Crossing the Lines

SIXTY TWO

Hannah's POV

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When I pulled away, Ace was smiling.

This wasn't going to be easy, and I wasn't ready to fully forgive him. It would take time. It would take time, trust, and effort. It would take a lot, but I'm not ready to give up on us yet, and I don't think Ace was either.

After we stood there for a minute, it hit me that the others were there. I looked over to see none of them had moved, they were still frozen in shock. Luckily, we were on the other side of the street and out of earshot. 

"Should we got meet your friends, amore?"

"Those aren't my friends. We should, however, go home and see my actual ones." I smiled up at him. I was glad Ace and I were back, but I was more than excited to be able to go home and see everyone else, my family.

"We will, but I think I want to go meet them." Ace said with a determined face. He started to cross the empty street to introduce himself. I tried to pull on his arm and prevent him from going there, but it was no use, he just ended up dragging me with him.

"Hi, I'm Ace Russo." Ace told them. He didn't act friendly at all. He assessed all of them, sizing them up. Olivia was the first to snap out of it.

"Hello, I'm Olivia, and I think we all know who you are." She said blushing. I was trying so hard not to laugh, this is the first time I've ever seen her flustered around a guy. 

"Holy shit." Emily whispered out.

"Who are you?" Ace questioned her.

"Hannah's friend." She smiled. Ace looked to me, then back to her.

"Hmm." He mumbled, sounding disappointed, which immediately wiped the smile off her face.

Jake slowly made his way to the front of the group and cleared his throat. He was trying to act big and fearless, but even he looked flustered. After all, they just think they're meeting a billionaire, they don't even know he's a Don.

"Jake." He said, holding his hand out for Ace to shake. They were both silent as they sized each other up. They were, relatively, the same height. Jake had muscles from being the star quarterback, but his were nowhere near as lean or defined as Ace's.

Ace, looked at me, almost begging to do something. I glared at him, which earned me an eye roll. I thought he was going to reach out to shake Jake's hand but, at the last second, his hand turned into a fist and went upward, colliding with Jake's jaw.

"Ace!" I yelled as Jake went flying back. All of the guys went to their friend's side but the girls look to Ace, almost in awe. I'll admit, I understood where they were coming from. Around here, Jake is as good as it gets for a strong, muscular guy.

"Sorry, amore, it had to be done." He shrugged.

After punching Jake, it was clear that we had overstayed our welcome here. We went back to Olivia's and packed my things. I had a spare key that she had given me which I left on her bed, alongside a note. I told her I loved her, but I didn't belong in this town anymore, I belonged with Ace.

We went to the airport and boarded his jet, which I was more than thankful for. I've never considered myself spoiled or snobby, but I can assure you that I will never be flying on a public plane again. The amount of people, crying babies, and horrible food is enough to keep me away for good.

As soon as the plane was in the air, Ace took me to the back bedroom and plopped down, pulling me on top of him. I smiled down at him as I twirled the ends of his hair. He leaned up to kiss me, but I quickly pulled back, causing him to throw his head down on the bed in frustration.