Chapter 16

After eating and washing up, Ace and Rosalee left to go for a drive. They didn’t have a particular destination in mind; they just thought they would wing it.

“So, would you like to head right to the beach, or is there somewhere you’d like to go first?” Rosalee replied, turning her head to look at him as he drove.

He looked back at her and smiled. “Then the zoo it is. I can’t believe you haven’t been to a real zoo.”

“I’m from a small town, and the closest thing we had to a zoo was a small petting zoo for children. It only had things like goats and chickens and ponies.”

“Well, you’re in for a real treat. Here they have everything from alligators to giraffes. I’m really going to enjoy showing you around Orlando. There are so many things to see and places to go.”

When they arrived at the zoo and parked the car, he paid for the tickets to get in. Taking her hand in his, they started walking. They stopped to look at the elephants that were on the other side of the fence, and she got a kick when she was able to touch one. Then she felt the elephant’s trunk sniffing her, and then she started giggling when it started tickling her.

“Oh my God,” she laughed when its trunk went over her breast.

Ace just stood there and smiled. “It looks like he’s a breast man just like me.” He helped her escape and pulled her away. “Sorry buddy, get your own girl because she’s mine.”

They both left and started walking away from the elephants. They wandered around looking at all the different animals, and then when they got to where the giraffes were, he asked her if she had ever been up close to one before.

“Yes, actually Brett took me to a giraffe ranch or whatever it’s called, and I even got to touch them. It was so cool, and they were so friendly.”

Hearing that another man had shown her a good time made him a little jealous. “Did you two ever kiss?”

She looked at him and could hear just a hint of jealousy in his voice. “No, he was a perfect gentleman, and besides, he’s with Eve now. It turns out that he’s been in love with her for a long time but didn’t act on it because she was with Rory.”

“From what you told me about this Rory guy, it’s a good thing she got away from him when she did. It would only have escalated to the point where he would have seriously hurt her or worse, killed her.”

“Oh, I know you’re right. The way he was on top of her with his hands around her neck and the look on his face, we just knew he had lost it. But thank goodness Brett was there and saved her.”

“Yes, it was a good thing he was there. Now do you want to skip the giraffes, or would you like to go and pet them again?”

“I’d like to go over and pet them.”

He put his arm around her waist and walked with her over to the giraffes. The woman in front of them turned around, and it was none other than Bonnie from the office.

“Mr. Thatcher, Miss Keller, I never expected to see you two here,” she said, looking from one to the other. Her eyes took in the fact that he had his arm around her. “And I’m really surprised to see the two of you here together, oh not that it’s any of my business.”

Ace pulled Rosalee closer to him. “You are the very first one to know that we are a couple and have been for a while.”

“Oh,” was all she managed to say. “Hmm, that’s really nice.”

“Can we go now, please?”

Both Ace and Rosalee looked down at the little girl who appeared to be about four or five years old, grabbing onto Bonnie’s hand.

“I didn’t know you had children so young,” Ace said, smiling at the little girl who was joined by a young boy around the same age.

Bonnie laughed and shook her head. “Oh my goodness, no, these are my grandchildren, and I’m just babysitting them today. They wanted to come to the zoo, so here we are. I guess we should get going, but I’ll see you both on Monday at work.”

After Bonnie walked away, Ace looked at Rosalee’s smiling face. “It looks as though our problem is solved.”

“What problem?”

“Once Bonnie gets to work, she will tell somebody about us, and that someone will tell another person, and before you know it, everyone in the office will know. It will save me the trouble of telling them myself.”

“But Bonnie’s not a gossip.”

“I’m not saying she is, but I’m sure that she will tell at least one person. Shall we continue our tour of the zoo?”

“How do you think people will react when they find out?”

“I’m sure there will be a few who will have some very negative things to say, so just ignore them. But I think they know better than to open their mouth, knowing that I could fire them at the drop of a hat.”

“Do you think that they will say that I got this job because I was sleeping with you?”

“Perhaps some might, but that’s only because they’ll be jealous. So that is why when we’re at work, we have to keep it professional so that people don’t think that I am giving you any special treatment.”

She couldn’t help but smile at him. “It wasn’t very professional of you when we had sex in your bathroom.”

“No, it wasn’t, but I was in desperate need of you, and I lost control. I will try to behave myself from now on, but you have to do your part.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, for one thing, stop being so sexy and swaying that cute little ass of yours,” he said with a devilish grin on his face.

“I can’t help the way I walk, and I don’t dress sexy. I always dress very conservatively when I’m at work. It’s not my fault you’re always horny.”

Over the next two hours, they walked around until they decided to get something to eat. He wanted to take her somewhere nice, but she said that she would love to get one of the hot dogs from the vendors. So of course, he couldn’t refuse her, and they went and each got a hot dog and shared some fries and a soft drink between them.

After they were done eating, she asked him if he was still going to take her to the beach. She was happy that he said yes, even though they weren’t going there to swim. What she really wanted was to just see the water and walk along the edge barefoot.

It was a bit of a drive to the beach, but when they got there, she took off her shoes and rolled her jeans up to her knees and told him to do the same.

“Why?” he asked as he did what she told him to do.

“So that we can walk along the edge of the water, silly.”

They left their shoes in the car, and he took her hand and held it as they started walking. She started laughing when she felt the sand between her toes. Pulling his hand, she dragged him towards the water.

“We should have brought our swimsuits.”

She looked up at him with the biggest smile on her face. “It’s probably too cold for that, but doesn’t this feel nice, the water and sand between our toes?”

“Yeah, it does,” he replied, looking into her eyes that were sparkling.

They walked for a while before turning back to where the car was parked. But instead of getting in, they went and sat down on the sand. He put his arm around her shoulders.

“Tell me about your father,” she said as she rested her head on his shoulder.

“My father was a very strong man who worked hard his whole life, and he taught me everything about the business. I will admit that I never really knew him that well, and we weren’t terribly close. He was always working and never had time for me, so we never did any of the father and son stuff that others do.”

“You mean he never played catch with you or took you to a ball game?”

“Nope, never. But like I said, he taught me other things, how to make money and to be successful. It was only a few years ago that I found out he got a stripper pregnant, and that I had a half-brother.”

“Ace, I’m so sorry you didn’t have a happier childhood.”

He turned his head to look at her. “It is what it is, but tell me about your childhood and your mother and father.”

“My mom died when I was thirteen.”

“Do you mind if I ask you how your mother died?”

“It was a brain aneurysm. I remember she started getting a lot of headaches, and one day she and my father were coming back from shopping when he had to rush her to the hospital. There was nothing they could do to save her; she died within minutes of arriving there.”

He looked at her and could see her eyes filling with tears. “I am so sorry for your loss.”

“She was a good mother, so sweet and loving and kind. She and my father were deeply in love, and it broke his heart when she died. He never did go out with anyone else. It was just him and me all those years before I left home. I really miss him, and maybe I should have stayed in Texas.”

“You should try and reach out to him. I’m sure by now he’s gotten over you leaving, and he’s probably missing you as much as you are missing him.”

“It won’t do any good, I tried a couple of times when I came here, and he just hung up on me.” She wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. “It’s getting late, can you take me home now?”

“I will, but first I need to do this,” he said as he lowered her down onto the ground and kissed her passionately. He didn’t want to stop; he wanted to keep going, to make love to her right there and then. But of course, that was impossible with them being out in the open and people roaming around. He finally got up, holding out his hand, he helped her up, and they walked over to the car and got in.

When they got to her place, and he walked her to her apartment door, he hated the thought of being without her tonight or any night for that fact. The nights they spent apart were torture for him; he wanted to fall asleep with her in his arms and to wake up in the morning to her smiling face.

“Thanks for an amazing day, I had so much fun.”

She was leaning up against the door, so he placed his hand above her head, his body close to hers as he looked down into her beautiful eyes that were looking back at him with love in them. “I had fun too, and I hate to see it end. But what I hate the most is having to go back to an empty house. It feels different when you’re there, it feels more like a home than just a house.”

She placed her hands on his chest and looked up and into his eyes. “I hate it when we’re apart, but we will see each other tomorrow.”

“I know, but that’s not good enough for me. It’s just being with you on the weekend is not working for me.”

“Are you breaking up with me?” she asked, fearing the worst.

“Oh God no,” he said as he placed his hands on her shoulders. “No, I want you to move in with me.”

Needless to say, she was shocked to hear him suggest such a thing, after all, they really hadn’t been together that long. “You want me to move in with you?”

“Yes, I do.”

“I-I think it’s too soon for that.”

“I thought you felt the same way about me as I do you.”

She saw the hurt in his eyes and knew she had to explain. “I do feel the same way, I love you. It’s just that Brett will be leaving soon, and Eve will be all alone.”

“Eve is a grown woman, and I’m sure she will understand. Maybe it’s because you really don’t want to move in with me.”

“Please don’t be hurt, and I would love nothing more than to move in with you. But I don’t think Eve had ever been alone before; she’s always had a man in her life. I just can’t leave her right now, at least not until she’s gotten used to Brett being gone.”

Yes, he was hurt, but was also relieved to hear that she did want to live with him. “Okay, I do understand, and if you change your mind before Brett gets back, the offer is always there. But I want you to still think about it, and I’m hoping you change your mind and move in right away.”

“I will think about it, and if I get the chance and it’s the right time, I’ll mention it to Eve and see what she thinks. Thank you for being so understanding.”

“I’m only being understanding because I know that you are worth the wait, and that you will eventually live with me. I guess I should let you go in now as we have a very busy day tomorrow.”

“Aren’t you going to kiss me goodbye?”

He pulled her into his arms, his one hand cupping the back of her head. He kissed her with a hunger that stirred the desire in both of them. “Oh God, how I want you to come home with me so that I can make love to you all night long. You have awakened the beast, so I better leave before I pick you up in my arms, kick this damn door open, and carry you to your bedroom and devour you.”

She giggled when he turned and left abruptly; she could tell how horny he was when he was pressed up against her, and his manhood felt so hard.