Ari

Things had been weird between Ace and myself since the incident in the room, where I called Dean mine. He dodged me for poker games at the estate for a few days afterwards. He never came by my room requesting my company for the evening.

He acted like a stranger, but it didn't affect me in the ways where it might have in the past. Something about admitting in an off the way manner, that I viewed Dean as mine, liberated me slightly. It made me realize that no matter what came into my heart, there was something deep down inside that always belonged to him.

The feeling in the pit of my soul reminded me a lot of an old story my dad used to tell me about the Japanese Red String myth. He would tell me tell me the story before I went to bed about an invisible red string that was tied to your pinky finger. On the other end of your red string was your soulmate, the one you were destined to meet. The string was the connection that bound you to another person, the person with which you would make history.

My dad loved stories about the beauty of human interactions and connections between others. I remember sitting on my pink bed sheets, holding my favorite unicorn pillow and listening to his stories. At the end, I always asked him if I had a 'person,' who I would love forever. He always reassured me that my red string was sturdy and it was connected to someone who was resilient, and no matter how hard we tugged at it, the string would never frail or give.

The moment Dean asked me my name that January day, while I struggled to get my key to work on my new mailbox, I always wondered if he was the one who cared for the other end of my string.

Since coming to New Orleans, there was something different about me and I could constantly feel it swell deep inside me. The feeling was a new found sense of self. I had begun to learn how to just be and not allow all the hurt that I'd felt over the course of my life to consume me. I still had moments when I felt hopeless, but for the first time, I also had things to look forward to.

One thing I knew for sure, was that I needed to make amends with Ace. Even if he wasn't the holder of my red string and we weren't destined to be together, he was very much someone who I valued and needed in my life. Even if he couldn't forgive me, I needed to set things right, because he deserved to hear all the things I had to tell him. He finally needed to understand.

I waited outside of his door until I knew for sure that he was scheduled to leave. The look on his face when he opened and saw me standing there was not the look I wanted or expected. The man in front of me never really knew me or saw me the way the other people in my life did. The time had come for him to know me and see me for who I was.

"Arina," he stated calmly, his eyes looked somewhat cold, but more disappointed than anything.

"Ace, I need to explain some things to you and I am hoping that you'll care enough about the time we've shared to listen to them." His demeanor told me that all he wanted at that moment, was to close the door between us, but before he could, I let out one final plea, "Please."

His eyes softened when he heard my words. He entered the hallway and slowly closed the door behind him. "Ok, but let's take a walk." There was hesitancy in his voice, but he still grasped my hand and led me down and out to the street.

We walked for what seemed like forever, a bitter silence engulfed us. Finally, I decided to turn and break the silence. "Ace, before I explain about Dean. I need to tell you some things about myself."

His eyes met mine and I could sense that he was finally realizing there was more to who he thought I was and that I wasn't the picture of perfection, that he had previously painted. I told him the stories about my dad and his death, the stories about being sick and near death on many occasions. I told him about the decision to take the trip to complete the list of destinations and experience things that I may never have the chance again to experience.

I even told him about dancing in my underwear and finally being overcome with a feeling of love towards myself. I told him about a life gripped with fear. Finally, I told him all about the depression and how I made the decision that I wanted to end my life.

The whole time I spoke, he just looked at my face. He never tried to speak and offer any opinions-he just listened. When I spoke about my desire to die, his eyes trailed off to the floor and I couldn't tell if it was shame or pity that he was experiencing. When I was done, he looked up at me with those amazing hazel eyes.

"And, you love Dean." It wasn't a question, but more of a realization he had made while I spoke about myself and my life.

"Yes, Ace. I do love Dean. From the moment he spoke to me, I've loved him. He's always been there for me when I needed him. He's so much more than my best friend." I then told him about the red string myth and how I believed that no matter how hard I fought it, Dean was the owner of the other end of my red string.

His eyes were sad when I spoke about my feeling about Dean. I felt the need to reassure him, "Ace, I want you to know that everything you've done for me and shared with me has changed me. It's made me feel loved and special. I never meant to keep things from you or be dishonest about my feelings and if you think I have, then I'm truly sorry. I couldn't imagine not having you in my life."

"Arina, you haven't mislead me. I knew there was something between you and Dean when you cried to my sister that first night, but I chose to pursue you regardless. I do have one question. If we had met under any other circumstances, do you think it would be me that you felt these things for?"

"Maybe." Part of me wished that we had met under different circumstances.

..............................

Ace dropped me off at the hotel and as he got into his car and drove away to his next poker game, part of me ached that I couldn't change how I felt about him. I did care for Ace, but not in the way I cared for Dean. I reached my room only to find my best friend in the world standing near my door waiting. She rushed over and hugged me, sensing that a hug was exactly what I needed at that time.

"You told him everything?" she asked as she looked into my eyes, but she already knew the answer.

"Yeah, it felt good to be honest with him. I didn't want to lead him on," I responded, as she clasped my hand in hers and intertwined our fingers, while we headed in the direction of her room.

Patrick was sitting at the desk in the sitting area of the room, looking over some emails on his laptop. He smiled when he saw me, realizing that us girls needed a moment. He quietly gathered up his laptop and kissed Venise on her lips softly and headed out, most likely to the lobby.

"So have you heard from him?" I knew exactly who she was talking about even without saying his name. The truth was, no I hadn't and I didn't have any idea why. Dean had been secretly M.I.A since the last text telling me he was going to make everything right.

"No, he's been secret agent off the grid. Maybe he's giving up on me."

"Ars, do you really think for a minute that he would ever give up on you? He may be defeated right now, but this is Dean we're talking about. When has he ever walked away with his tail between his legs?" She chuckled and instantly I felt a little bit better about things. She was correct, Dean wasn't the type of guy who gave up.

"V... I actually have something that I've been wanting to do, but I couldn't do it alone and right now I just need to focus on me and not on stuff."

"Girl, I love you, but we can't get married. It would be unfair to Pats and Dean... However, our shared closet would be amazing! So, maybe we should break the awful news to them that we are switching teams." I couldn't help but let out an unusually loud laugh at her comment. I loved that my best friend was always ready to make some joke that would lighten a situation.

"Sadly, I guess we'll just have to wait till the guys die to fulfill our love," I stated, laughing just as she did, then I added, "But, actually I want to get a tattoo."

"Oh.My.God. Yes! Finally!" She clasped her hands together and paired it with a huge grin. She jumped up and grabbed my hand, pulling me out of that room faster than I could have imagined.

.............................

Before we made our way out to find a tattoo shop, we rang Sassy to see if it was something she would be interested, even if it meant just tagging along. Venise and Sassy had become like cinnamon and sugar since they met, and since I felt the exact same way about her, I naturally wanted her around all the time as well. She was like the big sister that I never had.

Sassy met us shortly after we made it to the lobby. She had on a beautiful low cut, spaghetti strap maxi dress, with a fantastic blue tribal print and large blue diamonds on it. She put us to shame in our cut off jean shorts and tank tops. Again, the desire to club her to death and steal her wardrobe sprouted in my head, but I resisted.

I told her the plan and she wiped out her phone and started scrolling reviews, before directing us to a fantastic shop.

Once inside, the girls went to the wallboards and started looking around at the designs, I on the other hand, knew exactly what I wanted. A really burly looking guy with a huge tattoo on his neck and full sleeves with hand tattoos, approached me as I stood waiting.

"Hi there, are you looking for something special or a standard chick tattoo?" His voice was gruff, but oddly low and extremely sexy.

He had piercing chocolate brown eyes and wavy slicked back, brown hair. He had a chiseled jawline and looking at him, I was almost certain that he had probably been mistaken for that really sexy male model, Stephan James a few times. They could have easily been brothers.

"What exactly would I be looking for, if I said standard chick?" I laughed, which threw him off a tad, but then he began to laugh as well. His eyes travelled from my face downward, sizing me up for a second.

"Well, a lot of girls want a feather or infinity symbol with a meaningful word in it. Or maybe you're more of a dream catcher type of girl. I'm really hoping that you aren't one of those girls who wants birds flying off into the distance."

"What if I said I wasn't any of those types of girls?" I looked at him, not sure if he was flirting, but his eyes were sure roaming.

"Then, I'd say whoever your boyfriend is would be really lucky." Yep, he was flirting. "I'm Jace, by the way."

"I'm Ari," I took his outstretched hand and shook it lightly, "I actually want a quote and a small tree branch with leaves underneath, right here." I lifted up my small arm and pointed to the inside between my elbow and armpit. "I want it to say, I am a storm."

He led me back to a table where he began to lay out inks and grab needles. "Have you ever had a tattoo before?"

"Nope, this is my first. I guess that I'm tattoo virgin." I smiled like a kid getting eight pounds of gummy worms in her Christmas stocking.

"Well, then I promise to be gentle," he said, as he smiled a really seductive smile, yet it was full and engulfed his face. I had seen a lot of smiles before, but there were few that really made you feel something when you saw them. His was one that made you definitely feel something.

He bent down to grab a few things and a few strands of his hair fell onto his forehead. Ari, snap out of it!

"Why the quote, any particular reason?" His eyes were sweet, as he cleaned the area of my arm where he was going to draw the design.

"Well, there's a quote by Louisa May Alcott, that says, 'I'm not afraid of storms, for I'm learning how to sail my ship,' and it's a quote that has always drawn me in. So, I think by saying that I'm a storm, I'll always remember to be strong. The tree branch, well it reminds me of someone special."

"That's really powerful. I really am glad that you aren't one of those other types of girls." He winked at me before adding, "Alright tell me what you think?"

I looked at the design he had drawn on the inside of my arm and the beautiful cursive of the font made me think about my dad's handwriting for a second. In that moment, I knew it was perfect. Jace explained to me that it would probably hurt a tiny bit, but I knew I had experienced far worse in my life. So, when the pain hit my skin, it was almost welcoming for a second. It welcomed me, because it wasn't the kind of pain that meant bad things were going to happen, it was the kind of hurt that signaled change.

Over my shoulder I saw Venise talking with another heavily tattooed girl, who was creating a stencil of a small hummingbird. After she was done, she placed it on Venise's pelvis and began tattooing a watercolor inspired work of art.

When Jace finished, he cleaned my arm and placed the proper covering, giving me post care instructions. Before I went to pay for my tattoo, he grabbed my hand in his and pulled me closer to him.

"Ari, I really hope you find your place as the storm you are. I'm really glad I met you today."

The truth was, that I was also happy I had met him today. Man, he was beautiful.

We admired our tattoos outside. Venise was so excited about her hummingbird and Sassy had gotten a really small minimalist flower on the side of her wrist. It felt wonderful knowing that in that moment, I had a pair of really amazing girls. It felt like I had sisters, not just friends. However, standing there, I missed Dean a lot. I pulled out my phone and finally sent the text that I was putting off for days. However far away he was from me at any time, I needed him to know that he was the only thing currently on my mind.

Ari: I miss you terribly

The rest of our day was spent looking around those tourist shops that carried walls of beads and offensive t-shirts. We all laughed hysterically at the F.B.I: Female Body Inspector t-shirts. Sassy reached over and grabbed a men's medium and ran to the counter.

"Who are you buying that for?" Venise yelled, as she was headed away.

"For me of course!" she exclaimed, her eyes were full of tears. The kinds of tears you got when you laughed nonstop.

We almost landed on the floor in laugher at her response, all the while, the scrawny boy behind the counter nervously fidgeted as Sassy talked to him. She may have had a soft spot for the female population, but there was no doubt that she made many boys uncomfortable at her presence. She threw the t-shirt over her sexy maxi dress and modeled it for us, like she was getting ready to walk the runway in Paris.

We walked around bourbon street, sipping on hurricanes in those souvenir glasses, while Sassy wore her F.B.I shirt. I had picked a t-shirt that had a giant llama on it and it said No Probllama. Venise couldn't resist the t-shirt that had a picture of a giant baby's body on it. On her, she almost looked like she was that giant baby in a diaper. The thought of her head on a baby's body was gut busting in and of itself.

We looked ridiculous and we knew it. The beauty was that we didn't care, because we were having the time of our lives.

I couldn't imagine what the people thought of us while we walked by, drinks in hand, covered in the beads we had also bought from the kid with the nervous hands. I felt the vibration of my phone as we walked and I pulled it out from my back pocket to see his name on my screen.

Dean: I can't wait to see you again. Always and Terribly.

My heart smiled, even though I didn't let it show on my face. He was thinking about me, just like I was thinking of him. He thought of me always and missed me terribly.

.....................................

The looks we got when we walked into our hotel lobby, semi-drunk and wearing crazy t-shirts must have been one of those moments where you wished you had a camera on you. We all decided to head to Sassy's penthouse and continue the girls night. Venise had drunk texted Patrick to let him know we had been celebrating and that she would be upstairs with. She said something incoherently about him saying it was ok, before informing us that all she wanted in life was to be married to pepperoni pizza.

We stumbled into the penthouse and Sassy picked up the room phone, calling down to room service, ordering more drinks and telling them she wanted pizza and ice cream. Once the food arrived, we sat and feasted on pizza and chocolate ice-cream while the in-room stereo system played all our favorites. Somehow we had all lost our pants in the process, but we still held onto those horrible shirts, like they were badges of courage.

Ridiculous shirts, underwear, and great tunes became our evening fun. At one point Sassy jumped on the couch and began singing along to Demi Lovato's "Cool For The Summer," which had begun to play.

With her hand held up like an imaginary microphone, she belted out, "Got my mind on your body and your body on my mind. Got a taste for the cherry, I just need to take a bite."

She passed the imaginary microphone over to Venise, who then added, "Don't tell your mother. Kiss one another. Die for each other."

When it was my turn, I jumped up onto the couch, grabbed the invisible microphone and belted out, "We're cool for the summer. Ha!" I kicked my leg in the air, as I belted out that Ha!

When the chorus hit, we sung in unison and jumped up and down in our horrid t-shirts and underwear, engulfed in the moment, in the song. Music had become a form of therapy again during this trip, just like it had been therapy for me when I was younger. Music had a strange and memorizing hold on my soul and songs helped me convey my feelings and desires.

We danced like we were fifteen and at a slumber party. Invisible microphones and a hotel couch as our stage. We were having the time of our lives. Arms raised over our heads, feet kicked in the air, couches jumped on as if we were the rockstars of the summer.

The door slowly opened and in walked Ace, who stopped dead in his tracks at the sight before him. He stared at us in awe as we jumped and danced like no one was watching. When the song was over and we had collapsed onto the floor, out of breath, he came to stand over the giggling forms of the out of breath girls before him.

"Um. Looks like y'all are having fun and quite possibly really drunk." His gigantic laugh made the moment perfect, because I knew in my heart that he would always be my friend regardless of what had happened previously between us.

Later that evening, after I had picked myself up off the floor where I had been wedged between sprawled out bodies of drunk girls, legs sprawled out over me, hands in my face, I headed to the suite's bathroom. I splashed water on my face, then went back out to see if I could manage to find some aspirin, because I knew I would have a massive headache in the morning. As I walked out, I bumped into a bare chest. My hands instinctively went up to brace myself and they found their way onto firm skin. It wasn't a chest like Dean's, which had a chiseled muscle for every section, but it was defined and firm.

I withdrew my hand, embarrassment on my face. He laughed and brought my chin up so that I was looking at his face. He looked down at the llama shirt I was wearing with the black boy short underwear and a flash of both humor and desire swept over his face.

"Arina." He looked into my eyes as he brushed his lips over mine.

"Ace... I... I can't do this, I'm sorry."

I went to pull away from him, but he pulled me closer to him and whispered in my ear, "Don't worry beautiful, I'm not done fighting for you."

His lips brushed over my ear, then he released me and walked back into his room, shutting the door behind him.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Hey guys!

As always, please please please comment and vote. I love comments! So what do you think Ace has up his sleeve to win back Ari?

Also, if you don't know who Stephan James is, please do yourself a favor and google him. Yummy, even if he isn't Nick Bateman yummy, he is still yummy.

Great reading recommendations: check out my list of Absolute Favs.

Check me out on Twitter: @amina_leeds and tweet me, I'll always try to respond!

Love you all