroke his cheek softly. Leaning forward, I place another kiss on his lips. My mom emerging from the kitchen startles me and I pull away from Jace right away. My cheeks turn red slightly, as he smirks at me.

"Jace, dear. Are you staying the night? I already brought another blanket up for you. 

I'd hate to have you and Mila drive all the way back into the city tonight" mom asks him, making her way over to us after placing yet another item of food on the big table.

"That's kind of you Helen. I would love to stay" Jace says, laying his hands over my legs.

"Awesome" mom says, placing her hand on his shoulder gently. "Alright, the guests will be here any minute." 

Right after those words leave her mouth, the doorbell rings. Other people would find it stressful to host an event for this amount of people, but not my mom. She loves every party of it. 

Jace and I rise from the couch to greet everyone, and I'm happy when the introductions go very well. My family asks Jace a few questions, but they don't bother him. I'm grateful for that. I don't know why I was nervous in the first place.  Then again, story of my life. 

We all take our seats at the table and dive in to the delicious food my mom has made, after toasting to a great evening. "Helen this food is amazing" Ryan says, and speaks for all of us. Content hums follow his statement.

"Thank you dear" mom smiles back gratefully.

"So Jace, you go to CSU too, right? What's your sport?" my cousin Levi asks him over my other family members chatting among themselves.

"Baseball. Had to give it up because I was injured though" Jace answers.

"Sick man, I play too. What a season for the Yankees, right?" Levi says, triggering a really intense conversation about baseball. 

Even Ryan integrates himself into that conversation. I smile to smile, knowing that Jace gets along with everybody. Looking around the table I connect eyes with Ava, who's grinning at me too. I'm sure she's thinking the same thing I am.

We soon finish dinner and let the boys finish their sports talk, as my sister and I help mom to clean up the table. "Jace, can I offer you anything else to drink than just water? I have another beer in the fridge" mom asks Jace, as we return.

"Thank you Helen, I'm good. I don't really drink" he explains, returning his hand to my thigh once I sit back down next to him.

"Alright, you just tell me when you need anything" she adds again, making Jace nod back at her thankfully. 

I take another sip of my red wine, when I hear my grandma chirping in from next to Jace. "Well, I for one am so happy that my little Mila found a handsome young man like you" she says, placing a hand on his arm gently.

My heart melts when Jace answers "I'm glad to hear that", lightly placing his own hand on hers.

Our evening continues with dessert, more drinks, a lot of chatter and board games. When our guests leave, the clock strikes eleven and Jace and I help our mom clean up the mess that was created, while Ryan and Ava have already retired for the night a little bit earlier. 

"Alright you guys, I'm going to head upstairs too. Thank you for all of your help" mom says, placing a kiss on both Jace's and my cheek.

"Goodnight, Helen" Jace says, not bothered by close body contact anymore.

"Love you mom" I add, as she's already making her way upstairs. 

When she's out of sight, I hop onto the counter, dipping my finger into the leftover dessert before licking it off. Jace scoffs at me playfully. 

"What about me?" he says, positioning himself between my legs. 

I grin at him, dipping it in once again, and holding my finger out in front of his face. It quickly disappears in Jace's mouth. He takes his time, not only licking the mousse au chocolate off, but sucking on my finger gently. My insides starts to tingle right away.

"Ready to head upstairs too?" I ask him quietly, my cheeks already heating up slightly. 

Jace nods his head at me, and I jump off of the counter to pull him upstairs into my room with me. Before we reach the top, Jace quickly jogs back downstairs, probably having forgotten something in his jacket.

Once I close the door behind us, Jace presses me against it softly, leaving a tiny trail of kisses along my neck. 

"Do you know how much it took me not to bring you up here earlier, and rip that dress off of you?" he asks me with his rough voice.

My heart starts picking up its pace. "Why don't you do it know?" I say quietly, taking up all my courage to look him in the eyes.

"I could, but then I'd probably forget to give you this" Jace smirks at me, reaching into his back pocket to pull out a white envelope. "I didn't have time to wrap it" he adds, handing it over to me.

"You got a me a present?" I say with my heart melting, relieved that I in fact got something for him too. 

I take the envelope and sit down on my bed, as Jace follows soon after me.

"Open it" he says, wanting to see my reaction. 

Looking into his eyes one last time, I do as demanded. I open the flap slowly and my eyes grow wide at the pieces of paper I pull out of the envelope.

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