Ace's Wild (12 page)

    I take a deep breath and blurt out, “Emma is pregnant.” Sara’s mouth is agape and not a single noise comes out of her mouth. I’m not even sure she’s breathing.

    “Like, really pregnant. I’m no gyno, but I’d guess six or seven months.”

    Sara plops down onto the couch and finally snaps her mouth shut. From the look on Nate’s face I take it that he knows the backstory with my dad and Emma. Which I’m okay with because it means less explaining for me to do.

    I’m surprisingly calm through the retelling of the story. Sara’s face is bunched into a confused scowl.

    “This is all kinds of weird. I mean, isn’t it?” Sara asks. “Ick! I just got a visual. What young girl would want old man di-“ Her hand flies to her mouth. “Sorry!”

    I grimace. Although I’m thoroughly grossed out, I’m not mad at Sara in the least. If she didn’t say something inappropriate I’d be worried.

    “It’s fine. Just keep the visuals to yourself please.”

***

    No one brings up my dad or Emma again, and I’m thankful.

    We spend the day watching low budget movies on Netflix and ordering food from one of the only places in town that’s open on a holiday. Which just so happens to be my favorite Chinese food restaurant.

    I didn’t bring any of my belongings with me and without my cell phone I’m basically in the dark about how things are going at my mom’s house. She invited them so she can deal with them. I did feel a little bad about reacting the way I did in front of Lucas. He didn’t need to see that, but I was seeing red and wasn’t paying much attention to what was going on.

     At some point during our crappy movie marathon I fall asleep. I wake to being picked up by Ace. He takes me to his room and gently lays me on the bed. He pulls the covers over me, places a kiss on my forehead, and quietly walks to exit the room.

    “Where are you going?” I ask groggily.

    “I’m going to sleep in the guest room.”

    “No, please don’t,” I say quickly. “Sleep with me.”

     Ace shuts the door and saunters over to the bed with a devilish smirk on his face, “My pleasure.”

    My cheeks heat, and I bring the blanket over my face, “You know what I mean.”

    “I do, love. Don’t worry I’ll keep my hands to myself.”

    I scoot myself back and open the blankets for Ace to get in. As soon as we had gotten back to Nate’s earlier he changed into gym shorts and a black undershirt that make his muscles look drool worthy. His inked skin only makes my craving for him worse.

    Ace settles next to me, we are both on our sides facing each other. The room is lit only by the faint light that the moon casts through the open window shades. Ace brings his hand up to my face and clears the stray piece of hair that was on my cheek. His finger begins to caress down my jawline and stop at my neck.

    “I’ve already seemed to break my promise about keeping my hands to myself.” A smile crosses his face. “You’re an evil temptress,” he jokes.

     My cheeks burn from the depth of my smile. “Ha! Far from it actually, unless you think crying like a psychopath is tempting.”

    “Psychopaths can’t cry. It’s impossible, I heard they’re born without tear ducts.” I laugh at the absurdity of his statement. His smile deepens. “What?”

    “You totally just made that up.”

    “Did not.”

    “Did too.”

    “Well, it sounds true so I’m going to stick by it.” His face suddenly becomes serious. His hand is still touching my neck sending shockwaves throughout my body. He begins tracing imaginary paths along my neck from my ear to my shoulder and then back again as I close my eyes and bask in the torturous pleasure.

    I want to take things further, I want to show him exactly how he makes me feel, but I stop myself. I completely chicken out because I don’t want to ruin this, I don’t want him to leave. For that reason, I stop myself from touching him.

    He leans in and whispers into my ear, “I can stop if you want me to.” My chest automatically lifts and brushes against his as if invisible strings attached our hearts together and his words were the vice tightening us closer together.

    When it comes to Ace my body isn’t my own.
My intentions are always forgotten, and I get lost in him with only one touch. My mind is at war with my body, and my body is winning. I do want this, I want it with every fiber of my being, I just need to know that he won’t run because that would demolish me.

    I open my eyes, and he’s only a breath away. “Promise me something?” I ask softly.

    “Anything” he replies.

    “If you ever have an issue with us please just tell me. Don’t run.” I talk slowly in order to keep my voice from trembling, but my attempt falls flat and by the end I’m working hard just to keep my tears at bay. I’ve never been such an emotional person but I’ve also never allowed myself to ever get so close to anyone before. I’ve connected with men physically, but it never had that spark emotionally. With Ace it was more than a spark, it was a fire that started deep within and began overtaking me little by little. A wildfire of feelings and desire.

    He cups my face in his hands then places a kiss on the tip of my nose. “Melody, I will never run away from you, it will always be toward you. I promise.” His words are filled with such conviction that I don’t doubt him in the least.

    At his words the tension my body was carrying vanishes, and I’m only left with a need that only Ace can supply.

    I mold the front of my body to the front of his, my effect on him is evident. He slides his hands down to my hips and rolls us over so that I’m lying on my back. I wrap my legs around his waist, while my hands trail down his torso. I find the hem of his shirt and lift it over his head. He obliges with a sexy grin spread across his face.

    I take in all of his inked skin and muscled glory. I want to study every single tattoo that marks his body, but right now isn’t the time for that. My hand caresses up his arm, once it lands on his neck I pull his face toward mine. Our lips collide and an explosion of sensations take over.

    I no longer care about all of the issues I have outside of this moment, my only care right now is getting our bodies as close as they can be. I want to meld myself to him so that our souls touch and our bodies explode.

    My hands are feeling their way around Ace’s muscles. Sliding up his perfectly carved arms then to his shoulders and down his sculpted back. I play with his waist band of his gym shorts. I start at his back and make my way to his hips. The closer I get to his front the deeper and more urgent our kiss becomes. I know the path we’re going down, and I’m eager to keep going.

    Ace breaks away, his breathing is labored and his eyebrows are scrunched into an expression of concern. “Are you sure about this?”

    His worry for me pulls at my heart strings, “It’s the only thing in my life that I am sure about.” I smile at him. “Now, kiss me like I’m your lifeline.”

    A panty melting grin appears on his face. “I was already planning on it, love.”

    Suddenly it’s no holds barred. The flood gates to our hunger have finally been released and neither of us are holding back. We’re peeling off each other’s clothes like they’re the only things separating us from divine bliss.

    In which case, is true.

    Once we’re completely bare we take pause and devour each other with our eyes. I take in every inch of him and I feel his gaze on my every curve.

    I’ve never been completely comfortable in my own skin, but the hunger that is shining in Ace’s eyes makes me feel as though I’m the most beautiful he’s ever seen.

    He sucks in a deep breath and steps toward me quickly closing the distance between us. Both of his hands grip onto my hips and his lips begin their climb from my neck up to my lips.

    Heat radiates from my core. I begin pressing my knees together to quench it. Ace lifts me by my hips. I wrap my arms around his neck and lock my legs around his hips. I feel his length at my entrance, and I let out a whimper. He walks us to the nearest wall, presses my back to it, and then bangs his length into my core.

    I dig my fingernails into his back and a low growl rises from Ace’s throat. He greedily begins to devour my lips.

    We’re moving at a quick pace trying to get to the release we both crave. My insides feel like the fourth of July. The fireworks that are erupting are a feeling I’ve never felt before. I’ve had orgasms but these sparks leading up to it is new territory for me and my body and soul are enslaved to every pump of Ace’s hips.

      I feel the tingling deep within from the tips of my fingers to the tips of my toes, and I know the feeling that’s coming will be the most powerful sexual experience of my life thus far.

    Ace’s body begins jerking, and I know that he’s on the same wave as me. With one hard deep pump he stills and we both melt into a pile of moans and groans. I feel so satiated that I want to cry from the aftereffects of the most beautiful release of my life.

    Ace gently walks us to the bed. He wraps us in the covers and brings my back to his front where we fall asleep in each other’s arms.

***

    I wake to my face being peppered with kisses. I smile and stretch my arms. I then wrap them around Ace’s mid-section and pull him to me. We’re both laying on our sides so I bury my face in his neck and inhale the oh-so-hot Ace Caplin smell. I wish I could bottle it up and smell it whenever I wanted, it’s that amazing.

    I run my fingers up and down his back drawing invisible swirls. He gently leans his chin on the top of my head. “Come with me to Vegas.”

    These last few days I had been dreading his Las Vegas trip, especially after last night. My excuse before was that I didn’t want to miss any classes because finals are so close. Totally true by the way, but I was also still hesitant. After how things progressed last night, I’m more than happy to go on a little trip.

    “Okay.”

    He abruptly but softly pushes me away from him and with a mask of disbelief on his face he questions my answer, “Okay?”

    “Yeah, it’ll be fun.” I laugh at his expression.

    “Well, that was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be.” A smile spreads across his face before he pushes me on my back and has his way with me yet again.

Chapter 11

Ace

    Las Vegas was amazing, there’s no other way to describe it. Melody was able to make the town that was once my black hole into a place of enjoyment, and we didn’t even step foot on The Strip.

    We spent the weekend packing boxes and christening every surface with our lovemaking. Even though I was selling the house, it was nice to leave it with positive memories.

     I didn’t have many memories in that house anyways. It was just a place to stay while I wasn’t on tour. It was mainly used as a recovery space after partying too hard. I didn’t like bringing people over to my place because it felt too personal, I didn’t live there to make friends. I lived there because it was convenient for my habit.

    I was pleasantly surprised when Mel agreed to come. I thought once we went to her house to pack her things she would change her mind, but she
never did. She filled her mom in on the basic information for our trip, but she was short with her. I did feel a little bad for Anne but her blindsiding Mel was wrong.

    We took an afternoon flight, and we lucked out because there was still a seat available for Mel. I bribed a few people so we could sit next to each other. The flight was short but oddly our stay seemed even shorter. We got there Friday evening and left Sunday morning. The house was only a 3 bedroom house and most of my things were still in boxes. I never made this place completely mine, because it didn’t feel like a home.

    We drove the moving truck back to Vacaville with my car in tow. I had originally planned on leaving Tuesday but with Melody’s help we finished quickly, and she’d make it back before her classes were back in session.

    We got in late Sunday evening, and she stayed the night at my new house. It felt so right having her by my side these last few days. I had been so close to telling her exactly how she made me feel, but I’d always back out. I didn’t want her to clam up like she’s done in the past. I need to get her in a position where she has to face what I’m telling her.

        “Hey babe, where do you want me to put these?” Melody says as she walks in with a milk crate full of my old records. It’s Monday morning, and she has school in a few hours, but she insisted on helping me unpack before she left.

    I raise my eyebrows in question at her
affectionate nickname for me. Until this moment she has only called me Ace so I’m basking in the afterglow that her new term of endearment has caused. Plus she looks extremely sexy right now, her hair falling in natural waves down her shoulders. She’s wearing her typical band t-shirt, jeans, and Chucks. I’m pretty sure the girl could wear a paper bag and make it look hot as hell.

    I stand from where I was sitting unpacking boxes in my new room. I saunter over to her with a grin on my face and dirty thoughts on my mind. I grab the crate from her hands and set it down at the foot of my bed. I turn back to her and see the realization form on her face. Her cheeks turn a deep shade of red before I grab the back of her neck with one hand and I snake the other around her back and crash her front to mine. Our tongues begin their familiar dance. It starts slow but rather than speeding up this time, it turns deeper. I walk backwards to the bed and don’t let Mel part from my body even a little bit.

    Up until this point in our love making, it has had a trace of desperation. This time we are more familiar with each other’s bodies so we take our time.

     I fall to the bed and bring Mel to sit on top of me. We begin to pull our clothes off. For every piece of clothing I take off of her I leave a trail of heated kisses behind. She rewards me with each moan that escapes her mouth and every rotation of her center on top of mine.

    I remind myself that this time around I want to show her exactly what she does to me. I flip her over so that she’s now lying below me. Our lips never break. The only thing left between us are her panties and my boxers. I brush my lips across Mel’s one more time before I begin trailing my tongue down her neck. While taking my time on her at the crevice between her neck and shoulder, I hook my finger into the waistband of her panties to begin peeling them off.

    I sit back on my heels. As soon as I part Melody lets out a small whimper. I finish taking off her panties then take my boxers off. I resume my position on top of her and get another taste of her lips while I sink into her.

    A moan erupts from both of us as we begin moving together.

    With Mel this has never
just
been sex or
just
an attraction. It’s always been more. I’ve always felt an underlying pull to her that I’ve never had with anyone else. She’s it for me. I’ve finally found the person I can give my all to without an ounce of trepidation.

    After an immeasurable amount of time Melody finds her release with mine following suit. Her legs are locked around my waist, and she’s slowly raking her fingers up and down my back in an extremely affectionate gesture. I kiss the tip of her nose and whisper sweet nothings into her ear before gently pulling out of her and laying onto the bed. I immediately pull her toward me so that we are now
laying on our sides face to face only a couple of inches separating us. I find her hand to interlace our fingers and bring it up to my mouth. I lay soft kisses on each knuckle.

    She lets out an exhale of breath while looking at me with a sad smile etched on her face.

    I kiss the corner of Mel’s mouth. “What’s wrong?” I ask.

    She slowly inhales before answering, “I just don’t want to face reality. I want to stay here and pretend nothing else exists.”

    “Let’s do it. We’ll order in every night and become hermits. We won’t even get out of bed.” I joke with her. Well halfway joke because, let’s face it, that would be pretty awesome.

    She shakes her head. “As amazing as that sounds, I have to finish this semester. I can’t miss finals.”

    I nod my head in agreement.

    We sit in a comfortable silence. Mel begins tracing the outlines of my tattoos with her fingers. She starts at my hands. “When did you get this?” She swipes her fingers along the tattoos on my knuckles. A letter at each finger on both hands spells out “Ace’s Wild”.

    I don’t hesitate in my answer because I will never be anything but honest with her. “I got it right after Spades made it big. I guess you can say it was my drug-induced alter ego. Back then I was always on something so I was pretty much always
Ace’s Wild
.”

    She appears to be deep in thought for a moment
and then she brings her lips to each of my knuckles laying soft kisses on them. Once she’s done she’s at eye level with me again.

    I wish I could tell her exactly what she means to me, but I don’t think words do the feeling justice. But right now, I’m still going to put my all into the words and hope she feels the meaning behind each one. I caress her cheek with my hand. “I love you Melody Grace.” I look into her eyes while I try to convey how I feel.

    A smile spreads across her face, “I know,” she jokes. At least, I hope she’s joking. I take my hand from her cheek and bring it to her ribs. I tickle her until she’s on the brink of tears. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Geez, slow your roll.” She laughs.

    A minute passes and she sobers up a bit. “I love you too Jason Christopher.”

    Typically I’d give her a hard time for calling me by my birth name but when it comes out of her mouth it sounds so much sweeter to my ears than when anyone else says it.

    I capture her mouth with mine. This is the feeling I’ve been craving my entire life. I may not have known it before, but the void I had is now blissfully filled.

        We take a nap in each other’s arms until Melody has to get up for class. She grumbles the whole time she’s getting ready, but still gives me a long kiss goodbye before leaving.

***

    The week goes by in slow motion. Melody’s schedule is filled with finals and studying for finals so we are only able to have rushed conversations over the phone. We also text each other at random times throughout the day.

    I haven’t been able to stop thinking about our weekend. Through everything I’m trying to take it slow for Mel but I’m beginning to think “taking it slow” isn’t in the cards for us. From the beginning she’s had a grip on my soul. I may not have been able to pinpoint what was happening at first but I knew it was something.

    It’s funny the way life works out sometimes. I never would have thought that I’d be thankful for the bullshit I went through this last year but I am. It makes me appreciate life a hell of a lot more. If I would have known Mel before rehab there’s no doubt in my mind that we would have still connected, but I’m pretty sure I would have fucked it up. That’s what drug addicts do, we may not do it purposely, but we tend to spread our disease onto others. I’m not saying Mel would have fallen for me, frankly, she would have turned her head in the other direction. I might be cocky now, but I was a piece of shit when I was on drugs.

    I finally dropped the unhealthy stuff and moved onto Melody. It’s true she’s my newest addiction, but I realize it’s a completely different addiction
with loving Mel. I’m not doing it to hide my ugliness. I love her because she makes me realize that there’s more to live than drowning my sorrows in alcohol and drugs. Sobriety and Melody have brightened my life in all the ways that count.

    So when Friday rolls around I’m practically counting down the minutes until I can embrace my girl. She said she’ll be studying at the coffee shop and then she’ll come to my place. That’s still a couple of hours away so I decide to do a little of unpacking and then take a shower to freshen up. After getting dressed I notice the light on my phone flashing informing me that I have a message. I pick it up and see that I have ten missed calls from Nate and a text saying to call him ASAP. I’m immediately worried.

    Right as my finger is about to hit the call button I hear pounding at my front door. I rush out of my bedroom and down the hallway, I look out of the peephole and see that it’s Nate. Whatever is up it’s something huge. Nate isn’t the kind of guy to freak out like this.

    I unlock the door. Nate rushes passed me and begins pacing, “Why the fuck didn’t you answer your goddamn phone?!” I’m taken aback by his outburst. His eyes are bloodshot, and his usual calm demeanor has been replaced with a maniacal one.

    “Sorry I was getting ready. What the hell happened?” I’m still standing by the door not sure how to react.

    “I told her not to go on that trip. I told her. Now
look what happened.” Nate walks to the couch a few feet away. He sits down only for a second and then decides to begin pacing once again. “She’s all we had. All we fucking had.”

    His words cause my stomach to churn. Surely I’m just hearing him wrong. “Talk to me Nate, what’s going on?”

    He stops dead in his tracks finally realizing that he hasn’t made a lick of sense since walking through my door. Nate’s eyes brim with tears, he brings his fists up and rubs them angrily. He clears his throat and takes a deep breath. “It’s Grams. Her and her friend were driving up to Lake Tahoe, and they were in a car accident.” My heart is in my throat dreading his next words that I feel coming. “She’s dead Ace.”

    Nate begins to lose it again. He sits down once more and cradles his head in his hands while rocking back and forth.

    My mind is in a confused fog. My heart is pounding in my chest, and my breathing becomes shallower with each breath. One moment I’m standing by the door and the next I’m pounding my fist into the drywall next to the door. My mind no longer has control over my actions. My emotions are running everything.

     I feel my heart cracking. The woman who took me under her wing, who was more of a mother than my real one ever was, is gone. She’ll won’t be there for any more of my life events. She won’t be present at my wedding or for the birth of my
children.

     My grams is no longer breathing air somewhere else on this planet, and I feel like I’m being suffocated because of it.

    “I can’t fucking do this Nate.” I grab my keys off the hook and make my way outside. Luckily I was completely dressed before he came over, I don’t know if I could have stayed there one more minute. I trust that Nate will lock up, but that’s the last thing on my mind.

    I need to get to Mel.

    I need to get to my home base.

    As I grip the steering wheel on the drive to the coffee shop my knuckles burn where my skin is split open from the dry wall.