My whole pre-game routine was thrown off by the conversation I had with Ella. How was I going to perform tonight when my mood was in the toilet? I imagined myself screaming at my audience à la Lewis Black. Lewis Black is funny, right? Maybe I could make it work, though my natural vibe was more Seinfeld- or possible Carlin-esque, though I didn’t curse as much as the latter. That tendency would probably be flying out the window at tonight’s show.
“What’s a’matter, Ace?” Fox asked when he saw my dejected ass trudge through the kitchen for a beer.
“Well, did you talk to her?” Ozzy was heading into the kitchen with an empty plate. Dante must have cooked another meal. Damn it, he was getting to be a regular Martha Stewart up in here. And it looked like I’d missed out again.
“I tried.” I propped my elbows on the granite counter and buried my face in my palms.
Ozzy looked disappointed on my behalf. “I take it things didn’t go so well?”
I shook my head. I didn’t feel like talking about it, and usually the guys were pretty good about laying off when they knew something was really bothering me. As long as Cruz and Dante didn’t—
“Awww, what’s wrong, Acey? Have a bad day?” Dante observed as he entered from the hall, coming from the bathroom.
“Ella rejected him,” Ozzy announced. “Just like she told us she would.”
“That sucks, man.” Dante put his arm around me. “Why don’t you write a bit about her? That’ll make you feel better!”
“Yeah, dude, like authors do. If someone pisses them off, they make them a character in their novel and then kill them off,” Cruz added.
Well, it was an idea. Some drunk chick at a party inadvertently ruined my chances at the one girl in Philly who had stolen my heart. It was almost comedic. Almost.
But not really.
“Okay, maybe not at tonight’s show, but you’ll think of something.” Ozzy patted me on his way to the door. “Speaking of which, I’m bringing a date to your show tonight, so you better be funny as hell!”
I rolled my eyes. Great. Pressure was just what I needed.
“But not too funny. Because I want her to think I’m funny too,” Ozzy clarified. “My chemistry jokes are the bomb!”
I rolled my eyes at that little comedic nugget. “I’ll try to be the perfect level of funny,” I assured him before burying my head in my palms again. At this point, I didn’t know how I was going to perform. Nothing seemed even remotely amusing at the moment.
“So what did she say?” Fox asked. “Did you tell her how you felt about her?”
“Do you have feelings for her, Acey?” Cruz taunted me.
“Stop it, both of you!” I was in no mood for their shit. “I told her what you morons said and asked her why she thought I was an asshole—it apparently had something to do with her friend. Then she told me the friend’s name, and it was some drunk girl who kissed me at a party. Guys, she was toasted. I didn’t want to get involved at that point, so I turned her over to her friends and went about my business. Besides, I’d been at the party to do a set, not make out with the guests. And I wasn’t an asshole at all. In fact, I could have taken advantage of her drunken state and didn’t. I even checked with her friends to make sure they’d keep an eye on her.”
Cruz, in a rare moment of compassion, handed me the drink he’d just mixed. “Maybe she’ll ask her friend about it and figure out that you were telling the truth.”
I wished I could buy into that theory. But Ella didn’t seem like the type to admit a mistake. Maybe I was dodging a bullet in that case. But damn…she looked so amazing today. Even more beautiful than I remembered. And that stubborn streak was one of the things that drew me to her.
I took a sip of Cruz’s drink, which was extra in every way, and gave him a nod of acknowledgment. I was going to need this drink and a few more to make it through my set tonight.
ELLA
I’m sure had I looked in a mirror before arriving at the club on Market Street, I would not have gone in. I could only imagine what a fright I looked. And I wasn’t sure what kind of urgency—and desperation—was fueling this wild, impulsive endeavor, but I was sure I wouldn’t be able to eat, sleep, breathe until I’d talked to Ace.
All of my doubts about him had been erased after talking to Cara. All that remained were the memories of being in his arms, of his lips on mine. And after looking at his stand-up schedule, I knew he wouldn’t be performing for another week and a half. I didn’t have his number, and I wasn’t sure which condo he lived in. What was I going to do, just wait around and see if he showed back up at the bank? He wouldn’t after the way I’d treated him this afternoon.
I threw open the door of the club and burst inside, gaining side-eye glances from every direction. Oh, well, I was a girl on a mission. A mission to track down the only man who had ever made me swoon—and I couldn’t wait to tell him how I felt about him.
Now, how to get to him? That was my next dilemma. I scanned the room, but didn’t see him. There was a large poster board sign announcing the acts of the evening. Ace was scheduled to appear first, and in only twenty minutes. Time was of the essence.
“Hey, can I help you?” a burly-looking man in a suit with a goatee asked as he approached me. “The yoga studio is upstairs.”
I shook my head. “No, I’m looking for Ace Bennett,” I rushed out, my chest still heaving from my power walk. I might have even broken into a jog or two along the way.
“He’s backstage, but he’s going on in twenty. You’ll have to wait till after the set,” the man growled and started to walk away.
I grabbed his hand in desperation. “No, please! I need to speak with him; it’s urgent!” Surely he could see that by my disheveled appearance, but I huffed and puffed extra hard just in case.
The man gave a tiny, exasperated headshake. “Fine, through those doors, but don’t make him late, or he’ll never work here again.”
“Great, thank you!” I shouted over my shoulder as I bolted for the doors he’d pointed to. Once again, yoga clothes and sneakers for the win! If I’d been wearing heels on this expedition, I’d be shit outta luck.
The hallway was dark and lit only with dim, dusty sconces. My nose immediately filled up with snot as my allergies kicked in. Great, so now I was sweaty, snotty, and out of breath. Ace would probably laugh me right out of his dressing room when he saw me.
Dressing room? Did he really have one of those back here? How romantic, sneaking backstage to see my lover in his dressing room. I imagined a vanity with an arc of bright white lights and a huge mirror, with Ace lounging on a velvet chaise in a silk robe, trying to summon his comedy muses in preparation for his act.
What I found was a dingy room at the end of the hallway with a dilapidated couch, a paint-peeling table and two ugly chairs. And a mini fridge. Nope, not romantic at all.
“Ace?”
I stepped in and saw he was with another man and a woman—the other comedians performing. I recognized them from their photos on the poster board. They were all laughing. Three comedians together? A laugh a minute, I’m sure.
I repeated myself, a little louder this time, “Ace?”
He whipped toward me, and the expression on his face was one I’d never forget. His lips curled up so sharply, there were dimples in his cheeks. “Ella!”
He rushed over to me. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
Yeah, yeah, he was noting my appearance. “No, I just had to see you…”
“Were you chased by a bear or something?” The other comedians, who were standing there watching this scene unfold, snickered. This was definitely going in somebody’s act.
“No, I had to tell you…” I gulped in a breath, then let it all spill out. “I spoke to Cara. She confused you with someone else—Sam, I guess? I was wrong about you being an asshole—”
“You were?” His eyes brightened even more.
“Well, you still lied about having a nephew, which kind of makes you an asshole—”
“I prefer to think of myself as an ACE-hole,” he said with his snarky smirk and a wink.
I rolled my eyes. Could this man be any more adorable?
“Ten minutes,” said a disembodied voice from the doorway as it passed down the hall. “Ten minutes till places.”
“Come on,” he said, grabbing my hand. “We’ve got ten minutes to make out before I go on.”
My heart leapt. There was nothing more I wanted in this moment than for his sexy lips to be back on mine.
Except more nachos. I could definitely go for some nachos too.
ACE
I could hardly believe this gorgeous creature, who looked way too sexy for her own good in her workout attire, was standing before me. I nodded to my colleagues, who flashed me encouraging smiles, then whisked Ella out to the hallway and through a door that I hoped wasn’t a bathroom that someone was using.
Nope, it turned out to be a storage room. I deemed that acceptable. I didn’t care where we were as long as I could kiss her again. And I wasted no time cupping her jaw in my hands and lowering my mouth to hers, claiming her lips slowly at first and then intensifying as the hunger inside slowly consumed us both.
When I backed away, her eyes were still closed, still lost in the fleeting moment of our burning passion. I needed much more than ten minutes with her. But I had a feeling our chance was coming. Many chances. Maybe a lifetime of chances? I felt in my gut that what lay ahead of us was an endless eternity of kisses…and more.
“So,” she said when her eyes finally fluttered open. “It was all a huge misunderstanding. If you hadn’t stopped by the bank earlier today, I wouldn’t have ever thought to question Cara about what happened. I just sort of took it at face value that she was telling the truth.”
I wrapped my arms around her and breathed in that floral scent I’d missed so much. “I can’t believe you really thought I was such an asshole,” I teased her, shaking my head.
“Well, I didn’t have any reason to think Cara would lie about you.” Her hazel eyes sparkled, even in the dim light of the storage room.
“Maybe subconsciously she thought if she couldn’t have me, no one else should either.” I waved my arms down my frame, dramatically highlighting my hot comedian body. “I mean, look at all this!”
She rolled her eyes and laughed. “See, you really are an asshole!”
“But you like me that way…” I fired back as my arms wrapped around her again, pulling her even closer. “You said so yourself.”
She threaded her fingers through my hair and melted into my embrace. “I do like that side of you, I have to admit. In bed, anyway. Outside of bed, you can be your usual funny, charming self.”
My smile returned. We were on the same page. At last. “I can be whatever you need me to be, milady. As long as you’re mine.”
And with that, my lips found hers again until I heard the manager shouting my name.
“Oh, shit, I gotta go!”
“Bet you’ll slay out there,” she said with a wink.
“What do I get if you win?” I winked back.
THE END