Queen of Spades (House of Cards Series 1) [Student/Teacher Relationship]

Seven of Swords

Despite her best intentions to sneak back into her own room before the night ended, Alice fell asleep in Malcolm's bed and missed her chance to sneak in before Lexi returned. In fact she only woke up after Butch knocked on the hut door and Lexi answered it with a tongue lashing and a slammed door.

"Oh shit, she knows I spent the night away..."Alice breathed, worry making her heart race. Malcolm kissed her hair, fingers gently wrapped around her arm as she pulled on her skirt. Thank god no one had seen her change clothes yesterday, they wouldn't know she was wearing the same thing. Ace kissed Malcolm one last time and snuck down his stairs, managing to edge a little out of view so Butch wouldn't spot her creeping away. And then she spotted Kim staring at her, eyes wide and a little 'o' of comprehension on her face.

Ace felt a weird rushing in her head and her gut dropped. She could read it in Kim' eyes that she had just connected the dots and figured out who's room Ace was sneaking out of this morning. Alice smiled at her friends and hooked her arm through Kim's. "I'll explain everything later just please, act like I spent the night at your room ok?" she breathed at her friend.

Kim was staring at her but then swallowed and nodded. Ace ran upstairs to throw a swimsuit on under her outfit, brushing off Lexi's insults about the slut doing the walk of shame this morning. "I was at Kim's you moron." Alice hurtled back, skipping outside while the blonde was still carefully styling her hair.

"Tell me everything...." Kim breathed as the two girls walked away from the hut. "You have no idea what crazy thoughts are running through my head right now." she laughed, sounding a little nervous.

Alice chewed her lip and walked with Kim away from the breakfast area, talking her to the little bridge that viewed the flamingos and iguanas. "It's pretty much what it looked like." Alice finally admitted, having no other choice but to tell her friend the truth.

Kim let out a breath and leaned against the bridge railing. She didn't say anything at first and Ace was beginning to become nervous that maybe her friend wouldn't understand. "So you and Mr. V?" she asked softly, looking around to make sure no one was within hearing distance.

"Malcolm, his first name is Malcolm." Alice nodded, looking down at her sandals. "I met him on my last day as a stipper. It was his birthday and we ended up hitting it off and talking while everyone thought he was getting a private show." Alice laughed at the memory, shaking her head slightly. "And then the cops crashed the club, considering how much illegal sex and drugs moved through there, it was inevitable. What I never expected after being returned to my foster family was to find out that my new school homeroom teacher was the same man I'd danced for last." Alice leaned back against the railing, falling quiet.

Kim looked at her, a frown on her face and her lips pursed. Obviously she wasn't thrilled at this conversation. "So that night in the club, that wasn't DJ Mask. You lied to me. Do you even know who DJ Mask is?" she asked, and Alice understood the hurt in her friends eyes.

Guilt bubbled in her gut, but she nodded, accepting the anger and accusations as her own fault. "I'm not dating DJ Mask. I am DJ Mask." she said with a shrug.

Kim snorted, shaking her head. "Like I can believe your word." she insulted. Alice felt her chest and gut clench, hurt by her friend's animosity. But Kim was right, Alice had lied to her repeatedly and now was busted for it.

"I'm sorry." Alice said softly, turned and walked away, trying not to feel like she'd just been kicked in the gut. Second day into the vacation and she had just lost her best girl friend. It was no longer looking like this was going to be as much fun as she had expected. Ace gritted her teeth and tried to ignore the prickling in her eyes that indicated tears were trying to sneak out. She took a deep breath in and pushed the emotions away, locking herself into a numb cocoon until the pain could be expressed away from the public eye.