Hers

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

                  I knew the car ride would be awkward to say the least.  I imagined that neither Ace nor I would really say much the entire way.

            The elevator ride down to the lobby had been gauche enough.  The entire time I was torn between folding myself in Ace’s arms and running far away the second the doors slid open.

            The Mustang was dead silent from the moment my door shut.  The tension still lingered from our fight earlier and the added discomfort didn’t help to settle my nerves.

            Ace navigated the vehicle with ease, almost as if the pressure was nonexistent to him.  I expected him to take me home.  After all, it was the least he could do after I had endured something as traumatic as literally going to hell, but he didn’t.  He took me to the café we had visited before.

            I didn’t argue when he pulled into the parking lot.  I just climbed out and followed him inside.  I held my own door open and didn’t complain when he grabbed a table when I much rather would have preferred a booth.  Anything he did now didn’t matter, my mind was made up.

            The waitress came, the same one from last time.  Trish.

            “Hey there Blondie,” she said with a too wide smile, revealing her chipped tooth.  I stared blankly as she reached out and ran a hand through Ace’s black hair.

            Ace smiled back but I could see in his eyes that he was annoyed.  His fingers tapped the table top as he spoke and often he would glance down to his hands.  Trish just didn’t seem to be getting it.

            “You know, you drive a really nice car,” Trish pointed out.

            “Yeah,” Ace responded.

            “It must have cost a fortune.”

            “Mm hmm,” he hummed.

            Honestly, what was wrong with this woman?  She didn’t know Ace.

            “What do you do for a living?”  She asked.

            “I, um…” Ace trailed off, unprepared to lie.

            “I’ll take a regular coffee,” I cut in, saving Ace from having to make something up.

            Trish cut her eyes to me but gave a noncommittal smile.

            “Will that be all?”  She asked, her eyes narrowed.

            “He’s going to want his coffee black,” I said, turning to Ace.  “Isn’t that right?”

            “Yeah,” he answered with an odd look on his face.

            Trish scribbled our orders down on the notepad and promised to be back with our drinks soon.  I ignored the wink she sent Ace before turning to leave, telling myself that she could have him.

            “Listen Lilly, I know that couldn’t have been easy for you,” Ace started lowly.  “Hell isn’t exactly known for being the most pleasurable place.”

            “You think that’s funny?”  I snapped.  “This might all be one big joke to you, but this is my soul you’re fooling around with.”

            “I understand that, Lilly,” he said calmly.

            “Do you, Ace?”  I bit back.  “Do you even have a soul?  Are you even alive?”