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Okay, now he was just being paranoid. Mitchell was not the mastermind Ace was making him out to be. He was just some middle-aged dude with a poor-paying sales job, a beer belly, and thinning hair.
“I’m basically an adult,” I argued. “It shouldn’t matter who has custody over me anymore.” I slumped against the counter. “And he hasn’t talked to me in years. I was…excited.”
Ace pulled me forward so I was tucked into his chest. “I know, baby. I’m sorry.
“I’ll get you a new phone tomorrow after school, and you can call him then. When your parents are with you. How does that sound?”
I leaned back to look at him. “You’re way too protective of me, you know that?” I shook my head. “Actually, no, protective is the wrong word. Controlling is more like it.”
Ace pouted. “I liked protective more. I only want what’s best for you.”
I hummed and pushed him away from me, ready to go search for some ibuprofen for my aching brain. “So, you tell me.”
Tomorrow was Ace’s birthday, and I was beyond excited. I had a whole plan; part of it was already in action.
After Ace left me at dance practice, I waited until I knew he was gone and then snuck away to his house. I was going to leave one of the many presents I’d got him on his bed and decorate his room.
Then, after sleeping at my place, he would go home tomorrow morning to streamers and balloons and a huge banner in his bedroom, as well as a present.
After, when he came to pick me up for school, I would make him his favorite breakfast: cinnamon French toast, fresh bacon, coffee, and homemade blueberry-lemon crumble muffins.
Plus, the cinnamon, orange cake I planned on baking him later—one of his favorites from my mom’s bakery.
I had been collecting presents for the past several months. I had exactly eighteen gifts—eighteen gifts for his eighteenth birthday—that I planned on surprising him with throughout the day.
The last gift was the one that I was the most excited…and nervous about.
Marta had helped me pick out the most, ahem, promiscuous article of clothing I had ever purchased in my life. It was of the lace variety and barely covered any part of my body.
So, one might say I was the last present I planned on giving Ace tomorrow night.
That’s right, I bought sexy lingerie to try to seduce my boyfriend for his eighteenth birthday. I was beyond ready to have sex with this man.
We could barely keep our hands off each other as it was and had already done basically everything else you could think of in the bedroom.
I had no idea why we still hadn’t pulled the trigger yet but had come to the conclusion that we’d waited long enough.
Ace was the king of throwing me surprise parties and showering me with presents on my birthday, making me feel like the luckiest girl in the world.
So, although he’d insisted I not throw him a party this year, I still planned on making the day as special as I could for him.
He’d told me he just wanted to spend the day with me, so I’d made reservations for us at his favorite restaurant.
I’d also told my parents that I was going to be staying over at Marta’s house to study for a test that didn’t exist, so Ace and I could spend the night alone at his house.
Wink, wink!
I raced up the steps to his house, a giddy feeling in my chest. I had to be quick if I wanted to be back at school before dance practice was done.
I grabbed my spare key from my backpack and put it in the doorknob of his front door only to find that it was already unlocked. I pushed it open with ease.
Huh. Ace must have forgotten to lock it this morning.
I peeked my head inside, looking around for him even though I knew he wasn’t going to be there. Ace had told me he was going over to Madoc’s after school.
With two bags full of decorating supplies, I stepped into his house.
I gazed in awe at the magnificent foyer. No matter how many times I came over, I could never get over how big and beautiful Ace’s home was.
It was basically a mansion. Or maybe a hotel, what with its twenty guest rooms and ten bathrooms. I mean, it even had an elevator. And a pool. And, not one, but two kitchens!
It’s not like his dad and he needed such a grand home. Seriously, there were ten people in my family, and our house wasn’t even half the size.
But Ace told me it had been in his family for generations, and he planned on raising his kids in it one day.
To be fair, before his mom died, his home was constantly filled with people. Since his father was the mayor and always helping community members, they had an open-door policy.
People would even come over to play games in the billiard room or to swim in the pool. It was the hang-out spot, as well as the place to go if you needed help, brimming with life and good energy.
Now, though, it was empty. Mrs. Stoll would be so sad to see what her home had become.
Ace’s dad has been out of the country for the last few months.
I thought about what it must have been like for Ace to stay here by himself. It made my heart ache, and only more so to know things were worse when the man was home.
The two of them had such strong personalities and were always getting into fights, made worse by his father’s unpredictable temper and alcohol-induced outbursts. It was better to keep them apart.
That was why they slept on opposite ends of the house. Ace even had a lock on his door—the kind with a keypad that required a numeric code to unlock.
When I’d asked him why he had done it, Ace told me it was because his father was an “asswipe.”
It made me sad. And so, Ace’s estranged relationship with his father was one more reason to make his birthday special. I wanted him to know how much I loved him.
I was just about to make my way upstairs, when a deep voice spoke, causing my heart to jump to my throat.
“I hear a little omega traipsing through my house.”
I shrieked, the sound ringing off the walls. I whipped around and came face to face with Ace’s father, William Stoll.
Speak of the devil and he shall appear, I guess.
Mr. Stoll was in the room across the hall from me, sitting in a brown leather swivel chair behind a massive wooden desk. I had never seen the inside of Mr. Stoll’s office before.
His eyes seemed to be glazed over. There was an empty bottle of scotch in front of him and a half-full glass in his hand. Alarm bells went off in my head. He was drunk.
“Oh, hi, M-Mr. Stoll,” I stammered, wincing when I couldn’t keep my voice steady.
“I’m…I’m sorry, I didn’t know anyone was here. Ace didn’t tell me you were back in town.”
Mr. Stoll’s leering gaze traveled up and down my form in a way that made me squirm.
Of course, he immediately noticed my reaction, and his eyes snapped back up to my face. His expression darkened as it twisted into an annoyed frown.
Mr. Stoll was a giant man, almost as big as Ace. But unlike his son who made me feel protected and cared for, his towering body made me feel small and vulnerable.
He was thicker, burlier, and shorter than his son, but shared many of Ace’s features, such as his strong jaw and dark brown hair.
It was funny how such similar men could make me feel completely opposite levels of comfort.
Mr. Stoll leaned forward. “What are you doing here all on your own, little girl?”
Little girl? ?~Seriously?~
“Shouldn’t my son be with you?” he continued, spitting out the word like it left a bad taste in his mouth.
I shifted my feet. “Oh, I, um, came to decorate Ace’s room for his birthday tomorrow.”
I reached into my bag and pulled out a roll of streamers to show him, trying to keep my expression friendly. “Ace doesn’t know I’m here. Just wanted to make the day special for him, you know?”