Page 33 of Breaking the Limits

My heart is pounding in my chest. Seeing Kynlee like this has made me so angry. Watching her almost get hit by a car has been terrifying. Then she has the nerve to stand there and tell me she isn’t coming home, the hell she isn’t! I clearly can’t leave her on her own. I do the only thing I know to do. I pick up her up and carry her back to the car. We’ve almost reached my car when she pats me on the back and says my name in a whiney voice. I don’t reply but then she tells me, “I think I’m going to be sick.”

Quickly, I sit her down on her feet and pull her hair away from her face just before she gets sick. I sigh heavily from the unnecessary stress. Once I’m sure Kynlee is done, I help her walk around the car to the passenger side. Opening the door, I help her sit down and then buckle her in. By the time I make it around to the driver’s side her head is resting against the seat and she is asleep.

I don’t know why Kynlee is acting like this but I know it isn’t like her. As soon as she’s sobered up tomorrow, I plan on finding out what the hell had happened tonight. I reach over and sweep some stray locks of hair away from her face. Once we get back to the apartment, I carry Kynlee up the stairs and into the bedroom. I take the time to change her into something comfortable and even grab one of those wipes she uses on her face to remove the makeup. Before crawling into the bed, I grab a cold bottle of water and some Tylenol and sit them on the table next to Kynlee’s side of the bed. I know she’ll need them in the morning.

I crawl in next to Kynlee and press a kiss to her forehead. I lay there and study her beautiful face for quite some time. I would love to know what is running through her head right now, what had happened during her day to put so much distancebetween us, what had brought on her actions tonight. I could only hope that tomorrow would give me some answers.

Chapter 22

Kynlee

I wake up the next morning with a splitting headache and unexplained soreness to my body. I can’t sense any light in the room, so I figured it’s still dark out but when I dare to squint, I see that Ace had taken the time to cover the window with a blanket. Slowly I roll over and see a bottle of water and some Tylenol. Sitting up in the bed only makes my head feel as if it’s about to split open.

Ace appears in the doorway and I study him the best I can over the bottle of water, my blurry vision, and the darkness in the room. He stands there shirtless and a pair of sweats that hang low on his hips. His body is basically on display and I can’t complain. His body is like a dream to me. Every muscle is defined even under all his ink. “I figured you could use those,” he says motioning towards the Tylenol.

I nod slightly. “Thanks. What the hell did I do last night? I feel like I’ve been hit by a bus.”

Ace crosses the room and comes to sit down on the bed. He pulls the sheet back and I see my legs are scraped and bloody. “You just about did. I don’t know how much you drank. Farrah called me when you guys started to get a little rowdy at JamesTown and by the time I got there, you guys were heading to the beach but you ended up falling off the curb, into the street and almost gothitby a speeding car.”

I know my mouth was hanging open in shock from hearing this information. I knew I felt horrible but I had no idea I had done all of that. The blush of embarrassment creeps up my neck and floods my cheeks. “I’m sorry. I’m mortified.”

Ace seems distant for some reason. He stands up and holds out his hand to me. “Let’s get you cleaned up.” I slip my hand in his, thankful as I try to stand and find that my ankle canbarely handle any weight on it. Once we were in the bathroom Ace sits me on top of the counter and grabs the medicine box we keep under the cabinet. He starts to clean up my scrapes but his silence makes me uncomfortable. I’m starting to worry I had said something last night. When he’s done, he stands up and helps me down. “I’ll let you shower then if you feel like it you can try some toast.” Ace turns around and leaves. Not once have his eyes met mine and the rigid set of his jaw tells me that he’s upset over something.

I shower quickly then join Ace on the couch. He’s busy reading some mystery book and once again he doesn’t meet my eyes. Finally, I give in and ask. “Did I do something to you last night that I don’t remember?”

His baby blue eyes meet mine finally. “No, not to me but your own reckless abandon for yourself and your own life was quite the show.”

“You’re mad about that?”

He glares at me. “You’re damn right I’m mad about that. Actually, I’m down right pissed off over that. You could have gotten killed in the blink of an eye and it was like it didn’t even matter to you, Kynlee. What the hell were you thinking? Do you have any idea what that would have done to me?”

I study him and I realize that he isn’t actually mad, he’s scared and hurt. I do know how he feels though. Every time he gets behind the wheel to race, I feel what he felt last night. The only difference is that I had known about the danger he put himself in before we got together. Ace didn’t know about mine and had never seen mine until last night. “Ace, I don’t know what to tell you. I wasn’t thinking. It had been one of the worst days and I wanted some sort of release. I acted stupid and reckless and I’m sorry for that. I’m sorry you had to see me like that, but let’s face it I’m human. I make mistakes but you haveme on some pedestal and it makes it difficult for me to live up to your expectations, but I can understand how you feel.”

“What made your day so bad that you resorted to getting wasted and nearly killed?” he asks.

I sigh thinking about how my life had flipped upside down yesterday. “When I got to work, I found out the Wild Wild Wes’ is going to be restructuring in order to increase profits which technically got me laid off. I finish out this week then I’m without a job.” I can’t bring myself to tell him about losing my agent.

I see the sympathetic look in Ace’s eyes, his hand reaches for mine and gives it a reassuring squeeze. “Baby doll don’t worry. You’ll find another job and in the meantime I have more than enough money to take care of both of us. Okay? So, don’t worry too much about that.” I nod but I know he can see the worry on my face. He pulls me into him and I rest my head on his shoulder.

“How was your day yesterday?” I ask.

I feel his body tense up with my question and for a moment I don’t think he’s going to answer then he says, “It was interesting but nothing too important.”

I don’t believe him but I know better than to push him for more information. He places a quick kiss on the top of my head. “I have to get ready. I have two booked days at Inkredible so it’s going to be some late nights.”

“Don’t worry about me. Between the promotional tour for Wicked Little Things and looking for another regular job I doubt I’ll be here much,” I tell him.

He stands up but when he’s halfway back to the bedroom he turns around and looks at me. “No more drinking like last night. No more recklessness. Promise me.”

I get up and walk over to him, wrapping my arms around his waist. “I promise that won’t ever happen again Ace. I’m so sorry, I really truly am.”

His baby blue eyes stare into mine for a very long time and I pray he can see the sincerity in my eyes. His lips meet mine for a moment and when he pulls back there are so many emotions in his eyes. I don’t know how to decipher them all but they’re overwhelming me. He pulls away and goes to get ready for work.

****

The past couple of weeks have been so hectic that Ace and I have barely seen one another or talked for that matter. Ace has pulled away from me. I can understand that my antics had frightened him but I missed him desperately. I had just finished up the ad campaign and promotional tour for Wicked Little Things when I landed back in L.A. I heard about a job opening at Red Hott for a cocktail waitress. It wasn’t my ideal job, but I did know that a lot of the big shots in Hollywood showed up at the strip club from time to time.

I sit in the parking lot debating on whether or not I should actually go inside and apply. Finally, I come to the conclusion that I have nothing else on my horizon, so I might as well give it a try because let’s face it, I need a job. I won’t be one of those girls that lives off her boyfriend. It’s just not who I am.

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