Bye-Bye Jerk, Hello Mr. Right

When Steve rolled into the pool hall, he spotted Jace going to town on the pool balls, clearly working off some serious frustration.

Instead of trying to calm him down, Steve casually grabbed a cue from the rack and sauntered over.” Same old game. Wanna play?”

Jace didn’t even acknowledge him, just kept hammering away at the balls. After missing a few shots, he finally snapped, slamming the cue onto the table before storming out.

Steve sighed, set his cue down, and trailed after him. “So, what did Keira do to tick you off this time?”

“Who says it’s about her? Don’t bring her up,” Jace snapped.

Steve couldn’t help but chuckle. “Come on, man. She’s the only one who can get you this worked up. What’s the deal? Can’t handle that she’s over you?”

Steve always had a way of hitting where it hurt, and this time was no different.

Jace whipped around and grabbed Steve by the collar “You better shut your mouth.”

Steve stayed cool, meeting Jace’s glare. “What’d I say?”

Jace’s mouth opened like he was about to fire back, but he clammed up.

After a second, he let go, his hands dropping to his sides. He wanted to tell Steve to stay the hell away from Keira, but saying it out loud would mean admitting just how much he still cared.

And of course he cared. ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

Since Keira had joined the Johnston family as a teenager, he’d known she was meant to be his. He never fought the idea. In fact, he’d always thought of her as his future wife, protecting her like she was already

his.

For ten years, he’d kept her close, and she’d become his girlfriend like it was inevitable. She was always there, right beside him, predictable and safe.

But now she was pulling away, even standing up to him for some other guy. It felt like his favorite toy had been snatched away.

“You know exactly why you’re pushing my buttons,” Jace growled, shooting Steve a glare.

“Jace, you’re totally in love with Keira,” Steve said, his straightforward observation cutting through the

tension.

Jace hesitated, then scoffed. “Love? Nah, I’m just used to her, like you’re used to playing pool left– handed.

Seeing that Jace was still being stubborn, Steve nodded. “So what’s got you so mad, then?”

“I’m mad because she’s making dumb choices. But whatever, let her do what she wants, I’m done caring,” Jace huffed, waving it off like he didn’t even want to talk about it anymore.

Steve didn’t argue. Instead, he sat down and started brewing e

thoughts, before m

I’ll go fix things with her.”

“Then go fix things,” Steve said, pouring him a cup of tea.

“Fix things?” Jace scoffed. “You can’t just spoil girls like that. Give in once, and they’ll keep causing problems. You’ll spend your whole life fixing things.”

Steve took a sip of his black tea, calm as ever. “Isn’t that the point? Girls are meant to be spoiled, right? What else are they for, just to cater to you or be baby factories?”

“That’s not what I meant,” Jace denied.

“Then what did you mean?” Steve asked, locking eyes with him.

Jace faltered, unsure of how to respond. Finally, he muttered, “She’s just having a tantrum. She’ll come back once she cools off.”

Steve set down his teacup. “Maybe.”

Jace glanced at him. “Definitely.”

***

I got a message from Steve: [Dang, Keira, you really did a number on Jace. He went Hulk on my pool table.

]

I didn’t bother replying. Whatever Steve was trying to stir up, I wasn’t taking the bait.

Jace was out of my life, and frankly, he wasn’t worth another thought. 1

This whole mess–Jace trying to boot Hayden–didn’t mess with my work groove. Hayden and I worked late into the night, finally wrapping up around midnight.

Demi was so wiped out she could barely keep her eyes open, yawning every two seconds.

Weirdly, I wasn’t tired at all. And Hayden? Still buzzing with energy, like he ran on batteries or something.

As we headed back, Demi casually said, “Keira, you and Mr. Hart make a pretty cute couple,” letting the comment hang in the air.