Chapter Seven

~♤Aces PoV♤~

It's been about four days since I left. I was pretty much back to my old ways. Using fake IDs and such. I kind of liked not doing anything or being a functioning member of society. That didn't last long though.

"Ace! Are you ready to let yourself stay at my place?" Eli shouted at me.

"Quiet! There are other people around here." I glanced at the people in the cafe. Eli had called me and told me to meet him here. He also said that the coffee would be on him and I can't refuse a free coffee.

"Please? You can't keep living on the streets like this. I want you to stay with me." He gave me the puppy dog eyes. I sighed and thought about it. I did need more money and if Eli is this eager to help I'm sure he won't give up if I say no.

"Okay. Thank you Eli." I smiled.

We left the cafe and started walking to his place. The whole time he rambled about his three roommates and all about them. There was Cameron, Jeremy, and Brian. All of them were older than Eli and me, but still pretty young, in their 20 and 30s. "You can use my room. I'm used to sleeping on the couch." Eli laughed.

"No, I couldn't. You're giving me shelter. I've been sleeping on the ground for the past four days, a couch would be the best."

"And a bed would be heaven, I'm sure. Trust me, it's no problem. And I'll do you one better. A friend of mine is looking for employees at a bar he owns. You won't be handling any drinks of course, but you'll be doing cleaning work. I know how well you can clean." We both laughed.

We got to his apartment complex and his place was surprisingly big. "I'm home!!" Eli called out when we got in.

"Hey Eli!" I heard in a different room. A man stumbled out with a smile on his face. It faded slightly when he spotted me. "Who's this?"

"This is my friend, Ace. He's gonna stay with us for a while so be nice." Eli patted my back. The man had light brown hair and blue eyes. He was taller than me by around an inch and had a nice build. "Hey, I'm Brian. Nice to meet you." He shook my hand.

"Where's Cameron?" Eli asked.

"Where do you think?" Brian scoffed and walked into the kitchen. I looked at Eli in confusion. He looked like he was about to explain, but then a door behind us swung open. Standing in the doorway was a shirtless, jacked guy dripping with sweat. He took a swig from his water bottle and looked at us.

"Who the hell are you?" He asked. His voice gave me shivers. This man was hot. Like, I'd let him choke me hot. If I thought Hugh Jackman was attractive, I'd give my life to this man and I didn't even know him.

"Oi, Cam! I told Brian to be nice but you're the one who needed the reminder." Eli huffed. I kept silent as the two argued about being respectful. "Whatever. I'm going back to my room. Be quiet or I'll punch you." Cameron deadpanned and slammed his door shut.

"Sorry about that. He can be a dick sometimes. That's Cameron. I'm sure Jeremy will be here later. He's at work right now. I'll help you get settled and then you can take a shower."

I was pretty tired by the end of the day, but really happy. Eli is a nice guy and I'm grateful he let me stay here. I'll have to thank him again for all this. I almost completely forgot about the argument Mason and I had.

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