Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Tony! Toni! Toné!’s Anniversary blasted through the speakers, competing with the chatter and clinking glasses that made up the celebration.
Claps and cheers of congratulations went up around the crowd.
Zachariah and Ella shared a loving glance at each other before Zachariah gave her a peck on the cheek that elicited a chorus of aw’s.
The love radiated from the mature couple and warmed the partygoers more than the afternoon sun beaming down on them.
Years of love, trials, and memories were between them and reflected in their eyes.
Ace looked on from the side of the stage where he and his siblings stood, living products of his grandparents’ love and legacy.
He couldn’t help but chuckle humorlessly, something twisting in his chest. Ace had seen his grandfather do unspeakable things to his enemies with his grandmother right beside him.
He’d never admit it, but to watch two of the most ruthless people he knew treat each other with such tenderness, and love each other so wholly made him wonder if he could have the same.
A vision of Joy — violent, brilliant, and beautiful — flashed through his mind before he dismissed it.
“Isn’t it so crazy how in love they still are after all this time?” April asked, watching their grandmother nuzzle into her husband’s neck as their son spoke of their love.
“Mhm. Crazy,” Jrue agreed before taking another swig of his whiskey.
Ace looked over at Jrue with a raised brow and sighed seeing the already glassy look in his eyes.
He wanted to say something but knew that festivities such as this one dug up demons for his brother that could only be numbed, not buried.
April opened her mouth to comment but Ace shook his head, silencing her.
Don’t, his look said, and his sister left it alone.
Ace and Jrue made eye contact, a silent understanding passing between the two brothers who carried a secret.
When Jrue looked away to take another swig, Ace made a mental note to check on his little brother later.
Pulling his eyes away, he began scanning the room just in time to see Joy by the champagne tower speaking to one of their colleagues with one of her fake ass, polite smiles.
Ace licked his lips noting her attire. She wore a sleeveless ankle length white dress that fit to her natural curves and looked fucking amazing against her skin. The dress was simple with an asymmetrical neckline and slight ruching that further defined her slim waistline.
Her curls were pulled loosely atop her head in a style that left ringlets brushing the perimeter of her face and the back of her neck.
She held her clutch tucked under her arm and plucked a glass of champagne from the expertly done tower.
Her red nails popped against the glass and her dress, looking like small speckles of blood.
She was the picture of beauty and elegance but her eyes still held that same mixture of fury and melancholy that Ace could never seem to look away from.
Only tonight, there was something new added to the cocktail.
Not the resigned sadness but a determination that made the flames in her irises dance and call to him.
When Ace was done eyeing her frame and ensemble, he brought his gaze back up to her face, catching her ogling him in return.
Similarly to everyone else in attendance, Ace was wearing all white — white Italian leather shoes and a white suit with the top few buttons of his shirt undone and accessorized by a black Hermes belt with gold hardware and chains resting against his chest.
When their eyes caught, they stared at one another for a moment before Joy was tapped by someone else from the office and she turned, taking her attention from Ace and giving it to their colleague.
“Isn’t that your associate, Joy?” April asked.
“Mhm,” Ace hummed in response without taking his eyes off of Joy.
“I’m gonna go say hi,” she announced.
“Don’t be on no weird shit,” Ace warned her.
“I’m not!” April exclaimed, waving off his warning as she sauntered in Joy’s direction.
Ace watched his sister greet Joy with the same bright smile and double cheek kiss she’d been giving all evening — the only greeting befitting of the socialite and heiress.
Joy returned the greeting in kind without missing a beat.
“You’re drooling, son.”
The sound of Zachariah’s voice made Ace turn to face his grandfather. Glass halfway to his mouth, he chuckled, then continued the path, taking a swig as he watched Joy and April laugh together about something.
“You trippin’ Pops,” Ace replied, unable to look away from the radiant beauty of Joy. The sun had set and ambient lighting had joined the decorative candles, casting her in a soft glow.
Joy hardly offered up her real smiles but when she did, it was a treat. Her brown skin seemed to glow brighter and her entire face lit up. She was beautiful in all situations and emotions but joy looked the best on Joy. Ace worked hard for the few smiles he was able to pull from her.
“She’s a pretty girl,” Zachariah noted, not dropping the topic as Ace had hoped.
“Who?” Ace asked, unable to hide his smirk. Pops’ face screwed up at Ace’s deaf, dumb and crazy act.
“Play games if you want to,” his Pops warned, chuckling into his own drink.
Soon, Ace was no longer watching Joy from afar because she and April had migrated to the tall table where Ace and Zachariah stood. Ace nodded in acknowledgement when Joy approached and she returned it. Their greetings were subtle but their eyes shone bright, reflecting against each other.
“Pops, this is Joy Thibodeaux. She’s a junior associate at the firm,” April introduced. “Joy, this is my grandad, Zachariah King.”
The two shook hands as Joy spoke. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Mr. King.
I’m honored to meet the man that started it all.
” Her tone was laced with the practiced poise and professionalism Ace had gotten used to but despised nonetheless.
Everything about it contradicted the wildness in her eyes when she thought no one was paying attention or no one would notice.
He wanted that version of her. The one that she kept hidden but reflected who she truly was.
“I’m flattered Ms. Thibodeaux, though I must say, none of this would have been possible without my better half,” he admitted, gazing across the room at his wife lovingly.
As if she felt his stare, Ella turned, catching his eyes and blew him a kiss that he pretended to catch and put in the breast pocket of his suit.
Ace, April, and Joy all laughed at the corny display of affection from the two elders but Pops was unmoved. Ella cut her conversation short, migrating to be with her husband.
This time, it was Zachariah who led the introduction and instead of a handshake, Ella pulled Joy into a hug that she stiffly accepted.
“Happy anniversary. 55 years of marriage is no small feat, especially maintaining the love that you two clearly still have for one another,” Joy said looking between the couple.
“Thank you baby,” Ella smiled warmly. “Marriage is hard work but it’s easy when you’ve found the right one. The storms of life don’t seem so bad when you have someone solid at your side to weather them with you.”
Joy smiled politely.
Zachariah looked down at Ella with stars in his eyes. “That’s the key right there. It’s about having somebody that knows exactly who you are — good, bad, ugly — and doesn’t flinch. Finding someone who doesn’t feel like work but feels like… home.”
Joy swallowed, her chest tightening.
She didn’t think she’d ever trust that. She’d had a home once but she learned home was conditional. Home could be ripped away once you became too much.
Ella turned to her. “Do you want to get married, Joy?”
She flinched a little but recovered so quickly that anyone who wasn’t studying her too closely would have missed it.
“Oh. Um. Maybe. I’m not sure,” she answered, her poise faltering slightly.
Ella leaned in closer to Pops and despite the gray hair and age showing on their faces, they looked like lovesick teenagers.
“You’ll know when you meet that person. Your person.”
Joy chuckled a little, masking the discomfort with another one of her dazzling smiles.
“I don’t think I have one of those,” she said.
Ella squeezed her arm. “There’s someone for everybody.”
Joy nodded with a tight smile but didn’t verbalize it.
To the other people gathered in their small circle, Joy’s mask of indifference and pleasantness was perfectly intact but Ace could see it slipping.
He could see her dimming.
He set his glass down and leaned in close so he could speak directly into his ear. “Dance with me,” he requested.
Joy turned slightly, and if Ace hadn’t backed up, their lips would have met.
She looked at him, seeing his offering of a life jacket and took it.
She nodded but paused as she considered what to do with her clutch.
Leaving it, and the baby desert eagle concealed inside of it was a non-option but she didn’t want to continue this conversation — or pass up the opportunity to be pressed against Ace.
Ace noticed her hesitant gaze lingering on her bag. “I gotchu, Rose,” he assured her.
“Giving a nigga the power to feed you is giving him the power to starve you. Never put your security in the hands of another motherfucka.”
Byron’s teachings echoed in her head in protest as she considered Ace’s offer. She cringed inwardly. Byron’s voice was beginning to grate on her nerves. Deciding that the lipstick disguised blade tucked into her updo would suffice, she placed the clutch down, leaving it in April’s care.
For reasons unknown to her, she felt confident that she was in good hands with Ace.
Ace chuckled knowingly then extended a hand to her. Joy took it, returning his grin. Ace announced their brief departure and the two swiftly made their way onto the dancefloor.
The pair stood closely, bodies pressed together as they swayed to the music in unison.
In one hand, Ace held Joy’s clasped in his while the other was loosely wrapped around her waist. Joy rested her unoccupied hand atop his shoulder.
There was no awkward consideration of their stance or formation, nor any discussion on who would lead the slow dance.
They fell into each other's embrace easily and commenced their dance effortlessly, taking turns leading and following.
“Thank you,” Joy spoke softly. She hardly needed rescuing from others but somehow, Ace saw that she needed to be rescued from her own thoughts. He didn’t ask questions though, just pulled her in his arms.
It was appreciated and needed.
“No thanks needed,” Ace replied and they fell into silence.
With a feather-light touch, he trailed his middle finger along the furrow in her back. Despite herself, Joy shivered at his touch.
Ace didn’t miss the movement. He didn’t seem to miss anything about her. He chuckled, clearly pleased to have gotten a reaction out of her and earning a glare.
“Asshole,” Joy muttered.
That only made his smile grow.
For the first half of Sarah Vaughan’s rendition of “The Nearness of You”, they swayed in silence, melting into each other’s embrace while getting lost in their own thoughts.
Joy was the first to speak. “Your grandparents seem so in love,” she said softly. Barely audible above the music and noise of the party.
A small grin spread across Ace’s face at the thought of them. “They are. They love each other more than themselves,” he replied wistfully. His earlier feelings of longing were further intensified.
“That’s beautiful. 55 years is crazy. How did they meet?”
Ace chuckled a bit.
“My granny was a singer and Pops used to go watch her perform in Harlem every Saturday night. He was damn near obsessed but was too scared to talk to her. One night, she went up to him because she heard he was a lawyer and her brother was in some legal trouble. Pops agreed to take his case and the rest is history.”
“Wow… And was that the beginning of King and Kincaid?”
“Somewhat. It got the ball rolling but that came later.”
“What happened later?” Joy asked curiously.
Ace looked down at her, considering her. “Maybe I’ll tell you one day,” he promised.
“You’re very secretive,” Joy noted. She pulled back a bit from their embrace to look him in the eyes. Those eyes that both scared her and comforted her.
“I know you ain’t talking,” Ace chuckled, gaze boring into her.
“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours,” Joy joked with a grin.
Ace threw his head back with a deep laugh that made Joy’s body vibrate against his and nearby partygoers turn their heads.
The song switched to Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong’s Cheek to Cheek and they fell into another silence until Joy noticed Ace’s focused stare on her. His heated gaze raked up her body and back down as if he thought he had Superman’s x-ray vision.
“What?” Joy asked finally.
Ace shook his head. “Just playing a little game with myself.”
Joy tipped her head to the side. “Bless your heart. You play with yourself often?”
Ace chuckled. “This game, yes.”
“Care to share?”
“It’s a little game I like to call ‘where is Joy hiding her heat today?’” That pulled a giggle out of Joy.
“What makes you think I’m packing heat?”
“You always got somethin’ on you, Rose.” His hand slid slowly from her waist to her hip. “Now, the last time you wore something this tight…” he murmured, his voice low beside her ear, “it was in your bra.”
He dragged his hand up her side, pausing just beneath her ribs. “But I don't think you’re wearing one with this dress.”
Joy lifted her head. Her eyes were sharp on him as she worked to steady her breathing.
He looked her up and down. “You got a blade in your cheek?”
Joy threw her head back and cackled loudly. “Do I look like a jail bird to you?”
“Shit, might be. It’s the pretty ones you gotta look out for.”
“You think I’m pretty?” Joy asked, biting the inside of her cheek to suppress the smile that fought to split her face. She’d been given many variations of the compliment but something about it coming from Ace’s lips hit different.
“Pretty as fuck. Probably a ‘lil crazy too but that’s cool.”
Joy shook her head. You have no idea.
“Oh, it’s cool if I’m crazy?”
“Mhm,” Ace confirmed with a hum. “I ain’t scared of crazy.”
Their eyes held as they swayed and the air between them crackled. Ace pulled Joy closer, bringing their bodies flush against each other, never breaking their eye contact.
“Are you?”
Joy shook her head. “Nah.”
Succumbing to her desire to be closer, Joy rested her head on Ace’s chest, inhaling his warm scent.
One of Ace’s hands lazily rubbed up and down her back, the tips of his fingers barely touching the exposed skin there and sending shivers up her spine.
The action was so soothing she was sure if she wasn’t standing that she’d fall asleep.