Surviving the Aces (#Wattys2018)

Meet Daniel

He let go of the sword and slowly began to walk around the pools edge. He'd taken about twenty steps before I couldn't take it anymore.

"Okay! Okay! We get it!" I shouted.

He stopped walking.

"I give you a ten." I looked at Christian and Talia who nodded. I smiled in triumph. "We have a winner." I announced. "But first, Tony, remove that sword from your throat. This is America."

Tony gripped the handle and slowly pulled it out smiling. "Dakota I'm fine."

I cringed, expecting the sword to have blood.

"Wait." Jace said standing in front of me. "You're not actually saying he's the winner are you?"

"He got the highest score Jace. A perfect score." I told him.

Jace looked hurt. I touched his arm. "It's fine Jace. I'll be fine."

Tony joined us. "I'm not going to hurt her. If I had those intentions, I wouldn't be here." He told Jace. He looked at me. "You only have to come if you want to Dakota." He said.

"Of course I want to." I kissed Jaces cheek. "I'm going to go change. Thanks for the party everyone. I had a lot of fun."

I jogged upstairs and threw a sundress over my bathing suit and pulled my hair up. I hadn't realized how long the fashion show had taken. It was already twelve.

"Where are we going?" I asked Tony. "it's re-"

I looked around in astonishment. "The paparazzi are gone." I said suddenly realizing it.

Tony smiled. "Gregg took care of it when you were gone. Plus there's rumors that Justin Bieber's gonna be a father."

I laughed.

"Ice cream?" He asked. I nodded and he drove us to a 24-hour ice cream parlor.

We sat outside under an umbrella. "Thanks for trusting me." He said as we dug into our sundaes.

"I know you're not all bad." I told him.

"I spoke to Kennedy." He informed me.

My head snapped up. "It wasn't him apparently." He continued. "When I told him about my mother all that time ago...we were at the park. I thought we were alone. I still don't know who it was but there are plenty of people out there who don't like me." He explained, shrugging.

"I apologized of course. I did all of that...I hated him for nothing. I wasted our friendship." He said regretfully. I could see tears in his eyes. I scooted next to him and hugged him. "I'm really sorry Tony."

He leaned into my embrace. "He offered me a place to stay but I refused. I want to get back on my feet...on my own. The Aces already did me a favor by not pressing charges. I...might be back...but not until I'm ready." He said.

I smiled. "Well, I wish you the best of luck." I said.

We finished out ice cream on a light note. Tony was telling me stories about himself and Kennedy as children when they were the schools troublemakers.

An hour later, we were back on the road. "I'm really glad you won." I told Tony.

He smiled at me. "Thanks. I'll miss you." He said. "And if Jace ever hurts you, just call me."

I grinned. "Another brother to add to the bunch." I joked. "Another first."

"What?" He asked as we pulled into the driveway.

"I've never had a sibling."

Jace was at my door before Tony even parked. He opened the door for me and helped me out. "I have something for you." He said. "Your birthday present. Your others are in your room, but this one is the most important."