I woke up in Ella’s bed, still swimming through the blissful currents of my memories from the night before. My whole body felt warm, tingly, relaxed. All that was missing was a curvy backside to press this raging morning wood against. I felt around for her, but she was gone.
My heart dipped with disappointment as I swung my legs over the mattress and stepped to the floor. I glanced around for a note or any indication Ella was still here, but her phone, purse and keys that had been on the dresser by the door were gone. Her absence rocked through me like a sonic boom. I didn’t enjoy the aftershocks, all longing and sharp.
Stumbling into the hallway, I heard a sound that caused me to freeze in my tracks. “Who’s there?”
“I should ask you the same!” came a smooth voice from behind me. It belonged to a female, but not Ella.
I whipped around to take in the sight of a woman with slim hips and graying hair. “Hi, I’m Ace,” I offered.
She shook her long hair out of a braid and pursed her lips. “Ella went to work already.”
“Are you her roommate?” My gaze swept down her pajama-clad body.
“What was your first clue?” the woman fired back. Wow, she was snarky. And older than I would have expected for Ella’s roommate, but hey, it was not my place to judge.
“I’m just leaving, I promise.” I raised my hands in surrender and backed toward the door.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” her grating voice sliced into me.
“Uh…” I looked down and realized I wasn’t wearing pants. And my morning wood was still at full mast. Ugh.
Throwing an apology over my shoulder, I hightailed it to Ella’s bedroom, slung on my shirt and pants and then made my escape, hurling even more apologies as I went. I ordered an Uber as I made my way down the three flights of stairs, but as soon as the morning sunshine hit me, I canceled it. I could walk. It was a couple of miles, but, actually, a nice jog would help clear my mind.
The entire time my feet pounded the sidewalks of Philly, making me feel like Rocky in his training montage, I tried to destroy every single flashback of Ella and me from the night before as it popped into my head. But it was no use. My memories were full of her heady scent, her luscious lips, and her sweet curves.
And even more than that, if I was being honest.
She was exactly the type of girl I’d been looking for. Wait, not girl. No, she was a woman. A little younger than me, maybe, but she already knew who she was and what she wanted. She wasn’t afraid to be herself. To express herself. To enjoy herself. She was beautiful, headstrong, witty, and the way her body melted into mine when we fucked was going to stay with me forever.
There was no way I could destroy that memory.
So, I’d just have to convince her to go out with me. For real this time. I’d have to convince her I was worth getting to know, even if I was just a lowly up-and-coming comedian. I’d finally decided to chase my dreams of doing stand-up, and now I was going to chase after the woman of my dreams as well. As I jogged past Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, I realized this was a historic moment. Maybe not as monumental as the signing of the Declaration of Independence, but it was the moment Ace Bennett figured out who he wanted and was prepared to go after her.
That was my big revelation as I rode the elevator up to the top of 2 Liberty Place and exited on the fifty-sixth floor. Glancing at my watch, I knew a couple of the guys were probably still around. They didn’t have to be at work until nine, and it was only half past seven. I planned to shower and head right down to the bank and invite Ella to lunch.
“Well, look what the cat dragged in!” Cruz quipped as he saw me turn the corner into the living area. Dante had apparently cooked for everyone, and they were lounging around on the leather furniture with their plates of eggs, bacon and toast, looking rather smug when I met their gazes.
“You’re just mad I won the bet!” If anyone should be smug, it was me. “Fox, you do realize since you made the bet, you’re gonna be the one doing all these dishes?”
Dante laughed. “Why do you think I made such a big breakfast? Tried to use as many pans as I could.”
I snickered, “I’m sure you would have done the same if I’d lost the bet.”
“True. I’m just glad I’m not the one doing dishes.” Dante nodded and stuffed his mouth full of another bite of eggs.
Fox seemed totally unaffected by our banter. He picked up a strip of bacon that quickly disappeared between his teeth. “Bacon’s gone.”
Ozzy piped up, “No, there’s a few strips left. And some eggs. Want some?”
“You gotta tell us what happened first!” Cruz exclaimed, setting his empty plate on the end table next to him. “The way Ella was talking about you last night, we didn’t think you had a chance.”
On his way to the kitchen with a stack of plates, Ozzy elbowed Cruz and flashed him a look.
My hackles were instantly raised. “What was that?”
Fox pursed his lips and shook his head. Dante put his finger to his lips and shot Cruz the stink-eye. What the hell were they keeping from me?
“What did Ella say?” I demanded, looking from one guy to the next.
My demand was met with silence. “Oh, come on, you guys are being ridiculous.”
Ozzy returned from his trip to the kitchen and took a seat next to Fox on the larger of the two sofas. “Well, are you planning to call her?”
My brows drew together as I stood there in the space between the foyer and the living room, contemplating the question. Of course I planned to call her. I was going to do better than that—by going down to the bank to see her in person. I’d had that epiphany on my jog here…except…it was a little weird I didn’t have her number…wasn’t it?
“I forgot to get her number…and she was gone this morning before I left. I’m going to go down to the bank later and invite her to lunch.”
Ozzy flashed Dante a look this time, then Cruz and Fox. Suddenly everyone was looking at their feet. What the fuck is going on?
“Just tell me what she said.” I directed my question to Ozzy because if anyone was going to tell me the truth, it was him. He was a scientist. His whole job was based on facts.
Ozzy took a deep breath and then let me have it. “Ella’s friend knows you, apparently. And warned her about you—said you were an asshole.”
“Notorious asshole,” Cruz interjected, and Ozzy elbowed him in the side.
“What?” I stepped toward the smaller sofa and collapsed onto the one of the cushions, the air suddenly vacating my lungs.
“Yeah,” Dante continued, “I guess you met her a couple times and said you’d call her, but you didn’t. And you forgot who she was or something when you ran into her?”
Fox shrugged. “Sorry, man. Ella said she was gonna get you back for the way you treated her friend.”
“Get me back by fucking me?” I was so confused. Why would she take me to her place and have me spend the night, if she was just going to—
“Yeah, she said she was going to conveniently develop a case of amnesia,” Ozzy drove the knife into my back. “Sorry, man. I didn’t know you really liked her that much.”
Of course I liked her that much! Would I have invented excuses to go to the bank if I didn’t? And now that I’d had her—I liked her even more. I might more than like her. I was actually thinking of how to tell my mother I was dating a shiksa…
My hand flew up to my face and swiped down my skin, trying to remove the disappointment from my features, but it ran too deep. “Well, thanks for letting me know.”
I heard them mumble more apologies as I stalked off to take a shower. Cruz said something to the effect of, “I think he really likes her, guys.”
Yeah, I really like her, I thought as I turned the faucet to the scalding setting. But it was all starting to make sense now. Why she accepted my bet. Why she took me to her place. Why she didn’t say goodbye this morning, and why she didn’t give me her number.
She was going to just leave me hanging.
Like she thought I’d done to her friend.
She really did think I was an asshole.