Chapter 16

16

LIBBY

I thought this phone was the coolest thing in the world when I got it. Now I want to throw it at the wall. I keep checking to see if Ace has texted me.

Shortly after we left his place, he texted me his number. Then he told me that I can call and message him anytime if I need him. That is the crappy part. I don't need him. I want him. That’s a big difference.

All my needs are taken care of here at Garrett's. I'd been on the verge of texting Ace when I asked over dinner the other night what he was up to. Garrett said he was on a mission. I hate the feeling of not knowing what is going on with him. We’d gone from spending almost every second together to no communication at all.

Garrett’s response had partially addressed my question about whether I had been interfering in his life. I was barely out the door, and he was on one of his missions. It all but confirms that me staying there was impeding on his regular life. He must have been eager to get back to it. I need to face the truth, which is that Ace saving me had been a favor for his brother. It was nothing more than a job. I mean, it is what Ace does for a living. He’s a real-life hero. One of the good ones, and that’s what he’d been to me. I think I’d read too deeply into it. Maybe we both got caught up in the moment when I was staying there.

“Libby?” my sister calls before knocking on the door.

“Come in.” I roll over on my bed as Winter enters my bedroom. She has boxes in her hands.

“These are the clothes Ace had ordered for you.”

“Is he here?” I sit up quickly. My heart gives a flutter of excitement.

"No, he asked the postman to forward them here."

“Oh.” Winter sets the boxes down on the bed. I can’t help the disappointment that fills me.

“Were you hoping he was here?” I shrug. “Libby.” Winter sighs and drops down on the bed next to me. “You’ve got to talk to me.”

"We talk all the time." It's been nice being able to freely talk to each other without worrying who might be listening. There is no fear of getting in trouble. It's all still so surreal.

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

“Is Ace still on the mission?”

“I can ask. Are you worried about him?”

“Yes.”

“I get it. I think I’d go a little insane if Garrett still went on them.”

“Ladies.” Garrett knocks on the open door with his knuckle. “We’re going to head into town. Swing by Ace’s bar.”

“Is this your two-week check-in?” Winter asks. I recall Ace telling me how he made Garrett agree to come to town every other week to check in.

“Something like that.”

“Does that mean he’s back from the mission?” I ask.

“Should be, but we’ll find out for sure when we get there.”

"Cool.” She hops up from off my bed. “Libby, we're going to a bar.”

“Are we even allowed to go to a bar?” I know I lived above one for a week, but I thought there were some laws or something. Heck, we don’t even have identification, but Garrett said he and Ace would get that all worked out.

"I know the owner, so I think you're good."

“Did Garrett actually make a joke?” I laugh.

He is always very stoic and to the point. Not in a bad way. His personality differs greatly from Ace's. At least with how they express themselves. I think Ace hides a lot of his real feelings behind a smile to reassure people, while Garrett doesn’t care to lessen the mood for anyone. Except my sister. He’s like a big marshmallow when it comes to her. His whole demeanor changes when she’s in the room.

“I have my moments.” He shrugs. “We’ll leave in thirty.”

"Oh, we have to get ready.” Winter starts opening the boxes. A few seconds later, Garrett is back with more.

"Ace sent those too?”

“What was delivered.” He sits them down and returns with another batch.

“Holy crap,” I whisper. Ace did way too much.

"Dang, he went all out.” Winter and I open a few more of the boxes. My face turns bright red when she lifts up a pair of silky white panties. I snatch them from her. “He didn’t forget anything, did he?" She then holds up a matching bra. “Size looks right too.” I want to wipe that playful smirk right off her face.

“Oh my God.” I snatch that from her too. “Don’t you need to go get ready?”

“Fine.” Winter laughs. “Be right back.”

Since I left Ace's, I have missed wearing his clothes. These aren’t his, but he got them for me, so that will have to do. I dig through and find something to wear for tonight. It’s still cold out, so I go with jeans and a white sweater. The sweater features a deep V at the front, revealing the tops of my boobs.

I tilt my head to the side, running my finger along where my hickey had been. It’s still there, but it’s faded and barely visible. Not sure anyone would notice it if not looking for it. I hate that it’s almost gone. It’s disappearing from my life the same way Ace is.

“Hey.” Winter comes bouncing into my bathroom. “Dang, girl. Showing them off.”

I shrug. “Why not?” Before brushing out my hair, I also applied some lip gloss and mascara. It feels so strange to be able to get dolled up but also very empowering.

“Here.” Winter clips part of my hair to one side with a white bow clip that matches my sweater.

I stare at myself in the mirror. As sad as I am about Ace, I can’t help but smile.

“He picked really good for you.”

“He was really good to me all around.” No matter what happens in the future, I will always be grateful to Ace for his kindness toward me and for showing me that all men aren’t bad.

“He was. I can even tell the difference with your leg.” I’m not receiving my usual massages, but I continue to perform the stretches and a few exercises Ace and I had been doing every day.

That familiar tingle, which only he could have brought to life, begins to form in my body. I miss his touches so much. I miss having him in bed with me every night. I’ve tried to touch myself there, recalling Ace asking me if I ever had. I closed my eyes and thought of him while I did it, but it got me nowhere. It only made my chest ache to be with him again.

“Come on.” Winter leads me out of the house, her arm linked with mine. It doesn’t take too long to make it back to the bar. At night, with the lights on, it appears so different. The parking lot is full of vehicles. There are people lined up outside too, smoking.

Winter keeps her arm linked with mine as we make our way inside. The music hums through the whole bar. A group of girls is dancing on one side of the bar, while many others are watching them. Most of them are men. Garrett leads us over to one end of the bar that has a few empty seats.

“Well, isn’t it my lucky night?" Joe says. “What can I get you lovely ladies to drink?” She winks at me. I want to dislike her, but Joe is both nice and incredibly charming.

“Water?” I shrug. When we went to the diner, we got milkshakes, which were delicious, but I'm guessing bars don't have them.

“I think we can do better than that.”

“Get them a couple white wine spritzers,” Garrett answers for us.

“You want a beer?”

“Not tonight.”

“Is Ace here?” I ask right before she can slip away to get the drinks.

“Nope.”

“Oh.”

“Hey.” Joe reaches out and grabs my hand. “If he was, he’d have been on you by now.” She squeezes my hand, then lets it go. She’s off before I can ask her what she means.

“She’s lucky Ace isn’t here. He wouldn’t have liked that shit,” Garrett mutters from behind me.

“Why?” Winter asks.

“He just wouldn’t.” He kisses the top of Winter's head.

Joe drops off our drinks a few minutes later. I take a small sip of it. "Not bad." I nod in agreement with Winter, then return to observing people.

Everyone is so free to do as they please. We really had been sheltered from the rest of the world. It makes me wonder what might be going on back at Heaven's Temple right now.

"Do you want to dance?" Winter asks. She has always been more courageous than me.

"I don't know," I say, feeling shy and a little self-conscious. The two of us have danced together but always alone. I would sing, often making up the songs as I went along.

“Come on.” I take another sip of the drink before I let her lead me out onto the floor. “All that matters is that we have fun,” Winter says over the music. It’s louder on the dance floor.

I notice that Garrett has followed us over but stands on the edge of the dance floor. A lot of the men are doing that, but Garrett has his arms folded over his chest, that stoic, hard expression on his face. The other guys are more laidback.

A new song comes on. “I know this one!” I shout. I’ve heard it a million times on TikTok. Winter and I dance together. I forget about all the other people. That is until I feel a hand come to my hip, making me jump.

“Hey, back up!” Winter shouts as I turn to see a man I don’t recognize.

“She can speak for herself. Can’t you, baby?" the man responds. His eyes are trained on my boobs, so I'm not sure if he's talking to me or to them specifically. Right now, I’m gonna say my boobs.

“I’m dancing with my sister.” I step forward, away from him. I catch Garrett out of the corner of my eye watching, but his expression has changed. I swear he might be fighting a laugh. What’s so funny all of a sudden?

“And now you’re dancing with me.” He briefly grasps my hips once more before abruptly pulling away. My mouth falls open when he flies backwards a few feet before hitting the floor, his body colliding with a table, making it fall over. The drinks that were on it fall to the floor, glass shattering and soaking him in whatever was in them.

“Ace,” I whisper when I see him standing over the man. My brain has finally caught up and realized that it was him that grabbed the man. He is so zoned in that he doesn’t hear me call his name. Or if he did, he doesn’t respond because he’s going for the guy. His brother steps in front of Ace.

“Take a breather.”

“I want him out now,” Ace orders harshly, making everyone grow quiet.

“Joe is already on it.” Garrett isn’t wrong. Joe is pulling the man up by his shirt.

“Okay, she’s pretty badass too,” Winter says, coming to stand next to me. I nod my head in agreement. Everyone is watching as the music cuts off.

Ace turns around to face me. My breath catches. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the look that he’s currently wearing. His jaw is tight, and he looks as though he’s one second away from losing his shit. I know this isn’t the time, but he also looks so damn hot. He is as handsome as I remember. He’s in jeans and a black shirt. His hair is wet, like he just got out of the shower. But I can tell he’s tired.

"Hi,” I say. He shakes his head. I swallow, wondering if I did something wrong.

“Hi?” he responds. “That’s all I get?”

“I ah—” I know everyone is watching us. Ace did tell me this is a small town, so I’m sure everyone knows everyone. I can feel everyone’s eyes on us, so I’m not sure how I should respond.

“I'm tired, Libby. I really fucking am. I can’t do it anymore.” My heart sinks. Is he saying that he doesn’t want to be around me?

“I get it,” I whisper. My heart is breaking into a million little pieces.

"No, you don’t.” In three long strides, he’s in front of me.

“Ace.” I gasp when he lifts me off my feet and tosses me over his shoulder. What the heck?

I hear people hooting and hollering before Joe shouts over them, “Show’s over! Music back on!”

Those are the last words I hear as Ace carries me to the back of the bar. I don’t understand what’s going on, but I don’t do anything to stop it, either.