Ace (Playtime Series Book 1) by Gemma Arlington (distant reading TXT) 📕

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 “I miss you,” I whispered, as I popped the bubbles in my bath. The house was empty and boring without Hank. I pouted, popping a few more bubbles.

I had been talking on the phone with Hank for about a half hour, and we had been discussing and exchanging our road trip stories.

I had told him a few details, leaving out my romp in the sheets with Eric since I knew that he would have some weird adult advice to tell me.

“When are you coming home?” I asked.

“Not sure Lacey, but I’ll let you know when I know,” he replied. “I miss seeing your smile,” he added.

I bit down on my lip; he would never know what those simple words did to my insides. I had a big crush on Hank but I liked our friendship and working relationship enough to not put us into a romantic one and ruin what we had spent the last six months building.

I missed his smile though; the way he cooked me breakfast and took care of me plus the way he knew when I was having a shitty day and would help cheer me up. He was my best friend and the greatest roommate I could ever ask for.

“I’m becoming a prune, I better get out of this tub,” I laughed.

“Stay safe and don’t forget to call me if you get bored or you just want to hear my voice,”

I joked.

“Bye Ace,” Hank laughed as he hung up.

I was going to dread the last two and a half weeks of this tour. Being back in L.A was soothing, and as much as I didn’t fit into the so called L.A lifestyle, the lives of the rich and famous, I loved living here.

To be honest I barely scraped through life with the job I had and I was in one of the highest paid brackets in relation to my profession. I worked hard for my money and boy did I work my butt off for JED.

I grinned to myself. I had grown to like those boys… in fact, I treasured them. They were like big brothers and goofy jocks. Fluffy teddy bears and big bouquets of flowers, they all brought something different to the table, never giving me a dull moment.

I rolled my eyes and climbed from the tub, bubbles sticking to my body. I picked up my towel and wrapped it around my body before heading to the bedroom to dress. Elle would be here in twenty minutes with a few friends and a hell of a lot of pizza and beer.

~Chapter Nineteen~

Ace

“I don’t know if it’s possible, but I think you got a lot prettier while you were away,” Eric smiled down at me, as I quickly pulled up the yellow, lace panties I had thrown to the floor in the heat of the moment.

I had been back for two nights after yet another trip to L.A. The tour was crazy and we had already been to a lot of cities and towns including New York, New Orleans and Mississippi, among others. The two nights had been exciting. Eric had been attentive and sweet. We had a little fun enjoying each other’s lips and other body parts all over the bus.

When I was in L.A., I had finally gotten the all clear to break things off with Jake. They stated that his reputation was cleaner than it had been in a long time and that my so called ‘dating’ him was to thank for it. I also managed to have a hell of a lot of money dumped into my account for sticking it out for so long; compensation is what they called it.

It also seemed that while I was away, Jake had found himself a few beauties to enjoy and for the first time in a long time he had actually stayed sober to appreciate their company.

I smiled down at Eric wrapped up in the sheet. He looked good and as much as I wanted to crawl under the covers with him, I couldn’t as we were on the last leg of the tour.

New York had been a blast and it also happened to be the night I flew in to re-join the tour. The club the guys played at had thrown a massive bash for the band along with a few hundred, happy party goers. The boys were still trying to recover from the mega hangovers they were harboring, but all in all they enjoyed themselves.

We had another three stops before we left this hideous RV behind and flew, in style, back to L.A. The few times I’d had reprieves in the city were bliss; stressful, but bliss and I missed it.

I picked up a discarded pillow and threw it at Eric before I hit the tiny shower to freshen up. Tonight’s gig was intense and I had to say the session I’d just had with Eric was intense in a whole different light.

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Eric

I was freaking out; I didn’t know how to tell Ace that I had slightly fucked up what we had. Tonight was the last leg of the tour, which meant we flew back to L.A. tomorrow and to the party that Ace had travelled back to prepare for.

The album would be launching tomorrow, which meant my secret little song would be out there for the world to hear. Lacey was going to kill me, the lyrics were not only explicit but slightly detailed and I knew I was dead meat.

I showered and got myself ready for the final gig of the tour. JED was now a well-known rock band who had toured the States, and according to Ace and Dash Records we were planning another tour, but this time of Europe.

The rest of the guys