I think it through for a few seconds before ultimately deciding he’s right. Just because I’m looking to do things my way doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be practical. I have a great emergency contact right across the hall, and should anything go wrong—or something as simple as me losing my keys while I’m out—I’ll have a backup plan.
I nod. “You’re right.” Grabbing the spare off the hook next to the door, I take my pink keychain that saysLoveoff the set and hand it to him. “Here. That’s my spare to the knob and the dead bolt.”
“Great. But can you leave the keychain on it? That’ll make it a lot easier to know what it is than if they’re just keys floating around in my drawer.”
“Your drawer?”
Ace smiles. “Yeah. My kitchen filing system, as it were.”
I roll my eyes. “Oh my God.”
“Don’t worry, Jules. Your key is very top priority. I won’t lose it.”
“I guess you’ll give me your spare too?”
“You bet, babe. I’ll go get it in just a minute,” he says, stepping deeper into my apartment and looking around. “Just wanna check some shit first…”
“What are you doing?”
“Making sure your smoke alarms are up to code. You’re supposed to have one in every entry to a new room.”
“What? How the hell do you know that? Did you do a stint in firefighter school that I didn’t know about?”
He laughs. “We all have our niche obsessions, Jules. Mine happens to be fire safety.”
“You seem weird today,” I say, no longer able to ignore the manic energy that appears to be vibrating off his body.
“What? Weird in what way?”
“I don’t know. I can’t put my finger on it, but something is different. Are you stressing over going back to school?”
“What? No. I’m excited for the year to start, actually. I have a feeling it’s going to be a great year.”
“Really?” I’m shocked. Ace has never loved school. In fact, he’s barely tolerated it up until now.
“Yeah. I know. It’s a new thing I’m trying,” he says with a chuckle. “Be more like Julia. Smart, funny, reliable. You know?”
I blush lightly at the unexpected compliment. “Will you be working on your tan? Because I’m also working on my tan.”
“Until the good weather heaves its last breath. We could go to the swim club tomorrow if you want.”
For the first time in our friendship, I hesitate to confirm the plan right away, and I don’t know why. It’s not like I don’t want to spend the day with Ace at the pool—it sounds amazing—but I’m a little afraid since we kissed at the lake that maybe I want it too much.
Maybe, somehow, under the radar, I’ve let myself get tooattached to Ace, and one day he’s going to meet some other girl who pulls the rug right out from under me.
“We’ll see, I guess. I told Drew I’d check in with him tomorrow too. Maybe he can come.”
“Oh. Yeah,” he says. “Sure, thing. Maybe I’ll invite someone too.”
Yep. There’s the rug, tight weave and fringy edges in all its glory.
“Well, thanks for looking out for my fire safety, but if it’s okay with you, I think I’m gonna lie low and go solo tonight. It feels like a big deal, you know? The first night in my big-girl apartment.”
His eyes soften, and the corners of his mouth lift. “It is a big deal. And you should spend it however you imagine it should be.” He exhales loudly and shrugs. “Well. I’ll be going, then. Maybe unpack some of my boxes.” He laughs. “But if you need me…”
I smile. “You’re right across the hall.”
Ace Kelly has always been the boy I could count on. I have to wonder how I’ll handle it one day—when he’s the man at the end of someone else’s calls.
