Page 11 of All I Feel

When I’d been sitting with the girls, my thoughts were on the differences between us and the boys. And now that I was here, talking to Ace, it didn’t bother me at all that the guys played volleyball or got rowdy with one another. I was going to miss it when it was gone.

“It’s going to suck not having you here,” I told him.

He arched a brow. “You’d be upset about that?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” A smile played at my lips, and I teased, “I mean, who else are the girls and I going to get to carry all the chairs down to the beach for us?”

Ace attempted to appear insulted as he reached for mywrist, tugged me toward him, and poked me in the side. “That wasn’t cool, Princess.”

I grinned. “You know I’m just joking with you. But I do think now that I know this information, you might be able to convince me to play a round of volleyball.”

“Really?”

Nodding, I said, “If it’s possible this is going to be your last time coming on this trip, we need to make sure you have some memories that’ll last a lifetime.”

Ace smiled at me, his features softening. “Then I’m glad I decided that making this trip one last time was worth it.”

With that, the two of us turned around and made our way back to the shore. And even though I was terrible at it, I joined Ace’s team—it was him and Taj—and played volleyball. I didn’t feel as though I’d done anything to help, but Ace was happy to have me there, so I guessed it was worth it.

THREE

ACE - PRESENT DAY

I didn’t knowwhat it was that prompted me to look over at Tessa when she’d walked away from the table where I’d been sitting with the guys, but I was glad I did. Because judging by the way she was clinging to me, Tessa was suffering. And while I never wanted to see her upset at all, I definitely didn’t want her to be in such a state alone.

I hadn’t cared much for the guy she’d been dating for a few months now, but without even knowing what happened, I could confidently say I didn’t like him at all.

For a long while, I did the only thing I could do and simply held her in my arms.

Tessa.

She was my best friend’s little sister. A girl I’d known all my life.

I never thought I’d find myself in this situation with her, but then again, I never thought any man would be stupid enough to reduce her to tears like this.

With her cheek pressed against my chest, her fingers gripping my shirt at my waist, Tessa’s breath hitched multiple times as she attempted to settle herself down. And each of those rapid intakes of breath had me grinding my teeth together to fight against doing something worse with my anger.

It took her some time, but eventually, she calmed and pulled her face from my chest. That’s when I asked, “Are you okay?”

Tessa shook her head, released her hold on me, and said, “No.”

“Want to tell me what happened?”

“He’s cheating.” Tears filled her eyes. “Ryan is cheating on me.”

I hadn’t wanted to jump to conclusions when I’d seen her run out of the saloon, but knowing she’d been calling her man and wound up in tears only minutes later, I could admit the thought had crossed my mind.

Tamping down my anger as best I could, I pressed for more information. “He… He came right out and admitted this to you?”

“No.” She paused a moment, and I watched as she stared off, like she was recalling the horrible details in her mind. Eventually, she returned her attention back to me. “He called me earlier today and explained he was tied up with work, letting me know he’d be late and wouldn’t make it to dinner. But he was going to meet up with me here at Lou’s tonight, and I texted him after we left the restaurant. When I called him now, he answered and sounded like he’d just woken up. And he even admitted he went home to get ready, laid down, and simply fell asleep. I didn’t think twice about it, because he's had so many latenights this week with work. Or, well, that’s what he told me.”

I wasn’t a betting man, but I wouldn’t have put it past the guy to be such a lying tool. Though there was a strong possibility of that being the case, it really wouldn’t matter in the grand scheme. So, I opted to steer Tessa’s focus to the facts. “What happened tonight?”

“I told him how bummed I was about him not making it. That I’d been looking forward to seeing him all week. And he just told me he was too exhausted and would come over tomorrow morning to spend the whole day with me.”

“How does that equate to him cheating on you?”

She winced, stumbling back a step. Only after I’d reached for her wrist to steady her did she respond. “I was just about to tell him I’d see him tomorrow when I heard a woman’s voice calling him baby and asking him to come back to bed.”