7

I sat in our apartment alone on the futon the next day. Ace was who knows where. I had come home yesterday after my rendezvous with Alaric to an empty apartment. Ace had never called or text me to tell me his whereabouts, which wasn’t that unusual if he was high on drugs.

I was worried about something much deeper than whether Ace was currently high on drugs or not.

Had I cheated on him?

I shook my head. The thought was ridiculous. I had a job which was a sexual position. I had sex with men for money. It was nothing more than a financial transaction, which was exactly what had happened between Alaric and me. He had paid me for sex, like any other man did.

Why did I have this guilt than? Why did I feel as though I had done something wrong? Was it because of how badly I had desired him? Or how about how I had consented to the sex before ever knowing he was a paying customer? I had wanted him before I knew he was paying. I had wanted him on a personal level, not a professional level. If he hadn’t offered to pay, I never would have asked. And then what?

Alaric also hadn’t texted a word to me and it wrongly bothered me. What was he supposed to say though? It’s not like my clients routinely contacted me to thank me for their great time. It was my job. That’s all it was. That’s all that had happened between us. Ace had told him I was a prostitute, and he had been a paying customer. Someone as gorgeous and as amazing as him would never be interested in something like me anyway. I was damaged goods and came with a truckload of luggage.

The door to the apartment opened and I glanced up as Ace walked in. My nerves kicked in as I wondered what he thought about Alaric and me? Did he know? Why had he even told him?

“Hey babe” he smirked at me as he walked over and sat down beside me. He threw his arm around my shoulders and kissed the top of my head as though everything was completely normal. Had he forgotten about how he had treated me in the restaurant? Or what about his proposition to seemingly pimp me out to Alaric?

“You were a jerk,” I mumbled out as I scooted away from him.

He chuckled as he scooted closer to me and put his arm around me again. He dropped his head backwards and looked up at the ceiling. “I was hungover and hungry” he groaned as he rolled his head to turn his face to me. “I’m sorry, baby. You know I get crabby when I’m hungry. Still love your handsome man?”

I rolled my eyes as I turned toward him. “Why did you tell Alaric I worked in a brothel?” The words tumbled out without thinking. It’s like the thoughts from my brain just found an exit through my mouth. I held my breath, regretting them the minute they came out.

His face hardened as he glared at me.“Because you do.”

I shook my head as anger rose within me. I had been contemplating why or how this conversation occurred between them.

“You just go around telling people your girlfriend works there and offering me out?”

His eyes narrowed on me as his voice lowered. “I saw how he was eyeing you at the restaurant and you sure in the hell weren’t reminding him of your commitment to me.”

“So you pimped your girlfriend out?” asked, disgusted with him as I stood up. “I’m not some prostitute you just pimp out to whoever you feel like. I have a job that I work but I decide who to accept as a client and when I want to accept them. You don’t get to decide that!”

He shook his head at me as he laughed. “You were after him like a bitch in heat.”

I shook my head at him as I crossed my arms across my chest. “When did you become such a jerk, Ace? What happened to the nice guy I fell in love with?”

“He’s right here, baby” he chuckled as he threw his arms out. “Now come here.”

“No,” I said firmly, standing my ground.

He stood up and walked into the kitchen, grabbing a can of soda from the refrigerator. “Why are you all wound up about him?”

“I’m not,” I shot back as he opened the can and took a long drink.

He pointed at me with the can in his hand. “You can fuck the whole damn town, for all I care. You just remember one thing. You belong to me. You’re my girl, and You’ll always be my girl.”

“You don’t own me,” I stated firmly.

“Whatever” he chuckled as he took another drink. “I’m the only one fucking you without paying.”

I glared at him. I hated the way he demeaned me based upon my job. He was the one who had pressured me into it, and yet now he used it against me. “Don’t talk about me like that, Ace. I hate it when … “

“When what?” he interrupted me as he slammed the soda can on the counter. It clanked loudly, causing me to jump as soda splashed out and onto his hand. “When I tell you the damn truth? You fuck guys for money, Stella. What the hell do you want me to call it?”

I shook my head, rolling my eyes as I turned to walk toward the bedroom. This conversation was going south extremely quickly, and I didn’t want any part of it. His anger was rising, and I wasn’t going to hang around for another angry outburst from him. “Forget it. Say what you want.”

“Hey!” I heard him call behind me, but I ignored him and headed down the hallway. “Stella! Get back here!”

I ignored his calls until I heard his footsteps suddenly chasing after me. I swung around to find him directly behind me. I startled backwards as he lunged at me. His hands shot around my neck, squeezing painfully tight.

“Ace!” I cried out but my voice was only a whisper with his grip on my neck. My hands shot to his, desperately trying to pry his fingers off. “Ace please.”

His eyes were wide and overflowing with an angry rage. “Don’t ever walk away from me! Ever! Do you understand me?”

I tried to answer but my voice was gone. My hands frantically grabbed at his as tears prickled my eyes. My lungs screamed for oxygen I couldn’t give them. I mouthed “Yes” to him to answer his question. “I’m sorry” I mouthed as I began to feel lightheaded due to my lack of oxygen.

He gave one last, tight squeeze before finally letting go. I collapsed to the ground the moment he released me. I gasped air into my lungs, desperate to get oxygen back into them. I took several deep breaths, my neck crying out in pain from the attack as I heard Ace walk away. I cringed as loud bangs sounded from the kitchen as he filled the room with curse words.

“Why do you make me do that?” he screamed in a rage filled voice. “Why the hell do you push my damn buttons and keep pushing and pushing until I loose freaking control?”

My breathing slowed as my lungs began to recover, but my neck still throbbed. I slowly got to my feet as I heard Ace walking back toward me. My face shot up to his terror, but the anger was void from his face.

“I’m sorry,” he spewed out quickly as he approached me. “You just make me so damn angry sometimes, baby. I don’t want to do that to you.”

He reached out for me, but I quickly slapped his hands away. “Don’t touch me,” I warned in a firm voice.

He looked at me as though I had hurt him with my words. “You know I didn’t mean that,” he said softly.

I stared at him but didn’t reply.

“Where is the money you made off of him?”

“It’s not yours,” I replied as I tried to move past him. I wanted to leave. I wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible. I had no idea where I would go, but I needed to get away right now.

He put his arm out, catching me around the waist, and throwing me back into the wall.

“Where’s the damn money?” he asked, his voice beginning to rise again. “Why the hell are you hiding money from me?”

“I’m not” I protested. We had a joint bank account. Ace handled all of our finances. It made sense when I had first moved in with him as he already had his own accounts. Now, it seemed restricting as it meant he had control of all of our money. I had nothing, while he had everything. He had a car and luxuries while I had whatever he deemed we could afford, and a car was never one.

I decided that needed to change. I had hidden Alaric’s money away in my closet intending to start saving my own money for the things I wanted. I needed some control back quickly as I felt like I was losing all the control of my life again.

“Where’s the money, Stella?” he asked again, his eyes beginning to flare with anger again.

I sighed as I turned away from him and went into the bedroom. I pulled the money out of the closet and walked back to Ace and gave it to him without protest. Maybe it was from my guilt for enjoying and wanting the sex with Alaric. Maybe it was to avoid another fight with Ace. Either way, I just wanted it over.

He took the money from my hand and smiled. “Thank you.”

I nodded as I stepped around him and left without another word.