Ace Fernando is everything Emilia strives to avoid.
He's arrogant, a total f*ckboy - he has a new girl on his arm every week - and not to mention, he's devilishly and dangerously handsome.
Emilia won't succumb to his ways, and she certainly isn't ab...
As Ace drove me to his apartment which he shares with my brother, Konstantin, we sat in a tense silence. I stared out of the window, with my forehead pressed against the cool glass of Ace's Ford.
Who the hell names their kid Ace of all names? Pretentious parents. That's who, I thought.
He didn't seem eager to break the silence, so I did it.
'So... how long have you known Konstantin for?' I queried.
Ace cleared his throat, keeping one hand on the steering wheel and he uses the other to scratch the back of his neck. 'About four years or so. I don't really keep track. I'm pretty sure that's more of a girly thing to do, anyway.'
'There's nothing wrong with remembering when you met someone who's important or has an impact on your life.' I retorted, pursing my lips. I didn't know what it was about him but his mere presence riled me up. And when he opened his mouth, God help me, I found it hard not to slap him again.
I took a sip of my water bottle, my throat suddenly felt dry, at the realization that Konstantin hasn't been very... informative on his life since I'd moved to Boston. Now that I think of it, we haven't made a habit of speaking all that much ever since I moved overseas. I regretted that we haven't kept our promise to each other that we'd stay close. I could never bear the thought of losing him without restoring our previous closeness.
'Konstantin hasn't been chatty about you.' I admitted and stifled a sigh. I had forgotten how hot summers in Italy could get. Grabbing a hair-tie from my carryon, I decided to tie my hair into a ponytail.
Ace cast me another one of his alluring, but cheeky, smirks that could make any woman look to him in awe and swoon; I'm not just any woman, however. I won't ever let myself be enticed by him. 'I wonder why that is. I'm wonderful.' he replied.
I rolled my eyes. His arrogant-ness, a complete turn off. 'For some reason I find that hard to believe.' I scoffed.
Ace briefly turned his head to face me.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
'You'll come around, Princesa.' he promised me with a wink, before fully directing his attention back to the road.
I decided to let the comment hang in the air, I wasn't going to waste my breath attempting to compel him to refrain from calling me that wretched nickname. At least the tension had lessened. I took in the scenery, marveling at the changes– whether they be an addition or subtraction– to my home. I always crack a smile when I see the aged buildings being preserved, restored or reused. I love the old architecture.
Soon we came to a stop outside of Bella Casa, Ace and Konstantin's apartment building.
Ace helped me with one of my suitcases and I dealt with the other one, as well as my carryon, as we trudged up the stairs. The elevator was unfortunately dysfunctional.
Let's just say he complained about it more than I did.
'Holy shit, what do you put in your bags?' he complained and cursed under his breath for the third time with a groan.
'Belle parole non pascon i gatti.' I huffed, feeling ready to explode from how irritating Ace was being. Belle parole non pascon i gatti — Fine words don't feed cats. My mother always used to say that to me when I complained too much.
Ace looked at me with widened eyes after my outburst. 'Il dolce far niente.' he replied – Il dolce far niente, meaning it is sweet doing nothing – and he remained silent until we reached the fifth floor. We walked a little way down the hall until we come to a stop at apartment 5B.
'Here we are.' Ace announced and reached into his jean pocket. He produced a silver key, which he used to unlock the sleek, mahogany door.
'Welcome home, Emilia.' he said as he pushed open the door. I rolled my suitcase in.
I traipsed into the living room of the apartment. The walls were a plain white, with a few paintings hung sparsely. A dark chocolate coloured leather couch – which currently had two x-box controllers and plush, orange pillows sat on it – is pushed to the left side of the room, positioned in front of a glass coffee table and TV stand. A black and white clock, mounted on the wall above the TV and azure drapes adorned the windows. To the right vicinity of the room was the kitchen. The table– made of granite and the refrigerator was a delightful shade of yellow.
Ace walked over to the kitchen table and plunked his keys into a ceramic dish. He rolled my second suitcase to the living room and halted.
He turned to face me and beckoned me. 'C'mon, Princesa. I'll show you your room.' he walked in the direction of a hallway. I followed suit.
The hallway retained a coolness, which contrasted with the sweltering heat of mid-July. Ace came to a stop at the second door to the left.
'This is our guest room, the room to the left of yours is the bathroom, but you do have an en suite, and I'm just across from you,' he winked, 'lucky you. Konstantin's room is at the end of the hallway.'
'Lucky me, alright.' I muttered under my breath and sidled into the guest room.
____
A/N: Hi everyone. Don't forget to vote, comment and/or share, if you enjoyed this chapter. Any constructive/positive feedback is much appreciated and makes my heart all fluffed up and the inspirational juices flowing. Thanks for reading!
