Of Kings and Aces

Good Luck, Ace

I finished at the office at eleven P.M. on Friday, absolutely worn out since I had all of Wednesday's to Friday. I kicked Bart out around nine because I could not stand his chatty ass while concentrating on the papers in front of me. I debated whether to go home or stay, but it was a Friday night so naturally, the boys were looking for me.

"What do you mean you're still in the office? Jaxx has been here an hour ago!" Seb complained. They were in some bar in Rockwell, drinking.

"Because he is a torpid jerk," I said too quickly before regretting it, "and he needs a break. Tita Ella's well, you can ask him if he wants to talk about it."

"We know. He just came from the hospital because they had to run a battery of tests on her. Anyway, get your workaholic ass here," he said, this time sounding less angry.

As I locked my door, Seb called again.

"Are you that eager to see me?" I chuckled.

"Where exactly are you? No lying, and be precise!" he threatened, but he was laughing.

"I'm right in front of my office door, which I am about to lock right now." A loud click echoed in the empty corridor.

"Great! Could you bring Jacob with you? He said he was still there on the IT floor, slaving away in his rathole. Told him to be a gentleman and meet you at your office."

"You guys are friends now?" I asked disbelievingly. Why did everybody like him so much?

"Uh, yeah? He's a cool cat. Fits right into our clique, don't you think?" he snickered.

"We don't have a clique, Regina George," I rolled my eyes and leaned against the door, checking the time on my watch.

"Yeah, we do. Oh wait, you weren't invited," his laughter blared through the phone. "But anyway, bring the dude over," he ordered, still laughing.

"I'd love to," I paused for dramatic effect until I realized he already cut the call. "Hello? Seb?"

I stared at my phone for several moments while facing my door, my feet glued to the floor. Bringing Jacob should not be a big deal. He was friends with them. I'm, well, acquainted with him. There should not be any problem, right?

Then why the f**k am I standing here, immobile, having another internal battle whether or not I should take him or fake an excuse not to? He was correct to question me because right now, I was being an ass and if I could, I would kick myself to get this stick out of my ass.

I knocked my head on the door a couple of times before the sound of someone clearing his throat made me jump and hit my head and shoulder heavily against my mahogany door.

"Ouch! Son of a," I hissed as I rubbed my forehead. Eyes squinting from pain and from the brightness of the light, I focused on the tall figure standing a few feet from me, leaning on the wall with his legs crossed. His hands shoved inside the front pockets of his dark trousers. The messenger bag ran across his body, crumpling his shirt over his chest as he stared down at me. When our eyes met, there was nothing else I could focus on. The light blue shade of his shirt reflected in his eyes, making them look a shade lighter and crisper. God, how are his eyes this beautiful?

He c****d his head as a small awkward smile turned the corner of his lips up.

"So, uhm, should we go?"

Hot damn.

I am so screwed.

When we got to the address Chino sent, it was not just another bar. It was more refined, with most of the people still in their business or office clothes. There were several different parlors, one with billiards, and another was quieter where the occupants looked like older business people. It reminded me of those upper-class gentlemen's clubs they used to have in London. When we got to the room with the bar, the ambiance was more comfortable and the people were chattering noisily.

We did not have to search for the idiots. One of them immediately found us.

"You!" Seb stood up and pointed at me, the drink spilling on his hand. He was wasted and the look on his face said it all. "You can't sit with us!" he raised his glass and laughed, plopping back to the wide cushioned seat resting an arm over the backrest.

Chino was hunched over his seat shaking, elbows on his knees and head in his hands. When he sat upright, he was wiping his eyes and catching his breath. The usually prim and reserved Jaxx lay on a chaise, crouching to fit his six foot-something frame into the two-seater sofa, laughing while holding his belly and covering his mouth with a handkerchief.

"What are you guys high on?" I sighed, resting a hand on my hip. I hope they're not on laughing gas or some other dumb s**t.

"He made me do it!" Seb threw Jaxx under the bus, and Chino laughed harder. The mastermind, who somehow thought it was a moment of pride, stood up and took a bow in three different directions. I just shook my head and sighed.

"Where's Bart? He said he would be here," Jacob asked no one in particular, taking the other love seat opposite Jaxx. When I desperately searched for a vacant seat, he scooted further to one side though not looking at me giving me the option to take the offer or not.

Not a big deal, not a big deal. I reassured myself as I took the spot, our hips bumping momentarily.

"Friends, Romans, and countrymen, lend me your ears!" Chest out and one hand in the air. This was Bart's dramatic entrance. He had an arm around an attractive girl who looked amused, embarrassed, and tipsy.

"This beautiful lady here is Erin, and she has a couple of friends who would like to meet you, young gentlemen. She happens to be a, uh, what do you do again?" 

They both laughed.

Oh boy. This is going to be a long night.

The rest of the guys upped and went to the girls while I looked after our lawyer friend until he sobered up from his laughing fit. Two hours and two beers later, I was still on my spot, talking to Chino.

"God, I am so screwed, Ace. Why can't I get her out of my mind? It was one night, and nothing even happened! I should've gotten her number. I'm so f*****g lame," he shook his head.

"You always went for the intriguing women you couldn't have. What's up with that? There have been lots of women who practically threw themselves at you, but you never picked one," I chided.

"Not my thing, you know that."

"Dude, they're just gonna use you. Why not get something out of it, too? I mean, do you honestly believe that only the guys benefit from one-night stands? That women don't like it and they feel just used?" I asked him and he just raised a questioning eyebrow at me.

"Come on! We're not bad guys here. We're being helpful. They're practically asking you to pleasure them, so you give them just that. No strings attached. If they agreed to that, there should be no regrets, no blaming, no crying," I explained.

"What, like, 'you rub my back and I rub yours'?" he chuckled.

"Exactly, only, it's 'I f**k you and you f**k me. Period'," I said bluntly, sipping the last of my warm beer. I shuddered after swallowing it. It was disgusting.

"You're such a d**k, man," he chuckled and shook his head.

"You have one, too. Use it wisely," I winked.

When I looked ahead, I caught a pair of dark, sapphire eyes staring intently at me. He looked away lazily when the woman beside him leaned her back into his chest. That's when I noticed he had his arm around her shoulder. Then the familiar yet unfamiliar heat burned in my chest when he whispered something in her ear and they both laughed with the b***h leaning further into him.

I didn't notice the tightness of my grip on the bottle until Chino pried my hand off it.

"You okay?"

"Dandy," I tore my gaze from the pair and forced a smile. "I'm calling it a night."

I took some bills from my wallet and handed them to him, who pushed my hand back.

"I got it." 

He stood up and we walked over to the other table. Bart was talking animatedly while the others listened. I tapped Jaxx's shoulder, telling him I was leaving. Chino whispered something to Seb, who looked at me and grinned. The woman who sat beside him offered a smile and a short wave. I returned the courtesy.

"Hope you enjoyed your night, Ace. You sure you don't want to join us? Kendra saved you a seat," he said, nodding towards a girl in a single sofa seat with armrests. She wore a modest dress with sleeves but it did not hide the killer curves underneath.

Her eyes widened as I smirked and walked towards her. She looked around her for a place for me to sit. I laughed lightly and shook her hand. 

"Ace."

"Kendra," she said, tucking her hair behind her ear. I sat on one of the armrests. Chino c****d an eyebrow at me. She was cute, but she reminded me of someone I knew. I leaned over close to her ear, feeling eyes burning through me. "I'd really love to stay and get to know you better, but my headache is killing me. Do you think we could hang out another time, though?"

"Y-yeah, sure," she smiled shyly. I gave her my mysterious-yet-panty-dropping-smirk, as Cara would call it, and held my phone out for her to type in her details.

"Thank you. Have a good night, Kendra," I gave her a quick cheek kiss and stood up, looking at Jacob momentarily. He had a smirk on but I didn't miss how his jaw clenched and his eyebrow slightly raised.

"Smooth," Bart said in a low voice as I passed by him.

"What was that about?" Chino asked as we walked down the stairs.

"What was what?" I replied, confused.

"You and Jacob. You have a glaring contest or what?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," I played dumb and walked to my car. He had to wait for the attendant to find the owner of the car blocking his.

"Goodnight, Aiden," I said, calling him by his real name thus subtly telling him not to push the matter further.

He chuckled and nodded, getting it. "Good luck, Ace."

♤  ♡  ♧  ♢