KISS: Road Trip

Ch 58: Aw Man (Ace)

I pulled the chicken out of the oven, putting it on the plates and pouring some sauce over it. Humming to myself, I scratched Rags behind the ears, pouring some food into his bowl. "And here's dinner for you, curly!"

The door opened and Peter walked in, pulling off his jacket and leaning over to kiss me. "Hello my dearest darling husband, dinner smells delicious like always!" I kissed him back, wiping a bit of grease off his face. "I'd hope so! You're filthy though, wash up before you eat." Rolling his eyes, he nonetheless walked to our room, getting changed and washing off his face before rejoining me in the kitchen.

"Much better. Work good today?" I asked, kissing him. Peter accepted the plate I handed him, sitting at the table and giving me a sad smile. "Yeah it was fine. But babe I have some bad news," he said with a sigh.

My heart immediately dropped and I took my seat, trying not to freak out. "What happened? You're not divorcing me, are you?!" I cried. He shook his head with a laugh, kissing me on the cheek. "I would never! No, I just have a business trip for the weekend. I need to get some more parts for the garage and I'm looking for a new supplier. I found a couple upstate but I'll have to leave Thursday since we're meeting Friday and Saturday to hopefully work out a good deal."

I heaved a sigh, leaning against him as we ate dinner. "Damn. What am I supposed to do without you home?" I asked. He gave me another sad smile, running his hand through my hair and kissing me gently. "You'll be okay, don't worry! I'll be back on Sunday and I'll call you every night, I promise!"

We finished dinner and I did the dishes as he threw together a suitcase before walking into the kitchen, slipping his arms around my waist and resting his chin on my shoulder. "I haven't even left and I already miss you," he murmured. I twisted around just enough to kiss him, still trying to wash the last pan. "I know. How about we go to bed soon and you give me a fun time to remember you by?" I teased. He giggled, squeezing my waist. "You really do have the best ideas!"

I grabbed his hand, dragging him into our room and practically throwing him onto the bed with a laugh, climbing on top of him and making out with him.

A soft kiss woke me up early the next morning and I rolled over to look at Peter, who was giving me a sad smile. "Hey, love, I gotta head to work. I'll see you Sunday, okay?" he murmured. My heart sank and I slipped my arms around his neck, pulling him into a longer kiss. "Don't go," I whispered. He sighed, tucking my hair behind my ear. "I wish I didn't have to. But I do, and I'll be back in a few days, don't worry! But I do have to go."

I slid out of bed, following him to the door. He moved to step outside but I grabbed his hand, kissing him again. "Call me every day. Text me when you get there, too," I said with a smile. "I will! I absolutely will, don't you worry. And if I can get the deal done quicker I'll do my best to do that so I can get home maybe Saturday! But most likely Sunday, don't get your hopes up."

A frown spread across my face as I looked at him. "I don't like how you keep calling it a deal. That makes me nervous. Gives me flashbacks to your drug days." He gave me a sad look, placing a hand on my cheek. "Ace, I promise with my whole heart I'm done with that. I really am, I promise you. I won't do it again. It just hurts me, the pain's not worth the high. I'll never do it again," he said gently.

I smiled, kissing him again. "Good. Now get out of here before you're late for work and I'll see you Sunday!" "I'll do my best for Saturday love I promise," he said, squeezing my hand and grabbing his suitcase. "Oh! And take care of Rags while I'm gone, don't forget about him!" I laughed, shaking my head. "I got him for you, I'm not going to forget to take care of him! Now seriously, you're going to be late!" I cried, pushing him into the hallway and closing the door behind him.

It was weird being home alone, especially once nighttime rolled around and I had to eat dinner alone. But at least Peter had been sending me goofy text messages all day, which was always nice. As soon as I finished the dishes, I grabbed my phone and the kitten and jumped onto our bed, waiting for Peter to answer.

"Hello my wonderful husband, how's the most beautiful man in the world doing?"

I grinned, heart melting. "Good! How about you, my love? How was work today? How was your trip?" I asked, stroking Rags's fur absentmindedly as I laid on our bed. "It was good! Well, it was boring, but that's okay. I just got in to the hotel, so that's nice! It was a bit of a drive, but you know Beth can handle it."

I smiled, running a hand through my hair. "After all the time and effort you've put into that car, I'd sure hope it could make a drive up state! When's the meeting set up for?" "Hmm, let me check real quick, hold on." There was a bit of silence as I could here him rummaging through his hotel room. "Ah, here it is! I'm meeting with the first company at 9 in the morning tomorrow. Then I'll meet with the other group on Saturday around 10 in the morning and then I'll have to work with the people back at the garage to figure out which one is best for us. Then I'll finalize the deal either Saturday night or Sunday!"

"Aw, sounds good! Hopefully you'll finalize the deal Saturday night so I can see you earlier." "That's the dream, baby doll, that's the dream. Anyway, I'm gonna go to bed since I gotta be up early. I love you and I miss you and I'll see you as soon as I can! Love you my dearest darling husband!" I smiled, holding the phone closer. "I love you too! And of course I miss you too and good luck tomorrow! Love you!" I said, blowing him a kiss before hanging up and flopping back against the pillows.

I had no reason to doubt him, everything about the situation seemed legitimate, and he had been clean for almost a year, but I couldn't get rid of the nagging doubt in my mind that it wasn't a business trip, that it was all just a front for him and his drug addiction.

"Come on Ace, he's your husband, you just gotta trust him. Keep an eye on him, but also remember to trust him," I murmured, running a hand through my hair and trying to get my heart to calm down.

If it was drugs, I was going to kill him.