The Summer I Fell (The Six Series) (20 page)

Ace’s eyes slipped closed for a second, and he took a deep breath. When he released his breath, his fists unclenched.

I shot Aiden a quick nod of thanks and curled my pinkie around Ace’s. “I’m hungry, too.”

Ace moved with me as I walked. I didn’t try to talk to him about what happened. I knew enough to let him cool down when he got that angry. By the time we’d made it to the cabin, he was more relaxed. His steps were more fluid, less marching, and I knew he’d be all right once we made it inside.

He hated getting angry like that. It always left him in a bad mood when it happened. And eventually, he’d apologize. Mark had only been joking around when he pushed me off the dock. They’d all done it before, even Ace had.

We worked at the counter side by side, making sandwiches and stacking them on a plate.

“I’m sorry, Riley,” Ace said, breaking the silence.

“For what?”

“You know what for.”

“Ace, how many times have I been thrown off that dock?”

“Yeah, but this time it was different. This time…”

I smiled up at him. “This time it pissed you off. I get it. But Mark wouldn’t do anything to intentionally hurt me.”

“I know.” He paused as he reached for me. I leaned into him as he ran his hands down my bare shoulders. “You’re important to me, Riley. I wouldn’t just hurt someone for hurting you. I’d kill them.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t think orange is a good color for you so…”

Ace’s body shook when he laughed at me. “I can’t even have one serious conversation with you before the smart-ass comments come out of your mouth.”

I batted my eyelashes at him. “Yes, and you love me regardless.”

My hand shot to my mouth, and I gasped.
Shit!
I said it without even thinking about it. I couldn’t look away from Ace, but I wanted to. I wanted to take several large steps backwards and run down the hallway.

Ace pulled my hand away from my mouth and brought my palm up to his lips. His eyes never broke contact with mine when he placed my hand against his face. “Riley, I love you so fucking much it hurts.”

My knees gave and he lifted me up in his arms, holding me close as he stared into my eyes. Both of us were caught up in what he’d admitted. The screen door squeaked open, but neither of us turned to look at whoever it was that came in. Ace’s arms bunched around me, and then carried me down the hallway, never once looking away from me to watch where he was going.

“There they go again,” I heard Aiden say as Ace caught his foot on the bedroom door, shoving it closed.

He set me down on my feet and put my hands on his shoulders. I shivered with every lingering touch he placed on my skin. My bathing suit landed in a pile on the floor with Ace’s shorts. His chest heaved into mine as we fought to control our erratic breathing. His hand flexed against my hip, and he walked me backwards to the bed.

As Ace stretched out beside me and leaned over to place a kiss on my waiting lips, his cell phone rang. I jumped. Ace ignored it and ran his fingers along the side of my face, down my neck, as if tracing every detail and absorbing it. His phone quieted, and then rang again. He huffed out an impatient sigh. “That has to be Jared.”

He sat up, grabbed his phone off the nightstand, and shook his head as he put the phone up to his ear. “Your timing sucks, bro.”

I pulled the covers down and scooted over on the bed, giving Ace enough room to lie down beside me. When he settled in, I pulled the sheet up over the both of us and rolled over to lay my head on his chest as Jared’s voice vibrated through Ace’s phone.

“The fuck, man? I’m sitting here twiddling my damn thumbs, and this is a bad time for you? Whatever.”

Ace sighed and settled in for one of Jared’s long-winded conversations. “Did you just say twiddling?”

“Yeah, fuckin’ twiddling. My ticket wasn’t at the counter, and now I have to wait another three hours to get on the next flight out. Can you believe that shit? So I called my band manager to find out what the damn deal was and get this, he says ‘it happens, buy the ticket and I’ll get the money back to you’. I already hate him. The fuck am I gonna do, Ace? I signed my name on the damn line, and now he’s being a douche.”

Ace shifted to get more comfortable and ran his hands over my hair. When he got to the hairband, he tugged it free so he could run his fingers through it as he tried reasoning with Jared. “It was probably just a mix up. Don’t freak out yet. If the guy is a real dick, then tell him to shove his contract up his ass.”

Jared’s laugh rattled through the speaker, and I knew Ace had somewhat talked him out of going into a full freak out.

With Ace’s fingers running through my hair, and the low rumble of his voice as he talked to Jared, it made my eyes heavy. I closed them and just listened as the two of them talked. Jared needed someone to talk to as he sat alone, waiting for his flight. It occurred to me then that Jared wasn’t as independent as I’d thought. He needed us just as much as we needed him. It made me wonder how we’d all move forward, feeling so severed off from each other.

The moment between Ace and I had cooled off, and it gave me time to think about what had happened in the kitchen. Ace loved me. I loved him. Where would that lead us when he left? Would he get through boot camp and then ask me to go wherever he went? Would he stay in the US or be shipped out to another country? Could I leave my dad behind? My dad was hardly ever around, but that was because of his job. We had a great relationship. I knew the only reason he worked so hard was because he wanted to support us the best way he knew how. Leaving him to go out of state wouldn’t be bad since he traveled all over and would find a way to see me on his hauls. But overseas? I’d only see him if he decided to take a vacation, or if I did. And really, wasn’t I getting ahead of myself? Sure, Ace said he loved me, but that didn’t mean he was committing himself to me.

I wouldn’t ask. He needed to tell me what he wanted. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if he made me a bunch of promises he had no intentions of keeping, just to make me happy before he left.

As they wrapped up their conversation, I heard Jared tell Ace to call him when he could. That he was sorry he’d miss his graduation, but he hoped to see him when Ace was on leave.

When Ace hung up, he took a deep breath and blew it out. “Am I doing the right thing, Riley?”

His question caught me off guard, and I pushed up from his chest to look at him. “What do you mean?”

“Leaving. I don’t even know if it’s what I want anymore.”

“What brought this on?”

“Everything. You, my mom… I dunno. I feel like I’m leaving everything behind to start over, and I can’t help but feel… hollow. I’m not ready to say good-bye to you yet. Not now. Not when we’re… this.”

I braced myself up on one arm and trailed my finger along the lines between his brows. “Jake, everything will be fine. Besides, it’s not like you’re gonna be gone forever, and neither will the others.”

His eyes closed, and he pulled me back to his chest. Rubbing small circles against my back with his hand, he kissed my forehead. “So you’ll wait for me?”

“I’ve waited a long time for you, Jake Aceton. I can wait a little longer.”

He pulled me on top of him and lifted his head to meet me in a kiss that set us on fire.

IT SEEMED LIKE ALL I
did was blink, and the time flew past before I could call it back. Time didn’t care that you wanted to savor every second of it. It marched on like always and left me scrambling to make the most of what little of it I had left with Ace before he headed off to boot camp.

Josh and Eli decided to go home first so that they could pack up their rooms. Josh needed to sort out what he’d be taking with him to college, and Eli needed to figure out how much he could live without while going to
Haiti. Both were torn over leaving until I told them I’d be stopping by to oversee their shitty packing skills.

Ace’s mom, Mary, had taken a couple of vacation days to spend time with him before he left, and they extended the invite to me since Ace knew I’d be sitting all by myself at home. I loved Ace’s mom. She was probably the sweetest person I’d ever met, and she loved Ace more than anything else in the world.

I pulled up in his driveway as his mom opened the door with a smile on her face when I got out of my truck. “We were wondering when you’d get here.”

I notice Ace standing behind her and couldn’t help the hunger that crept through me at seeing him. “Hi.”

Ace’s mom turned to look behind her and chuckled. “I’m gonna go throw a load of wash in.”

I think she said it as more of a reason to give us a minute alone, and we didn’t waste it. I launched myself into Ace’s arms and kissed him soundly.

When I pulled back, Ace’s eyes smoldered. “I want to do so many inappropriate things to you right now.”

The door to the laundry room opened, and Ace’s grip on me loosened. I slid down the front of his body until my feet touched the floor. He growled in response and shifted me in front of him so his mom couldn’t see the evident desire I’d sparked in him.

“Will you be staying for dinner?” Mary asked as she set down a rounded basket of laundry.

“Yes,” Ace answered for me, sliding himself into a chair.

I scowled at him. “If that’s all right with you?”

“Of course it is. I see the way he looks at you. He’s happy and for that, I’m happy. I just wonder what took him so long to figure out he loved you when the rest of us could see it from a mile away.” Mary shot a wink at him and grabbed a towel from the basket.

Ace smirked and pulled me down into his lap, which didn’t help his situation any, since I couldn’t keep still.

I elbowed him and stood up to help his mom fold the basket of clothes. “Behave,” I whispered to him.

By the time the basket of towels was folded, the flush on his cheeks had dimmed and he’d tampered the wild look in his eyes.

“I’m gonna stay at Riley’s tonight. Is that okay with you?” Ace sprung the question on his mom out of the blue, and I all but choked on the gasp of surprise that shot through me.

Mary didn’t miss a beat. She turned around and pegged him with a serious look as she pointed her finger at him. “If you make me a grandmother before you’re settled down with your career, I’ll castrate you myself.”

My cheeks blazed, and I couldn’t look up from the floor.

Ace took it in stride with a laugh. “Momma, when have I ever been irresponsible?”

I darted a quick glance in their direction when she answered, “Never. But as your mom, the woman who’s been through it all with you, I’m asking you… both of you, to be careful and use protection.”

I wanted the floor to swallow me whole.

“We’ve got that covered.” Ace chewed his lip to keep the smirk off his face when he looked at me.

“Good. Now, let’s go finish packing up your bag so you don’t have to worry about doing it later.” His mom walked out of the kitchen. I ran my hands over my face, trying to get it to stop burning.

Ace’s arms wrapped around me, and he pulled me into a tight hug. “That is the most interesting shade of red I’ve ever seen on you.”

I buried my face in his chest. “That’s not funny.”

He pulled back and lifted my chin up. “Riley, look at me.”

I squeezed my eyes tighter. “I can’t. Just give me a minute, Ace.”

“Jake.”

“Give me a minute, Jake.”

“Riley, I know you’re embarrassed, but think about it. What’s so wrong with the way we feel? It’s not like we were caught in the act. My mom gets it, she gets us, and I’m glad. I don’t want to feel like I have to sneak around to be with you.”

A groan slipped from me. “Ace, she knows we’re sleeping together. And you’re her son… She probably thinks I’m some loose girl with no morals and…”

He pinched my lips together. “And you’re talking a bunch of shit about the woman I love, who happens to have the best morals of any girl I’ve ever known, and is far from being ‘loose’. She’s funny, smart, and so beautiful that I want to lock her away from the rest of the men in the world. You’re my everything, Riley. I don’t care who knows it, and I damn sure don’t care what they think about it. I’d shout it from the rooftops for everyone to hear, but this is a small town, so everyone probably already knows it by now.”