The Heart Of Ace

Chapter 2

I first met him during one of my summer breaks from college.

I was the youngest among my MIT classmates. So, every time I got a chance to spend time with my mom, I packed my essentials and jumped on the next flight. My mom was worried and bugging me to find a nice boyfriend and spend some time with him. Since she fell in love with my dad in college, she expected me to do the same.

I was not interested.

I wanted to study and a relationship would take away all my time. I could barely manage my time with friends as it was.

He was introduced to me as a friend of Janice.

Janice was... well Janice was Janice. I wish I knew how to describe her.

She was the daughter of Aunt Marie.

Aunt Marie was my mom's best friend. She was actually my dad's some distant cousin. When her husband left without an explanation, and leaving her financially dry, my parents helped her. So, after my dad's passing away, she moved in with us for a couple of years, to make sure we were fed and doing okay. I loved Aunt Marie like my own mom. She was a constant loving presence growing up. She was there to take care of me when my mom was grieving.

Janice and I were supposed to be at least friends, given the way how our moms behaved but we were far from it. She always made me uncomfortable. When we were with adults, she would be civil but when we were in school or playgrounds she made me feel, for lack of better words, unwelcome.

I never did anything to her or she to me. Just uncomfortable silence and hateful stares from her was enough for me to steer clear from her. I was always loved and appreciated by everyone. So, I guess I was at loss dealing with someone who hated me for no apparent reason.

Obviously, when I heard he was a friend of Janice, I stayed away from him as well.

Then he came for me and befriended me.

"Hi, Ace right?"

"Mm. I go by Dave."

"Your mom said Ace." He was confused.

"Yeah, my name is Ace Davidson. Please call me Dave."

Ace Davidson Truscott was my name. Ever since that bully of a boy in Kindergarten started calling me Ass instead of Ace, I switched to Dave. My mom still called me Ace sometimes though.

"My name is Robert. Please call me Robbie." He was making fun of me, with his charming smirk and raspy but playful voice.

I blushed.

He was handsome and older than me. He had that look of intelligence that came with maturity and experiences.

"Your mom was talking nonstop about you. MIT huh? That is a good college. You must be smart. What are you studying?"

"Yes, my college is the best. I am studying computer."

I left it at that. Mainly because mom said I had the tendency to ramble when asked about college or my studies. And that made people uncomfortable because they did not get what I was saying. Being smart had its own restrictions. Other people feeling cerebrally inadequate around me was one of them.

I did not want him to be uncomfortable. He must be trying to be polite and trying a small talk.

Normally, people would go like "Oh, cool. The weather is hot, isn't it?"

Not him.

"Computer? As in Computer Science or Computer Engineering?"

He was smart. Not many people got the difference.

That made him unique to me.

No one in my personal life was interested in my studies.

He was.

When I started to ramble he listened. He accepted that somethings he didn't get. He said what I was saying was cool and my ideas were futuristic. He was genuinely curious. And he hung on every word I had said.

Then I let him ramble. About his business, college projects he had done, his current plans to expand his company.

It was fun. He was fun. And he was so masculine too. He had that persona that made you drawn to him as time goes.

I noticed his dark brown hair, his thin lips, sharp steel grey eyes, bushy dark eyebrows. His thick fingers, rough hands and muscular biceps were gorgeous. His body in that Hugo Boss shirt was firm and hard with muscles.

But his intelligence floored me; how he was curious about anything and everything, how he carried on his conversations, his confidence in business matters were impressing me beyond measure.

I was attracted to him.

And unknown to me, I was attracting him too.

I was not acquainted to the art of flirting. It took me sometime to understand that maybe he was flirting with me.

The accidental touches were not accidental. The looping of his arms on my waist was not just friendly. When he whispered silly jokes to my ears like big secret, it was not because he did not want others to hear.

I liked it. I liked it too much.

The days felt so much brighter and we spent most of the time talking. Or flirting.

I thought of us all the time when we were not together; being boyfriends, going on dates, holding hands and kissing under stars.

I expected him to kiss me anytime soon because his eyes always lingered on my lips when I smiled. Or that was what I thought.

All of it came crashing down like a house of cards when Aunt Marie happily announced that Robert had asked Janice to marry him.

Oh it crashed down alright. With my broken bleeding heart on top.