Ace's Wild (3 page)

    I used to sleep great but once my parents divorced every worry seems to keep me up at night. I’m a worrier so sleep isn’t my friend these days.

    Once I’m caffeinated enough to be human, rather than just a grunting grumpy hot mess, I get ready for the day. I grab my textbook and my Kindle just in case I want to catch up on my latest hot read. I’m a book boyfriend whore. Give me a book with a bad boy who’s a hottie with a body and I’m wrapped around that book’s figurative finger. It’s an addiction.

Although I’ve had my first coffee of the morning, I still have to stop for my mid-morning coffee. It’s my other addiction.

    I stop in at my favorite coffee shop in town where they know me by name and have my drink started before I can even utter a “good morning”.

    “Hey Mel, how are you this morning? Getting anything to eat today?” my favorite barista asks.

    “I’m doing good and not today Beth, thank you,” I reply.

    Once I grab my coffee and straw, because I’m one of those weird people who drinks hot coffee with a straw, I head to my car and begin my drive to Sara’s work.

    It’s in town, but it’s in the industrial part of town so it still takes me fifteen minutes to get there. Once there I open up and power everything on like Sara asked me to do. I sit at the reception desk awaiting the first appointment’s arrival. It’s still thirty minutes off so I decide to get my Kindle out and continue the story of my favorite troubled underground boxer.

    I lose myself in the book so much so that I don’t hear when the front door opens. I take a huge gulp of my coffee to finish it off. As I’m about to swallow I hear a throat being cleared. Startled I look up into the eyes of the Ace of Spades himself and spit the coffee out over said rock star’s shirt.

    That’s right folks, I just showered the Ace of Spades in a mist of my backwashed coffee.

   
Good going Mel.

    I jump up in shock. “Holy crap! You’re… I’m so… I can’t believe I just…” I can’t even complete a sentence. In a normal situation this man would leave me speechless but now that I have absolutely humiliated myself I can’t even form a coherent thought. He’s probably wondering what planet I escaped from.

    He looks down at himself and then up at me as if to say, “Did you really just do that?” and then, to my complete surprise, he starts laughing. Hard.

    Never in my life have I witnessed a man with a case of the giggles. Not only does he have them, but he’s hunched over holding his stomach gasping for breath between giggles. He even starts wiping his eyes because his laughing fit has caused them to water.

    I’m still in complete shock. Not knowing whether I should join in on the laughter or burst into tears out of pure embarrassment.

    He starts to get control of himself but is still
gasping for breath “You should… see… your face,” he says between fits.

    My face breaks out into a grin, and I cover it with my hands “I can’t believe I just did that. I am SO sorry!” I am absolutely mortified.

    I begin running around in search of towels or cleaning supplies. Which causes him to fall into another giggling fit.

    I swear I’d be angry by all the laughing if it were someone else, but it’s Ace Caplin. I had always thought he was hot but even pictures and TV don’t do this man justice. He’s at least six-foot-two of hot muscled tattooed glory. He’s wearing a black beanie but I know underneath is short dark brown hair. His sharp jaw with its five o’clock shadow is absolutely lickable. I feel his eyes on me and peek back over my shoulder. Our eyes lock onto each other. His are such a vivid green it’s hard to even remember my own name when I look into them. I’m locked into place until I suddenly remember that I was supposed to be doing something…

   
Crap, what was I doing again?
Oh. Right. Paper towels.

    I find a door in the hallway that looks like the supply closet. I open the door and find random office supplies and also paper towels. I grab a roll and head back out to the reception area.

    Ace seems to have recovered from his episode. I unroll a handful of sheets and hand a few over to him and then we both begin the task of drying off his coffee stained shirt. Luckily it’s black.

    He grins at me causing a dimple to appear on one side. “Well, I can’t say
that
has ever happened to me before.”

    I stop drying him off and cover my face in embarrassment again. “Sadly I wish I could say the same.”

    He snorts. “You’re telling me that you’ve spit your drink on random strangers before?”

    I lower my hands and moan. “It was only one other time!” I reply defensively. “What can I say? I spook easily.”

    He throws his head back and lets out a bark of laughter. “That’s putting it lightly.” He shakes his head in amusement. “I can’t remember the last time I laughed this much. I might need to come here when you’re working more often.” He grins devilishly at me.

    I practically melt before I remember that I don’t actually work here.

    “Thanks, I guess, but I don’t actually work here. I’m just filling in for a friend,” I reply sheepishly.

    “That’s too bad, I was having fun with you.” He wiggles his eyebrows at me.

    I playfully push on his chest, and he wraps his hands around my dainty wrists. I suck in a gush of air and slowly look up into his amazing eyes.

    We’re locked into another moment. It’s as if our bodies are on a wavelength all their own. My stomach has bottomed out and tingles run up and down my body like I’m falling from a great height. Ace seems to feel it too, and the smile falls from his
lips as he starts to lean forward. We’re mere inches apart when someone barges in the door.

    “Hey Slut! Sorry I’m late, you wouldn’t believe the kinds of questions the professor had on that horrid paper he calls a test!” Sara says as she’s shuffling through the recent pile of mail. “I totally failed. I wonder if he’ll let me retake-” Her words come to a halt as she looks up and she almost drops the papers she’s carrying. “Holy shit.”

    “Sara, impeccable timing.” I let out the breath that I had apparently been holding and back away from Ace.

    “Mel… That’s… He’s… Oh my God.” The whole time I’ve known Sara I have never witnessed her speechless, and in this moment she is completely speechless. It’s actually pretty entertaining.

    “Hon, close your mouth, you’re drooling,” I joke.

    She snaps her mouth shut and shakes her head as if she’s trying to restart her brain process.

    “I’m so sorry, how rude of me. Hi, I’m Sara and you are Ace freaking Caplin.” She reaches over to shake his hand.

    “Nice to meet you Sara. My brother talks about you all the time. He said there was room to fit me in this morning?”

    A mask of confusion covers her face. “Brother? Wait a second… Nate is your brother? Holy shit.” She plops down onto the office chair behind the desk, obviously needing a moment to gather herself.

    “Sorry, I thought he told you? He said he
scheduled an appointment for me…” He brings his hand to the back of his neck and rubs it in a nervous gesture.

    “He did, he just failed to mention who is brother is,” she replies with a hint of bitterness. I can tell Nate will be getting an earful from Sara the second Ace walks out of here.

    “Well, now that you’re here I guess I should be going…” I say. I walk over to the desk to grab my purse.

    I say my goodbyes to Sara and look over at Ace who is staring intently at me. My heart speeds up. I don’t think I could speak even if I tried. I settle for a little wave, a nervous smile, and begin to head toward the exit.

    I can’t believe I acted like such a crazy person. I know I’m an awkward mess but that was a new level of craziness, even for me.

    I’m about to get in my car when I hear my name being called. I look back and see Ace running toward me. He stops a couple of feet away.

    “Wait, how do you know my name?” I ask curiously.

    He smiles. “From your friend.”

    “Okay...” I’m not really sure what he needed to chase after me for, but my words are limited around him. My mind turns to a jumbled mess, and I can barely tell left from right.

    He has his left hand in his pocket and is rubbing his neck nervously with his right. “Actually I was wondering if you’d want to grab coffee sometime. I,
uh, don’t really know that many people out here, and you seem friendly enough.”

    Now it’s my turn to laugh. I don’t get the giggles like he did, but I have to take a breath once I’m finished. “You want to hang out with me after that disaster in there?”

    He looks down at his feet and a boyish grin appears on his face. If his flirting grin a few minutes ago made me melt, this grin absolutely demolishes me. I get a feeling it doesn’t appear often.

    “Yeah, I mean, as long as you don’t spit your drink out on me again” His flirtatious grin is back. The butterflies in my stomach turn into bats at the realization of what he’s asking me.

    “Oh, um, sure,” I mumble trying to get my thoughts straight.

    “Great how does tomorrow around lunch sound?”

    “Good.” I give him my number, and we say our goodbyes with the promise that he will text me later to work out the details.

    I get into my car and take a calming breath. I can’t believe that just happened. I’m having lunch with a rock star.

Chapter 3

Ace

    It feels great to be in a studio again laying down tracks. I didn’t realize how much I missed it.

    After meeting Melody I wasn’t sure if I would be able to. She made me feel like a fifteen-year-old again. I thought that my nervousness would mess with my music, but it actually filled my lyrics with a passion that has been missing for some time now.

    I was in a good mood for the first time in a long time. Shit, I
giggled.
What kind of grown man giggles?

    After I finish up, I talk to Sara. She’s a pretty cool girl, and I can see why Nate is into her. She’s a little too crazy for my tastes, but she’s perfect for Nate. He’s always been into those types.

    I’ve tried to discreetly bring Mel into the conversation. I want to know everything there is to know about her, but I don’t want to seem desperate. Hell, we just met.

    “Mel is Mel. I’m not really sure how to describe her. She’s a contradiction but she’s the most beautiful contradiction you will ever meet.” Okay… Not sure exactly what I’m supposed to take from that. It’s a little on the poetic side.

    Sara then goes on to tell me what she had for breakfast and she also wonders if Kim and Kanye will stay together. The girl likes to talk, and I try to slowly walk toward the door and see if she’ll get the hint. She doesn’t.

    “So there’s actually an acoustic show in San Francisco this weekend, one of mine and Mel’s friends are playing. Nate will be there too, would you want to come and hang out?” she asks.

    Typically, I’d say no because I’m trying to stay away from the night scene. I don’t want to regress, especially with how newly sober I am.

    “Yeah that’d be great.” It seems as though my mouth has a mind of its own. I don’t realize the words I say until after I’ve said them.

    I thank Sara for the invite and tell her I have an appointment to get to. I don’t. I just have to get out of there, there’s only so much gossip a guy can listen to while sober.

    I head back to Nate’s. He let me borrow his truck again, but he works from home so it’s not really that big of a deal. When I came to Nate’s I had only planned on staying for a short visit which I normally just borrow his car instead of getting a rental. I don’t normally go out much anyways, but I have a feeling this trip will definitely be different. I
have to decide whether I want to stay here or go back home. Vacaville is starting to look more appealing by the moment.

***

    I’m meeting Mel for coffee today, and I’m like a kid on Christmas morning. I can’t seem to keep the smile off of my face. We’d text messaged each other a little bit last night just to work out the details about where to meet and what time. Part of me wanted to just call her, text messaging seems so impersonal. I want to show her that I’m not what the media makes me out to be, I’m far from it but unfortunately “Nice guys” don’t make good news. Bad boys do. And I’ve been plastered over everything as the bad boy. If only they knew the real me. My hopes are that Melody will be able to see the real me through it all. I’ve never wanted someone to see the real me as much as I want Melody to. The good, the bad, and the just plain ugly.

    I’m about to head to the coffee shop when my phone starts to ring. I look at the caller I.D. and think about ignoring it but I’m in such a good mood that I decide nothing can change it.

    Unfortunately, I was wrong.

Chapter 4

Melody

    Ace is twenty minutes late. I think about sending him a quick text but change my mind. I don’t want to come off as a clingy girl. I’ve never been that girl, and I have no intention of ever becoming that girl.

    I sit for a few more minutes and finish off my coffee before I decide he’s not going to show up. I stand up and am about to make my way to the door when Ace walks in. He has sunglasses on, but I can tell by the tension in his shoulders that he’s pissed off. He looks around the coffee shop before he spots me and starts heading in my direction. He slips his sunglasses off. The scowl on his face only proves my theory of him being angry.

    As he walks over I can’t help but admire his tattooed arms. The artwork seems to be extremely detailed. I wouldn’t mind spending a day studying every inch of ink. His brooding mood only seems to make it that much hotter, and I’m trying to remind
myself to breathe.

    When he gets to me I plop back down onto the sofa thinking he’d follow suit but he doesn’t. Instead he stands a foot away making it a tad bit awkward.

    “Bad day?” I laugh uncomfortably.

    His scowl deepens, and his emerald eyes pierce me. I want nothing more than to get lost in those beautiful eyes and never be found.

    “You could say that.” He looks to the table a few feet away and drags a chair over to sit.

    “I don’t bite you know.” I smirk at him.

    The corner of his mouth twitches, but I’m still not graced with his pearly whites. If he was in such a bad mood before, I’m not quite sure why he would still come meet me for coffee. He could have easily cancelled. Maybe he just needs coffee.

    “I was going to order another coffee, would you like one?”

    He shakes his head.

    I walk up to the counter to order another drink. After I collect my goodies, I head back to the big comfy couch. Ace has his head down tapping away on his phone. He doesn’t notice me until I hand him the brown paper bag. I hold it out offering it to him and his eyes look at me questioningly. I lightly shake the bag at him as a “
Here, take it
”. He takes it and peeks inside. Finally I see that beautiful smile I have been waiting for.

    “M&M cookies?” he says through a crooked grin.

    Suddenly I’m a little embarrassed by my offering. My eyes drop down to the floor and then rise back up to meet his waiting gaze “Um, yeah, my mom used to make them when I was a kid to help cheer me up when I was in a particularly bad mood. I thought maybe you could use some cheering up,” I reply. My mom still makes me M&M cookies when I’m in a sour mood, but he doesn’t need to know the childhood traditions that I still cling to.

    “It most definitely cheers me up. Thank you.” He then proceeds to dig into his treats.

    “No problem.” I smile. I take a seat on the couch and begin sipping my coffee.

    He’s eating those cookies like his life depends on it. I find it charming, in an odd way. He’s a very intimidating man with his tattooed skin, piercing eyes, and muscular build. But, damn, does he look adorable sitting there happily eating his newly acquired cookies.

    In that moment his childlike excitement for a cookie reminds me of my little brother. He’s such a sweet kid, I really wish my dad would put more energy into at least seeing him. I’m an adult, but my brother is just a kid, he needs a male role model. What he doesn’t need is a lying piece of shit excuse for a father.

    After my parents separated a few years ago, we moved up to Vacaville from L.A. My dad is a music producer, and he said he couldn’t relocate so he stayed there. I’m glad he did because I don’t think I’d be able to handle seeing him around town with his new wife. They only recently got married but
seeing them together is only a reminder of the pain he put us through. To see that he is able be happy after what he did is like being stabbed right in the heart.

    “Mel? You okay?” Ace’s voice breaks through my bitter thoughts.

    I shake my head a little and with a halfhearted laugh reply, “Yeah, sorry, I spaced out there for a second.”

    “You looked kind of pissed off.”

    Attempting to dodge what’s really bothering me, I turn the spotlight onto him. “Speaking of angry, are you okay? You were pretty hulky a couple of minutes ago.”

    He chuckles. “Hulky, huh?”

    “You know, all puffed out chest and clenched fists. For a second I thought you might even pound your fists on something while yelling-
hulk smash
!” I jokingly get animated at the last part and bring my hands softly, or so I thought, onto the coffee table in front of me. My drink violently rattles and almost spills, but I grab it just in time before it falls over. I look up to see if he saw my mishap. If his giggle-induced red face is any indication, then yes he did see it. I join in on the laughter.

    Through our meeting I learn that Ace isn’t the rock star that the media depicts. He’s a down to earth guy who’s following what his passion is- music. He tells me how when he was a kid he saw Nirvana’s “Teen Spirit” video on MTV and since then he has been obsessed with all things music,
predominantly rock. He says he received his first guitar for a birthday present when he was twelve, and the rest is history. Every time I tried to ask him about his family he’d turn the subject toward his brother and grams only. He never mentioned his parents. I wasn’t going to push the subject, because one, it is none of my business, and two, we barely know each other. I wouldn’t want to delve into my family history with him either.

     He asks about me, only basic questions though. He seems to be aware that I don’t want to talk about my family either. I’m not sure if that’s because I’m transparent or he’s extremely receptive. Either way, I’m glad he doesn’t pry.

    It’s a nice change of pace after the drama that went on with my dad these past few years. Our town has a population of about ninety thousand, but with the way my dad’s deceit blew up, you’d think it was a town of one thousand. My mom and dad actually grew up here so they know a lot of people. They only moved down to L.A. when my dad was offered an amazing position with better pay. That job may have been a contributing factor in the divorce. I still receive stares of pity from people around town, but it’s not an everyday occurrence anymore. Thank goodness.

    A muffled song starts playing and it takes me a moment to realize it’s coming from my purse. I dig through my tote bag that carries every imaginable object you can think of. I finally find it and see that it’s my mom.

    “I’m so sorry, I have to take this.” Ace nods while I press
Answer.

   
“Hello?”

    “Hey hun, do you think you can pick up your brother from school? I was called into work, and we really need the money.”

    “Of course. We’ll have a little one on one time.” Lord knows he needs it.

    “I think he’d like that. Anyways, I have to get to work. I love you! Call me if you need anything. I made a casserole for dinner, it just needs to be thrown in the oven.”

    “Okay, I love you too.” With that, we hang up.

    I look down at my phone for the time. Crap! I have to pick Luke up in ten minutes. I hadn’t realized how long Ace and I sat here and talked.

    I throw my phone into my bottomless bag and begin searching for my keys. My eyes are trained on my bag while I dig through useless items. “I’m so sorry, I have to go. I didn’t realize how late it is,” I say to Ace. I begin shaking my bag with my ear close by in hopes of hearing my keys rattle.

    “That’s fine. You know if you have a boyfriend, it’s okay. Just tell me.” The remark is lined with annoyance that is impossible to miss.

   
Huh?

    My hands still, and I slowly lift my eyes to Ace’s agitated face.

    “I don’t…” I confusedly say with a slight shake of my head.

    He brings his hand to the back of his neck and
begins to rub it nervously. “But, you just said ‘I love you’ to the person on the phone and that you want one on one time.”

   
Eavesdrop much?

    “Honestly, that’s none of your business.” I cross my arms over my chest. We had a perfectly good time today even though it started off a little rough. I’m disappointed he’s behaving this way. I continue, “But, if you must know, it was my mom asking if I could pick up my baby brother from school.”

    “Well this is embarrassing.”

    You think? I hold back my sarcasm, which for me is saying a lot. “Listen, I really have to go. I’m already running late.” I gather my purse and head to the door. Before I can exit, someone softly grabs my arm. I look down at the tattooed hand that has a light grip on my forearm and slowly raise my eyes to Ace’s face. My heart is pounding but I ignore it. My insides are turning into a hot frenzy only from his touch. His effect on me has happened so quickly. Before he can notice the inner struggle with my feelings, I raise my chin in defiance and listen to his excuse.

    “I’m sorry. I received bad news before I came here. You didn’t deserve to be treated that way.” His eyes bore into mine with sincerity. He drops his hand from my arm. Why must his eyes be so green? His eyes have the effect of a pendulum, and I am hypnotized. I shake my head to come to my senses, and I nod at his apology.

    I’d like nothing more than to talk to him but my stubbornness prevails and I turn on my heel and exit the coffee shop.

    I don’t look back as I get in my car. I sit for a moment to gather myself before driving off. What he did wasn’t that big of a deal, but I don’t like anyone acting as if they have a claim on me especially since I barely know him. I’m sure he’s used to girls throwing themselves at him, but he won’t get that from me. What happened in the studio was a fluke, and it won’t happen again.

    At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.

***

    The week zooms by and before I know it, it’s Friday afternoon. Emma is still trying to call and text me. I’m not sure why all of a sudden she’s calling me nonstop again, we haven’t been friends for years because of her backstabbing ways. She usually keeps call and text attempts at only one of each per week. Just recently it’s grown to multiple times per day. It hasn’t been this bad since I found out about what she’d done. Part of me is worried that something is wrong, but I keep reminding myself that I don’t care.

    I’m digging through my closet looking for an outfit for the show tonight. My friend Andy is playing an acoustic show at a club in San Francisco. I met Andy during my freshman year at UC Davis. He was in my Advanced Algebra class, and we bonded over our hatred for math. Sarah and I have been best friends with him ever since. My mom jokingly calls us the three amigos. Sometimes we hold entire conversations with each other that only consists of inside jokes. The three of us will be in tears while whoever else is around just looks at us like we’re crazy.

    I’m deciding between a hot outfit and a cute but comfortable outfit when Sara bursts through my bedroom door looking amazing. Her red hair is half up, her makeup is smokey, and her outfit is borderline slutty. She’s wearing a white tank top with a skin tight sleeveless black vest over it. Both are short and her midriff shows. Her black pants are skin tight, and she’s wearing the tallest black heels I have ever seen.

    I guess my mind is made up- hot outfit for me it is.

    “How in the world are you going to be able to walk all night in those things?” I ask pointing to her shoes.

    “Nate is coming tonight, and I want to look good for him. The pain will be worth it.” She smiles before sitting down on the edge of my bed.

    “I hope you’re not planning to drink too much, you’ll break an ankle in those.”

    “Okay
Mother
are you done lecturing me?” She laughs.

    “Oh shush, you’ll be wishing you had listened to
me later.” I turn around to look through my closet and try to figure out what outfit to wear. I know I want hot but now I’m trying to determine how hot. I grab my black mini-dress and quickly decide it’s way too short. I get to the end of my choices and begin at the beginning hoping I had missed something.

    “Don’t kill me but I invited Ace,” she says nonchalantly while looking through a fashion magazine.

    I spin around shocked by her confession “You what? Are you kidding me right now? I told you how he acted when we met for coffee but you go and invite him?”

    “Calm down Sparky. I invited him before your coffee meeting. You’re throwing that coffee thing out of proportion, I think what he did was sexy.” She’s still flipping through pages of the magazine with one hand while she makes gestures with her other.

    “What he did was ridiculous. He doesn’t even know me.” I only mean that halfheartedly. I guess it was kind of hot how he wanted to lay claim on me even though we just met. Although I would never admit that to anyone. I turn back to my closet and reevaluate my selection. That black mini-dress is looking better this time around. Maybe I will wear it.