Post by Ace King on Apr 4, 2017 20:06:30 GMT -6
(Writer's Note: This is the first part of a collaboration between myself and Shelley Silver to give a window into how they came to be what they are now. This has been eye-opening so far; thanks for the creative spark, Shell!)
March 30, 2017
Seattle, Washington
She could have sexed herself up, but she wasn’t looking to go that route this time. Shelley liked Ace. She wasn’t looking just for a simple in and out/wham, bam, thank ya officer. If she was, she wouldn’t have been wearing a vintage style Umbrella Corp t-shirt with a pair of jeans. She drove to the airport with Sloane, who was coincidentally making her way down to Los Angeles for a few days, to drop her off and pick up Ace at the same time. She parked her Jeep in the parking lot and the women walked inside together, saying their goodbyes before Sloane went off to check-in, leaving Shelley to find the baggage claim carousel where Ace’s flight was directed to. She sat on one of the benches across from it, waiting for the people on the flight to come that way.
“All baggage from Alaska Airlines flight 619 from Las Vegas is on Carousel 7,” a robot announcer drones over the sound system. Shelley gets to the carousel, and among the last people to show up, clad in his standard VENUM walkout shirt and jeans with Adidas shoes, Adidas track jacket, and red-tinted Oakley sunglasses is none other than Ace King. He surveys the area looking for any trace of Shelley, all the while trying to find the right carousel in an unfamiliar airport. He walks slowly to calm his nerves, and pulls a package of Tic Tacs out to make sure he doesn’t leave the wrong impression. He takes a spot in front of the carousel and sighs.
“Really should be smarter with this whole packing thing,” Ace laments as luggage starts appearing on the carousel. He puts his sunglasses on top of his head, then spots his bag. He grabs it off the track, then starts looking around. He instinctively walks toward the doors, only to freeze once he sees Shelley pulling off effortless beauty the way only she can. He runs his hand through his hair, pops a Tic Tac into his mouth, then takes a deep breath before approaching her, a nervous smile on his face.
“The TSA wouldn’t let me wear a birthday hat on the plane,” he sighs.
Shelley didn’t mind waiting for Ace. Sea-Tac Airport had a great aesthetic about it. She could just look around and enjoy the scenery while she waited on him. She knew that she had spotted him before he saw her. She stood up as he walked over to her, her sandal clad feet not exactly appropriate for the weather, but she was a local, so it didn’t bother her. She pouted at his birthday hat comment, shaking her head. “Well that’s just not right. I almost want to find a Burger King that still has crowns now.”
Shelley giggled as she began leading Ace to the parking lot. “Please tell me you’re hungry. We’re spending the day downtown, and I know just the place to hit for lunch.”
“It would be fitting for a King, wouldn’t it?” Ace says with a chuckle. “But seriously, they were more worried about the elastic than the pointy top!”
Shelley just gives Ace a puzzled look as they get to her Jeep. He tilts his head to the side, then snaps his fingers.
“Oh, right, you asked me a question,” he stammers, still trying to calm his nerves as he climbs in. “Forgot about it because I’m so hungry. Can I defer to the local?”
As Ace waits for the answer, he exhales as he leans back in the passenger seat. He briefly looks at Shelley, only to freeze again; she’s different than the Shelley he remembered seeing when he first signed with EWC, yet he doesn’t mind at all.
Shelley chuckled, shaking her head at the absurdity of the TSA. As long as they let him come up. That is what she cared about. “Don’t worry about it. This is where things get a little awkward. I want to take you The Cheesecake Factory, because I have a craving. It’s just that I don’t know your diet. I mean, I know that we’re grownups, but people can be so sensitive about such things.” She blinked a few times, she hadn’t been nervous up until that point, but she had started babbling, and that was definitely a sign of nerves.
She started up her Jeep and made her way out of the parking lot, paying before pulling out and hitting the highway on the way to downtown. A few more seconds of silence pass, and the nerves ratchet up that much more until Ace blurts out “Seafood!”
Shelley gives Ace a strange look, then sighs; she really had her sights set on The Cheesecake Factory. Ace puts his hand over his mouth, then shakes his head.
“I’m on a Seafood diet,” he explains, putting a finger up to temporarily silence her. “You know, I see food and I eat it?”
Shelley shakes her head at him; what is this strange man talking about? A smile, albeit still a bit crooked due to nerves, crosses Ace’s face. He only makes ridiculous statements when he’s trying to make an impression… And this is one of those times.
“I’d be happy to go there with you,” he says.
Shelley couldn’t help but laugh, she was seeing that he was nervous, as well. This actually did a bit to calm her. “I am looking forward to their fried calamari. Not sure what I’ll have for an entree though. They have a lot of good sandwiches there. I have even have ideas for after we eat, as well.”
“I trust your judgment,” he says almost immediately, and he feels himself get flushed in the process. He clears his throat before adding “I can’t remember the last time I went to Cheesecake Factory, and there’s one just a couple minutes away from my school back home.”
Ace exhales, then smiles to himself; he actually got a coherent thought out without sounding like a complete tool! He gives Shelley another quick glance; she’s focused on the road, but he can tell she’s definitely much more like the Shelley Silver he’d first heard about. Ace feels a certain peace come over him as he briefly closes his eyes.
“I appreciate the invitation,” he says warmly. The reality is that, as much as he’s wanted something like this to happen, they’d been passing ships in the night to this point, so he was happy to spend time with someone, particularly seeing as such opportunities had been few and far between in his EWC tenure to date.
Shelley took a deep breath, smiling as she continued driving. She reached over, taking his hand. Honestly, had he not stopped going on like a total goof, she was about to threaten to grab something else to shatter the ice. “It’s time that I stop hiding from everyone and everything. Shit happens, but that’s just life. I should have talked to you a long time ago.”
She bit her lip as she pulled off of the freeway onto 5th Ave and found a nearby parking garage. “I hope you like walking, because my rig is staying here until we go home later tonight.” Yes, she slipped, but she didn’t even notice what she had said. “From here, we gotta walk uphill a little over a block, but it’s not overly steep.”
If she didn’t notice what she’d said, Ace certainly did, and it caught his attention the same way Shelley taking his hand did. He knew there was a certain hospitality in the Pacific Northwest, but he didn’t realize it was so immediate. “So do I cancel my hotel reservation, then?” he murmurs, taking out his phone to look up the number. The question is obviously rhetorical; the woman had just said he was staying with her, he’d be foolish to turn that down!
He shuts the door on his side of the Jeep, then waits for Shelley to join him. “Anyway, you had things going on and I was still trying to find my footing, so we’re good,” he says as they start walking. “I would probably have been the same if it was the other way around.”
He sighs after finishing his thought; there’s more to this. While he couldn’t begin to understand what Shelley was going through previously, he wishes she’d accepted his offer to team up for Hardcore Revolution once she’d apparently broken free, and though he won’t admit it, he was sad about it. “Maybe this will help make up for lost time,” he thinks to himself.
Shelley sighed with a nod, closing her eyes. She wondered when it would be a good time to bring up her bipolar diagnosis. Probably not even on this visit. She was just done with trying to rely on all of the people in her life who kept abandoning her. She made her way out of the parking garage and continued up Pike Street until she reached the corner where the Royal Meridian Theater was before crossing the street to the entrance of the Cheesecake Factory. They walked inside and got a table before she looked up at him.
“Sorry, I probably should have told you that I planned for you stay at my house. I even managed to send away my manager slash housemate for a few days. It’s a big house. I’ve got like four guest rooms after I converted two of the bedrooms.” Shelley shrugged with a smile, thinking nothing of it.
Ace looks up at Shelley, and for the first time, their eyes meet; he can feel the blood draining from his face again, but he can’t take his gaze away. After a few seconds, he blinks and comes back to reality.
“Well, I certainly appreciate it,” he says with a smile. “Hopefully, I don’t take up too much space or make a big mess.”
As soon as the words are out of his mouth, he has to look away; what the hell is he talking about? Then, something Shelley had just said finally registered with him: They’d have the house to themselves. His heart immediately starts to race; he calms himself with a deep breath before returning his focus to the woman sitting across from him.
“Does Sloane know what you were planning?” he asks innocently.
Public place, Shelley. Public place. Shelley cleared her throat as she drew her tongue out, wetting her lips. “We’re preparing for our next show,” she answered with an innocent tone, but she honestly didn’t have to ask Sloane to leave once she told her friend that she was having her crush over for his birthday. Sloane knew her client. She had to stop Shelley from making a mistake recently, but she knew that Ace wasn’t a mistake.
“But really, it would be silly for you to stay elsewhere if you want to work out with me in my basement. I promise that you won’t be imposing. Hell, you could sleep on the other side of the house if you wanted,” Shelley offered out of common decency. She didn’t want to assume that he felt the same way that she did. Plus, it didn’t help that she had been burned before.
Ace scratches his head; surely, he hadn’t been that hard of a book to read, what with the flustered babbling and completely flushed face, not to mention an almost worrisome amount of deep breathing. For someone known as ‘The Gambler’, Ace didn’t feel like he was doing a great job of keeping his cards close to the vest; after all, his original intent was to learn from the two-time United States Champion.
While he knew Shelley was just coming around again, Ace knew he didn’t exactly come without baggage, either; it comes with the territory after having his ex, whose former student happened to be his Cheesecake Factory companion, attack him, and her son wanting to put him away for good. Surprisingly, none of that worried Ace as he heard Shelley talk.
“Just tell me where to go, and that’s where I’ll go,” he suggests, tilting his head to the left.
Shelley nodded as the waitress came by, taking their drink order and slipped in an order for calamari as an appetizer. “Well, obviously. I tend to be in charge when it comes to my house.” She almost said when it comes to having men over, but one, she hasn’t been with a man since she got her house, and two, she had yet to take charge when it came to being with a man.
She took a deep breath, closing her eyes before continuing. “Look… Ace… I like you. I have for a long time. I wanted to say something sooner, but like you said, I was going through some pretty heavy things. It wasn’t exactly the time to be starting anything. Not even something as simple as an acquaintanceship. I took my time, but I’m good now. I’m better. Well… as better as I can be.”
The revelation stuns Ace; here’s somebody he’d never gotten the chance to talk at length with previously, and someone he found to be so gorgeous his knees got weak, and here she is just pouring her soul into a confession out of left field. As someone who’s never been good at hiding his emotions, Ace can somewhat relate to where Shelley is coming from. Based on his expression, he doesn’t know whether to be happy or confused. After all, why would she be attracted to him in the first place? But maybe… Just maybe… there’s something more to this.
Ace bows his head, takes a drink of his water, nearly chokes on it, and has to regroup before he can look at her again.
“Wow,” he says, allowing a laughing grunt to escape before adding “I’m glad you said it first, because…”
His throat picks that precise moment to dry up; he turns away to cough before returning his gaze to her.
“...Because I feel the same way about you.”
Ace has to lean back; a lot of weight has clearly come off his shoulders after his admission. It’s clearly been weighing on him; after all, the last time he’d made such a confession, the woman he confessed to beat him up a decade later, throwing their entire past in his face. He looks squarely into Shelley’s eyes, trying to find the right words in the moment.
“I never felt comfortable enough to say anything,” he explains, “I had just signed, and I didn’t know too many people, so I just wanted to focus on being in the ring and being the best me I could be in there. I wanted nothing more than to reach out and help you, but I didn’t want to overstep any boundaries, you know?”
Ace takes another drink of his water; both are trying to conceal embarrassed smiles, but they can’t hide the blushing. He finishes his water off, and the ensuing silence makes things all the more awkward. Ace puts the glass down, then reaches an arm halfway across the table.
“From the first time I laid eyes on you, I could see something very special in you, Shelley Silver,” he says, sweat forming on his brow.
Shelley let out the most relieved of sighs when Ace told her that he felt the same way. It was like as if she had forgotten how to breathe after she had confessed her feelings. Had she not been in the middle of a month long manic episode in the fall, she probably would have approached Ace a lot sooner. In that case, things may have moved along a bit slowly, as well.
“I could see something in you just from seeing you in the ring and watching your promos. Sure, I had heard about you before from Ruth and Jason, but… well, you know. I wanted to judge for myself.” Sure, there was more to her actions that day than just that, but she felt that it wasn’t quite appropriate to bring such things up just yet. Though, later on the evening, things were going to come out if they were ready for it, or not. They would deal with those things as they happened, though. She just wanted to get through lunch first.
Ace’s blood runs cold at the mention of Ruth and Jason, but he tries to play it off, running his hand through his hair while trying really hard to absorb what she’s just said to him.
“It’s really hard to make things work the way you want them to sometimes,” he explains, looking longingly at his still outstretched arm. “We each had our own obstacles to navigate, and I’ve been the kind of guy to pride myself on working on my own, and yet the one time I wanted a partner…”
His voice trails off; neither one can look at the other for a moment, as they both know exactly what he’s talking about.
“Anyway, it took a while to process, but I eventually understood, and I believe everything happens for a reason,” he laments, though a small smile forms on his face seconds later. “And it also made me realize that, you know what? Maybe some things are worth the wait.”
After mentioning Ruth, Shelley swallowed back tears. That was one emotional cut that was still running deep. As she sat for a moment in silence, she let her hand drop down on the table, her hand brushing along his. She let out a heavy sigh, the regret in her body bubbling up even more when he mentioned wanting a partner. Shelley knew exactly what Ace was referring to.
“Mark Storm,” she grumbled, shaking her head. She then darted her eyes toward the jagged line along her upper right arm and quickly reached over to pull her sleeve down. She took a deep breath, but that didn’t stop her body from trembling. She wanted to trust Mark that time, but he had let her down once again.
“I’m really sorry about that,” she looked back up at him after taking a few deep breaths. “I should have just accepted your offer, but I seem to be the only one still holding onto Project: CHAOS.” Shelley sighed, shaking her head. It was funny, really. Where she felt that she was the only one still trying to keep the stable together, if someone were to ask Mark or Gabe, they would say that the other two had abandoned them. It was just as well at that point, though. It was over. Shelley just wasn’t ready to admit that yet.
“Hey, it’s alright,” Ace interjects. “You don’t need to be sorry for anything. That’s actually one of the things I saw that made me have such strong feelings for you: Your heart.”
Ace is trying to recall the last time he said something like that; accordingly, he has to stop for a moment to collect himself. He notes her pulled down sleeve, but decides it’s not the best time to pursue further details, instead choosing to make his… Whatever they are… Feel better.
“You believe in fighting for something you believe in until the very end,” he continues, taking Shelley’s trembling hand as he tries to comfort her. “That’s admirable, and it’s the kind of thing I’d love to have in my life.”
Tables. Sure, as wrestlers, they had gone through their share of tables. These tables were different from the ones that you would commonly have in your household. The compressed sawdust was nothing compared to solid oak and glass. Shelley hoped that her arm with fully heal with minimal visible scarring. As is, she wore makeup over it for matches and public appearances so that there wouldn’t be any questions as to where that come from if there wasn’t a match where blood had come gushing down Shelley’s arm. It would be cool, though.
“Yeah…” Shelley nodded with a warm smile. “Yeah, I do. Maybe I have too much to give for the people I have been trying to give myself to. I need to have someone in my life that actually wants what I have to give. Someone who will listen to me and trust me. That shouldn’t be too much to ask.”
Recalling his own experience with Ruth ripping her Team XTC shirt in half back in November, Ace understood where Shelley was coming from. He’d certainly tried keeping the band together, but people ultimately went their separate ways when it was over. He wasn’t sure where Ruth’s resentment came into play, but Ace at least knew enough to get Shelley’s mindset. Accordingly, he puts his other hand down on the table, looking directly into her eyes.
“Right here,” he says warmly. “Right now, we’re just two people with holes in their hearts. Maybe…”
Ace has to stop momentarily; he’s trying not to get too excited, but he can’t fight feelings he hasn’t felt in a very long time.
“Maybe…” he starts again, pausing for a deep breath. “Maybe we should forget about those holes, and focus on making each other whole instead.”
Shelley swallowed visibly, dropping her hand down and finding his. She interlaced her fingers with his. As they touched, she felt the trembling begin to subside. She let out a sigh as her smile grew. This was the most at ease that she felt in a very long time. Being around Ace calmed Shelley, yet at the same time, she felt like she could let out her feelings around him.
“This is going to be so hard,” she mumbled with a chuckle. “It better be worth it,” she looked up at him with a smirk. The last thing that she wanted was to be let down again, but now that she was comfortable, the playful/sexy side was beginning to shine through. He was quite sure that he wouldn’t mind. After all, it would probably help them go about their day.
“If we’re going to make this happen, we have to start somewhere, right?” he says, returning the smirk. He looks away for a moment, his hands still interlaced with hers. Then, he stands up and makes his way around the table.
He pulls Shelley up to her feet, and for a brief moment in time, it’s just them in the restaurant and nobody else. They both want this, so what’s stopping them? Ace’s heart is beating faster than ever before as he looks at her, then slowly moves in and cups the back of her head before they close their eyes and lock lips. Normally a very private person, Ace doesn’t care who’s watching this time around as he and Shelley continue the kiss to the point where their mouths had essentially become one. (And so it starts…)
The kiss was sweet. Definitely nothing out of a porno, like part of her had been expecting. It had been months since she had been physically intimate with someone, and she was afraid that it was all going to come out at once. Shelley may have been a lot of things, but getting physical in a crowded, public place wasn’t exactly her bag. She felt a tear stream down her cheek as she slowly pulled her lips away from his, though not wanting the moment to end. She pulled away enough to look into his eyes once more, sucking her bottom lip into her mouth. She had almost forgotten where they were before she spoke again.
“Wh-what was that for?” Shelley was processing what had just happened, and it didn’t seem real to her at all. It was almost like as if she was in a dream.
Wiping the tear from Shelley’s cheek, all Ace can do is smile at her, fully embracing the moment and, for the first time in years, feeling like his heart was full. He didn’t really care what anyone else thought; as long as he has Shelley, he’s happy.
“You said you didn’t want to hide anymore, right?” he asked; he could feel Shelley breathing sharply, so he pulls her into his chest. With her head buried in his chest, he tilts his head down and whispers in her ear “I’m here for you, because some things in life are worth fighting for.”
Shelley smiled, just loving the feeling of being held. It was a feeling that she had never really felt before. It was new, but it felt right. It made her happy. She wanted nothing more than to keep feeling like this for a long time to come.
She looked up with a grin, pressing one more kiss to his lips before going to sit down once more. It was then that she remembered just how hungry she was. “As nice as that was, and there better be more where that came from. I actually think that I am more hungry now that what I was before.” She laughed. “I don’t even remember what I was going to have.”
Ace just laughs with her; this kind of bliss was fleeting, and he was hoping this was just the start of something life-altering.
“I think you said calamari?” he responds while scratching his head; seconds later, a smirk returns to his face.
“Now, I don’t know how you feel about it,” he says with a wink, “but I don’t know if whatever I ordered could possibly taste as good as that just did a minute ago.”
He can’t help but laugh; it sounded corny coming out of his mouth, but for him, there was an element of truth to it because it was something longer in the making than either of them realized. Ace sits back in his chair; if something was to happen to him right this second, he would die as the happiest man on the planet, because he now has someone by his side who can allow him to just be himself. (Yes, it’s a corny line, deal with it!)
“You think that you can hold off on the thoughts about how I taste until you get your actual present later,” Shelley couldn’t help but smirk she looked up as the waitress came by with their calamari. “I want a grilled chicken sandwich now.”
Shelley sat back with a happy sigh. She was completely elated. How did she go from being afraid to talk to Ace to practically begging him to take her to bed in less than twenty-four hours? Thankfully, she had moved on from that urge, though. That kiss was just enough to hold her off for the next few hours. That is, unless she wanted to go to a movie where basically no one was in after lunch and sit in the back row with him… and basically not actually watch any of the movie.
“OK, so my biggest competition for your affection will be food, got it,” Ace quips, drawing a playful side-eye from his new companion. They chuckle for a few seconds before settling down, the eyes of the restaurant now focused squarely on them. Ace just shakes his head; so much curiosity among the Seattle folks, especially with someone of her profile locally being in the middle of it. He rises from his seat and, with a smirk toward Shelley, declares “She’s not Meg Ryan, folks!”
He sits back down; luckily, a good percentage of the patrons found humour in the remark, allowing all tables to go back to their business, allowing Ace to bring his focus back to a blushing Shelley.
“I never thought I’d be so lucky,” he sighs happily. “So much uncertainty, but to know you feel the same way… It’s amazing. I never thought I could...”
His voice trails off once more as his throat dries; he was close to saying the words, but even though his actions from earlier likely spoke louder, he can’t bring himself to finish the thought and potentially drive her away for being too forward. Instead, he clears his throat, trying not to draw too much attention to himself.
“So,” he asks, trying to further melt the ice, “What’s next in the great tour of Shelley Silver’s Seattle?”
“There are a number of things, but I liked to keep myself to a certain few. We passed a movie theater and an arcade with a sports bar on the way up from the parking garage. I know that there are a few good movies playing right now. Plus some bad ones that may be an option to spend our time at if we so choose to. If we don’t like anything there, Pacific Place is about a block away. That’s also a mall. We’ve got time to kill before it gets to be about ten or eleven. I have plans for then. If nothing else, we could just walk around. Check out comic book stores… wait, no. That’s what I’m into,” Shelley giggled as she took a deep breath. She picked up her fork and stabbed a piece of the calamari before popping into her mouth with a satisfied moan as she slid one of her legs under the table, her foot finding his.
“I promise, I don’t normally talk so much,” Shelley laughed after finishing another bite. “But hey… How else are we going to get to know one another?” She smiled as she looked over to him.
Making a mental note of the calamari moan from earlier, Ace decides to bank that one as she continues talking. Once there’s finally a moment of silence, he smiles and says “As long as I’m with you, I’m fine with anything.”
Despite their previous confessions, Ace still feels his face getting red; the butterflies of such a new discovery don’t go away immediately. As a result, he stammers “Because I would literally and figuratively be lost without you here.”
He looks adoringly at Shelley, who can’t look him in the eyes after the last comment. Then, the light bulb turns on in Ace’s head.
“So what’s significant about your plans at 10 or 11?” he asks innocently. “And can I come?”
“Ace… sweetie…” Shelley raised an eyebrow. “I already basically told you that I plan on taking you home tonight. Why wouldn’t I be involving you in what I have planned as your birthday present. Though, I’m sure that coming here to my town and being with me is already making this a very happy birthday for you,” she grinned, running her tongue along her teeth after taking a drink of water to wash her mouth out.
“And trust me, I think that you would like your present, even if you weren’t into me,” Shelley cheeks turned an even darker shade of red. “I may know a thing or two about people who are attracted to women,” she smirked with a wink.
As Shelley describes her plans, Ace crosses his legs to avoid indicating such an obvious interest in the proceedings. Visions dance around in his head, though with his very public display, he’s made it clear that Shelley will always come first.
“Well, it sounds like I’ll be into you one way or another,” he says slyly, drawing a raised eyebrow from Shelley.
“But seriously, this is the happiest I’ve been in a very long time, birthday or otherwise,” he says without a hint of embarrassment. “And I only asked because I didn’t know if you’d had something planned before I got here.”
“I could have, but honestly…” Shelley paused with a heavy sigh. “Honestly, I haven’t been really doing much besides training in months. To say that I have been getting worked up otherwise is an understatement.”
Shelley shrugged it off with a smile, nonchalantly continuing to eat as they waited for their meals. “Oh yes, one of my favorite sayings is ‘boys like girls who like girls who like boys… who like boys,” she couldn’t help but laugh at herself. “That last bit is optional. Well, If you follow.”
“Sounds like you need a release of sorts,” he says with a rather deliberate pace, “and I actually have some thoughts on that.”
He flicks an eyebrow up, though he immediately regrets it as he feels sleazy for doing so. Though it’s technically unspoken, both Ace and Shelley know how the night will end at this point, and the anticipation has Ace giddy.
“These could be some of the longest hours of my life,” Ace laments, tilting his head up to the sky, “but like I said earlier, some things are worth waiting for.”
“You can only get so much done on your own,” Shelley’s response was rather ‘PG’ to something so obviously X-Rated. Though, she was sure that Ace was able to read between the lines. At this point, there was no use in hiding what was so obviously on both of their minds. No matter how badly she desired to hold back and wait. The last thing that Shelley wanted was for Ace to get the wrong idea about her.
She took a deep breath, letting it out in a heavy sigh. “I can do it. Let the anticipation grow.”
Looking at Ace, it was clear anticipation wasn’t the only thing growing.
“We can do this,” he relents, before optimistically offering “It’ll make everything sooo much more satisfying, especially for something that, and you can say if I’m being too forward, I’ve wanted for a really long time.”
“I’m a big girl. Plus… it’s not like I totally know what I’m missing out on here,” she admitted. Which was something that Shelley wasn’t so sure that she was ready to delve into. But she had said it, so it was out there. It was bound to come up sooner or later that she wasn’t overly experienced with man parts.
Shelley smiled, “I still want to show you the time of your life while the day is still here. I love it here, and I like to show it off. There is just so many fun things. And that’s before we get to my haunted mansion.”
“Hey, we’ll even get to dust off some cobwebs at the haunted mansion!” he quips with a sly wink; Shelley’s somewhere in between laughing and wanting to hit him for that particular remark.
“But seriously, I didn’t get here very often earlier in my career, and I’ve always heard good things about the city,” he says, taking one of Shelley’s hands. “Plus, I kinda have a thing for my tour guide.”
“There is enough electricity crackling between us to see that,” Shelley smirked, doing her best to not reach over and slap his perfectly bulging bicep. She didn’t want to openly vulgar, like Megan had been in her last promo, but there was definitely a similar situation going on for her. At the same time, he made her whole body feel good, just by being near her.
“I can’t help but wonder how long I would have taken if things hadn’t been going on. If I even would. There is just so much that has been going on. My intense training has turned me into a better fighter. It just hasn’t translated in the ring yet,” Shelley shrugged taking a deep breath. To say that she was content was an understatement.
Ace immediately shakes his head dismissively.
“The bottom line is you found the courage to do it, and you did it,” he says, again taking her hand. “And some of the greatest things in the world take time to develop.” He looks her dead in the eyes as he says the last line; he’s seeing some of those greatest things in her right now.
Shelley knew that he was right. It’s not like she could go back in time and undo all of the things that had happened to her, just so that she could get to know him sooner. She let out a content sigh with a nod, “everything happens exactly when it’s supposed to.”
“It’s not like we’re going for a total ‘Candy From A Stranger’ moment, but it’s similar. I mean, we are just getting to know one another.” Shelley knew that Ace more than likely had no idea what she was referring to, but it was one of many perfect songs for the moment. Coincidentally, a lot of them came from Myah Marie. The particular song that she mentioned happened to be mistaken for Britney at first, because the relative unknown sounded a lot like the more famous artist.
With the sexual tension ratcheted up beyond belief, an unusual serenity eases its way over the table. Ace thought there was a grilled chicken sandwich coming at some point, but he didn’t care; Shelley was here with him, and they were together at last after unknowingly fighting their mutual attraction for so long.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he remarks. “I mean, we’ve both been through a ton of things, but those experiences have prepared us for this, when everything feels more right than it’s ever been. If not for all we’ve been through, we wouldn’t be ready to do this, but like I said earlier, I will be with you whenever you need me. I’m here for you, Shelley.”
After all the innuendos, Ace’s sincerity is a change of pace, and it helps put Shelley at ease, too.
Shelley took a deep breath with a nod, it wasn’t like she was talking to a hormonal teenage boy. Ace was a grown man, in some ways more than the men of her past who happened to be older than him. The food had probably been sat on the table, and Shelley could have started eat and not even known it. She was going on autopilot and it was all she could to to keep going on at the moment.
“There are going to be a lot of things that come up the more that we get to know each other, but I should tell you at least one thing right now. When things slow down and our heads stop spinning, certain things are going to make me nervous. I have my reasons… I just need to know that you can be patient with me,” Shelley already knew the answer but that didn’t stop the butterflies from doing somersaults in her stomach.
Ace closes his eyes and bows his head; a smile emerges as he looks back up at Shelley.
“That’s what people who lo-” Ace again stops himself from using the L word so as not to speak for her. “I mean, that’s what people who want to be together do: They support each other, thick and thin. If one person struggles, the other picks them up. What are the constants you hear in wedding vows? For better or for worse, in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer…”
Shelley looks up at the mention of wedding vows; Ace immediately picks up on it.
“Just an example,” he explains. “The point is, I’m going to be there for you no matter what. We all have demons we deal with, trust me, and the only way to overcome them is to face them together, so yes, I will be anything you need me to be.”
“I… Yeah, I get it,” Shelley stammered a bit. Between the rush of romantic feelings and the overwhelming sexual tension, there was a lot going on in both of their minds. “It’s not like we’re young and actually just meeting for the first time. Though… I guess that is the funny thing about being a celebrity. We all know about each other, but we may not absolutely have met in person.”
Shelley took a deep breath, smiling. “Though… I’m hoping that marriage isn’t completely off of the table. In the future, of course.”
“Yeah, talking about marriage on a first date might be a bit much,” he quips, “but I see no reason why that can’t happen down the road. There’s clearly something deeper at play between us here, and I might need Whitney Houston to come back from the dead to state the point for me.”
Shelley facepalms, but there’s a slight smile underneath; she knows Ace can be dark with his jokes by times, so she’s seeing the real guy she became infatuated with.
“But celebrity or not, all anybody wants in life is stability to build a foundation for a better future,” he continues, now drinking some of the melted ice cubes from his water. “I hope I’ve found that in you, and I hope you’ll be able to say that about me, too.”
“I’d like to think that you have,” Shelley leaned over the table, stealing a quick kiss with a grin. “Time will tell, though. First things, though. Food helps create energy,” Shelley smirked, rather proud of her logic. “We’re gonna need it.”
Shelley looked down at the table and laughed. Their waters were being refilled as she sat back once more and they were served their meals. “I probably should have warned you. This place gets a little busy, but remember, the best things in life are worth the wait,” she winked.
All Ace can do is nod as he digs in; Shelley had a solid point, and he knew he’d want to go for a long, long time… Plus, he knew enough to know arguing with a woman has bad idea written all over it. He knew something incredible had just happened, and he didn’t want to let it slip away.
“So,” he says between bites, “is it too early to throw a label on whatever we have?”
Shelley couldn’t help but smile. Sure they were only a fraction of the way through their first date, but so much had already happened. “People like to set a timeline on relationships. I even heard about a movie that if you hold off for ten dates, then you know that it’s love. Granted, that’s the only time that I heard such an extreme amount of time for it. Most say that the third date automatically means sex.” She took a deep breath, looking down for a moment before looking up at Ace again, “but I know one thing. We’re not them. None of those people know us. It works differently for everyone.”
“I’m yours,” she stated simply with a shrug. “I really don’t see me going anywhere. Who am I to ignore when something may finally go right in my life?”
He looks back at her in an attempt to keep his jubilation bottled up. Yes, things were happening really quickly, but somehow, nothing felt out of place in the moment: She’d just committed herself to him, and though it was way more than he expected to happen when he agreed to meet her in Seattle, he’s on cloud nine. He laughs softly, then takes a breath before returning his gaze to Silver; he’s temporarily distracted by how beautiful her eyes are when they dance, but he pushes on.
“I hear you,” he says, pausing for a sip of his refilled water. “I’ve never really believed in all the timelines and whatnot. There’s no one blueprint for how any of this works, you just know instinctively when it’s right, and Shelley?”
He pauses again, bowing his head to control his recurring nerves before looking back up at her with a smile.
“I know.”
Shelley just nodded, contently smiling as she continued eating. They had probably said just about everything that they could say for a whole week. They would more than likely find more to say, but for now, Shelley was just going to look forward to just simply enjoying being around him. It was rude to talk with your mouth full anyway… right?
As she swirled the last fry around on her plate. “So is there anything you want to see that’s out right now? We can pull off a double feature before dinner, with plenty of time to spare before the real fun.”
“Well, there’s plenty I WANT to see,” Ace explains; a huge smirk grows on his face before adding “but I think that’s a midnight screening.”
He flicks his eyebrows suggestively, then immediately feels shame when Shelley tilts her head to the side, biting her tongue in the moment. Ace clears his throat, then gets slightly more serious.
“Well, Beauty and the Beast might be a little too on the nose right now,” he says with a wicked grin. “Ghost in the Shell?”
Shelley thought a moment before chuckling. It may be wise of them to steer clear of movies meant for children at least that time around. “There’s also Logan, and I’m still sort of on the fence about Power Rangers.” She shrugged, not really wanting to be decisive about what they could do, because there was so much that Seattle had to offer. She wanted to show him everything that she loved about the city. She just knew for sure that she wanted to hold off taking him to the reservation until a little further into the relationship.
“I know that this is my city,” Shelley continued grinning like an idiot. “I just want to make sure that you enjoy yourself.”
“Maybe we just pick one of each?” he offers with a shrug. “Compromises are important to any relationship.”
Even saying the word ‘relationship’ in connection to Shelley was surreal to Ace; he probably didn’t understand himself just how long he’s wanted this to happen, and now that it has, he feels nothing but joy, a clear departure from what he’d been dealing with since the new year started.
“Like I said earlier,” he explains, digging into his sandwich. He swallows the food before adding “I’m going to be happiest when I’m with you, no matter what.”
Shelley let out a soft giggle as she sat back. She wasn’t going to have room for popcorn during the first movie, but that’s what double features were for. She pulled out her phone, opening the moviefone app and checking the times at both of the nearby cinemas and coordinated times to go to both movies. After how riled up they had gotten each other, all Shelley could really think about at the time was how much she was excited over the thought of just sitting in his arms as they watched their movies. That’s when she knew that it was really exactly what she had been looking for.
She took another drink to wash down her last bite of sandwich before looking over to Ace. “Alright, our afternoon is set. I think that we’re really going to enjoy our time together.” She just smiled as she sat back and let her food settle for a bit before they ventured off once again. As they step back outside, Ace offers Shelley his hand.
“Ready?” he asks, sliding his sunglasses back down over his eyes; the question is directed at her externally, but it’s also an internal question since he still can’t completely believe what’s happening. Both Ace and Shelley live fairly private lives, so stepping out in public for the first time as a couple will be a big step, but he knew he didn’t want to take it with anybody else because, although he’s had prior relationships, this one was going to be different. This one was going to be the one he got right.
March 30, 2017
Seattle, Washington
She could have sexed herself up, but she wasn’t looking to go that route this time. Shelley liked Ace. She wasn’t looking just for a simple in and out/wham, bam, thank ya officer. If she was, she wouldn’t have been wearing a vintage style Umbrella Corp t-shirt with a pair of jeans. She drove to the airport with Sloane, who was coincidentally making her way down to Los Angeles for a few days, to drop her off and pick up Ace at the same time. She parked her Jeep in the parking lot and the women walked inside together, saying their goodbyes before Sloane went off to check-in, leaving Shelley to find the baggage claim carousel where Ace’s flight was directed to. She sat on one of the benches across from it, waiting for the people on the flight to come that way.
“All baggage from Alaska Airlines flight 619 from Las Vegas is on Carousel 7,” a robot announcer drones over the sound system. Shelley gets to the carousel, and among the last people to show up, clad in his standard VENUM walkout shirt and jeans with Adidas shoes, Adidas track jacket, and red-tinted Oakley sunglasses is none other than Ace King. He surveys the area looking for any trace of Shelley, all the while trying to find the right carousel in an unfamiliar airport. He walks slowly to calm his nerves, and pulls a package of Tic Tacs out to make sure he doesn’t leave the wrong impression. He takes a spot in front of the carousel and sighs.
“Really should be smarter with this whole packing thing,” Ace laments as luggage starts appearing on the carousel. He puts his sunglasses on top of his head, then spots his bag. He grabs it off the track, then starts looking around. He instinctively walks toward the doors, only to freeze once he sees Shelley pulling off effortless beauty the way only she can. He runs his hand through his hair, pops a Tic Tac into his mouth, then takes a deep breath before approaching her, a nervous smile on his face.
“The TSA wouldn’t let me wear a birthday hat on the plane,” he sighs.
Shelley didn’t mind waiting for Ace. Sea-Tac Airport had a great aesthetic about it. She could just look around and enjoy the scenery while she waited on him. She knew that she had spotted him before he saw her. She stood up as he walked over to her, her sandal clad feet not exactly appropriate for the weather, but she was a local, so it didn’t bother her. She pouted at his birthday hat comment, shaking her head. “Well that’s just not right. I almost want to find a Burger King that still has crowns now.”
Shelley giggled as she began leading Ace to the parking lot. “Please tell me you’re hungry. We’re spending the day downtown, and I know just the place to hit for lunch.”
“It would be fitting for a King, wouldn’t it?” Ace says with a chuckle. “But seriously, they were more worried about the elastic than the pointy top!”
Shelley just gives Ace a puzzled look as they get to her Jeep. He tilts his head to the side, then snaps his fingers.
“Oh, right, you asked me a question,” he stammers, still trying to calm his nerves as he climbs in. “Forgot about it because I’m so hungry. Can I defer to the local?”
As Ace waits for the answer, he exhales as he leans back in the passenger seat. He briefly looks at Shelley, only to freeze again; she’s different than the Shelley he remembered seeing when he first signed with EWC, yet he doesn’t mind at all.
Shelley chuckled, shaking her head at the absurdity of the TSA. As long as they let him come up. That is what she cared about. “Don’t worry about it. This is where things get a little awkward. I want to take you The Cheesecake Factory, because I have a craving. It’s just that I don’t know your diet. I mean, I know that we’re grownups, but people can be so sensitive about such things.” She blinked a few times, she hadn’t been nervous up until that point, but she had started babbling, and that was definitely a sign of nerves.
She started up her Jeep and made her way out of the parking lot, paying before pulling out and hitting the highway on the way to downtown. A few more seconds of silence pass, and the nerves ratchet up that much more until Ace blurts out “Seafood!”
Shelley gives Ace a strange look, then sighs; she really had her sights set on The Cheesecake Factory. Ace puts his hand over his mouth, then shakes his head.
“I’m on a Seafood diet,” he explains, putting a finger up to temporarily silence her. “You know, I see food and I eat it?”
Shelley shakes her head at him; what is this strange man talking about? A smile, albeit still a bit crooked due to nerves, crosses Ace’s face. He only makes ridiculous statements when he’s trying to make an impression… And this is one of those times.
“I’d be happy to go there with you,” he says.
Shelley couldn’t help but laugh, she was seeing that he was nervous, as well. This actually did a bit to calm her. “I am looking forward to their fried calamari. Not sure what I’ll have for an entree though. They have a lot of good sandwiches there. I have even have ideas for after we eat, as well.”
“I trust your judgment,” he says almost immediately, and he feels himself get flushed in the process. He clears his throat before adding “I can’t remember the last time I went to Cheesecake Factory, and there’s one just a couple minutes away from my school back home.”
Ace exhales, then smiles to himself; he actually got a coherent thought out without sounding like a complete tool! He gives Shelley another quick glance; she’s focused on the road, but he can tell she’s definitely much more like the Shelley Silver he’d first heard about. Ace feels a certain peace come over him as he briefly closes his eyes.
“I appreciate the invitation,” he says warmly. The reality is that, as much as he’s wanted something like this to happen, they’d been passing ships in the night to this point, so he was happy to spend time with someone, particularly seeing as such opportunities had been few and far between in his EWC tenure to date.
Shelley took a deep breath, smiling as she continued driving. She reached over, taking his hand. Honestly, had he not stopped going on like a total goof, she was about to threaten to grab something else to shatter the ice. “It’s time that I stop hiding from everyone and everything. Shit happens, but that’s just life. I should have talked to you a long time ago.”
She bit her lip as she pulled off of the freeway onto 5th Ave and found a nearby parking garage. “I hope you like walking, because my rig is staying here until we go home later tonight.” Yes, she slipped, but she didn’t even notice what she had said. “From here, we gotta walk uphill a little over a block, but it’s not overly steep.”
If she didn’t notice what she’d said, Ace certainly did, and it caught his attention the same way Shelley taking his hand did. He knew there was a certain hospitality in the Pacific Northwest, but he didn’t realize it was so immediate. “So do I cancel my hotel reservation, then?” he murmurs, taking out his phone to look up the number. The question is obviously rhetorical; the woman had just said he was staying with her, he’d be foolish to turn that down!
He shuts the door on his side of the Jeep, then waits for Shelley to join him. “Anyway, you had things going on and I was still trying to find my footing, so we’re good,” he says as they start walking. “I would probably have been the same if it was the other way around.”
He sighs after finishing his thought; there’s more to this. While he couldn’t begin to understand what Shelley was going through previously, he wishes she’d accepted his offer to team up for Hardcore Revolution once she’d apparently broken free, and though he won’t admit it, he was sad about it. “Maybe this will help make up for lost time,” he thinks to himself.
Shelley sighed with a nod, closing her eyes. She wondered when it would be a good time to bring up her bipolar diagnosis. Probably not even on this visit. She was just done with trying to rely on all of the people in her life who kept abandoning her. She made her way out of the parking garage and continued up Pike Street until she reached the corner where the Royal Meridian Theater was before crossing the street to the entrance of the Cheesecake Factory. They walked inside and got a table before she looked up at him.
“Sorry, I probably should have told you that I planned for you stay at my house. I even managed to send away my manager slash housemate for a few days. It’s a big house. I’ve got like four guest rooms after I converted two of the bedrooms.” Shelley shrugged with a smile, thinking nothing of it.
Ace looks up at Shelley, and for the first time, their eyes meet; he can feel the blood draining from his face again, but he can’t take his gaze away. After a few seconds, he blinks and comes back to reality.
“Well, I certainly appreciate it,” he says with a smile. “Hopefully, I don’t take up too much space or make a big mess.”
As soon as the words are out of his mouth, he has to look away; what the hell is he talking about? Then, something Shelley had just said finally registered with him: They’d have the house to themselves. His heart immediately starts to race; he calms himself with a deep breath before returning his focus to the woman sitting across from him.
“Does Sloane know what you were planning?” he asks innocently.
Public place, Shelley. Public place. Shelley cleared her throat as she drew her tongue out, wetting her lips. “We’re preparing for our next show,” she answered with an innocent tone, but she honestly didn’t have to ask Sloane to leave once she told her friend that she was having her crush over for his birthday. Sloane knew her client. She had to stop Shelley from making a mistake recently, but she knew that Ace wasn’t a mistake.
“But really, it would be silly for you to stay elsewhere if you want to work out with me in my basement. I promise that you won’t be imposing. Hell, you could sleep on the other side of the house if you wanted,” Shelley offered out of common decency. She didn’t want to assume that he felt the same way that she did. Plus, it didn’t help that she had been burned before.
Ace scratches his head; surely, he hadn’t been that hard of a book to read, what with the flustered babbling and completely flushed face, not to mention an almost worrisome amount of deep breathing. For someone known as ‘The Gambler’, Ace didn’t feel like he was doing a great job of keeping his cards close to the vest; after all, his original intent was to learn from the two-time United States Champion.
While he knew Shelley was just coming around again, Ace knew he didn’t exactly come without baggage, either; it comes with the territory after having his ex, whose former student happened to be his Cheesecake Factory companion, attack him, and her son wanting to put him away for good. Surprisingly, none of that worried Ace as he heard Shelley talk.
“Just tell me where to go, and that’s where I’ll go,” he suggests, tilting his head to the left.
Shelley nodded as the waitress came by, taking their drink order and slipped in an order for calamari as an appetizer. “Well, obviously. I tend to be in charge when it comes to my house.” She almost said when it comes to having men over, but one, she hasn’t been with a man since she got her house, and two, she had yet to take charge when it came to being with a man.
She took a deep breath, closing her eyes before continuing. “Look… Ace… I like you. I have for a long time. I wanted to say something sooner, but like you said, I was going through some pretty heavy things. It wasn’t exactly the time to be starting anything. Not even something as simple as an acquaintanceship. I took my time, but I’m good now. I’m better. Well… as better as I can be.”
The revelation stuns Ace; here’s somebody he’d never gotten the chance to talk at length with previously, and someone he found to be so gorgeous his knees got weak, and here she is just pouring her soul into a confession out of left field. As someone who’s never been good at hiding his emotions, Ace can somewhat relate to where Shelley is coming from. Based on his expression, he doesn’t know whether to be happy or confused. After all, why would she be attracted to him in the first place? But maybe… Just maybe… there’s something more to this.
Ace bows his head, takes a drink of his water, nearly chokes on it, and has to regroup before he can look at her again.
“Wow,” he says, allowing a laughing grunt to escape before adding “I’m glad you said it first, because…”
His throat picks that precise moment to dry up; he turns away to cough before returning his gaze to her.
“...Because I feel the same way about you.”
Ace has to lean back; a lot of weight has clearly come off his shoulders after his admission. It’s clearly been weighing on him; after all, the last time he’d made such a confession, the woman he confessed to beat him up a decade later, throwing their entire past in his face. He looks squarely into Shelley’s eyes, trying to find the right words in the moment.
“I never felt comfortable enough to say anything,” he explains, “I had just signed, and I didn’t know too many people, so I just wanted to focus on being in the ring and being the best me I could be in there. I wanted nothing more than to reach out and help you, but I didn’t want to overstep any boundaries, you know?”
Ace takes another drink of his water; both are trying to conceal embarrassed smiles, but they can’t hide the blushing. He finishes his water off, and the ensuing silence makes things all the more awkward. Ace puts the glass down, then reaches an arm halfway across the table.
“From the first time I laid eyes on you, I could see something very special in you, Shelley Silver,” he says, sweat forming on his brow.
Shelley let out the most relieved of sighs when Ace told her that he felt the same way. It was like as if she had forgotten how to breathe after she had confessed her feelings. Had she not been in the middle of a month long manic episode in the fall, she probably would have approached Ace a lot sooner. In that case, things may have moved along a bit slowly, as well.
“I could see something in you just from seeing you in the ring and watching your promos. Sure, I had heard about you before from Ruth and Jason, but… well, you know. I wanted to judge for myself.” Sure, there was more to her actions that day than just that, but she felt that it wasn’t quite appropriate to bring such things up just yet. Though, later on the evening, things were going to come out if they were ready for it, or not. They would deal with those things as they happened, though. She just wanted to get through lunch first.
Ace’s blood runs cold at the mention of Ruth and Jason, but he tries to play it off, running his hand through his hair while trying really hard to absorb what she’s just said to him.
“It’s really hard to make things work the way you want them to sometimes,” he explains, looking longingly at his still outstretched arm. “We each had our own obstacles to navigate, and I’ve been the kind of guy to pride myself on working on my own, and yet the one time I wanted a partner…”
His voice trails off; neither one can look at the other for a moment, as they both know exactly what he’s talking about.
“Anyway, it took a while to process, but I eventually understood, and I believe everything happens for a reason,” he laments, though a small smile forms on his face seconds later. “And it also made me realize that, you know what? Maybe some things are worth the wait.”
After mentioning Ruth, Shelley swallowed back tears. That was one emotional cut that was still running deep. As she sat for a moment in silence, she let her hand drop down on the table, her hand brushing along his. She let out a heavy sigh, the regret in her body bubbling up even more when he mentioned wanting a partner. Shelley knew exactly what Ace was referring to.
“Mark Storm,” she grumbled, shaking her head. She then darted her eyes toward the jagged line along her upper right arm and quickly reached over to pull her sleeve down. She took a deep breath, but that didn’t stop her body from trembling. She wanted to trust Mark that time, but he had let her down once again.
“I’m really sorry about that,” she looked back up at him after taking a few deep breaths. “I should have just accepted your offer, but I seem to be the only one still holding onto Project: CHAOS.” Shelley sighed, shaking her head. It was funny, really. Where she felt that she was the only one still trying to keep the stable together, if someone were to ask Mark or Gabe, they would say that the other two had abandoned them. It was just as well at that point, though. It was over. Shelley just wasn’t ready to admit that yet.
“Hey, it’s alright,” Ace interjects. “You don’t need to be sorry for anything. That’s actually one of the things I saw that made me have such strong feelings for you: Your heart.”
Ace is trying to recall the last time he said something like that; accordingly, he has to stop for a moment to collect himself. He notes her pulled down sleeve, but decides it’s not the best time to pursue further details, instead choosing to make his… Whatever they are… Feel better.
“You believe in fighting for something you believe in until the very end,” he continues, taking Shelley’s trembling hand as he tries to comfort her. “That’s admirable, and it’s the kind of thing I’d love to have in my life.”
Tables. Sure, as wrestlers, they had gone through their share of tables. These tables were different from the ones that you would commonly have in your household. The compressed sawdust was nothing compared to solid oak and glass. Shelley hoped that her arm with fully heal with minimal visible scarring. As is, she wore makeup over it for matches and public appearances so that there wouldn’t be any questions as to where that come from if there wasn’t a match where blood had come gushing down Shelley’s arm. It would be cool, though.
“Yeah…” Shelley nodded with a warm smile. “Yeah, I do. Maybe I have too much to give for the people I have been trying to give myself to. I need to have someone in my life that actually wants what I have to give. Someone who will listen to me and trust me. That shouldn’t be too much to ask.”
Recalling his own experience with Ruth ripping her Team XTC shirt in half back in November, Ace understood where Shelley was coming from. He’d certainly tried keeping the band together, but people ultimately went their separate ways when it was over. He wasn’t sure where Ruth’s resentment came into play, but Ace at least knew enough to get Shelley’s mindset. Accordingly, he puts his other hand down on the table, looking directly into her eyes.
“Right here,” he says warmly. “Right now, we’re just two people with holes in their hearts. Maybe…”
Ace has to stop momentarily; he’s trying not to get too excited, but he can’t fight feelings he hasn’t felt in a very long time.
“Maybe…” he starts again, pausing for a deep breath. “Maybe we should forget about those holes, and focus on making each other whole instead.”
Shelley swallowed visibly, dropping her hand down and finding his. She interlaced her fingers with his. As they touched, she felt the trembling begin to subside. She let out a sigh as her smile grew. This was the most at ease that she felt in a very long time. Being around Ace calmed Shelley, yet at the same time, she felt like she could let out her feelings around him.
“This is going to be so hard,” she mumbled with a chuckle. “It better be worth it,” she looked up at him with a smirk. The last thing that she wanted was to be let down again, but now that she was comfortable, the playful/sexy side was beginning to shine through. He was quite sure that he wouldn’t mind. After all, it would probably help them go about their day.
“If we’re going to make this happen, we have to start somewhere, right?” he says, returning the smirk. He looks away for a moment, his hands still interlaced with hers. Then, he stands up and makes his way around the table.
He pulls Shelley up to her feet, and for a brief moment in time, it’s just them in the restaurant and nobody else. They both want this, so what’s stopping them? Ace’s heart is beating faster than ever before as he looks at her, then slowly moves in and cups the back of her head before they close their eyes and lock lips. Normally a very private person, Ace doesn’t care who’s watching this time around as he and Shelley continue the kiss to the point where their mouths had essentially become one. (And so it starts…)
The kiss was sweet. Definitely nothing out of a porno, like part of her had been expecting. It had been months since she had been physically intimate with someone, and she was afraid that it was all going to come out at once. Shelley may have been a lot of things, but getting physical in a crowded, public place wasn’t exactly her bag. She felt a tear stream down her cheek as she slowly pulled her lips away from his, though not wanting the moment to end. She pulled away enough to look into his eyes once more, sucking her bottom lip into her mouth. She had almost forgotten where they were before she spoke again.
“Wh-what was that for?” Shelley was processing what had just happened, and it didn’t seem real to her at all. It was almost like as if she was in a dream.
Wiping the tear from Shelley’s cheek, all Ace can do is smile at her, fully embracing the moment and, for the first time in years, feeling like his heart was full. He didn’t really care what anyone else thought; as long as he has Shelley, he’s happy.
“You said you didn’t want to hide anymore, right?” he asked; he could feel Shelley breathing sharply, so he pulls her into his chest. With her head buried in his chest, he tilts his head down and whispers in her ear “I’m here for you, because some things in life are worth fighting for.”
Shelley smiled, just loving the feeling of being held. It was a feeling that she had never really felt before. It was new, but it felt right. It made her happy. She wanted nothing more than to keep feeling like this for a long time to come.
She looked up with a grin, pressing one more kiss to his lips before going to sit down once more. It was then that she remembered just how hungry she was. “As nice as that was, and there better be more where that came from. I actually think that I am more hungry now that what I was before.” She laughed. “I don’t even remember what I was going to have.”
Ace just laughs with her; this kind of bliss was fleeting, and he was hoping this was just the start of something life-altering.
“I think you said calamari?” he responds while scratching his head; seconds later, a smirk returns to his face.
“Now, I don’t know how you feel about it,” he says with a wink, “but I don’t know if whatever I ordered could possibly taste as good as that just did a minute ago.”
He can’t help but laugh; it sounded corny coming out of his mouth, but for him, there was an element of truth to it because it was something longer in the making than either of them realized. Ace sits back in his chair; if something was to happen to him right this second, he would die as the happiest man on the planet, because he now has someone by his side who can allow him to just be himself. (Yes, it’s a corny line, deal with it!)
“You think that you can hold off on the thoughts about how I taste until you get your actual present later,” Shelley couldn’t help but smirk she looked up as the waitress came by with their calamari. “I want a grilled chicken sandwich now.”
Shelley sat back with a happy sigh. She was completely elated. How did she go from being afraid to talk to Ace to practically begging him to take her to bed in less than twenty-four hours? Thankfully, she had moved on from that urge, though. That kiss was just enough to hold her off for the next few hours. That is, unless she wanted to go to a movie where basically no one was in after lunch and sit in the back row with him… and basically not actually watch any of the movie.
“OK, so my biggest competition for your affection will be food, got it,” Ace quips, drawing a playful side-eye from his new companion. They chuckle for a few seconds before settling down, the eyes of the restaurant now focused squarely on them. Ace just shakes his head; so much curiosity among the Seattle folks, especially with someone of her profile locally being in the middle of it. He rises from his seat and, with a smirk toward Shelley, declares “She’s not Meg Ryan, folks!”
He sits back down; luckily, a good percentage of the patrons found humour in the remark, allowing all tables to go back to their business, allowing Ace to bring his focus back to a blushing Shelley.
“I never thought I’d be so lucky,” he sighs happily. “So much uncertainty, but to know you feel the same way… It’s amazing. I never thought I could...”
His voice trails off once more as his throat dries; he was close to saying the words, but even though his actions from earlier likely spoke louder, he can’t bring himself to finish the thought and potentially drive her away for being too forward. Instead, he clears his throat, trying not to draw too much attention to himself.
“So,” he asks, trying to further melt the ice, “What’s next in the great tour of Shelley Silver’s Seattle?”
“There are a number of things, but I liked to keep myself to a certain few. We passed a movie theater and an arcade with a sports bar on the way up from the parking garage. I know that there are a few good movies playing right now. Plus some bad ones that may be an option to spend our time at if we so choose to. If we don’t like anything there, Pacific Place is about a block away. That’s also a mall. We’ve got time to kill before it gets to be about ten or eleven. I have plans for then. If nothing else, we could just walk around. Check out comic book stores… wait, no. That’s what I’m into,” Shelley giggled as she took a deep breath. She picked up her fork and stabbed a piece of the calamari before popping into her mouth with a satisfied moan as she slid one of her legs under the table, her foot finding his.
“I promise, I don’t normally talk so much,” Shelley laughed after finishing another bite. “But hey… How else are we going to get to know one another?” She smiled as she looked over to him.
Making a mental note of the calamari moan from earlier, Ace decides to bank that one as she continues talking. Once there’s finally a moment of silence, he smiles and says “As long as I’m with you, I’m fine with anything.”
Despite their previous confessions, Ace still feels his face getting red; the butterflies of such a new discovery don’t go away immediately. As a result, he stammers “Because I would literally and figuratively be lost without you here.”
He looks adoringly at Shelley, who can’t look him in the eyes after the last comment. Then, the light bulb turns on in Ace’s head.
“So what’s significant about your plans at 10 or 11?” he asks innocently. “And can I come?”
“Ace… sweetie…” Shelley raised an eyebrow. “I already basically told you that I plan on taking you home tonight. Why wouldn’t I be involving you in what I have planned as your birthday present. Though, I’m sure that coming here to my town and being with me is already making this a very happy birthday for you,” she grinned, running her tongue along her teeth after taking a drink of water to wash her mouth out.
“And trust me, I think that you would like your present, even if you weren’t into me,” Shelley cheeks turned an even darker shade of red. “I may know a thing or two about people who are attracted to women,” she smirked with a wink.
As Shelley describes her plans, Ace crosses his legs to avoid indicating such an obvious interest in the proceedings. Visions dance around in his head, though with his very public display, he’s made it clear that Shelley will always come first.
“Well, it sounds like I’ll be into you one way or another,” he says slyly, drawing a raised eyebrow from Shelley.
“But seriously, this is the happiest I’ve been in a very long time, birthday or otherwise,” he says without a hint of embarrassment. “And I only asked because I didn’t know if you’d had something planned before I got here.”
“I could have, but honestly…” Shelley paused with a heavy sigh. “Honestly, I haven’t been really doing much besides training in months. To say that I have been getting worked up otherwise is an understatement.”
Shelley shrugged it off with a smile, nonchalantly continuing to eat as they waited for their meals. “Oh yes, one of my favorite sayings is ‘boys like girls who like girls who like boys… who like boys,” she couldn’t help but laugh at herself. “That last bit is optional. Well, If you follow.”
“Sounds like you need a release of sorts,” he says with a rather deliberate pace, “and I actually have some thoughts on that.”
He flicks an eyebrow up, though he immediately regrets it as he feels sleazy for doing so. Though it’s technically unspoken, both Ace and Shelley know how the night will end at this point, and the anticipation has Ace giddy.
“These could be some of the longest hours of my life,” Ace laments, tilting his head up to the sky, “but like I said earlier, some things are worth waiting for.”
“You can only get so much done on your own,” Shelley’s response was rather ‘PG’ to something so obviously X-Rated. Though, she was sure that Ace was able to read between the lines. At this point, there was no use in hiding what was so obviously on both of their minds. No matter how badly she desired to hold back and wait. The last thing that Shelley wanted was for Ace to get the wrong idea about her.
She took a deep breath, letting it out in a heavy sigh. “I can do it. Let the anticipation grow.”
Looking at Ace, it was clear anticipation wasn’t the only thing growing.
“We can do this,” he relents, before optimistically offering “It’ll make everything sooo much more satisfying, especially for something that, and you can say if I’m being too forward, I’ve wanted for a really long time.”
“I’m a big girl. Plus… it’s not like I totally know what I’m missing out on here,” she admitted. Which was something that Shelley wasn’t so sure that she was ready to delve into. But she had said it, so it was out there. It was bound to come up sooner or later that she wasn’t overly experienced with man parts.
Shelley smiled, “I still want to show you the time of your life while the day is still here. I love it here, and I like to show it off. There is just so many fun things. And that’s before we get to my haunted mansion.”
“Hey, we’ll even get to dust off some cobwebs at the haunted mansion!” he quips with a sly wink; Shelley’s somewhere in between laughing and wanting to hit him for that particular remark.
“But seriously, I didn’t get here very often earlier in my career, and I’ve always heard good things about the city,” he says, taking one of Shelley’s hands. “Plus, I kinda have a thing for my tour guide.”
“There is enough electricity crackling between us to see that,” Shelley smirked, doing her best to not reach over and slap his perfectly bulging bicep. She didn’t want to openly vulgar, like Megan had been in her last promo, but there was definitely a similar situation going on for her. At the same time, he made her whole body feel good, just by being near her.
“I can’t help but wonder how long I would have taken if things hadn’t been going on. If I even would. There is just so much that has been going on. My intense training has turned me into a better fighter. It just hasn’t translated in the ring yet,” Shelley shrugged taking a deep breath. To say that she was content was an understatement.
Ace immediately shakes his head dismissively.
“The bottom line is you found the courage to do it, and you did it,” he says, again taking her hand. “And some of the greatest things in the world take time to develop.” He looks her dead in the eyes as he says the last line; he’s seeing some of those greatest things in her right now.
Shelley knew that he was right. It’s not like she could go back in time and undo all of the things that had happened to her, just so that she could get to know him sooner. She let out a content sigh with a nod, “everything happens exactly when it’s supposed to.”
“It’s not like we’re going for a total ‘Candy From A Stranger’ moment, but it’s similar. I mean, we are just getting to know one another.” Shelley knew that Ace more than likely had no idea what she was referring to, but it was one of many perfect songs for the moment. Coincidentally, a lot of them came from Myah Marie. The particular song that she mentioned happened to be mistaken for Britney at first, because the relative unknown sounded a lot like the more famous artist.
With the sexual tension ratcheted up beyond belief, an unusual serenity eases its way over the table. Ace thought there was a grilled chicken sandwich coming at some point, but he didn’t care; Shelley was here with him, and they were together at last after unknowingly fighting their mutual attraction for so long.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he remarks. “I mean, we’ve both been through a ton of things, but those experiences have prepared us for this, when everything feels more right than it’s ever been. If not for all we’ve been through, we wouldn’t be ready to do this, but like I said earlier, I will be with you whenever you need me. I’m here for you, Shelley.”
After all the innuendos, Ace’s sincerity is a change of pace, and it helps put Shelley at ease, too.
Shelley took a deep breath with a nod, it wasn’t like she was talking to a hormonal teenage boy. Ace was a grown man, in some ways more than the men of her past who happened to be older than him. The food had probably been sat on the table, and Shelley could have started eat and not even known it. She was going on autopilot and it was all she could to to keep going on at the moment.
“There are going to be a lot of things that come up the more that we get to know each other, but I should tell you at least one thing right now. When things slow down and our heads stop spinning, certain things are going to make me nervous. I have my reasons… I just need to know that you can be patient with me,” Shelley already knew the answer but that didn’t stop the butterflies from doing somersaults in her stomach.
Ace closes his eyes and bows his head; a smile emerges as he looks back up at Shelley.
“That’s what people who lo-” Ace again stops himself from using the L word so as not to speak for her. “I mean, that’s what people who want to be together do: They support each other, thick and thin. If one person struggles, the other picks them up. What are the constants you hear in wedding vows? For better or for worse, in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer…”
Shelley looks up at the mention of wedding vows; Ace immediately picks up on it.
“Just an example,” he explains. “The point is, I’m going to be there for you no matter what. We all have demons we deal with, trust me, and the only way to overcome them is to face them together, so yes, I will be anything you need me to be.”
“I… Yeah, I get it,” Shelley stammered a bit. Between the rush of romantic feelings and the overwhelming sexual tension, there was a lot going on in both of their minds. “It’s not like we’re young and actually just meeting for the first time. Though… I guess that is the funny thing about being a celebrity. We all know about each other, but we may not absolutely have met in person.”
Shelley took a deep breath, smiling. “Though… I’m hoping that marriage isn’t completely off of the table. In the future, of course.”
“Yeah, talking about marriage on a first date might be a bit much,” he quips, “but I see no reason why that can’t happen down the road. There’s clearly something deeper at play between us here, and I might need Whitney Houston to come back from the dead to state the point for me.”
Shelley facepalms, but there’s a slight smile underneath; she knows Ace can be dark with his jokes by times, so she’s seeing the real guy she became infatuated with.
“But celebrity or not, all anybody wants in life is stability to build a foundation for a better future,” he continues, now drinking some of the melted ice cubes from his water. “I hope I’ve found that in you, and I hope you’ll be able to say that about me, too.”
“I’d like to think that you have,” Shelley leaned over the table, stealing a quick kiss with a grin. “Time will tell, though. First things, though. Food helps create energy,” Shelley smirked, rather proud of her logic. “We’re gonna need it.”
Shelley looked down at the table and laughed. Their waters were being refilled as she sat back once more and they were served their meals. “I probably should have warned you. This place gets a little busy, but remember, the best things in life are worth the wait,” she winked.
All Ace can do is nod as he digs in; Shelley had a solid point, and he knew he’d want to go for a long, long time… Plus, he knew enough to know arguing with a woman has bad idea written all over it. He knew something incredible had just happened, and he didn’t want to let it slip away.
“So,” he says between bites, “is it too early to throw a label on whatever we have?”
Shelley couldn’t help but smile. Sure they were only a fraction of the way through their first date, but so much had already happened. “People like to set a timeline on relationships. I even heard about a movie that if you hold off for ten dates, then you know that it’s love. Granted, that’s the only time that I heard such an extreme amount of time for it. Most say that the third date automatically means sex.” She took a deep breath, looking down for a moment before looking up at Ace again, “but I know one thing. We’re not them. None of those people know us. It works differently for everyone.”
“I’m yours,” she stated simply with a shrug. “I really don’t see me going anywhere. Who am I to ignore when something may finally go right in my life?”
He looks back at her in an attempt to keep his jubilation bottled up. Yes, things were happening really quickly, but somehow, nothing felt out of place in the moment: She’d just committed herself to him, and though it was way more than he expected to happen when he agreed to meet her in Seattle, he’s on cloud nine. He laughs softly, then takes a breath before returning his gaze to Silver; he’s temporarily distracted by how beautiful her eyes are when they dance, but he pushes on.
“I hear you,” he says, pausing for a sip of his refilled water. “I’ve never really believed in all the timelines and whatnot. There’s no one blueprint for how any of this works, you just know instinctively when it’s right, and Shelley?”
He pauses again, bowing his head to control his recurring nerves before looking back up at her with a smile.
“I know.”
Shelley just nodded, contently smiling as she continued eating. They had probably said just about everything that they could say for a whole week. They would more than likely find more to say, but for now, Shelley was just going to look forward to just simply enjoying being around him. It was rude to talk with your mouth full anyway… right?
As she swirled the last fry around on her plate. “So is there anything you want to see that’s out right now? We can pull off a double feature before dinner, with plenty of time to spare before the real fun.”
“Well, there’s plenty I WANT to see,” Ace explains; a huge smirk grows on his face before adding “but I think that’s a midnight screening.”
He flicks his eyebrows suggestively, then immediately feels shame when Shelley tilts her head to the side, biting her tongue in the moment. Ace clears his throat, then gets slightly more serious.
“Well, Beauty and the Beast might be a little too on the nose right now,” he says with a wicked grin. “Ghost in the Shell?”
Shelley thought a moment before chuckling. It may be wise of them to steer clear of movies meant for children at least that time around. “There’s also Logan, and I’m still sort of on the fence about Power Rangers.” She shrugged, not really wanting to be decisive about what they could do, because there was so much that Seattle had to offer. She wanted to show him everything that she loved about the city. She just knew for sure that she wanted to hold off taking him to the reservation until a little further into the relationship.
“I know that this is my city,” Shelley continued grinning like an idiot. “I just want to make sure that you enjoy yourself.”
“Maybe we just pick one of each?” he offers with a shrug. “Compromises are important to any relationship.”
Even saying the word ‘relationship’ in connection to Shelley was surreal to Ace; he probably didn’t understand himself just how long he’s wanted this to happen, and now that it has, he feels nothing but joy, a clear departure from what he’d been dealing with since the new year started.
“Like I said earlier,” he explains, digging into his sandwich. He swallows the food before adding “I’m going to be happiest when I’m with you, no matter what.”
Shelley let out a soft giggle as she sat back. She wasn’t going to have room for popcorn during the first movie, but that’s what double features were for. She pulled out her phone, opening the moviefone app and checking the times at both of the nearby cinemas and coordinated times to go to both movies. After how riled up they had gotten each other, all Shelley could really think about at the time was how much she was excited over the thought of just sitting in his arms as they watched their movies. That’s when she knew that it was really exactly what she had been looking for.
She took another drink to wash down her last bite of sandwich before looking over to Ace. “Alright, our afternoon is set. I think that we’re really going to enjoy our time together.” She just smiled as she sat back and let her food settle for a bit before they ventured off once again. As they step back outside, Ace offers Shelley his hand.
“Ready?” he asks, sliding his sunglasses back down over his eyes; the question is directed at her externally, but it’s also an internal question since he still can’t completely believe what’s happening. Both Ace and Shelley live fairly private lives, so stepping out in public for the first time as a couple will be a big step, but he knew he didn’t want to take it with anybody else because, although he’s had prior relationships, this one was going to be different. This one was going to be the one he got right.
