Ace's Place

The rest of the night I found myself tossing and turning and hardly getting any sleep. The night seemed to drag on forever until finally it was a reasonable hour to wake up. I poured myself a large mug of tea and typed up all my college notes from Monday. I felt so relieved that it was Friday and almost the weekend which meant I could relax and hopefully help James get better again. I was just after lunch time when my phone began buzzing.

“Hey, are you okay?” Ace said quickly down the phone.

“Yeah, I’m fine, why wouldn't I be?” I asked a little taken back by his suddenness.

“I came by your surgery this morning but they said you were at the hospital all night, what happened?” he asked sounding worried.

“Oh, James was rushed into hospital last night, I was with him,” I told him, it felt like last night was ages ago.

“What?” he asked sounding shocked.

“He over dosed, the doctor said he had a seizure,” I said, twirling my hair around my finger nervously. I couldn't understand why I felt nervous but something about the attention being draw to me negatively made me feel uneasy.

“Scarlett, are you sure you’re okay?”  He asked.

“I don’t know, I want to be,” I told him taking a deep breath.

“Listen, I want you to come over tonight, I’m going to cook for you,” he said sternly.

“Oh, sure okay,” I replied slightly shocked.

“I’ll text you the address okay?” he said. I put the phone down still slightly shocked that he actually invited me over and not dumped me.

As soon as I put the phone down I decided to take a shower and wash my hair ready for tonight. It was already close to 4 o'clock and I was starving. After the mini argument with Ace about him never inviting me over I did feel slightly anxious about going over there. I decided however to relax and play it cool, maybe I over reacted because I was stressed about James?
I decided to pin half of my hair up and let the rest hang loose. I wore a baggy shirt loosely tucked into a black leather skirt with a pair of chunky heeled boots. After throwing on a black blazer I left for Ace’s place.


“Hey!” he exclaimed as he opened the door holding a pack of garlic bread in his hand.

“Hey,” I smiled, kissing him gently on the lips.

“Come in, sit down, dinner won’t be long,” he smiled. I nodded and walked in; placing the bottle of wine I had bought him on the counter as I did. I stood awkwardly in the hall way as he ran back and forth around his little kitchen.

“It’s smells amazing,” I said, hovering behind him as he stirred the food.

“Thanks, its Chilli con carne,” he smiled proudly, “stir this a sec, I need to grab something,” he said rushing out of the room. As I stirred I noticed the recipe pinned up on the kitchen tiles and smiled, even if he wasn't a natural cook I was impressed he was trying. A few moments later he came rushing back.
“Is it all okay?” he asked.

“It’s fine, don’t worry!” I laughed.

“Good,” he breathed. I stepped away and watched as he grabbed two plates from the cupboard. “Sit down, I’ll bring it in,” he said. I nodded and walked into the living room which was romantically lit up with candles.
His food was actually pretty good, it wasn’t as spicy as I would have liked but it was really yummy none the less. After dinner he poured us some red wine and curled up on the sofa.

“You probably don’t wanna talk about it but, how’s James, is he going to be okay?” He asked. I had noticed Ace was avoiding the James situation but I was pleased he hadn't ignored it completely.

“I hope so, when I last spoke to him he seemed to be more like his old self,” I said, swirling my wine around the glass.

“Well that’s great,” he said.  I nodded slowly. “So what’s up then?” he asked.

“It’s just, I don’t think Billie is going to forgive me for this… like ever,” I sighed.

“Oh don’t be so dramatic!” he laughed, “she’s your best friend, once James explains it to her she will understand I’m sure, I mean, I don’t get girls but I know they always stick together,” he laughed.

“Not always,” I groaned.

“shh, don’t be grumpy, James is safe now isn't he? And that’s what matters, right?” he said.

“Yes, okay, I’m happy! I laughed.

After relaxing myself into Ace's place I looked around properly. I could tell straight away I was in a serious bachelor pad. He had huge plasma TV mounted on the wall and black leather sofa planted in the middle of the place, with no cushions, don’t men realise how important cushions are? He also had lots of retro art prints on the wall which weren't to my taste but I could see how they would appeal to him. His apartment was pretty small but it was painted light blue which made it feel more open and spacious which I liked.

“You know, I’m glad I have you,” I smiled, sinking my head into the curve of his neck.

“Mm how glad? He asked with a mischievous tone. I giggled.

“Very glad!” I laughed, kissing him on the lips.

“Oh, do I get my reward now?” he smirked, kissing me hard. I grinned and nodded.

“Finally,” he smiled, sliding his hands down my body.

“Do you live alone?” I asked in-between kisses.

“No, I er, have a roommate,” he told me, lifting off his shirt.

“Won’t they be back soon and we are… on the sofa?” I blushed, feeling him unclip my bra.

“hmm, he might like that,” he laughed kissing down my neck.

“Ace, that’s gross!” I said, slapping his arm.

“It’s fine! He’s staying somewhere else,” he told me convincingly.

After making love on Aces sofa… yes I know that’s not very classy, Ace sat up and looked at me.

“Right I know this is going to sound really, well nerdy but… I need to play this game,” he said, running his fingers through his hair.

“You need to?” I laughed frowning.

“Well, yeah, its important, I'd explain it to you but, you’re a girl, you wouldn't understand,” he laughed, getting up off the sofa and opening up a glass cupboard under the TV.  I was literally speechless. I mean, I’m not a crazy feminist but I believed in being treated as an equal, its hard out here for a woman you know.

“I wouldn't understand because I’m a woman? Don’t patronise me by calling me a girl Ace,” I said crossing my arms. Ace lent his head back and groaned.

“Oh, I didn't mean it like that, you’re not a girl gamer Is what I meant,” he said.

“Whatever,” I sighed, grabbing my shirt.

“Ow, don’t put that back on, I wanted to watch you play topless!” he laughed.

“Ace just shut up!” I snapped.

“Oh, come on, I’m joking, I’m joking, here, I wanna teach you,” he said. I shook my head and continued to get dressed.
“Scarlett, I was messing about, please don’t be mad.”

“Ace, I really don’t like being talked to like that,” I told him whilst grabbing my coat. He quickly got up.

“Scarlett, I’m sorry, I didn't think first,” he said standing in front of me. I looked up at him

“It’s fine, just let me go home now,” I said, trying to move past him.

“You really are taking this badly, I honestly didn't mean to offend you, me and… the guys we have jokes like that all the time, I just assumed…”

“Ace please, your digging yourself a bigger hole, I understand you wanna make a joke but, I’m not one of your boys,” I told him. He nodded and ran his fingers though his hair.

“Just, don’t hate me okay, I just never know when you’re going to take what I say as a joke or not…”

“I don’t hate you Ace, I just, I've been stressed out and, that didn't really help,” I shrugged, biting my lip nervously.

“I feel bad okay, and I'll make it up to you, I promise.” He said kissing me on the lips. I smiled and turned to walk out of the door.

After returning home I let myself collapse on the sofa feeling completely defeated. I really didn't know how to feel. A part of me was so happy to be with Ace but another part of me felt like the more I got to know him the more I saw sides of him I didn’t like, maybe I rushed into this…