Chapter 14 Ace
FOURTEEN
ACE
A loud, buzzing sound woke me, and when I reached for my phone in confusion, I spotted Dallas’s name on the display.
“Hello?”
“Good morning.” Over the phone, Dallas’s voice was soft and gentle, a smile in his tone.
I groaned and rolled to my side, grinning like a fool. “Good morning.”
“I got up about thirty minutes ago and couldn't wait any longer to call you,” Dallas said. “Did I wake you?”
I chuckled quietly and glanced at the clock. It was eight on a Saturday morning. Of course he’d woken me up. I didn’t mind hearing his voice first thing in the morning though. It was… nice. Reassuring. Domestic. “Yeah. That’s okay, though. I like it.”
“Me too.”
When he didn’t say anything else right away, worry began to creep in, tightening my chest. “Is everything okay?” I didn’t usually get phone calls at eight in the morning on a Saturday, especially not when I had an actual date planned with the caller that same evening.
“Yeah, everything’s good. I just… I don’t know. This is silly, but I just wanted to say hello. I’m looking forward to seeing you tonight.”
My heart melted a little. “Are you saying you… miss me?”
Dallas gave me a soft little laugh and I could imagine him nodding and his cheeks turning faintly pink, a light blush across his nose. “Something like that.”
“You’re turning into a softie,” I teased.
“Like I said before, I think you’re worth it.”
Somehow, he always knew exactly what to say to make butterflies flutter inside me and my heart skip a beat. “Thanks.”
“Okay, well I just wanted to call and say good morning.”
“Wait—that’s it?”
Dallas laughed again. I loved the sound, the way he was loosening up enough to laugh and sound at ease most of the time. “Did you need me to say something else?”
“No, I… guess I just wanted to be sure.”
“In that case, I’ll see you tonight,” he murmured, and the call ended.
I spent the entire rest of the day walking on air, buoyed by the call and hardly able to focus on the student work I was grading.
By lunchtime, I gave up on the grading. To make time pass and the date feel like it wasn’t so far away, I went for a long run through the streets of downtown Port Grandlin.
My feet carried me about ten miles before I was walking up the steps to my building again.
When I made it home, I took a drawn-out shower, paced my apartment, tried to watch a movie, and changed my clothes six times before settling on the outfit I’d started with—a gray long-sleeve V-neck and a pair of dark blue jeans.
Finally, there was a knock on my door that set my heart to racing.
I hurried to answer it, almost as if he’d leave if I didn’t get there soon enough.
When I swung the door open and I found Dallas on the other side as expected, a calm settled over me.
He wore a black sweater and jeans, both garments form-fitting and showing off his body nicely.
In one of his hands was a bottle of red wine, and the other was holding several takeout bags.
“Hi,” he said, a shy smile on his face. “I hope it’s okay that I brought this.” He held up the bottle of wine and I took it from him.
“It’s great. I’ll open it now, actually. What else did you bring?” I led the way into my apartment kitchen, Dallas shutting the door and following closely behind.
“Chinese takeout.”
“Ooh. I love Chinese takeout. Where did you get it? And brace yourself, because there’s only one right answer to this question.”
“Of course there’s only one right answer. Great Wall.”
Great Wall was by far the best Chinese takeout in Port Grandlin and I nodded in approval as I uncorked the wine. “Good job. My last partner only drank beer. There’s nothing wrong with beer, but not the cheap kind they drank. Besides, I like variety, you know?”
“Variety… can be nice.”
I looked over at Dallas as I poured the wine and smirked at him. “But not as nice as consistency?”
He smiled and took a sip of his wine. “You’ve got me figured out.”
I smiled back at him over my glass. “I’m getting there.”
After another sip, Dallas put his glass on the counter, and then took mine from me and set it next to his. I frowned at him, confused, but before I could speak, he stepped close and pulled me to him, hands on my waist, and leaned in for a deep kiss as I draped my arms around his shoulders.
Heat flushed through me and my heart beat hard as I opened to him, Dallas sliding his tongue along my own, gripping my shirt firmly where his hands rested and pulling the fabric tight.
He groaned as the heat between us ratcheted up, the kiss intensifying.
I didn’t know what his plan was or where this was going, but I wasn’t about to complain.
We could kiss all night and nothing more, or stop to have dinner, or keep going.
I didn’t care, as long as I was with Dallas.
He pulled away and dropped his forehead to my shoulder. “We should probably stop, right? Stop and eat?” His voice was low and husky and he sounded like he wanted to do anything but that.
I hummed and turned my head toward him, kissing the side of his neck gently. “We could. Or…” I followed it with the drag of my tongue and a little nip at the space below his ear.
“God,” he muttered, tugging at my shirt to pull me closer, even though we were already pressed together. “The things you do to me.”
I chuckled quietly and kissed his neck again, slower, sucking a little until he groaned again. “There are more things I’d like to do to you.”
He lifted his head and looked at me, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed. “What about dinner? Aren’t you worried it’ll get cold?”
“We can always reheat it. But I’d rather be thinking of a different kind of heat right now.
” I cupped the back of his neck with my hand and nudged his jaw with my nose before sucking on his neck again, scraping the spot with my teeth and dragging my tongue along the sensitive skin.
It didn’t take long until Dallas was literally squirming in place, rocking his hips, his body responding to my touch.
I pulled away and smirked. “Or we can eat dinner. Whatever you want.”
He gave me a soft, helpless laugh and pressed a quick kiss to my lips. “I think I’ve made up my mind.”
“Yeah?”
“Maybe you could give me a tour of your apartment. I’d especially like to see your bedroom.”
My cock, already hard and eager for attention, ached at the words. “Yeah.” My voice was a little hoarse in my desperation. “That can be arranged.”