Page 22 of Ace

As she pulled into the lot, she scanned it for his bike. Her heart sank when she didn’t see it, but she reminded herself that despite her Little tendencies, at work during the day she was a badass and a big girl and she just needed to pull her big-girl panties up, make the delivery and get shit done.

Hopping out of the cab of the oversized delivery truck she’d learned to drive at the ripe old age of thirteen, she unlocked the back, checked the sheet for their order and loaded it onto the dolly. At a lot of the bars, the owners and staff insisted on helping her unload the truck, but not the Vipers. They were not gentlemen or anything even remotely close.

The bar was open despite it being lunchtime and besides a few regulars she recognized, it was nearly empty save for all the members. She went in through the front instead of the back delivery door she sometimes used.

Joey, the one they called Bones, but she still thought of as Joey because she’d gone to high school with him, and the nicest out of all of them, was behind the bar and he gave her a savvy little wink when she walked in. He was nicer than the others but he still gave her the creeps.

“Big order today,” she said conversationally as she wheeled the dolly behind the bar through the kitchen and into the storage. “You guys having a party or something?”

Joey snickered. “Business just be picking up, that’s all. Don’t know if you’ve heard the news, but there’s one less biker bar in town these days. Seems if you fuck with the wrong people you get fucked with.”

He was referring obviously to King’s being burnt to the ground. She didn’t know the whole story behind what caused it but she did know the fire had been intentionally set. Here Joey was talking like he had personal knowledge of the events behind the fire, making her wonder if he, or more likely other Vipers, had been the ones to light the match. Ire like venom rose within her veins and her face flamed as she turned to him after unloading the dolly. “It almost sounds like you’re admitting culpability, Joseph.” She used his given name because she knew from high school that he hated it. “Is that what’s happening here? Do I need to call the cops and get them down here? Maybe suggest they get a warrant to search the place. I’m betting your boss wouldn’t like that too much. Maybe you should just keep your fucking mouth shut.”

She could see the vitriol in his eyes and knew she was going too far but she couldn’t stop herself. What was he gonna do about it? Call her dad and complain?

“Listen here, you little bitch.” Joey advanced on her and she took two steps back, straight into a wall, realizing belatedly that she was literally backed into a corner when he leaned in and put his palms flat on the wall one on each side of her head, moving his face so close to hers she could smell the liquor and tobacco on his breath. “I don’t know nothing and neither do you, so you’d be smart to keep your stupid little mouth shut before I shut it for you.”

She got the message loud and clear, swallowing hard as she ducked out from under his arms. She’d definitely hit a nerve and the reason why hit her nerves. She was shaking with anger but she forced herself to keep her pace even and her tone nonchalant as she grabbed the dolly’s handle and walked back to the front of the bar and slapped the invoice down on the bar top.

Joey was right behind her the whole way, and when they reached the front, he seemed like a different person as if the incident in the storage room had never happened.

He leaned against the bar from behind it, resting his forearms on the cool wood, and looked her up and down. “You’ve really grown up since high school, Lizzie. And don’t think I don’t remember all those sissy boys you used to date. Have you ever even been with a real man? Maybe it’s time you tried.”

The disgusting and ill-timed come on was capped off with a salacious wink and a lecherous smirk. Lizzie felt like she was going to be nauseous. She knew she should just ignore him and leave, and not risk angering him further, but being a wilted flower wasn’t in her nature. She had to be tough to be in the job she was. “Trust me,” she scoffed as she turned to walk out the door, “my man is a lot more real than you will ever be.”

She hadn’t been quiet and the few customers at the bar exploded in raucous laughter, and ribbing. She tossed back her head and laughed with them. By the time she was back in the truck, her heart rate had almost returned to normal.

She checked her phone and saw a text from her Daddy and all the yuckiness faded away.

Counting the hours until I can see you, little one…

She was counting the hours too and there were still too many to go, but as she pulled out of the lot and onto the highway toward her next stop, Joey and his threats and dirty pickup lines became nothing more than a distant memory. All she could think about was a perfect weekend with her Daddy.

Ace

Ace cut out of the aquarium gig early, handing off the duties to his second-in-command and hauled it up to his suite. Somehow a day of play and experimentation had easily turned into something that neither of them had wanted to end and now they were official.

He was a Daddy and Lizzie was his Little girl, and this weekend would cement that and make it official. He’d spent the last few days getting things ready for a perfect Daddy/Little weekend. He’d stocked up on supplies: everything from diapers to bibs to juice boxes and snacks, Disney movies, and jammies and everything he could think of. As far as he knew, she wasn’t that Little and didn’t plan on changing that, but he also wanted to be prepared for any scenario now or in the future. He’d also planned out lots of fun activities for their weekend, including a trip to the aquarium, the indoor playground and the amusement park. Lizzie said she wasn’t one for rides, but she loved games and bumper cars. To him all of that was great, and he looked forward to witnessing her excitement and the magic of her in her Little space, but it was just icing on the cake. What he was looking forward to most was just being with her. Dinner tonight would be room service because they had lots to talk about and he didn’t want to share.

He’d showered and changed into sweats and a Sin City Saints shirt after work, and now he was just waiting for her to show up so their weekend could begin.

The second she knocked on the door, he bounded off the bed to answer it. He had a key for her, but he hadn’t given it to her yet. He swung the door open, and she stood there, still in her work clothes, hair hidden beneath her hat, torn jeans, company tee, yellow half apron. He went in for a hug, but she held up her hand and handed him her purse instead.

“I have been waiting all day for this, and I cannot wait another second to get out of these grown-up clothes and into my real self.” Taking her backpack with her, she stomped past him to the bathroom and he heard the lock click and the water start running.

He frowned. Well, that certainly wasn’t going to become a habit.

Withdrawing a composition journal and a pack of pens from the things he’d bought, he set them on the small table, and sat down across from them. Apparently they needed to talk about rules sooner rather than later.

Fifteen minutes later, she emerged from the bathroom, dressed in her Narwhal jammies, with her long, still wet hair pulled into a braid that reached halfway down her back. “I hope this is okay,” she said, holding her hands out at her sides. “I didn’t figure we were planning on going anywhere tonight.”

“It’s fine. We’ll order dinner in, and we aren’t going anywhere. Come have a seat.”

Her eyebrows shot up her forehead which crinkled with worry as she seemed to notice the notebook on the table.

“Is this about rules? Are we getting into that right now?” She looked like that was the last thing on the planet she wanted to do.

“Well, we weren’t going to, but then you breezed through here and locked yourself in the bathroom without so much as a hello, or a kiss or even a hug.”