Page 91 of Apex of the Curve

There was laughter around the table and I realized this was the man Dahlia had led into the club by the hand.

“Good fuckin’ deal, bro,” Fenris said, grinning, his mood much lighter for the conversation and the distance put between himself and Tic.

“And who might you be?” the man asked me.

“Oh, hi. I’m Aspen,” I said blushing cursing my shyness and inability to be under any sort of scrutiny without doing so. “I’m with Fenris.”

Throughout the conversation, it had become increasingly apparent that there was some sort of unspoken rule that if you weren’t with anyone, you were sort of here for everyone so it was important to quickly establish just who you’d come with to avoid any misunderstandings.

“Hi Aspen, I’m Mace. I’m the birthday boy,” he said, laughing at his own joke which most of the other guys laughed too, but there was some confusion in their eyes.

“Um, happy birthday?” I supplied.

“Thank you!” he cried, rocking back on his heels. Mav reached out and grabbed him by the front of his jacket and vest to keep him from going right onto his back.

“Easy there! Bro, how about you take a seat with me and Aspen here?”

“Don’t mind if I do,” Mace said.

“And who’re you?” he asked Little Bird who was cuddled into Dump Truck’s side.

“Kestrel,” she answered. “But everybody calls me Little Bird. I’m Dump Truck’s Old Lady.”

“Yeah?” Mace asked. “Congratulations, bro!”

Dump Truck chuckled. “Thank you.”

Mace said, “All you guys went and got yourselves some real hot women while I was locked up.”

It dawned on me; this was the man who the entire party was for. A strange sort of tingle went up my spine and I wondered why.

The only answer I had was that it was a visceral reaction to knowing that not only had he been imprisoned, that he’d been imprisoned recently and for a very serious assault. I immediately felt a wave of shame for even reacting that way, even though no one knew it. I had kept a smile on my face the entire time, hadn’t missed a single beat, but still… I had judged this man unfairly with just that little bit of information.

Maybe, in turn, that meant Tic was right to judge me. Maybe I wasn’t good enough to be among them. Maybe I was just another hopeless citizen that could never belong…

“You doing alright, babe?” Fen asked.

“Oh, yeah, I’m just getting tired. It’s been a long day for me. What time is it, anyway?” I asked.

“Ten o’clock,” Little Bird answered.

“The night’s still young,” Mav said, and I laughed.

“Then I’m too old,” I said. “It is way past my bedtime. I have to open tomorrow and six am comes early. I still have to drive to Tacoma.”

“What’s in Tacoma?” Mace asked and I smiled a little sadly.

“My mom’s house.”

“You live with your mother?” he asked, looking confused.

“No, my mom died a few months ago. I’m just living in her house.”

“Oh. Oh, man… I’m sorry,” he said.

“It’s okay, you didn’t know.”

“Come on,” Fen said, hoisting himself to his feet. “I’ll walk you to your car.”

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