CHAPTER SEVEN
Lisa walked out of the San Diego Central Library arm in arm with Courtney and decided this Friday the thirteenth was going to be free of disasters. “Where do you want to go?”
“Is that even a real question?”
“So, La Puerta for tequila and tacos?”
“Of course.”
Smiling at her best friend, she hiked her purse higher on her shoulder and enjoyed the sun beating down on her shoulders. She’d been home for a little over two weeks and was back into the swing of summer in Southern California. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like Ace was going to be a part of it.
Despite all the things he’d said before they parted.
Scrubbing the thought from her mind, she glanced over at her friend and noticed a smile she hadn’t seen in a long time. “Are you going to tell me what has you so happy, or do I have to guess?” They strolled down J Street toward the Gaslamp District, and she hoped it was some man candy who was making her friend so glowy.
“Well…I met this man.”
“Do tell.”
Cortney smoothed out her hair and then grinned. “I was helping out in the Rare Book Room the other day, and a handsome man came in needing help. Something I was more than happy to provide.”
“I bet,” Lisa replied.
“He’s a professor at UCSD, working on a paper about ancient writing. I showed him the writing squares from Sumatra, and one thing led to another, and he invited me out for dinner tomorrow night to thank me for all my help.”
“That’s so…”
“Perfect and somewhat old-fashioned?”
“Yeah. I’m so impressed he went for it; that hardly ever happens anymore.”
“I know and not only is he intelligent, but a hunk. How he has time to maintain his physique and brain is a mystery.”
“And how do you know anything about his body, missy?”
“When he was studying the writing squares, I studied his ass.” Fanning her face, she let out a laugh. “It’s one of those high and tight ones that makes you want to take a bite.” Lowering her sunglasses, she winked. “I also leaned in close when I handed him a book and noticed his arm was big and muscly.”
“You naughty librarian, taking advantage of unsuspecting patrons.”
Laughing, she slid her glasses back up. “More than half my time is spent in the children’s area, so any time I get to be in the company of adults, I’m not wasting it.”
“Well, good for you; I can’t wait to hear all about your date.”
“Maybe he has some professor friends and, if things go well, I can set you up.”
They turned up 4th street, and she shook her head. “No, thanks, I’m on a break from men and romance in general.”
“Still no response?”
“No, I called him twice and sent a text. If Ace wanted to get in touch, he would have.” They stepped into the dark restaurant, and she let out a sigh. “It was a war-zone fling and nothing more.” They grabbed a booth toward the back and slid into the seats. “I don’t know why he acted like he wanted to keep it going, though. It’s not as if I was pressing for anything.”
“You know his friend, Caid has been calling and flirting, and I’m going to tell him to stop.”
“Why? He hasn’t done anything wrong.”
“True, but the only reason I was semi-interested was because I thought you and Ace were going to become a thing.” She reached across and took Lisa’s hand and squeezed. “I thought us double dating and stuff would be fun. But since that’s not happening, I’m not going to waste my time.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course, and since I have this date with the professor, it’s no loss.”
The waitress stopped by and they placed their orders, and then Lisa looked at the bar. “Ace not calling is probably a blessing since he yelled a lot. Who wants a man who’s so…explosive?”
“Explosive is okay as long as it’s confined to the bedroom.”
“Well, we certainly had that.” Their first round was delivered along with a basket of chips and bowl of guacamole. Lifting her drink, she smiled. “This right here is all I need in life; my best friend, a margarita, and chips.”
“Hear, hear.”
They clinked glasses and Lisa took a healthy sip and grinned. “Happy Friday to us.”
“Indeed,” Courtney replied. “So, what are your plans now that you’re home?”
“I’m writing a few follow-up articles for the series I did on the conflict in Yemen, and then I need to get started on a plan for the classes I’m teaching in the fall.”
“I love the idea of you becoming an academic and, if you follow in your mother’s footsteps, it would be so cool.”
Lisa sipped her drink and then snorted. “You can’t compare my little gig at the community college to my mom’s career at USD. The woman is the dean of the Kroc School of Peace Studies.”
“Maybe you’re taking a first step, and it will be just a matter of time before you’re heading the school of journalism.”
“I guess it’s possible.” Their plates were delivered, and they both dug into their tacos. “Do you want to come to the beach tomorrow before your hot date with the professor?”
“Sure, I haven’t been out in a couple of weeks and heard we might be getting a south swell.”
“Perfect because I need a day in the water catching waves with my best friend.”
“Me too,” Courtney replied as the waitress delivered their second round.
Looking up, Lisa accepted her second margarita from the waitress, and then sucked in a breath. Slumping down in the booth, she shook her head and took a swig from her drink. “Son of a bitch.”
“What?”
“Guess who just walked in?”
“By the look on your face, nobody we want to see.”
“Ace is standing at the front with a woman who has a bitty baby bump.”
“How do you know it’s a baby bump?”
“She’s tiny all over and wearing a skin tight-dress.”
“No shit.”
Leaning sideways, she felt herself go hot as she saw his hand go to the woman’s back. “Guess that explains why he never got in touch.”
“Maybe it’s his sister.”
“He doesn’t have any, only two brothers.” Straightening up, she lifted her last taco and ate it in three bites. “Should I stress eat or stress drink?”
“Why make a choice?” Courtney replied as she pushed the margarita closer. “Do both just in case.” Shaking her head, she let out a groan. “I wish I had written down what herbs are naturally poisonous when I was helping that author with research.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Having something like that on hand would give us a chance to doctor up a drink and send it to Ace.”
“We don’t need to poison him because he’s a cheater and a liar.”
Courtney shrugged. “We wouldn’t kill him, just make several hours of his life really miserable.” She lifted her phone out of her purse and fiddled with it.
“What are you doing?”
“Making myself a note to look it up when I get home, so we’re never in this position again.”
Ignoring her friend, she popped her head up and saw Ace and his date being seated toward the front of the restaurant. “We’re going to pass them when we leave; should I stop and say hello or just ignore him?”
“Oh, we’re stopping, no doubt about it. I want to take a picture of him and post it on that site for cheaters.”
“That is not a real thing.”
“It most certainly is. There’s Cheaterville and The Dirty and probably hundreds more. It’s a huge thing.”
“You’re not taking his picture and to be a cheater you have to be in a relationship. And we didn’t have one.”
“But he had one with the woman who’s pregnant which made you a party to his cheating.”
Lisa shook her head and groaned. “God, you’re right.” Laying her head on the table, she tapped it a couple of times. “I don’t want to look that woman in the eye; I’m mortified.”
“You have nothing to be embarrassed about because you didn’t know.”
“I guess, but it still feels horrible.”
“We need to stop by if only to watch Ace’s reaction when he sees your face.”
“I bet he won’t have one and can barely remember my name.”
“He sure as hell remembers your name; don’t fool yourself.”
“We hardly spent any time together, and I’m sure he has flings all over the world. I doubt I made more than a blip on his radar.”
“Then, why would he bother saying all those things if he didn’t mean to stay in contact?”
“Who knows? Men are funny creatures. I gave up trying to understand them long ago.”
“Amen, sister.”
Lisa wiped her hand on a napkin and then folded it. “At least I know why he didn’t call. Seeing him with his baby mama gives me closure, and that doesn’t always happen.”
“True.” Twisting up her hair, she smiled. “Let’s add a little revenge too.”
“He’s not worth the effort.” Lifting her drink, she drained it. “Let’s get this over with.”
Courtney stood and straightened her shoulders. “Come on, lady, let’s give him a visual of exactly what he’s missing.”
Lisa stood and nodded. “I wish I’d worn a cuter dress.”
Pulling the front of Lisa’s dress down, she nodded. “There you go, now it’s cuter, and your boobies look perfect.”
“You do realize he’s not going to care what I look like.”
“Maybe so, maybe not. Either way, you need to rock some confidence.”
Sighing, Lisa turned toward Ace and his woman and couldn’t wait until the whole thing was over.
Smoothing down her hair, Lisa took a deep breath and felt Courtney’s hand at her back as they stepped up to Ace’s table. She plastered a smile on her face and waved when Ace turned. “Hey there.”
“Lisa!”
“Just wanted to stop by and say hi before we headed out.” Seeing his shocked expression made her wonder why he bothered giving her his number. When he didn’t say anything, she turned to the beautiful brunette that was snugged up to his side. “Hi, I’m Lisa, and this is my friend Courtney.”
The woman put her hand out and grasped Lisa’s fingers. “Nice to meet you; I’m Victoria.”
Lisa watched her take Ace’s hand and lace their fingers together and prayed her smile didn’t falter. “Nice to meet you.”
“Now, where do you know my Ace from?” Victoria asked.
Hearing Courtney cough as she mumbled bitch made her laugh. Stifling it as best she could, she cleared her throat. “We met in Yemen.”
“How…interesting,” Victoria replied.
The waitress delivered their drinks and, as she stepped to the side, she noticed Ace tug his hand away from Victoria. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Courtney pull her phone out. “Don’t do it,” she whispered. Turning around, she gave the couple a smile and noticed Ace looked miserable. Which made her feel surprisingly good. Not a proud moment to be sure, but one she could certainly live with.
Victoria lifted her soda and made a fake sad face. “Wish I could have a margarita, but I’m pregnant, so it’s no alcohol for me.”
“Congratulations, you two must be very happy,” Courtney said loudly as she started to lift her phone.
Lisa pushed her friend’s hand down and shouted WTF, silently to herself.
“It’s not what you think,” Ace said quietly as he looked up and held Lisa’s gaze.
“Uuhh…”
“Well, this had been…interesting,” Courtney interrupted. “But we need to be going.”
“Take care,” Lisa called as Courtney took her hand and dragged her toward the front of the restaurant. Once they were out on the street, she let out a breath and shook her head. “What the hell?”
“Whatever is happening between the two of them is not making Ace happy. Victoria, on the other hand, is happier than a pig in slop.” Shoving her phone back in her bag, she frowned. “That’s a shit-show in the making, no matter how it plays out.” She looked inside the restaurant and shuddered. “We don’t even need to worry about revenge because it looks like Ace is dying.”
“I never would’ve pegged him as a cheater,” Lisa said quietly. He’s a lot of things, but a slimy son of a bitch didn’t seem to be one of them.”
“Guess it’s good nothing more happened between the two of you.”
“Seems so.” Feeling strangely sad, she walked arm in arm with her best friend and wondered who the man inside that restaurant was because he sure didn’t seem to have anything in common with the one she’d met in Yemen.
***
Ace ran his hand down his face and looked at Lisa standing on the sidewalk and felt his gut clench. The situation he found himself in was completely fucked up, and he couldn’t abide it hurting her in any way.
And now that he’d seen her face, he knew it was impossible.
Glancing over at the woman who’d given him more grief than any other human, including all the tangos he’d encountered over the years, he let out a slow breath. “What the hell was that all about?”
Victoria let out a frustrated sigh and flipped her hair over her shoulder. “Nothing, Ace.”
“Bullshit!”
Slapping her hand on the table, she let out a huff. “I didn’t like the way she was looking at you.”
“Too fucking bad, Victoria. We’re not together and haven’t been in months. And as far as the baby goes, I’m one out of three possible daddies. Until we have a definitive answer, don’t infer that I’m the one who’s responsible for your condition.”
“But…”
Holding up his hand, he shook his head. “Don’t.”
“I thought we were going to try and work things out, in case the baby is yours. We were good together and could be again.”
“I never said I was interested in trying again and you know that.” He took a sip of his beer and felt his stomach protest. “I told you that if I was the father, I’d take responsibility. That, however, does not include trying to have a relationship with you.” He set down his glass and untangled himself from her hold. “And you know as well as I do that we were never good. We fought more than we were civil and, as far as I’m concerned, that’s not a great relationship.”
“We had a lot of great angry sex, though.”
“You winding me up like a toy until I explode is not what I want. I know you crave the drama and shit, but I don’t.”
“Then why did you always come back for more?”
“If I could answer that question definitively, then maybe I could get rid of all my self-recrimination. But, I can’t, and I’ll just have to live with it.”
“That’s mean, Ace.”
Sighing, he knew having a logical discussion with her was impossible and trying only resulted in a headache. “We are never going to be anything, and my best guess is that I’m not the father of your baby since I always used a condom. So why don’t you just tell me how you want this to play out until we get the paternity test.”
“Well, I thought you could go to some doctor’s appointments with me and, you know…help out with expenses.”
“Why don’t you give me the names of the other men who are candidates and I’ll get in touch with them? We can put a little fund together and my brother, Brian, who’s an accountant, can hold the money in an escrow account; that way you can submit your expenses and then get reimbursed. We’ll split everything four ways, and when the baby daddy is named, he can pay us back.”
“Ace, that’s so cold and businesslike.”
“Yeah and that’s how it’s going to be with me. I know how easy it would be for you to soak all three of us, and I’m not interested in playing that game. So, if you want anything from me, that’s how it’s going to play.”
“Screw you, Ace. You can’t treat me like that.”
Shrugging, he moved further away. “Send me the names of the other guys, and I’ll work something out with them.” He slid out of the booth and opened his wallet and threw some money down on the table. “Dinner is on me tonight.”
He strode out of the restaurant and headed toward his truck, knowing that getting Lisa to understand his current situation was going to be damn near impossible. Pulling his phone out, he texted Caid, letting him know he’d be at Danny’s in twenty minutes.
Friday the thirteenth had lived up to its reputation, and he needed some time with his buddies, so he could figure out his next move.
By the looks of it, he was going to need to pull a rabbit out of his hat to get Lisa even to take his call. And he couldn’t blame her, considering he may have a kid on the way with a woman who was hell on wheels.