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She shut the door, and before he could move further away from her, she reached out and grabbed his hand. He looked over his shoulder, stared down at her hand, and she saw and heard him swallow. “Come here, Ace.” She tugged on his hand until he turned around and moved toward her again. Looking up at him, she reached up and brushed her hand over his forehead, moving the short hair back, but smiling when it fell right back into place. “You know I don’t want the negative stuff in the house.” It might sound stupid to have a rule like that, but she’d seen the difference it made in him.
“You’re right, and I’m sorry.”
He exhaled, nodded, and pulled her in for a hug. They just held each other for what felt like forever, and when Ace placed his hand on the back of her head, holding her to the center of his chest, she closed her eyes and just absorbed the feeling of having him close. “I wish I could make you happy all the time, Ace.”
He pulled back, this pained expression on his face. “Poppy.” He closed his eyes. “God, please don’t say shit like that.” Opening his eyes, the startling blue pierced right through her. “If not for you I don’t even know where I’d be.” He clenched his jaw, the light stubble on his cheeks dark, just like the short hair on his head. “That’s not true. I know exactly where I’d be.”
They didn’t say anything after that, neither saying what or where he’d be if things had been different. After she’d finished school and had her own place, Ace had already gotten on his feet, had a nice home in a better area of town, and she knew that he was in a good place in his life right now, at least on the outside, and doing better than he’d been in a long time.
She stayed close, kept him close, and things had been good. Maybe one of these days she’d be able to tell him how she felt, but until then she’d enjoy the once in a lifetime friendship she had with this man.
“Come on, let’s eat.” She pulled out of his hold, and chuckled when he pulled her in for one more big hug.
“You smell so good.” He inhaled. “You always smell so good, like sugar cookies.”
She laughed, and when he let her go she went into the dining room. Her apartment was small, but it was in a nice neighborhood. She was comfortable, and she was able to have Ace come over all the time.
But Lauren knew there would be a time when he eventually found someone, a nice woman that could give him everything he needed and wanted. And she honestly didn’t know what she’d do when that day came.
3
“This place is packed,” Lauren said loudly, as the music was pretty damn extreme.
Ace grabbed her hand and pulled her closer, not liking that he noticed a bunch of fuckers already staring at her. They’d decided to go out to a bar that had a local band playing tonight.
Well, Lauren had decided to go and had asked him to come.
Ace preferred staying in, preferably with her, but there were times he went out, like when he’d gone to see his longtime friend Toby, who had just lost his dad. They’d gotten trashed, but it had been good for both of them to forget about the negative shit their old men had laid on them.
He scanned the room, trying to find a place for them to sit.
“Over there, Ace.” She pointed to an empty table in the corner, and then started pulling him through the crowd. A bunch of assholes turned and checked Lauren out. She was hot, no doubt about it, especially with the long skirt she wore that molded to her ass, and the shirt she wore that showed her perfect, big breasts, ones he’d jerked off to many times like a damn pervert.
He shook his head, glared at one asshole that was checking her out especially hard, and when the guy lifted his brows and held up a hand, Ace felt a little bit of pride at the surrender. She wasn’t his, maybe would never be his, but that didn’t mean he liked other pricks checking her out lewdly, like she was just a hole they could stick their dick in.
They sat down at the table, and no more than five minutes later the band came on stage. The crowd went wild, and Ace knew that many of the people here knew the band personally. He’d heard of them around town, but he wasn’t into these closed places where everyone was crammed in like damn sardines.
He glanced at Lauren, saw her ordering some drinks from the waitress Ace hadn’t even seen walk up, and when they were alone she leaned forward and smiled wider.
