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“Oh my god,” I breathe, soft laughter spilling from my lips.
Ace curves a hand around the back of my neck and coaxes me out of his chest. “You’re right, we should probably go before we get arrested for indecent exposure.” Hunger burns in his eyes, and there’s something so heady, knowing that Ace wants me as bad as I want him.
He leans in, kissing me again. But this time, it’s a soft brush of his lips against mine. “You’d better move, Princess. My restraint won’t last forever.”
Fighting a smirk, I scramble off the bike and pull the helmet back on. It’s less that a ten-minute ride to his uncle’s house. Anyone from town could drive past and see us. But as I curl myself around Ace’s body, I can’t find it in myself to care. Because for the first time in a really long time, it’s like someone gets me.
He sees me.
And I don’t want to give that up for anything.
Sure enough, when Ace pulls into his uncle’s driveway, James’ town car is sitting there, like a warning sign, and next to it is my mother’s second-hand Corolla.
“What do you think they’re going to say?” I ask Ace as we climb off his bike.
“Don’t really care,” he grumbles, raking a hand through his hair. “Do you think your mom will flip?”
“I don’t think she’ll be too happy, no.”
“Well, you’re almost eighteen, right?”
I nod. “My birthday is in a couple of weeks.”
“So you’re almost an adult.” He shrugs as if it’s nothing. But then, I know Ace has probably been used to a lack of parental figures in his life.
As we approach the house, I want to believe nothing has changed between us, but I can already feel Ace’s walls coming back up. Whatever there is between him and his uncle it isn’t good, and part of me wonders what we’re about to walk into.
The house is quiet as we step inside, but then a deep voice shouts, “Ace, kitchen. Now.”
Without thinking, I reach for Ace’s hand but catch myself at the last second. Anger rolls off him in waves, and I’m not sure the Ace I just spent the day with is here anymore.
“Remi, thank god,” Mom says the second I step into the kitchen. But the relief in her eyes is short lived, turning to disappointment. “You have some explaining to do, young lady.”
“I’d like to hear Ace’s side of the story first, Sarah.” James looks murderous. “Imagine my surprise when I received a call from Principal Vager saying you had skipped out of school—two days in a row. Really, Ace, I expected you to rebel, but pulling Remi into your games is not—“
“It wasn’t his fault,” I blurt out, and my mom’s brows pinch with disbelief.
“Remi?”
“Look, something happened this morning... with Michaela.” I take a deep breath, anger licking the inside of my stomach. “I couldn’t stay in school. My uniform was ruined and I just needed to get away, so I asked Ace if he’d give me a ride.”
“You asked Ace if he’d give you a ride... on his motorcycle?” she splutters.
“I wore his helmet,” I say, as if it makes a difference.
“Is Remi telling the truth?” James asks Ace.
A beat passes, and I think Ace is going to admit everything. But then he surprises me by releasing a long breath. “Yeah, some girls pulled a cheap stunt on Remi and soaked her through. She asked me to give her a ride home to get changed, and I guess time just ran away with us.”
“I bet it did,” James says coolly. He’s not buying it, and I’d pay to be a fly on the wall to the conversation I know they’ll be having later.
“Well, I’m just glad you’re both safe.” Mom levels Ace with a classic mom-look. “And I’d like your reassurance that, next time, you’ll encourage Remi to do the right thing.”
I smother the laughter building in my chest. She’s so far off the mark it’s ridiculous.
“Off course, Ms Tanner. I’ll be sure to keep Remi on the straight and narrow.” His eyes flick to mine, full of dirty thoughts and reckless decisions.
“I suppose we’ll leave you boys to it.” Mom curls her hand around James’ arm and leans up to kiss his cheek. “I’ll call you later.”
