Chapter 3
THREE
AINSLEY
All three give me a confused look as I give the boys the brush-off. Morgan clears his throat.
“Ains, we just got here, and haven’t seen you all summer. Surely you can pause unpacking to hang out.” The deflated look on his face hits my heart. Morgan was unfortunately collateral damage in my Ace-hate-fueled summer. We barely spoke, and that one’s on me. I wasn’t trying to avoid him, but he and Ace came as a package deal.
Cass clears her throat to offset the tension in the room, which is getting smaller by the minute.
“Morgan, come with me downstairs to get a drink from the vending machine,” she says. I stare at her, silently pleading for her to not leave me alone with Ace. She shrugs and gives me her best "I’m sorry" smile. Morgan tries to protest, but she pushes him out the door.
Ace doesn’t waste any time.
“Ains, we need to talk.”
“There isn’t anything to talk about.” My barbed words should get him to back off. I attempt to project courage and strength, praying to God my voice doesn’t sound remotely shaky like my insides feel.
“What do you mean there isn’t anything to talk about? We haven’t talked at all. You think I didn’t notice the radio silence from you all summer?"
“What are you talking about? I was busy.” I’m not lying, but I still look away so he doesn't see the unease in my face.
“I get it. I really fucking do. But you couldn’t respond to one of my texts, or to let me know you were doing okay?” He lets out the breath he was holding and starts pacing around the room. I’m not sure how to take this side of Ace; I’ve never seen him react this way. He is the cool, calm, collected one. Why does he care?
I want this conversation to be over, and I don’t want to be alone with him again. I can’t admit to him what I overheard, or why I chose to vacate him from my life. It hurts to think I was going to confess to him how I felt.
I guess I am glad it went down the way it did. The embarrassment would have been vastly worse if I had been rejected in person. No clue what the hell I was thinking, confessing my feelings to the boy who thought nothing more of me than his best friend’s little sister.
“I’m sure you weren’t waiting by the phone for a response back. You seem to always find something or someone to occupy your time.” My hands shake from how nervous I am. I said it and I can’t take it back. I reach down and grab another White Claw from Cassie’s cooler.
That was a mistake. His fiery glare burns holes straight through me, and I want to tuck my tail between my legs and hide.
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” His hand goes up to his forehead, rubbing circles around his brows in frustration. “And you drink now? Who are you these days?” He grabs for the can, but I quickly move it out of his reach. He’s such a hypocrite. I have covered for their drunk asses more times than I can count.
Brushing past his first question, I instantly go into defense mode.
“Why do you care if I have a drink? I'm eighteen years old and in college. I’m not the same little girl who would follow you and Morgan around anymore.” He’s pacing…great. I swear, if he continues to rub circles on his forehead, his eyebrows are going to fall off.
“I care because this isn’t you! You’re not the girl who sneaks alcohol in her dorm the first week on campus. You. Are. Good.” His pointer finger lightly pokes my chest after each word to make his point.
“What’s so wrong with changing, Ace? I may look a bit different, not take anyone’s shit, but I’m still me,” I say with pride, and try to summon every ounce of throat power I can to down this can of carbonated acid. He huffs in annoyance as I surprisingly down my drink without gagging.
I wink at him with pure sarcasm. What? He thinks that he can question my judgment? I don’t think so! I'm not the one, and he doesn’t get to dictate how I should or shouldn’t act. I walk away to grab another box to unpack, when I’m pulled back to him by my wrist.
“Hope everyone is decent here,” Cassie sings out. Morgan shoves lightly at her shoulder.
“Ew, Cass, that’s not funny. They're like brother and sister.” Morgan looks mildly offended at the thought of Ace and I thrown into the more than friends category. Cassie rolls her eyes at him.
“It’s not gross, because they aren’t brother and sister.” She wiggles her brows, trying to joke it off, but he brushes past her. My best friend then looks at me with an “I tried” look. I wave her off because what is she getting at? I have never told Cassie about my infatuation with Ace.
The only person I have confided in is Jordan. To put it mildly, she isn’t a huge Ace fan.
“Alright boys, while this has been a blast, we have unpacking to do to get ready for tonight,” Cassie says as she flips her hair off one shoulder.
“What’s tonight?” the three of us say in unison, I’m assuming because none of us had any plans.
Cassie stares at Morgan and Ace. “Ugh, if you must know, AC and I are going to our first college party. Start of school mixer, if you will.” She is attempting nonchalance while using the nickname she gave me when we were kids. In Cassie’s words, all best friends should have nicknames for each other.
She should know this isn't going to go over well with them. To my surprise, the first to speak isn’t my brother, it’s Ace.
“Like hell you’re going to a party!” Our jaws drop as I notice the fiery hue creep up his cheeks. I stare at him incredulously. Who the fuck does he think he is?
“Ace, lay off, man. She should go to the party. My sister's in college and we need to allow her to spread her wings or whatever shit my mom said.” I roll my eyes at Morgan’s attempt to calm Ace.
“Thanks, brother. Not sure I need your okay, but appreciate the sentiment…or some shit,” I say, throwing his words back in his face. Since when does Morgan come to my rescue, putting Ace in check?
“Fuck, Morgan! You can’t seriously be okay with—” Morgan holds his hand up, cutting Ace off mid-sentence.
“That is, she can spread her wings—with us keeping an eye on her.” The smirk he gives me causes my blood to boil.
Cassie chimes in, “That works for me. I could use my people there with my hot barista date I’m meeting.” I'm not sure what guy she's talking about, or how she met someone only being here a day. I shouldn't be surprised; my best friend is gorgeous in all the ways.
Morgan snaps his head in Cassie’s direction. “What barista guy?"
“Um, if you must know, I met him at the coffee shop he works at down the street and we started talking. He mentioned a party, and invited me. He’s a student, so what’s the big deal?” Cass acts unconcerned, but I can tell she's surprised by the question. Normally, I’m the one on the receiving end of this line of questioning.
"You’re meeting him at a party after he made you a couple lattes? Real smart, Cass.” The look of annoyance is plastered all over Morgan’s face, and I'm curious as to why. Why does my brother care who Cassie hangs out with?
“Morgan, chill…She met a guy—big deal. And no, you don’t need to come to this party to supervise. We’re big girls!” The slap on the back I give him doesn’t help.
“Bummer, sis, Ace and I are going, and you won’t be changing my mind,” Morgan lets out with a huff. I know there is no convincing him otherwise.
“Fine, fine. What time are you picking us up?” I bring my hands to my hips, hoping to project major sass. It doesn’t seem to bother them, though.
“Nine. Ace and I have some work to do, so we are going to get out of here. See you later, sis. And Cass, I can’t wait to meet your little barista boy.” He rolls his eyes. Still, I have no idea what his attitude is about. We shove them out the door and start unpacking. In a few hours, I will be getting ready for my first party. Excited? Nervous? Scared? All of the above, but I'm ready to get the full college experience.