Then he laughed – caustic and so sharp it made me flinch. “I wasn’t offering, anyway,” he said. “Who would want to be with used goods like you?”
“Hey!” Ace snapped, his voice cracking across the room. Everyone around us shut up, staring. He was glowering at Xavi, his hands in fists at his sides. “That’s enough.”
“Defending the slut?” Xavi laughed, seemingly not realizing that no one else was laughing along with him.
“He’s actually grown up and changed – unlike you,” Ace replied again, his tongue sharp as a whip. “You should probably go and look in the mirror if you think sleeping around is shameful behavior.”
Xavi muttered something I couldn’t make out in response, turning away from us. Ace pushed through the others to reach me, staring darkly at Xavi’s back, and grabbed my arm.
“Let’s go get our stuff,” he said, and even though I had a suspicion he was only going with me because we were sharing a room, I still felt a thrill go through me at the touch of his hand on my bare skin.
Even though we were all going back towards the rooms in the same part of the hotel, it seemed like Ace and I were walking faster than anyone else. Before we reached the doors, we found ourselves fully alone in a stretch of hallway, our room still up ahead.
“Um, thanks,” I said, trying desperately to keep up with the pace he was setting. Ace’s determined walk was stiff and fast like he was trying to burn off the anger he’d felt towards Xavi.
“It’s fine,” he said, glancing over his shoulder at me. His body relaxed a tiny bit, though it only resulted in him seeming to slump and hunch over slightly as we walked. “Xavi was being an asshole. I’m getting kind of tired of having to apologize for Xavi being an asshole.”
“Not just for that,” I said. “The idea, too. You were right. Talking about it openly helped. I don’t even know if anyone will treat me differently, but it felt good to say it and have it acknowledged.”
Ace glanced at me again. His dark eyes seemed to hold a different meaning this time, but I couldn't unravel it. “You did all the work, not me,” he said. “Don’t thank me.”
“I want to thank you, anyway,” I told him stubbornly. We were approaching our door. He reached into his pocket to get out the key, unlocked it, stepped inside – and only then hesitated.
“Just give me some of that new confidence you have left over, and we’ll be good,” he said, blowing out a breath.
I blinked.
This seemed like a private conversation, so I shut the door behind us before I replied. “Why do you need confidence?”
Ace sighed. He took a deep breath and blew it out again, almost seeming to deflate in front of my eyes. “Because we’re going to the pool.”
I didn’t see the connection. “And?”
Ace hugged his arms across his body and turned away. “Never mind. You probably wouldn’t get it, anyway. Let’s just get ready.”
“No…” I stepped towards him, reaching out to put my hand on his shoulder. “Talk to me. You helped me out, so let me help you back.”
Ace sighed again and stepped away from me, but it didn’t feel like he was shaking me off. Instead, he moved to sit down on the end of his bed, burying his face in his hands.
I squatted in front of him, wanting to stay at his level. Maybe it was easier for him to talk like this, when he couldn’t see my face, see me watching him.
“I hate it,” he said, his voice strained from between his hands. “I hate it when I have to show my body.”
I blinked.
What?
“But… you stripped off in front of me already,” I said, then tilted my head as it hit me. “Twice.”
“That’s not…” Ace broke off in a frustrated noise, rubbing his fingers over his forehead without removing his hands from covering his face. “I knew you wouldn’t get it.”
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry,” I said, holding my hands out to the side. I didn’t know if he could see them, but the gesture was meant to appease. “Tell me. I want to understand.”
Ace sighed and groaned like he couldn’t believe he was even going to say it. “It’s just… swimming, and wearing…”
“Swim trunks?” I guessed, because it was the only thing I could think of to fill the gap, and he didn’t seem willing to finish the sentence.
“Yes,” he said. “Everyone’s always… staring, and wondering…”
