Chapter 181:

Ace sighed, as he walked towards the swimming pool, towel in hand, he had slept much less than he probably should have, considering it would be his second day in a row without sleeping. A new expansion had come out in a game he had recently gotten hooked into, and well…

Luckily, he looked as fresh as if he had slept for 8 hours, thank God, Ace had no idea of what would have happened if he looked as bad as a normal human would. His grandmother would most likely crush him, considering that they had a lunch meet-up with some friends that had come for a few days. They were apparently good friends of his grandmother, from her high school days, furthermore, they supposedly had two grandchildren his age. Well, that was a form of speech, Ace knew they had two grandchildren - twins, that were only two years older than him. Quite an annoying age, they were proportionally older than him, so they had much more time to accomplish him than he had, and yet, on paper, they were still at a point where that age could be compared on paper.

Normally, this would be annoying, but if his grandmother could be trusted - and in these things, she normally could, then there would be none of that cloak and dagger sh*t. The conversation would hopefully be a pleasant one, and if Samantha's expectations were to be proved right, then he would come out of it with two new friends.

Ace, of course, had done his due diligence, and had researched a 'bit' about the family, the two children especially, since he would most likely be in contact with them the most. The two were both the typical overachievers, good grades, extracurricular, etc… But most interesting was the boy, whilst the girl had certainly done more than a bit herself, mainly focused on beauty brands and modelling, he had gone a much different route.

He, along with a few other researchers, had developed a multitude of new theories on the different spatial components, and their effects of space worms, as a lead up to their effects on humans. His research on space and it's effect on human biology had astounded Ace, the fact that he was almost three times younger than his research partners made no effect on him, however, since he knew that a genius was a genius.

Ace looked forward to his conversation with him, and he would hopefully be all he was cracked up to be. As he dived into the cool water, he thought over all the notes he had gone over in the morning. Well, 'morning' was most likely a weird way of calling it, considering it was still eight in the morning.

He swam for a while, his strokes perfection, gliding through the water like an eel. The smooth motions carried him from one length of the pool to the other, a roll taking him the other way around. He was in the pool for about an hour, continuous swimming in a variety of styles, stretching his muscles for optimum comfort. It felt heavenly, with his perception, he was aware of every part of his body as it moved and to him, it was a feeling that was still surreal.

Even after years, certain things he was now able to do, astounded him…

***

"So, are we ready?", Samantha asked looking at both Ace and his sister up and down. Ace was wearing some slim chinos and a formal white, linen shirt, with rolled-up sleeves and some sneakers. He also had the black watch his grandmother had gifted him on his left wrist, his right adorned with a variety of bracelets and bands. All in all, he looked quite dashing in his semi-formal wear.

His sister was wearing a summer dress with some light heels that amplified her legs, it fit her perfectly, and the light orange colour complemented her complexion quite beautifully.

As for Samantha, a white pantsuit and heels, with a pendant and some silver bracelets. A simple attire, that seemed comfortable, as well as appropriate, furthermore, it added to her aura of stillness and ever-present power, the plain white with the silver accents of her outfit, drawing the eyes of others.

They made their way to the restaurant, where they saw the family arriving at the same time, Ace laughed internally, 'It's still twenty minutes early, but I guess this is why they were friends.'

The family of four walked up to them, since they were already at the doors of the restaurant, the adults with smiles on their faces.

Both the man and the woman seemed his grandmother's age, and yet, it was hard for Ace to tell why, until he could, he realised that all three had an ageless quality to them, their eyes exuding a sense of… something, that was simply not usually present on people their age. The man was tall and fit, he lacked the beer gut most people had, and had the shoulders of a swimmer or a sailor, Ace knew the man partook in both activities. He was smiling, and as expected, he had perfect, pearly teeth.

The woman, was also fit, and clearly took great care of her body and skin, she was wearing a long summer dress, that almost had a phantasmic quality to it, almost making her seem as if she was hovering over the floor, with the array and myriad of colours that superposed each other. She also smiled at Samantha, and even more so when she saw both Ace and his sister.

She went for a hug, and Smantha returned it in kind, before doing so with the man as well. They went in to the restaurant, led by the maitre, to the best table in the house, one that fully faced the bay, and the shimmering rays of sun and the mystical colours they reproduced when they bounced off the water at this time of the day.

The adults were already talking to each other, and whilst the children were not interacting, the girl quickly whispered to the boy, "Wow", she leaned in slightly, so that they would not hear, but little did she know… "He is just like she described, and his sister as well…", she then caught his appraising eye, and blushed lightly, even if she held his gaze - something Ace found to be quite commendable.

Suddenly, she had the feeling she had been caught, even if it was impossible for him to hear them, and a slight shiver travelled throughout her body.

'Well, that's something you do not see every day.', Ace thought, as he looked at the girl, both her and his brother were lookers, but she was simply a breath of fresh air.

Ace was used to seeing pretty faces, extensive breeding will do that, but she was something much different to most people he knew, whilst they had a 'perfect' beauty to them, she was…. 'human'. Ace could spot slight irregularities, her slightly longer left canine, something she was most likely not even aware of, and the tiny mole that grazed her left cheek.

These things were actually not a disrupting to a perfect face, but simply enhanced it, more so once it was complemented with her whole silhouette. They made her seem more approachable, whilst others may be goddesses, she was the perfect depiction of a human female. Of course, that did not mean that she was lacking in comparison to others, in fact, Ace would wager that to most people, she would probably be selected over others, do to her kind and seemingly approachable face.

Ace took this all in a second, maintaining eye contact for a slightly longer period of time, but to the awestruck girl, it seemed like ages, and when she was finally shook away from her reverie, it was because one of the waiters had politely asked her to sit, before moving the chair backwards so she could do so comfortably.