Joe smiled and headed toward us. I watched Jace as his jaw clenched. I was nervous and Joe was getting closer with each passing second. "Baby bro-"
Jace swung out his right fist connecting it to Joe's jaw. Joe took a step back and stumbled into a chair. We all watched in silence as he fell to the floor and pounded his fist on the ground.
Jace leaned over him and grabbed the back of his hair. "If you ever lay your hand on my sister again, I swear I will hunt you down," he said breathless. "I will hunt you down and I will kill you."
Jackie ran over and pushed Jace away. Then she slapped him across the face, leaving a mark. His jaw clenched, but other than that, he didn't move a muscle.
"Leave, Jace. You have no right. I'm a grown woman," she said venomously.
Jace grabbed for my hand and pulled me away from the scene. "Yeah
, a thirty year old clueless woman." He paused and looked into her eyes. "I wish our love was strong enough. You need help."
"I'm not the only one," she said. Then she helped Joe to his feet and pulled him toward the door. “This is why we don’t talk anymore,” she yelled back before stepping outside of the bowling alley.
I watched Jace in silence as he watched his sister walk out of the bowling alley and out of his life. The look on his face was so painful that it hurt me. It reminded me of the pain I felt around my parents. I wanted to cry for him.
We both stood there quietly before Jace turned around and shook his head. "I'm so sorry that you had to see that. I ruined the day," he said sourly.
"Jace." I walked over and placed my hand on his arm. "Don't be sorry," I whispered. "Maybe we can continue this another day."
He looked up and smiled. "No." He paused. "You deserve to have a good day. I like seeing you smile." He walked over to his ball and picked it up from the ground, taking one last look at the exit door. "Besides, you still have to kick my ass if you want that lunch." He smirked.
I stifled a grin as I watched him walk over to the lane and toss his ball. He tossed it so hard that it knocked every pin down. I was impressed. "Very nice," I said playfully.
By the end of the game, Jace was the winner. The scores were Jace 160 and myself with a 102. I guess it wasn't bad for my first game.
So much for that lunch
.
We left the bowling alley and I was surprised when he pulled up at the diner. I didn't win the game so he didn't owe me lunch. Even though I was starving, I didn’t understand. I sat up in my seat and took my seatbelt off. "What are we doing here?" I questioned. “Are we going to work?”
He smiled and turned off the engine. "I don't owe you lunch, but that doesn't mean that we can't go and eat for free." He lifted an eyebrow. "Let's go. I'm starving." He jumped out of the car and waited for me. “Well…come on.”
I got out and followed him inside the diner. Maple greeted us with that award winning '
mommy
' grin that she always gave. "It’s two of my favorite people. So glad that you guys came in to see me," she said gleefully.
Jace and I followed her to an empty booth, taking a seat across from each other.
Winston stepped out of the kitchen and walked over to the table with a smile. "Do I have company?" he questioned. "Jace, I'll make your favorite." He looked over at me and grinned. "My favorite -"
"Winston," Maple cut him off. "That girl doesn't find you attractive. Get back in that kitchen," she said with a slight grin.
Winston rubbed his round belly and shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, I worked hard to get a body like this," he teased.
Maple pinched his arm and shook her head as he walked away. "I told you he has been being bad," she said to Jace.
Jace leaned back in the booth and laughed. "You always know how to keep him in check. I need a woman like you, Maple," he said squeezing her hand.
Maple blushed and grabbed my shoulder. She looked between the both of us and smiled. Then she fixed her apron. "The usual, sweetness?"
I looked up and smiled. "I have a usual?" I questioned unaware.
She smiled and pinched my cheek. "Of course you do. You always order the breakfast steak and fried potatoes with extra ranch on the side."
I shook my head in disbelief. She was right. I did. I couldn't believe that she had noticed. "Yes, maple. Thank you," I said.
Jace smiled across the table at me as Maple walked away. Then he leaned in, his eyes studying my hands. “I had a lot of fun today.” He looked up and licked his lips. “Did you enjoy bowling?”
I looked away from his lips and cleared my throat before my eyes could roam the rest of his gorgeous body. “Yeah. It was nice. I’ve always wanted to go bowling but just never had the chance.” I swallowed hard and twirled a finger in my hair. “It’s not that I couldn’t or anything, it’s just that…it’s-“
“It’s okay, Avery,” he cut in. “You don’t have to explain why you’ve never bowled before. I’m sure there are others out there.” He smiled and slipped his hand across the table, resting it next to mine. “You’re so...”
I stared down at his hand before pulling my hand off the table and resting it awkwardly on my lap
. Don’t stop there.
“I’m so what?”
Jace smiled as Maple approached the table with our food. “Cute,” he said calmly. Then he stood up to help Maple with our plates.
Maple slapped Jace with her towel and laughed. “You sit down. You’re not working. I am perfectly capable, young man.”
Jace sat back down throwing his hands up. “Yes, ma’am.” He grinned. “Thank you.”
A smile crossed my face as I watched the two of them. They were so comfortable with each other and I had to admit that it was rather cute.
“You two enjoy each other.” Maple paused. “I mean the food.” She laughed.
Jace grabbed his fork and looked over at me. “Oh we will.”
While eating, I looked across the diner noticing the same strange woman from last week. She sat in the corner of the diner, peeking over her phone in our direction. I could feel her stare burning a hole right through me, making me feel uncomfortable. She kept tilting her phone as if she were taking pictures of us. It was distracting and creepy.
“Jace."
He looked up from his plate of food and set his fork down. “What’s up?”
"Do you know that woman that is sitting in the corner behind you?”
He peered over his shoulder and then quickly turned back around. "Nope. I've seen her in her a few times but that's it," he replied. “Why?”
I shook my head, blowing it off. She was probably just hungry. It’s a diner after all. “Just curious. She looks familiar. That’s all.”
Jace looked down at my fork as I played with my steak. “Now eat.” He smiled before shoving his food in his mouth. He somehow even managed to make that look sexy.
After eating, Jace tossed a ten-dollar bill on the table for Maple. Then I pulled out a five -dollar bill and threw it down on the table as well. Jace smiled and placed the saltshaker down on top of the money. "That's nice of you," he said.
I just shook my head before following him to the car. Maple was a sweet woman and she deserved money for her hard work. In the whole time that I had known her, I had never seen her without a smile.
After arriving back to the house, we spent the next couple of hours cleaning the house and just hanging out. It was so different from what I was used to and it felt nice. We made some small talk but I still couldn’t manage to talk about my past or my family. It was my dark little secret. A monster inside of me that I didn’t want to release.
“Thank you for today.”
Jace looked up from the loveseat and nodded his head. “Don’t thank me. Just promise to do it again someday.”
I couldn’t help but to look at his arms as he stretched them out behind him. I remembered what it felt like being close to him and my heart flipped in my chest just thinking about being in his arms again. “I’ll think about it.” I smiled at Jace before heading to my room to be alone. I needed some thinking time. Some time to be alone.
It was my 16th birthday and I was about to go on my first date. I had been crushing on Nate since the fifth grade and I was so excited that he had finally asked me out. I put on my best dress and threw my hair up in a bun. I wanted him to like me as much as I had liked him.
After I was dressed, I looked over at the clock to check the time. "Shoot!" He would be arriving any minute now. I was so nervous. Even more nervous because both of my parents had been drinking.
My heart stopped and I froze when I heard a light knock on the door. I needed to get downstairs so I could answer it before my parents. I couldn't let them ruin my first date. I was half way down the stairs when suddenly I heard a loud bang on the wall and my father mumbling to himself. Shit!
My father had the door wide open and my mother was in the background in a T-shirt and underwear. Nate stood there with a worried look on his handsome face. His blue eyes, usually so bright, were now dull and full of regret.
"Kid, do you have any idea what you're getting yourself into," My father questioned. "Look at her." He motioned back to me as I walked up behind him. My whole body shook.
My mother leaned back in her chair and let out a devilish laugh. It sent chills down my arms. My father joined her in laughter and grabbed a hold of my hair. "She's not worth your time. She's not worth anyone’s time," he said spitting in Nate’s face. "Get out while you can. Run off kid."
I yanked my head away from my father’s grip and grabbed the door. "No!" I screamed. "Nate."
Nate took one look into my eyes and I could see the fear in them. He slowly turned away and walked down the sidewalk. My heart broke with every step that he took.
"Come back, please," I cried. He didn't stop or even bother to turn around. He just left. Left me alone and broken.
I felt the anger build up inside of me and I lost it. I wasn't thinking. "Dad!" I screamed. "I hate you both."
My dad looked at me with eyes of fire. He was going to rip my head off. I had never spoken to him like that before. Even my mother froze in her chair. "You, little bitch."
I took off running toward the stairs. My legs gave out and I knew that I was dead.
I sat up in bed screaming. My whole body covered with sweat, as the tears rolled down my face. I grabbed my hair and pulled it out of my face, while glancing up to see Jace standing in my doorway shirtless. The sight startled me.
He didn’t hesitate before running inside my room and sitting on the edge of my bed. "Avery, what's wrong?" he questioned while grabbing my face. His hands were soft and warm. “Tell me.”
I stared up at him unable to speak. I felt my whole body quake as I started crying even harder. "I…I-"
He wrapped his arms around me and pulled my head against his chest. "Shh! It's okay." He ran his strong hands over my head and face and placed his head on mine. "I'm here. It's okay," he whispered.
I sat there in his arms for what felt like forever. I didn’t want to move. It was starting to become a normal routine for us. I leaned closely against his chest as he comforted me with his soft touch.
When I was finally able to collect myself and gain control, I pulled away and looked up at him. "It was just a bad dream."
He looked down into my eyes and grabbed my face. "That was one hell of a dream then. You can tell me about it," he said softly. "Please.”
I turned my face away unable to look him in the eye. "It was just a bad memory. One that I would like to forget," I whispered. "My only boyfriend, he…" I stopped.
He pulled my face toward his and rubbed my cheek. "Did he hurt you?" he questioned, his voice shaking.
My legs started shaking as he rubbed my f
ace. "Not him. My parents." I looked down at the ground in shame. "They told him that I wasn't worth his time. He was the only guy that I ever loved," I whispered.
He shook my shoulders and looked me in the eye. He looked angry. "You listen here, don't you ever believe that you're not worth loving. Anyone would have to be crazy to not love you." He turned his head away and clenched his jaw. "I mean…this guy must have just been crazy to not love you back. He was stupid."
He threw his arms around me not even giving me a chance to speak. He leaned back in the bed pulling me down with him. He pulled me into his body and wrapped me in his arms and close to his chest, his bare legs tangled around mine. "I'm going to stay in here with you until you can fall asleep."
I attempted to pull away to look at him. "I'm fine, Jace. Really, you don't have to," I said struggling.
He pulled me tighter and kissed the top of my head.
Damn his lips are soft.
"Your bed is more comfortable than mine and you need to learn to share." He laughed in my ear.