When he pulls back, both our chests heave with the strength of the pull between us.
It feels like an actual loss when his lips leave mine.
A small smile breaks out across his full lips. “That felt…exactly like I thought it would.”
A bittersweet laugh chases my giant exhale. Because, looking into his muddy gaze that surprises me with its depth and intensity, I can see our ending.
After the kiss that felt so much like a beginning.
He takes a step back, but his eyes don’t lose their grip on me. “I have to take you home now, Naima.”
A swift bob of my head lets him know that I understand.
He has to take me home, and then I’ll probably never see him again.
After a night like this, it should be a relief. My experience at the G-Ring was nothing if not traumatizing. But instead of being flooded with thankfulness at the prospect of my familiar sorority house, I’m floored with an overwhelming sense of loss.
Where does it come from? The end of the excitement?
Or the impending loss of Ace?
He kills the engine at the end of the Kappa Theta Theta driveway. Climbing off the bike, I hand him his helmet and we both stare up at the ornate, Victorian house.
“Is this…a sorority house?” The amusement in Ace’s tone doesn’t escape me.
I offer him a wry smile. “Surprised? You just escorted home a sorority girl.”
Ace opens his mouth, then shuts it again. He stares at me for a moment, and then shakes his head. “You’ve rendered me speechless.”
Soft laughter bubbles up from inside me as I peer up at him.
“At least,” he continues. “I won’t worry about you so much tonight. Safety in numbers.”
He stares down at me, the depth of some unreadable feeling forming in his yes.
“I don’t want to let you go here...I want to see you walk inside your door.” Ace’s tone is firm.
Does he think I’ll argue? Amusement fills me, even as sadness tinges the moment.
I gesture, waving a loose hand, up the U-shaped drive. “Let’s go.”
He hesitates, and I’m about to ask him what he’s waiting for when he takes my hand and holds it in his much larger one. Tingles shoot through my arm, and I glance down at our grasp. Ace gazes down at it too, like he can’t believe what he’s just done. Warmth spreads through my belly.
Oh…hell.
“Let’s pretend,” he whispers.
And I nod, because I know exactly what he means.
“Let’s say…” We begin walking up the driveway. The sorority house is quiet, a few lights dotting the windows upstairs.
“…That we met in a regular place tonight. That you didn’t walk into my illegal gambling ring with another guy.”
Ace smiles down at me, and a soft laugh escapes my lips.
I slide him a sideways gaze. “I have no problems with the way we met. Suits us.”
Now it’s his turn to chuckle. “Yeah? Think so?”
“Oh, for sure. I mean, look at me.” I gesture down at myself, indicating my rebel attire. “And you.” I use my hand to demonstrate our likeness, all the black we wear. We do look as if we go together.
His tone is amused. He glances up the drive, where the house looms in its pristine grandeur. The two lanterns on either side of the impressive double front doors and the spotlights shining on the house from the manicured yard, give it an epic visage.
His eyes meet mine again. “A bird and a fish, baby.”
Baby. I’d usually want to punch a guy in the balls for calling me that. But when Ace says it…I want it to be true. I want to be his.
“You’ll be safe.” Ace stops walking just shy of the paved walkway leading up to the front staircase. “There’s no way for those men to connect you to me, or to the ring.”
My steps falter as I look up at him. “And what about you? Will you be safe?”
His grim expression is the only answer I need.
“My offer still stands. Just come inside with me. We can figure it all out.”
His smile is crooked, almost boyish. “Underneath that tough exterior…there’s a whole lot of sweetness. Stop hiding it.”
Quicker than I can register, his lips are on mine again. It’s too short, too light, not enough of anything. And then he’s gone, backing away from me. He twirls a finger around in front of him, indicating that I should turn away and go inside.
When I do, an ache settles in the most hollow part of my chest. It’s like a disease that spreads. But I force my feet to keep walking, my hands to pull out my keys, my fingers to unlock the door. Without glancing back at Ace, I step inside and close the door behind me.
Leaning my back against the cool wood, I close my eyes and sigh.
It’s been the best/worst night of my life.
Ten
ACE
My eyes are grainy, probably because it’s three a.m. and I still haven’t slept yet. After we walk through the empty parking lot, I pull out my key to open the door.
Carson, my uncle, and I had done a lap around the warehouse in his car to make sure no one was waiting there for me before we parked beside the back door.
Walking down the long hallway, the hairs on the back of my neck rise and stiffen, creating a sense of eerie urgency in my blood. Something isn’t right.
That same something hasn’t been right since the Suit walked back into the Ring with a pistol in his hand, but now the feeling chokes me, overwhelms me, covers me in a blanket of unease from head to toe.
I walk faster, opening the door at the other end of the hallway, the one that leads to the wide-open space where the Ring is held. Carson follows me, his presence helping to beat back the panic swelling in my mind.
I flick on the light, and
