“So they found him?” Hadley asks as we make our way into school.
“Yeah. Ace didn’t say much, just that they might not be in school today.”
“You’re vibrating,” she adds, pointing to my backpack.
I dig it out. “That’s probably Ace—” My brows knit at the incoming message.
Unknown: No boyfriend today?
“Remi? What is it?”
“N-nothing.” I force a smile, shoving my cell into my pocket. “It’s just my mom.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Fine.” Something catches my eye and I grumble. “Can you believe it’s almost Homecoming?”
“Hayden asked me.” Hadley lowers her voice.
“He did? That’s… nice.”
“It’s not nice, Rem. We’re friends. Just friends. I don’t want to go with my friend. I want to go with…” She smashes her lips together, and my eyes narrow.
“You want to go with…”
“No one. I want to go stag.”
“You’re not fooling anyone.” I smirk. “The thing is, I can’t decide if you want to be Cole’s date or Conner’s. Or maybe you want to be in a Jagger twin sandwich?”
Her cheeks flush deep red. “Now there’s something to think about.”
“You’re so bad.”
“And late.” She glances at her wristwatch. “I’ve got to go, appointment with the guidance counsellor,” she groans. “But I’ll see you at lunch.”
She takes off down the emptying hall. I should probably get a move on, but I’m in no hurry to get to class. Between Cole taking off, losing my locket, and these strange text messages, I feel on edge.
Part of me knows I should tell Ace, but I also know he has enough on his plate. Besides, it’s probably just Bexley or one of his football douchebag friends trying to scare me.
I round the corner and almost collide with none other than Bexley. “Seriously?” I grumble under my breath.
“What’s your problem?” he hisses, his stormy eyes burning into me.
“Whatever, Bexley.” I shoulder past him and keep walking, but he catches up to me, snagging my wrist.
“Remi, come on. Don’t do this.”
I whip around and glare at him. The hall is empty now, not that anyone would dare report the Seahawks’ star player. “And what exactly is it you think I’m doing?”
“Jagger, really? He’s trash, Remi. You can do so much better.” He closes the space between us, crowding me against the locker.
“You need to go, now. Before I knee you in the balls again.”
His eyes flash with recognition. “Shit, you rem—”
“Remember? Of course I fucking remember. I’m not some prize to be won, Bexley. You did a shitty thing that night…”
“Oh, and Jagger is an angel? He filmed you, for fuck’s sake. He played the tape for everyone to see—”
“Stop. Just stop.” My chest heaves, and I don’t miss the way Bexley’s eyes drop there. “I’m not going to explain myself to you. I never wanted more than friendship, but that wasn’t enough for you.”
“Remi Bear, come on—”
“Don’t call me that. And stop with the texts. It’s creepy, and if Ace finds out…”
“What are you—”
“Mr. Danforth, Miss Tanner, I know I must be seeing things and you’re not both standing in the hall instead of sitting in your classes.”
“Sorry, Principal Vager,” I mumble, moving around Bexley. “I’m heading there right now.”
“Good.” He gives me a curt nod. “And Bexley, don’t you have somewhere to be?”
“Yes, Sir. Me and Remi were just discussing some things.”
“Discuss them on your own time. You might be the star quarterback, but football won’t get you in to Stanford, son.”
I almost snort at that. Football might not, but his daddy’s trust fund sure will.
Vager disappears down the hall and I follow, but not before glancing back at the boy tracking my every move.
“Stay away from me, Bexley.” I narrow my eyes. “I mean it.”
Ace is waiting for me at the end of school. Kids give him a wide berth as he lingers by the door.
“This is a surprise,” I say, flinging myself at him. He catches me, pulling me into his arms.
“I missed you.” Ace nuzzles my neck and I shriek, drawing the attention of some passing kids. But they don’t say anything.
“I’m just glad you’re okay. And Cole?”
Ace’s expression hardens. “He’s in a bad place, but he’ll be okay. He’s strong.”
“Maybe he should talk to someone,” I suggest.
“Like a shrink?” He hooks his arm around my neck and pulls me into his side. “I’m not sure that’s the answer here. Cole is… complicated.”
“Talking about it might help.” We reach his bike and Ace hands me the helmet.
“Cole will figure it out, Princess. When you were brought up the way we were, trusting people doesn’t come easy.”
“I know.” I gulp, imagining the life they’ve had. “I just… forget it, it doesn’t matter.”
“Hey, come here.” Leaning on his bike, Ace hooks his finger into the waistband of my skirt and pulls me between his legs. “I love that you care so much, but there’s a long way to go before any of us get used to this life, Princess.”
“I know.” I slide my hands up his chest, not caring who can see us. “I just hate that you went through all that. It’s not fair.”
“Sometimes life isn’t fair. But I feel like my luck is finally turning. I have you, a legit job… and Donny cut me loose.”
I stiffen, my eyes growing to saucers. “What do you mean, he cut you loose?”
“I’m out. Done. My services are no longer required.”
“Just like that?” Suspicion lingers in my voice.
“Honestly, I have bigger things to worry about right now. Donny said I can walk, so I walked. I’m done.”
I want to believe him, but there’s something in his eyes. Something he’s not telling me.
I’m about to ask him when my cell vibrates. Before I can stop myself, I go rigid. Ace’s brow knits as he studies me. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing.” I muster a smile. “It’s probably just my mom.” Quickly, I dig it out of my bag and check the screen, careful not to let Ace see.
Relief floods me when I realize it is my mom this time. “She wants to know if you’re staying for dinner.”
“If I’m… Shit, she invited me for dinner?”
Pocketing my cell, I wrap my arms around his neck again and brush the corner of Ace’s mouth with my lips. “Well, you are my boyfriend, and that’s what boyfriends tend to do. They come over and have dinner with their girlfriend’s mom and make promises not to corrupt their daughter.”
“Is that so?” His brow rises, a slow smirk tugging at his lip.
A smirk that has my stomach clenching.
“You know, I never have been very good at keeping promises.”
Soft laughter spills out of me. “Well, it’s a good thing that’s one promise I don’t mind you breaking.”
Mom has pulled out all the stops. There’s pizza and mozzarella sticks, salad and tater tots. I’m not sure who she thinks she’s feeding, but she gets an A for effort.
“This looks great, Ms. Tanner, thank you.” Ace wastes no time digging in, and I chuckle.
“Hungry?”
His eyes flash to mine and he grins. “Always.”
“You know, it’s nice to cook for more people than just me and Remi. Perhaps, when things calm down, you can all come and I’ll make a big pot roast.”
“That would be great.”
Mom shoots me a reassuring smile, but I can’t quite figure out if she’s doing all this for my benefit or Ace’s.
I know Cole’s outburst yesterday worried her. It was the first thing she’d asked me about this morning.
“How is Cole?” she asks.
“He’ll be okay.” Ace manages a half-smile, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “I’m sorry you had to see that yesterday.”
“I’ll be honest Ace, now I know the truth, I think James handled it all wrong. He should have sat you down when you first got here and told you.”
“Yeah, well… I didn’t exactly make it easy for him.”
“James loves you all very much. I know he hasn’t always shown it, but I think if you sat down and talked to him, then you’d understand things from his point of view a little more.”
“Mom,” I snap and guilt fills her eyes.
“I’m sorry, Ace—”
“It’s fine,” he says, surprising me. “You’re only telling me what I already know. Everything is so fuc—screwed up. Sorry about that.”
“Please, you’re not the first teenager I’ve heard cuss, and I’m sure you won’t be the last. Remi tells me you have a job with Ellen’s brother?”
“That’s right.” He nods. “It isn’t going to make me a ton of money, but it’s honest work. And who knows, maybe he’ll teach me a few things and I can work my way up.”
Pride swells in my chest. Part of me knows Ace took the job to prove to me—and everyone else—that he’s worth something. But I see the hunger in his eyes. He wants this too. He wants to turn his life around, and that is worth so much more than he’ll ever know.
“Well you should be very proud of yourself, Ace.” Mom takes a large gulp of her wine and sits back in her chair. “You know, I feel like I owe you an apology. I was quick to judge you, and that was wrong. Everyone deserves a chance.”
Ace looks stunned. I slide my hand up his thigh and find his own.
“I don’t even know what to say to that.” His confession hangs in the air.
“You don’t need to say anything. Just promise to always treat my daughter with the respect and care she deserves, and I don’t think we’ll have any problems. Oh, and birth control. For the love of God, please always use birth control. I’m not ready to be a grandma.”
“Mom!” My cheeks burn, and I want the floor to open up and swallow me whole.
“There is nothing wrong with taking about sex, Remi. You’re both adults.”
“Jesus,” I murmur, sinking further into my seat. I can barely look at Ace, but then his big hand finds my knee and squeezes.
“I can totally do that, Ms. Tanner.”
I peek over at him and he sits a little taller, a faint smile tracing his lips.
“There’s another thing you can do for me.”
I brace myself for whatever else is about to come out of her mouth.
“Anything.” Ace seems completely at ease. I don’t know whether to be unnerved or swoon.
“Please call me Sarah,” Mom beams. “Ms. Tanner makes me feel so old.”
Relief washes over me as we continue our meal. The three of us share good food and laughter as Mom tells us about James’ latest projects, and we spend time telling her about our weekend at the beach house. Although we leave out all the parts she doesn’t need to know about.
“I think that went well.” Ace presses his front up against me as I’m washing the dishes. We insisted Mom go relax and leave the clean-up to us.
“You won her over in the end.”
“I did, didn’t I?” He slides a hand to my throat, tilting my face to his. “Now do I get to take you upstairs and break that promise?”
My lips curve as Ace kisses me. Not that kissing ever does justice to the way his mouth brands mine.
Ace doesn’t just kiss me—he says a thousand things with every slide of his tongue against mine, every brush of his lips.
“On a scale of one to ten, how dead would I be if your mom found me eating you out right here on the counter?”
“Ace!” My stomach clenches as desire pulses deep inside me.
“You might have to hold that thought.”
His smile falls. “The fuck?”
“I think she’s hoping we’ll hang out with her and watch a movie.”
“You’re shitting me.”
“Sorry.” I dry my hands and duck around him.
Ace lets out a string of cuss words before advancing on me. “It’s a good thing I’m in no rush for my balls back.”
“Come on, lover boy. The sooner we watch the film, the sooner we can sneak upstairs and fool around.”
We didn’t end up going upstairs. After humoring my mom and watching a film, Ace got a call from Conner that he was needed back at the house.
“I’m sure everything is okay,” Mom says as I check my cell phone for the fifth time in less than an hour since Ace left.
“I hope so. I get the feeling Ace is trying to protect me from just how bad things are with Cole.”
“I know you want to help, sweetheart, but this is something the four of them need to figure out in their own time.”
“I know, Mom.” I offer her a smile. “Thank you for tonight. It means a lot to me.”
“Oh, sweetheart.” She wraps me into her arms. “I only want to see you happy, and if Ace is the boy for you then you have my blessing. Just never feel like you can’t come to me with anything.”
“Thanks, Mom.” I didn’t know how much I needed to hear that until now. “What will we tell Dad?”
She pulls away and shrugs. “Your father made his bed. He can rot in it, for all I care.”
My eyes bug, and she chuckles, but it’s strained and full of sadness. “I have spent far too long worrying about what your father thinks and far too long not paying attention to what is going on in your life. That all stops now, I promise.”
“I like this you,” I say, and Mom hugs me again.
“Come on, it’s late. We should probably hit the hay.”
“Okay, you had me until ‘the hay,’ Mom. Never say that again.”
“What?” She gawks at me. “I could do country. You go on up, and I’ll lock up.”
“Goodnight.”
“Night, sweetheart.”
I leave Mom downstairs and head for my room. Moonlight pours in through the windows, and I don’t bother to hit the light switch. After mom’s ex disappeared, it took me a long while to feel safe in my bedroom, and I smile to myself, realizing how far I’ve come. I no longer flinch at every creak, or sleep with the lamp on.
It feels good to finally feel in control of my life. Of the choices I make and steps I take.
I change into my pajamas and slip under the covers, staring out at the vastness of the sea beyond my window.
It doesn’t take long for the pull of sleep to creep up and my eyes grow heavy. And as I give into the darkness, I swear the last thing I see is Ace standing outside my bedroom window.
