Money For Something

16 - In Hiding

**Willow**

I had kissed Ace. Or to be more accurate, Ace had kissed me. Did it really matter? It was just semantics at this point because once that lip lock had hit me, I was in – one thousand percent I was in.

And . . . wow. Ace could kiss. Hot damn could Ace kiss.

I hadn't had that much sexual excitement in months. Make that years. Jack's and my relationship had been long distance for almost two years before our ill-fated reunion in Las Vegas. Sure, we'd managed to see each other in that time and sure our seeing each other had included sex but it had been a long time since sex between Jack and me had been even half as exciting as that kiss with Ace had been.

If it ever had.

Despite how horribly things between Jack and me had ended, I'm not laying the blame of our lacklustre sex life solely on him. For all I know, the problem could have been with me. Jack wasn't my first, if you can count an embarrassingly awkward and short coupling with my first boyfriend Blake in his sister's tree house, but Jack was the first person I'd ever been totally naked with.

That kiss with Ace on the patio had made me want to add another person to the short list of people I'd shared naked, sexy times with. I'm only slightly ashamed to admit, I'd have happily shoved aside the plate of eggs I'd hoarded for him and gotten down to business then and there on the patio table. My awareness of our audience had flown out the window at the first press of his lips against mine. Fortunately, Van had saved us the shame of a newly discovered exhibitionism kink.

The eggs had tasted like dust in my mouth as Ace and his friends began to bicker and give each other shit. I was grateful they'd chosen to ignore whose lips Ace had been attached to when they started their teasing. I wasn't ready for that level of immersion into their friend group. Their bickering might have spared me some embarrassment, but the way it immediately claimed his attention made it difficult to tell if Ace had been as blown away by our kiss as I was, or if his reaction was all just for show.

Shouldn't he have planned a major public display of affection like that? Had a discussion with me about it? Maybe worked out some light choreography? Inform me so I wasn't liable to punch him in the face, or even, as Maddy had once done when some handsy douche had grabbed her in a bar, the throat?

I was one very confused girl, but I did well at concealing the strange mix of lust and shame that churned in my gut along with the eggs while Amelie talked us through the plans for our first official photos together at Polarstar's charity performance. Or should I say, our 'couple reveal' as Josh described it to us. Or more specifically, as I'd overheard him say to Ace.

I was halfway to the patio door by that stage. I was making my escape and fleeing upstairs. I'm not stupid. I waited long enough that I avoided any appearance of flight but make no mistake, that's what I was doing. Fleeing.

And where had I fled?

Deep into the walk-in closet.

My excuse?

Arranging my clothes in the very generous amount of space that Ace had cleared for me. As I worked, I saw a long conversation in our future about the amount of space his sneakers took up on the shoe rack. Contemplation of Ace's shoe collection didn't do much to focus my thoughts; I was still in as much of muddle about Ace's feelings and motive for 'the kiss' as I had been when I'd choked back my second breakfast.

I had no doubt that he wanted us to be photographed together at the charity show but that wasn't exactly enlightening information. He should want to be photographed with me, our entire stupid real-fake marriage plot centred around fooling people into thinking that our sudden marriage was the natural, if hasty and secretive, progression of a long term, happy relationship.