An Ace Of Hearts (Book #1) (Completed)

Chapter 11: A Ride From Hell

AHVI TAKEDA

Jace was standing by his motorbike when I walked out of my apartment building. I eyed the death ride warily as I approached him. A grin lit up his face and I refrained from rolling my eyes. I hated this damned thing.

"I'm contemplating walking to uni now." I mumbled as I reached him. I had never sat on Jace's motorbike in the years he had had it. I absolutely refused to. Today was the unfortunate day that I would have to endure this ride straight from hell.

"Come on. Give her a chance. It's fun." Jace responded, patting the seat.

"For you. It's fun for you." I jabbed a finger in his face. "Not everyone likes to have a heart attack for fun."

"It's called an adrenaline rush, Harley." He rolled his eyes, pulling my finger away from his face. I tried to ignore the way he didn't let go of my finger as he gestured at his bike. Spoiler alert: I failed. "I'll be with you. You'll be safe."

I swallowed as I stared at the seat. It had negligible space and there was no way I would be able to fit in it without being close to Jace. Very close, that was. I turned my gaze at him to find him studying my profile. A flush crept up my neck as I held his stare.

"You can trust me." He spoke softly and the hairs on the back of my neck rose. "Nothing will happen to you. I promise." He added. The air between us grew heavy the longer I stared at him. Breaking eye contact, I took a step away from him. My heated skin cooled down immediately and I looked anywhere but at him.

"If I fall, I will kill you," I said but the words were nothing but a croak. He put on his helmet and handed one to me. I stared at the darned thing, wondering if I should just walk. Fuck this.

"Let me help you." Jace offered as he gently pried it from my hands. He put it over head , tucking my hair in. I let him, focusing on my breaths from the nervousness of getting on the bike and also from how close he was. I swallowed as he secured it in place and stepped away. He left the shield open so I could see the world clearly. I didn't want to close it so when he reached forward, I pushed his hand away, shaking my head.

"I don't want to die." I sighed.

"You won't." He assured me as he turned to get on the bike. He sat astride and gestured for me to get on. I blew out a long breath as I climbed on behind him, putting my weight on his shoulder to support myself. I glanced at the ground and closed my eyes. Sending a prayer to the heavens, I grabbed Jace's shoulders tightly. "Ready, Harley?" He asked.

"I think so?" The words came out as a question and I felt Jace chuckle. Asshole.

"Let's go then," He said and before I could prepare myself for the ride, he took off. A squeal left me as I grabbed onto him tighter if it was even possible. "Relax. It's fun." He called over his shoulder, making my heart drop.

"Keep your eyes on the road!" I exclaimed, burying my head in his back. I could hear the wind screaming in my ear even through the helmet as Jace raced down the road. I didn't know how he sat on this thing all the time. Every muscle in my body hurt from holding on too tight.

"Don't shy away, Ahvi. The more you'll hide, the more it'll scare you." Jace spoke up and I was so close to him that I felt his voice rumbling through his body. His words hit me somewhere in my gut, resonating with me more than he knew. I fisted his leather jacket as I dared to look up.

The wind came to kiss my face as I slowly opened my eyes. My heart lurched in my chest but I held my ground, not wanting to feel like a coward for once. All my life, I had shied away from myself, from my mistakes, from my past, from people. I told myself that right now, there was no one to shy away from.

The buildings and people blurred past us. The world was a blur of pictures and movements and I felt my body relaxing slowly. The thought that none of these people could stare at me, could study me for long brought me a freedom I didn't think I would ever experience.

Every horrible thought flew right out of my head. The wind singing in my ears didn't seem so bad anymore. I loosened a breath, consoling myself.

My grip on Jace's jacket slackened slowly as I let myself become nothing. I was no one. I had done nothing wrong. I was not trapped in my memories. And just for the moment, I smiled.

>.<

Even though I had overcome my fear of motorbikes, the ride was futile because I didn't get a chance to talk to Jace. He dropped me off at uni and was about to leave when I stopped him.

"We still need to talk." I reminded him.

"I know. I will pick you up and we can go out for lunch." He replied, nodding his head somberly.

"Alright, deal." I began to turn around when mischief entered his eyes.

"I didn't think you would ever say yes to go to lunch with me, Harley." He wiggled his eyebrows at me. I froze as I searched his face. Was he...flirting with me?

"Huh?" It was the only thing I could think of saying. "Pick me up at three-fifteen and then we can have lunch." I blinked my confusion away as I added.

"It's a date then." He winked at me and my jaw slackened.

"What? No." I shook my head as I stepped closer to him. "Are you crazy?"

"I have been told I am but I like to think I'm just the kind of extraordinary that people can't stomach." He responded.

"I am going to lunch with you to discuss your baby with another woman." I lowered my voice, narrowing my eyes at him. "Don't you think that's slightly inappropriate to be talking to a girl on the first date?"

His eyes lit up and I knew I had taken the bait he had laid out for me. Mentally face palming myself, I turned to leave once more. My cheeks turned red as I realized what I had just said to him. He grabbed my arm and turned me around, making my breath catch in my throat.

"We can talk about whatever you want to talk about." A smile tugged on his lips but he suppressed it. My cheeks heated to the point I felt as if I would explode. "What do you like to talk about on a first date, Harley?"

What the hell was happening? Jace and I had been close since we were teenagers and oftentimes, he flirted with me but not like he was doing now. He had never touched me before. He had never tried to insinuate going on a date.

We held each other's stare and even though I knew I needed to head to class, I couldn't peel my gaze away from him. A piercing ringtone cut through the air then but Jace didn't seem to notice. He continued to look at me as the ringtone went on. I recognized it to be one he had set for Ren's number. Ren. Shit.

"Phone." I mumbled, my voice nothing more than a whisper.

"You like to talk about phones?" He frowned. I shook my head, amused.

"Your phone. It's ringing." I pointed at his pocket. He seemed to startle out of his thoughts as he glanced down at himself.

"Right." He cleared his throat as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. "It's Ren. I should probably head back. I will pick you up, don't worry," He said as he turned to leave, a distracted look entering his eyes.

I nodded as he declined the call. His thumbs flew over the screen as he tapped something before pocketing the device again. As he pulled out of the parking lot of the uni, I couldn't help but stare. My heart was in my mouth and I could hear the rhythm of my heartbeats in my ears.

There was no way what happened just now had been real. I refused to believe it. It pinched myself and hissed as I realized that I was still in the parking lot of uni and Jace had dropped me off. And he had flirted with me.

I knew better than to make something of it but when you had had a crush on a guy all through your teens and he showed even the slightest interest in you, your brain discarded rationality and logic. It was just your heart, your heated skin, and that crazy, crazy feeling of wanting more.

I shook my head. This was dangerous territory. Jace was dangerous territory. Ren would kill him and then me. Moreover, I was too fucked up to show interest in someone much less be their love interest. I sighed as I forced myself to walk to class. I swore to not think about him for the rest of the day. Let me tell you this much: I failed miserably.