Cheating The Deck [boyxboy]

Cheating The Deck {17}

                I mentally sighed. "Dex, you should just slow down, man. Please. Just get to know him more. Give this more time. You haven't even known him that long."

                "Jack, just trust me," he said, trying to keep as calm as I was pretending to be.

                "I trust you. I don't trust your judgement, though," I said. "Dex, you are moving way too fast here. Spend more time with Ace and make sure this is really what you want. Besides, no offense, but he doesn't even seem like the dating type."

Delaney looked away from me, shaking his head in disbelief. "You can't even try to be supportive. Guys and girls always go after you. And I finally get a guy I like and who actually seems interested in me, and you act like it's the worst thing to ever happen."

                "No, people who don't vaccinate their kids are the worst thing to ever happen," I said, pointing a finger at him. "This is a minor inconvenience."

                "Jack, you never take anything seriously!" Delaney said, glaring at me now. "I came up here to talk to you about it because you're my best friend. But this is why no one liked you before you got to college. Because you're stuck-up and selfish, and everything is a goddamn joke to you."

                "Unvaccinated kids are not a joke to me," I said.

                "This is what I mean!" he cried, angrily gesturing at me.

                "Okay, okay. I know I'm an asshole. But if you're getting mad about my personality, I don't get what draws you in about Ace," I said. "He's much worse than I am. At least I know right from wrong."

                "I get it Jack; Ace has his problems! It's not his fault! Not everyone had this fantastical upbringing that you had. And you know what? You're no better than the Ace you think you know. You're stuck-up and selfish. I'll say it a million times because it's true. You only have friends now because you're talented at what you do and they need you on their technical crews. Nico and I were your only real friends. But guess what? Fuck you," Delaney said, leaving my room and slamming the door.

                I sighed and sat on my bed, rubbing a hand down my face. He was right, I guess. I wasn't exactly best friend material and I'm sure plenty of people used me for my technical skills.

                But at least I was aware of my faults. At least I acknowledged that I had them.

                Ace, on the other hand, seemed to make any excuse he possibly could to hide his faults or blame them on anyone but himself. He seemed to be able to justify his actions by making himself the victim. And he seemed to actually buy whatever bullshit story he came up with to defend himself.

                Still, my thoughts drifted to our kisses. I shouldn't be kissing him and I knew that. I knew it would backfire on me if I didn't stop now.

                But some selfish part of me was begging to just forget about Delaney in those moments. Even just being with Ace set me in a state of ease I didn't know was possible.

                And wasn't that what it meant to have a true connection to someone? People said love was when your stomach twisted into knots and your heart beat too fast, but that sounded more like anxiety to me. Love wasn't anxiety; it was feeling at ease as you sat with each other.

                Whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy Jack. I was not in love with Ace Foley.

                Still, I couldn't deny the way being around him made me feel. On one hand, it made me seriously consider inventive murders. On the other hand, it made me feel...happy. But not the kind of happy that you got from winning the lottery.