Ace of Hearts (FU High 1)

I close my eyes for a minute. “Still can’t believe I did that,” I admit.

“It was the highlight of my day. Hell, maybe the highlight of my month.”

“Is everyone talking about it?” I don’t know why I ask. Of course they are.

“Yep. There is even a video going around on Snapchat of it in slow motion.” I go for my phone to see for myself. “I’m joking,” Melody says. “God, that would be wonderful.” She sighs like she’s replaying it in her head in slow motion for herself.

“Class dismissed,” Mr. Barker announces from the front of the room.

“Give me your number.” Melody pulls out her phone, waiting for me to give it to her. It wasn’t really a question. It should probably annoy me but I enjoy how straightforward she is so I rattle it off to her and she shoots me a text. I see I have one from my mom too, along with an image on my calendar.

I can be obsessive about my calendar. Owen watched me add things to it all morning. At lunch he asked me to share mine with his. Like when Melody asked for my number, I just shared it with him. I have no idea why. I think because he was so interested in it. I click to see Owen has invited me to multiple things. There’s a party scheduled in there for this Friday night and my entire Saturday is mysteriously blocked out. Well, if I accept the invites it will automatically block it all out. I click his calendar, which he opened to me, and the only events he has on it are ones he sent me. He set up a calendar to hang out with me. Grr. He’s so freaking adorable. I need to set my own reminder in my phone. One that tells me daily that Owen is just a friend. I am going to need it.

8

Owen

“You’re bringing a who to what?” Carter squints at me as if by viewing me differently will change the words I said.

I slam the locker door shut, grab my helmet and repeat my statement. “I’m bringing Ace to practice. I don’t want her leaving school by herself since Double J’s probably waiting.”

“Fine, but you drop one ball during practice and you’re doing suicides until you puke.”

I hold out my hand. “You’re on. My hands are glue. You get it close and I’m hauling it in.”

Carter hits my fingers with his and we simultaneously draw back with a snap. All Carter wants to know is my head’s in the game and it is. I’m good enough I can have my girl sitting on the sidelines while I’m on the field. It’s called multitasking.

“You going after that Alice chick?” Billy wanders over.

The grin slips off my face. Billy gives me bad vibes. It’s not that he’s done anything wrong around me but every time he’s close a warning bell ding-a-lings loud enough you’d think I was at the firehouse.

“I got some stuff cooking,” I say off-handedly.

“There’s a pool for who can nail the most new girls. You want in?”

I glance over at Carter, who is ignoring this business, wrapping tape around his fingers. So this is okay but bringing your girlfriend to practice isn’t? Not sure I agree with that.

“Nah. I’m pretty selective about where my dick goes.” As in, I’m not putting it anywhere but Alice’s sweet pussy.

“Your loss.” Billy shrugs and moves through the locker room to make his offer to a different teammate. I watch him get turned down repeatedly. Guess it’s the whole team’s loss.

Still in my street shoes, I book it down the hall to Ace’s class. I arrive just as the bell rings and skid to a stop. The classroom door bursts open and students tumble out as if the classroom is puking them out.

Ace is at the back of the pack.

“Yo, Ace.” I jerk my chin up and motion her over.

“Yo, Owen,” she echoes, trying to sound hard and looking like a kitten with a snarl on her cute little face.

“That’s my name.” I wink at her. I reach out to pull her close and remember the stupid agreement I made with her. No touching without permission. “Let’s do this, Ace,” I suggest. “You call me by my name and I’ll assume it’s okay to lay hands on you. That way you don’t have to keep telling me it’s okay when we both know it is.”

“Like a safe word but in reverse?” says another girl.

I swing my eyes to Ace’s left and spy another student. I search my internal student body catalog and stop at Melody James. “Melody, good to see you.” I hold out my fingers for a slap.

She smacks me good. “How do you know my name?”

I give her a mock wounded look. “I’m not just a good-looking piece of meat, Melody. I’ve got a brain. And feelings.” I tap my heart. “Be gentle with me.”