by Alexa Reign
“What'd you order?”
“2 extra-large pizzas with everything on it.” I tossed my wallet aside and joined him on the sofa. “Good thing you came along. Now I'll look like less of a fatass when the delivery guy does show up.”
Ace grinned, looking around him.
“Where's uh, Rosaline?”
“At Bianca's, or so Grandma says,” I informed him, shrugging. “Packed a couple of bags, so she might be gone for a while.”
“Ah, okay.”
“So. How've you been?”
“I'm alright.” Ace folded his hands and hung them between his lap. “Haven't had a drink in 4 days, so –”
“4 days?” I twisted around in my seat, beaming at him. “That's gr –”
“Listen, Victoria. We need to talk.”
“Yeah?” I pulled off my bandana and raked my fingers through my hair. “What's up?”
“5 days ago,” Ace started. He took a deep breath before looking up at me. “I was fucked up on some shit I should've never been fucking with, and I was drunk off my ass.”
“Okay.” My forehead wrinkled. “Bravo?”
“Rosaline – she knocked on my door.”
“Rosaline?” My fingers slowly curled in. “What? Why – I'm sorry, go on.”
“Listen, I know this is no excuse, but I was really out of it –”
Oh, no. This couldn't be good. I held my breath, bracing myself.
“She kissed me. I kissed her back, but I stopped it before things could go any further.”
I breathed out, my shoulders relaxing. It wasn't great, but it could have been worse. But the relief was short-lived.
“But why – how could you have –”
I could almost hear the click as things fell into place, but I didn't want it to.
“I'm going to be honest here.”
“Okay.”
“That shit was real potent, and like I said, I was out of it. I thought – I thought it was Brooklyn.”
“I see.”
When I heard her name, it stung. It really did. But as I gazed back at him, I knew I couldn't be mad at him. He was gazing steadily into my eyes, holding his eye contact longer than he had ever held it before. This was how he felt – how could I fault him for that?
And that was why it stung.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“What?” Ace looked back at me, frowning. “I – I don't know. I just – I just thought you'd like to know.”
“Well, thanks for telling me.” I lifted one leg onto the sofa and sat on it. “And I appreciate you not going through with it.”
“I wouldn't want to, anyway,” said Ace hurriedly, moving closer to me. He reached over, looking like he was about to place his hand over mine, but decided against it. “I fucked up. If it means anything, I guess that was the wake-up call I needed. Flushed the rest of that shit down the toilet, and I haven't had a drink since. I'm sorry, Victoria. I really am.”
“Don't be sorry,” I replied stiffly, rolling my bandana around my finger. “It's not like we're dating, or anything. And honestly, I didn't think Rosaline had that in her, but then again, she's been having a – shall we say – rough time. I'll explain later.”
“Right.”
We sat through another bout of tense silence. We looked down at our laps, filling the lack of conversation with unnecessary coughs. I finally stopped clawing against the sofa cushion, looking up at him.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Yeah.”
“What are we, exactly?”
“I don't know.” Ace reached over again, but this time, he took my hand. I could feel the soft thumping of his pulse against my palm. “I like you, Victoria. I want you. I want to be with you.”
“I like you, too,” I said softly, my heart fluttering.
“I just –” Ace squeezed my hand. His strong, calloused fingers felt so tough around mine. “I want this to be fair for you. Don't get me wrong – I'm still fucked up and I know the journey's gonna be a bitch, but I want to be better. I need to be. For you, and for me.”
He weaved his fingers through mine, his voice going hoarse.
“As for Brooklyn. I wanted to be real with you. I've let her go, at least – I thought I did. I don't know what's been going on –”
“It's okay. She was your world – I get it. I'm not trying to take her place.”
“I know. And I don't want you to.”
“Listen, I like this. I like what we've got going on. Besides, I've never cared for labels, anyway. I just need to know we're on the same page.”
I leaned in closer to him, pressing my forehead against his.
“It's okay. We'll get there.”
His eyes looked even prettier up close. He slid his hand under my chin, his lips finding mine. And then we kissed. There was no tongue, just the sensual, fluid dancing of our lips, caressing each other. Tasting each other. Feeling each other without a word ever slipping out of our mouths...
And like all beautiful things, it came to an end. When our lips finally disconnected, Ace relaxed against the back of the sofa, slipping his arm around me. I curled up against him, laying my head against his shoulder.
“I met your Mom, by the way. Cool lady.”
“What? When?”
“Long story.” He chuckled, kissing me on the forehead. “I'll tell you later.”
Epilogue
2 YEARS LATER
“Hey, Mister. Who are you here to see?”
I peered over my shoulder. A kid with spiky hair and an oversized Adventure Time shirt stood behind me. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, staring back at me expectantly with his curious round eyes. I pushed myself off the grass and brushed the dirt off my knees.
“I'm here to see someone I once loved very, very much.”
“Oh.” The kid kicked around the rock in front of him, but was soon distracted by a passing yellow butterfly. He started swatting at it, running circles around me. “I'm here to see my Grandpops. But I don't really know him.”
“Ah. I see. Well, that's nice of you to come out here on a Saturday, just to see him. I'm sure he'll appreciate that.”
“I guess so.” Thankfully, the kid finally lost interest in the butterfly. He turned his attention to the leaf clinging to the velcro of his shoes. “I'm here with my Mom and Dad. What about you?”
“I'm here with my special lady friend.”
“Oh.” The kid thought about it for a while, his nose wrinkling in realization. “Ee-ww, you mean like a girlfriend?”
“Yeah, like a girlfriend.” I grinned, pointing her out. “That's her.”
Victoria waved at us from across the field. She pulled off her helmet and walked uphill to join us, her flowing dark hair blowing back in the breeze. The kid whirled around, his jaw dropping.
“Wow. She's pretty,” the kid remarked, nodding wisely. “You're lucky. Girls are gross.”
“Tell me about it.”
“I –”
“Leo! What are you doing over there, boy?” A man in a blue Rangers cap hollered out 4 rows down, waving him over. “Quit bothering that man and get your butt over here!”
“Okay, Dad – coming!” The kid turned back, looking to face me. “Bye, Mister!”
“Take it easy, kid.”
I bumped fists with him and watched him haul ass back to his father.
“I thought you said you were terrible with kids.”
Victoria's arms swooped around my waist, hugging me from behind. She stood on her tip-toes and kissed me on the cheek. I could smell the fresh grass and wind in her hair and the earthy leather of her jacket.
“Hey.”
“Hey, back.”
I bent over and lay the red dahlias in front of the grave.
“Tabitha just called,” said Victoria, wreathing a string of white paper cranes around the headstone. “They're all on their way. Ma says she'll try to drop by, too. I think Hardwick and his wife are bringing all the birthday decorations, and Tabitha
ordered this delicious 3-tier butterscotch cake from this bakery down in New Jersey.”
“Awesome. From Aunt Rhonda's?”
“Yep! And I can't wait to see Cailie – I can't believe she's graduating high school next month!” said Victoria, sighing wistfully. “I mean, it would be nice to see Rosaline, too, but I don't know if Cailie's ever gonna be ready for that. At least Rosaline's doing well in Paris – Grandma says she's just started her internship at YSL, so she's got that going for her.”
“If I've learned anything, you just gotta give these things some time. They'll get there.”
“Look at you, Mr. Philosophical.” Victoria laughed, jabbing me with her shoulder. “And just so you know, this celebration of life party for Brooklyn is a beautiful idea. She would have loved it.”
“Thanks. I know.”
“So. You ready to go?”
“Yup. Let's do it.”
I picked up my helmet and took Victoria's hand. We made our way out the cemetery and boarded our motorcycles. Eager as she was, she revved up her Suzuki cruiser and sped off without me. Grinning, I slipped on my helmet and started up my bike, catching up with her.
We drove alongside each other, our bikes rolling down the empty open road. Maybe it was just the tint of my visors, but that setting sun in front of me was breathtaking. And maybe it was just the adrenaline from the burning rubber, but as that sun hit my face, I could feel it.
This road was far from over.
Thank you very much for reading my book. If you enjoyed it, please take a few seconds to leave a review on amazon. I will be grateful and will have the opportunity to write more and more new stories for you :) xoxo
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