Unravel me
We walk back into the living room and both of our mouths drop at the sight of Clara wrapped up tightly in Cameron’s arms. They just held each other, while Cameron rubs her back, and whispers in her ear.
Ace and I exchange a long look before he looks back at them and clears his throat. They fly apart comedically and I hold back a laugh.
“Umm... I was just...” Clara starts but can’t get make anything up.
“Yeah, we were just...” Cameron adds unsure.
“Cold! We were really cold.” Clara finishes with a chuckle.
Ace gives me another look and I can see the amusement in those eyes.
“Well I was going to share the big news with y’all, but if you’re busy having a moment, we can come back later...”
Clara steps away from Cameron and stands by Ace.
“No, no, go on, and tell us the news, Hansel.” She encourages him and Cameron steps forward curiously.
“Well, I have just opened a new location for Ace tattoos in Manhattan. It will be the biggest location yet.”
“Wooo! Yes! I’m so proud of you, brother.”
Clara hugs him, and Cameron’s fist bumps him.
“That’s awesome man! Congratulations!” he says and ace squints at him before he says, "thank you."
I hold Ace’s hand and he looks down at me adoringly.
“We should celebrate Ace. Were all so proud of you.”
“Hell yeah dude, let’s hit up the club or something!” Cameron suggests and Clara jumps with joy at the idea.
“I have something better in mind actually. What day is it?” Ace asks me.
“It’s Thursday why?”
“Can you and Clara take next Monday off?”
I look to Clara who nods at me with a shrug.
“I guess we could”
he grins.
“How about you Cameron?”
“Hell yeah.” He says without even thinking about it.
“Uh, Ace, what do you have planned?”
“Just pack a bag for 3 days, and all of you meet me here at 5:pm tomorrow.”
“Ahhh shit... you’re finally going to start spending all that money you pretend you don’t have aren’t ya?” Cameron asks, and Ace nods.
“Ace? Where are we going?” I ask him and he smirks at me.
“I told you, remember? I’m taking you to my penthouse in New York.”
My eyes widen.
“I didn’t know the penthouse was yours, I thought maybe...”
“I Borrowed it? No. I used to live in my penthouse before I recently came back home, here in Alabama.”
Who in the world would give up a lux penthouse in New York to live in a small honky-tonk town in Alabama, with a roommate, and just a motorcycle to get around. For the life of me, I sometimes don’t understand him.
“You are a true mystery Ace.”
He smiles before leaning forward to whisper in my ear.
“Unravel me, baby.”
Mmm. I blush and look at him amused.
***
An hour later, I’m making everyone a homemade pizza. Ace is sitting on the counter next to me eating all of my toppings that I put on the salsa. I giggle as I take a pepperoni from his hands.
“Stop it, I’ll run out of pepperoni! And you ate all of the sausage chucks!”
He laughs. “With me you’ll never run out of sausage, Cupcake.”
“Haha, very funny. Now go cut me some more, while I preheat this oven.”
“Fine, but you do realize we could have just ordered a pizza right?” He says as he cuts more sausage.
“Making a pizza is more fun, and the quality is way better.”
“If you say so.”
I walk up to him and hug him from behind. His warm body feels great against me. then I tell him an idea i've had for a while now.
“Ace, I want you to tatt me.” He drops his knife down on the cutting board and turns to face me looking surprised.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. I’ve been thinking about it a lot, and for my first tattoo... I want you to surprise me.”
“Surprise you? You don’t wanna know what I’m going to put on your body that will stay there forever?”
I shake my head no, and I see a lightbulb turn on over his head.
“I trust you Ace.”
His eyes soften.
“That means a lot to me. Sometime soon I will ink you.”
He wraps his pinky around mine.
“And I think you’re going to love it.”
“I haven’t seen it, and I already love it.”
He looks at me thoughtfully before turning and continuing to cut.
"I'll try not to let you down."
"You won't. I'll be right back."
I step outside for some air and hoping to find Clara since I haven't seen her in the living room and as I'm about to sit on the bench I stop in my tracks as I see Clara lip locked with Cameron on the bench. Holy shit, how often is this going to happen now? It's like they're not even trying to hide it anymore.
I try to look away and be discreet about it but I can't. I can't believe I'm admitting this but... These two are hot together!
I do eventually clear my throat and both of their heads spin to face me. As soon as the realize its just me they laugh.
"Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt or anything. I say as I lean against the balcony railing.
"Don't worry babes, we're used to it." Clara says giggling.
"Wanna smoke?" Cameron ask, offering me a joint and I shake my head.
"No thanks, I would much rather talk about you two." I say with a raised eyebrow, and he sighs with a smile.
"Don't tell Ace about this, but Clara is my girlfriend, as you can see, and we've had our ups and downs, but my heart will always be hers." He says as he turns to Clara and places a kiss on her forehead. Clara blushes and whispers something in his ear.
"I hope you guys realize that Ace knows, or at least has his suspicions." I tell them and they nod.
"Yeah but we have never truly admitted it to him. For obvious reasons." Clara tells me, and I'm not sure what those obvious reasons are, but I don't want to pry any longer.
"You two are adorable, and I'll let you be. I'll be inside making sure Ace doesn't burn the pizza." I say excusing myself and they wave at me before making out again.