Wingless Book Series (book 1)

by Holly Hood

  I was also flattered. He was a good looking guy. Oh what was I saying. I was putting my cart before the horse. He may have just been trying to be friendly, I didn’t know.

  “To see me? Why would you want to see me?”

  “You’re interesting to talk to, you amuse me, and you’re attractive,” he rattled off the compliments as he went about his business. I was stunned that he was being so honest.

  “Well, thanks, I think.”

  “You think? What does that even mean?” He was smiling as he headed back up to the roof.

  He tossed his shirt down. It barely missed my head.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Are you unable to accept compliments or something? Because that’s what it was. Or do I repulse you?”

  I stared at his body. Clearly nothing about a guy with such a fit physique was repulsing. And he was extremely good looking. He had amazing blue eyes and messy hair. Awesome lips. I could go on and on.

  “No I don’t think that,” I stumbled for words; I didn’t want to sound like a moron.

  “What do you think?” he asked as he worked.

  “I think you seem nice, a little mysterious, and you’re definitely not repulsive,” I laughed.

  “Come out with me sometime. We can hang out, talk some more. Maybe I can pick at your brain and find out what really is going on in there.”

  I was thrilled.

  “Yeah,” I said, watching him as he moved quickly from one end to the other on the roof. His body glistened in the sun from sweating. My dad came out onto the porch with his paper; he sat down next to me.

  “What we got going on here?” he asked, nearly sitting on me. I moved over in disgust. He always had a way of ruining the mood.

  “Nothing much, just sitting outside.” I scratched a mosquito bite on my leg. “Trying to enjoy the nice weather.”

  “You should really get out some,” he said, opening his paper, elbowing me in the side as he read. If I could think of one thing my dad wasn’t, it was subtle.

  When it came to us children, he was overpowering in everything he said and did. I scooted over, sneaking a peek at Ace on the roof. He stood up surveying his work, then hopped down. My dad tossed the paper on the steps and stood up as Ace came walking up, wiping his head on his shirt.

  “All set?” my dad asked.

  “Oh yeah, got all of it patched. It really wasn’t as bad as we thought. You should be good for quite some time now.”

  I couldn’t keep my mind off of his invitation. Or his rippling muscles. Or how he had that little happy trail that most guys had. I was starting to think I had gone crazy considering the amount of energy I was using thinking about him.

  It was a sudden interest. I wanted to know everything about him; I was drawn to his whole being. Ace looked at me as my dad went on chattering. He gave a small grin as if he knew what I was thinking. I darted my eyes away looking out into the woods by the house.

  My dad turned looking at me as well. He stared at me funny and then back at Ace. I think he was getting the vibe there was something going on.

  “Well, thank you once again Ace. I hope this is enough for a job well done.” He handed him some cash then headed up the porch steps and into the house, the door making a soft screech as it thudded shut.

  Ace gathered his things from the ground. “When would be a good time for you to come hang out?” he asked me, throwing his shirt over his shoulder.

  “Whenever,” I shrugged.

  “How about now then?”

  “Now? Uh, okay, where’re we going?” I hopped up from the porch steps dusting my pants off.

  He headed to a black pick up, all nice and shiny and new looking. I was impressed that he drove such a nice vehicle; it fit his personality: powerful, looming, and mysterious. He opened his door hopping in and popped mine open from the inside.

  He wasn’t much of a gentleman but that didn’t bother me at all- I wasn’t for all the mushy emotional behavior.

  “I want to head back to my place and get changed if you don’t mind waiting,” he asked, barreling out of the driveway.

  I wasn’t too worried if my dad saw me leave; he probably had his nose in his paper anyway.

  “Sounds good.”

  Pulling up to his house, I noticed that the house was nothing like I expected it to be. It was a rather large new age type home- one of those retro chic styled homes with skylights and a landscaped lawn. As I walked up I noticed how well maintained the lawn was, how clean the windows were, and how it didn’t look like a younger guy could possibly live there.

  “Is this really your house?” I asked as he unlocked the door.

  “Uh yeah,” he said, letting me walk into the foyer first.

  The foyer was well lit with one small table against the wall. The wall held two pictures -more art than anything, really- black and red streaks of paint with gold flecks throughout. Abstract. It all matched and seemed very well coordinated. I gazed at them wanting to touch them, to see what they felt like, but I almost felt like I was in a museum and shouldn’t.

  Ace set his keys on the table heading out of the foyer and into a room that opened into a great room with an open floor plan, the living room, kitchen, and dining room all rolled into one but still separated by their different styles. The vaulted ceiling was so tall and slanted there was no way you were ever touching it unless you had a tall ladder.

  “This is really nice; I haven’t seen anything like this before,” I said, my eyes wandering from one thing to another.

  Ace nodded his head turning on a lamp next to the couch. It was all white leather, sleek with a curvy back. A clear glass table rested on a huge area rug with black and white circles and squares all over it. Everything was so neat and clean and orderly.

  “Do you live here alone?”

  “I have a roommate.” He hurried off into a room that was across the way.

  I didn’t know what to do so I just sat at the very edge of the couch. I was afraid to get it dirty.

  This was so insightful as to what kind of person he could be: a young guy with a completely neat, nice home. It wasn’t a trashy sports filled frat type house. And it looked very expensive. Where would he get the money for such a nice place when he was in college? There was a great deal to find out about him. And judging from the bare walls that only sported artwork, I wasn’t getting the vibe he was close to his family or that he even liked having pictures of loved ones up on his walls. It didn’t seem like he liked clutter, either. There was nothing lying out that didn’t have its place, and there was no clutter. My bedroom was chaotic like my life.

  I noticed a small leather book tucked underneath the table. It sparked my curiosity. Why was it there, what did it say? I slipped it out looking up to make sure Ace wasn’t coming before cracking it open. There wasn’t that much writing, just a few sentences.

  It said, “I have once given up. I thought I would be done with it all and just move on, until this happened, I don’t know what to do, can’t let it be.” I turned the page, it said, “I don’t have it in me to just give in anymore, I’m confused.” I ran my fingers down to the bottom of the page. “What is normal?” it asked. The paper screamed something by the way the writing was scrawled; I touched the words. What is normal?

  It pained my heart. If this was Ace who wrote this it was quite alarming to think he had all this going on in his mind, and why?

  “Definitely mysterious,” I muttered to myself.

  Ace walked out clean and his hair damp. He toweled his head as he came toward me. I panicked letting the book fall to the floor. I kicked it away from me with my foot. Ace didn’t seem to notice, he sat down next to me; the smell of cologne filling my nose. He smelled amazing and clean.

  “I thought we could get something to eat, I’m starving.”

  “Okay,” I said, but was still thinking about what I had just read.

  “Everything alright?” he asked, looking a little puzzled.

  “Ace, are you okay?”
I asked him, touching his arm. “Do you need to talk about anything?” I sighed, feeling him tense up.

  “Did I do something?”

  “No, you just seem like you have a lot on your mind, and I want you to know you can talk to me. I’m a good listener.”

  “I’m fine, I assure you,” he said, eyeing me suspiciously.

  “What?” I asked him nervously.

  “Where did this come from?” He was silent, then leaned over, reaching under the table and picking up the book reached under and picked up the book. I cringed. He was too smart.

  “Oh, okay, I get it now. You think I’m depressed or something.” He opened the book staring at the pages. His faces calm no change in it that I noticed.

  “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have read it. I-“

  “Don’t worry about it. You never write out your thoughts or vent on paper? That’s all it was, venting. I’m fine.” He tossed it on the floor and grabbed my hand, pulling me off the couch. “Are we ready?”

  “Yeah of course.” I smiled at him as he pulled me firmly along behind him. He seemed excited to be going out; I wasn’t sure what he had up his sleeve.

  The drive seemed to take forever. We chatted about everything. The only thing he never touched on was his family or past. Mostly, I did all the talking, telling him what I liked and what I didn’t, what my favorite music was, how I became such a free spirit. All the need to know items. And I didn’t mind speaking about myself at all.

  He made me comfortable. He listened without judging anything I said and every so often, he would grin at me with a huge smile. He was almost amazing. I was starting to truly enjoy this Ace: the fun, laidback, attentive one. He wasn’t his mysterious self as we drove to wherever we were going. He never said where exactly it was.

  He finally parked the car in a darkened parking lot. A small restaurant sat in the distance- a place I didn’t remember seeing in all the years I lived in the small town.

  This time he opened my door. I gave a goofy grin at his politeness. He took my hand helping me out of the car, the wind blowing my hair. It was starting to get chilly.

  “Shall we?” he asked me, letting me go ahead of him. The doorman opened the door, greeting us politely before we entered the restaurant.

  Chapter 5

  Mean it

  “I’m stuffed thank you so much,” I said as we headed through the parking lot, the food was amazing and his company was even better.

  “You’re the first girl I have met that actually ate more than a salad.”

  “Oh really, how many girls have you met?” I poked him in the side. He grabbed my arm to keep me from poking him. “Are you ticklish?” I laughed, getting caught up in the moment.

  I got free poking, some more. Ace jerked away, grabbing both my hands. This time he walked me backwards to his truck and then released me with an amused grin.

  “So this time I want you to tell me about you on the way home.” I tapped my hands on his dashboard. I was amped up after all the talk and getting to know him, when I liked someone my mood lifted and my dark cloud always disappeared , it was just the same as with Vanessa.

  “Oh, were not going home,” he said, turning into the neighborhood park.

  I watched as we passed the sign that said after dark no one should enter. Ace apparently did not mind that we were trespassing, so I didn’t either. Most people wouldn’t come to the park this late for fear of something dangerous happening, vandals or thugs roaming around, but with Ace, I had no fear.

  We started walking along the bike path, you could barely see anything, and it was sort of calming. The only sound you heard was the crickets and the dogs barking in the distance.

  “Okay, so tell me about your family,” I said, watching our feet move in unison.

  “What about them?”

  “What are they like?”

  “Like a family. I guess it’s hard to explain when you’re not really related.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry.”

  “It’s alright. You don’t know unless you ask.” He slowed his walk and then found a spot in the grass, throwing down a blanket he had been carrying.

  He sat down, looking up at me. I could barely make out his face in the soft light.

  “I can’t see you!” I yelled jokingly, touching his face, my fingertips grazing the top of his head.

  “Shush before you get us caught,” he whispered, grabbing my arm and pulling me down.

  I sat, pulling my knees up to my chest.

  “Are you cold?”

  “A little, I just got this t-shirt on. I didn’t know we were coming here.”

  He pulled his pullover off handing it to me in an instant, which left him in just his t-shirt.

  “No more questions for me, huh?”

  I had tons of questions, but with the answer from the last, I was afraid to ask anymore.

  “I’m not sure what to ask you, you seem so close to the vest on certain things.”

  “Depends on who is asking, but ask me anything I’ll be honest with you. You are honest with me.”

  “How do you know I am?”

  “I know.”

  “You know, one can never know everything.”

  “What if I was to say I could?” he asked me, leaning back on the blanket.

  I stared at his shadowy figure with curiosity at his strange comment.

  “If you said you could, I would tell you to play the lotto for me,” I laughed.

  “That’s not what you would want to know.”

  “I really don’t know what I would want to know.” I never had to ponder it, but now that I was, I didn’t know what one person would want to know. Knowing some things could ruin your life.

  “You think of anything?”

  “I don’t think it’s worth knowing. And I think you’re being a little strange,” I told him, lying back. I stared up at the stars, hundreds of them sparkled back.

  “Yeah, yeah,” he said, lying back as well; he tucked his hands behind his head.

  “If you think you know everything, tell me what I’m thinking right now,” I said as his hand brushed mine. I didn’t flinch it was a calming touch.

  “You’re thinking you’re having a good time, and what it would be like to kiss the hot guy next to you,” he laughed, amused with his witty comment.

  I rolled my eyes knowing I was the only one who knew what I was honestly thinking.

  “I am having a good time,” I said, feeling a bit nervous. Now that he’d planted the idea in my head, my body was starting to get rigid and awkward.

  “I’m having a good time too; honestly, I love your company,” he said.

  I felt his finger trail down my arm. We sat in silence as his fingers repeated the motion. I closed my eyes; the silence was so relaxing, the breeze blowing calmly over us. I was starting to get overly tense. Ace grabbed my hand, squeezing it. I shot up like a bat out of hell, it was too much, my stomach had butterflies to the point I felt like I had restless leg syndrome in all my extremities.

  “What is wrong? You scared the crap out of me. I thought someone was here,” he said, sitting up himself.

  I’d probably ruined the mood. This guy must think I am crazy, I thought to myself.

  “No, I don’t,” Ace said.

  I turned to look at him in alarm. I knew I didn’t say that out loud.

  “Huh?”

  “I don’t think you’re crazy. I’m honestly feeling pretty crazy myself right now. “Goosebumps literally rose on my arms inside the hooded sweatshirt.

  “Okay, now you’re freaking me out,” I said, smacking him in the chest.

  “What? Just call me intuitive. For some reason, I just get you.” He touched my alarmed face. “I’m not psychic. I just figured that would be what was going on in your mind.”

  I was still speechless. It was a strange thing. How often had I met anyone who knew what I was thinking or feeling? That never was something I could say about anyone I knew, even Nessa.

  “I’m fine. It�
�s just …..It’s so crazy, in a good way…I don’t know-“

  Ace’s face collided with mine in the dark. I pulled back, startled, then realized what was going on. He was trying to kiss me. I brought my face in, finding his lips. He grabbed the back of my head in his hand, grabbing my hair as he kissed me.