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The bathroom is busy. As I step inside, a few of the girls waiting bat their lashes and smile suggestively. “Mae,” I growl, ignoring them, but she doesn’t answer. “Mae, get out here or I’m coming in to get you.”
“I’ll be a minute or two,” mumbles Mae, trying to sound fine, but I swear she’s crying. It twists my heart, knowing it’s because of me.
“I’m counting. Five, four, three . . .”
“Damn it, Ace, give me five minutes!” she yells from behind the second stall. I apologise to the ladies waiting before lifting my heavy boot and kicking the door. It pops open, and Mae looks up in surprise.
“Two, one,” I finish with a smirk. “Let’s go.”
She glares at me, and fuck, if she’s not angry. I’ve never seen this side of her. She’s the one who soothes drama with her calming words and level head. Right now, she’s anything but. “Get. Out.” Each word sounds like a growl, and I wonder where she’s been hiding this side of herself. She stands and moves a step closer. “How dare you humiliate me like that?” The chatter in the bathroom dies down, and I glance around at the curious faces now watching our exchange. Mae seems oblivious as she shoves me harder in the chest. “You told me nothing could happen, and I accepted that, but then you go and throw in that toe-curling kiss like something could happen—”
I smirk. “Toe-curling?”
Another shove backs me against the wash basins. “But all along, you were laughing at me behind my back. Telling everyone.”
Our audience gasps, and I roll my eyes at their dramatics. “Seriously, ladies,” I say, glancing around the room, “it wasn’t like that.”
“I’ve been there for you and never told a soul anything we’ve discussed. I keep all your little secrets because I thought we were friends and that’s what friends do.”
She pushes me one last time, but this time, I grab her wrists. “Careful, Mae. Remember who the fuck I am,” I warn.
She scoffs, pulling free. “Yeah, pull the president card now, Ace. You’re still a prick.” I watch her storm from the bathroom.
“Show’s over,” I mutter to the women still watching me with interest.
“You better think of a good grovel,” one comments, “cos she ain’t happy with you.”
Like I don’t fucking know.I follow after Mae, shaking my head in frustration. This is just one of the reasons I don’t date. I always fuck it up somehow and then I have to deal with the drama that follows. I don’t have time for any of it.
I spot Hulk looking just as pissed-off as me. “You seen Mae?” I shout over the music. Hulk nods in the direction of the dance floor, and I see why he looks so pissed. Piper, Mae, and some of the other women are dancing with a group of men. “I need a drink,” I tell him, patting him on the shoulder.
Sitting back at our table, I pour myself a whiskey. Give me a quiet bar full of my men over this bullshit any day. Hulk joins me, looking tormented. “Ignore her. She wants a reaction from you.”
“She’s gonna get one if she touches that guy’s muscles again,” he growls.
“You know, you can stop all this by just claiming her,” I suggest, but I already know the response. He takes after me. He doesn’t want to settle down, and who can blame him? He grew up listening to the raging arguments between me and his mum.
“Not an option,” he mutters.
“Then you gotta let her go. She ain’t gonna save herself in the hope you might want her.”
“Why can’t it just stay how it is? We have a good time together, so why’s she gotta be all over other men?”
I shrug. “Women want to feel like the centre of your world. What you two have is sex, but she wants her forever. If that ain’t with you, you gotta leave her alone to move on.” I drink some of my whiskey before setting the glass back down. “I kissed Mae,” I confess.
I feel his eyes burning into me. “You did what?”
“I know, man. As much a shock to me as you.”
“And you’re lecturing me on mixed signals.” He smirks. “You going there with her?”
I shake my head. “Not an option,” I say, using his words. “But she’s upset with me right now. Angel opened her mouth, and now, Mae thinks everyone knows how she feels about me.”
“She’ll get over it. Avoid her for a few days, she’ll soon calm down.”
I finish my drink. “I guess.”
We fall silent, both sitting in our misery. As I watch Mae, I notice things I’ve never seen before. Like the way her hips sway in time to the music, even when she’s not really dancing. And how she taps her nails against her bottom teeth when she’s listening to someone speaking. Then there’s things I’ve seen before but feel different when I see them now, like how she throws her head back to laugh, or how she reaches behind her back to touch the ends of her hair, twisting it around her fingers.
