I don't play their game.

She waited for him to laugh or call her out for being fanciful and idealistic in her words. It wouldn't have been the first time someone told her the way she viewed the world was detrimentally rose-coloured. That was her superpower though, persisting despite the horrors and remaining gentle through it all. That he returned the sentiment instead made her regard him carefully in her quiet, thoughtful way. It was that exact look that made people joke that she and her sisters were telepathic. She didn't say anything else, just smiled a little as she leaned forward to let him feed her. Clearly he was levelling himself, not as comfortable with speaking his feelings in the same way she was, but she saw his effort. "Okay... Best birthday you've ever had? Go."

"Best birthday well…there was my 18th where Storm and the boys kidnapped me and took me to Atlantic City, we partied like we were in Vegas or somethin'. But I dunno it was probably the one where Sid took me and Cam who was only like fuckin' 1 years old or somethin' like that to the boardwalk. He let me do whatever I wanted, said it was my day. The three of us took pictures in this photobooth, we did it like 5 times in a row I liked it so much." He chuckled at the memory, "Cam's whiny ass is cryin' in like half of 'em and laughin' his ass off in the other one. Sid would make these funny faces that would crack him the fuck up. Anyway I didn't get a cake or nothin' but when we got home Sid stacked up like 2 packs of Oreos into a tower and put one of them tea candles on top and that was my cake. That shit was fun. What's yours?"

"Yeah, fuck off. As if I'd be dumb enough to try and fuck one of your guys. And his ego would go through the roof so don't start spreading rumours." Cam didn't enjoy sharing in general, he found it painful really, but the more they warmed up to each other the easier it became. Just a tidbit here and there and slowly the brothers were coming to know each other. "Well, I wish you better luck than me, man. Truly." Still, his brow furrowed, considering whether Greg was looking down on him or not. He could see how it seemed that way, but he refused to look at it like that. "I know. Being on my own is what I need right now. I'm tired of carrying everyone else's shit for them and feeling like I'm still not doing enough. Don't mean it don't hurt like a bitch. I'm good though. Whatever you need me for. Don't give me the kid gloves. I should probably stay busy."

"Yeah I'm pretty sure they're all straight but I could be wrong and if any of em fucked my kid brother I'd feed their dick to em." Ace also didn't enjoy sharing or at least not in this way - his preferred language was violence and or aggression, that he understood perfectly. Still, having a blood brother who he could sit next to and talk to again was nice, Ace could admit that. "We'll see how it goes." Despite his hope and goals for the future of the south side were a vision Ace could see , his personal life was much more up in the air, truth be told he wasn't even convinced he'd see 40 but he didn't think about it either way. He nodded at Cam, his sentiment making sense though he didn't know anything really about his dynamic in his own group of lost boys. "Yeah don't mean it don't hurt like a bitch." Ace shook his head, "If I ain't give you kid gloves when you were a kid why would I give them now?" Some people would say that because Ace was actually doing good for the south side that he'd gotten soft, but the truth is Ace hadn't changed at all besides maybe being a little more patient, but the real difference is people who spoke to him for more than 10 minutes got to see more of him and he wasn't all bad; he'd never claim to be good but not all bad. "Been meanin' to talk to you for right now you keep on doin' what you're doin' now more or less. But after you graduate and sit the bar or whatever the fuck I want you to transition more into focusing on the legal stuff. Keepin' our guys' noses clean, somebody gets popped for somethin' you're the guy. You can work wherever, in fact the cleaner your nose is kept the better it looks I figure. You ain't gotta stick around here if you don't want to. Not gettin' out don't mean you stay in Rosewood forever. I use what we have to make us better and you're a decent fighter but your big ass brain in your big ass head was always gonna be your strongest attribute." He pushed Cam's head again, "It's still all after school and tests and shit. Business as usual until then."

"Yeah, well, you already indoctrinated my boy, I didn't want to share any more friends with you. Fuck me for trying to be my own person." He was joking, mostly, especially about the indoctrination thing because they both knew Trevor hadn't made his decision with Ace's help whatsoever. Cam slightly raised a fist in victory, though he would absolutely be taking Ace's acknowledging his win and tucking that away in his mental vault. "Well... I'm glad she's making you work for it," he smirked, always resorting back to making a joke to lighten their stilted attempt at conversation. "I'm back to square one now that I Marlo's spoken for so that's two straight losses for me. I'm on a fuckin' roll here." It took a minute for him to squirm through his own discomfort to figure out how to even begin to talk about what he was going through, given he'd usually do anything but talk. "He doesn't want me to be in the gang. I was always so against it, now I'm in it and I'm... I'm doing okay and I... guess I've changed and it's not for him. And before you call him a pussy or whatever just don't. You know this life ain't for everyone. It's barely even for me and it's in my fuckin' blood. I mean, you can't say you ain't scared Tessa's gonna run when she gets a taste of the shit you get into."

Ace did a double take at Cam once it registered to him what Cam was implying, "Fuckin' Marlo? Out of the lost boys his goofy ass is the one you'd crack. My little brother ain't got no taste." Part of Ace was surprised that Cam actually divulged anything to him considering how guarded Cam held that part of his life, but they were both trying and it didn't feel natural but it didn't feel all that terrible either, "Stop tryin' to act like you know everything I'm gonna say. Even if I think somethin' I know when not to say it. I ain't an animal, Cam. But I ain't scared she's gonna run. She knows who I am and what I'm about better than some people and she's doin' alright, but if it's too much then it wouldn't be what I wanted but I figure whoever's meant for me ain't gonna look down on me. I don't need that shit. You don't either."

"She was my friend first," Cam huffed, though was being jokingly petulant. "I know you ain't the one she's with now so... sorry for being a dick about it before." Slowly, occasionally, he was letting his guard down with Ace, acting more like a little brother than he probably ever had. Perhaps it was because he was confidently his own person now, less driven to seek his brother's approval. Sure, he didn't want to get his ass handed to him at every turn so he tried to avoid it where possible but Ace was no longer capable of hurting his feelings. "Mm, explains why you're offering up your bed to me, you ain't need it," he teased, chuckling as he got pushed, but trailed off when Ace actually told him who it was he'd been seeing. "She's always been nice to me at the bakery, which makes a hell of a lot more sense now... I mean, she seems different to your usual type but different ain't bad if you're happy." He shrugged when the topic turned back to him, which was as good as a yes in boy-talk. "I know you don't like Greg so I know you ain't gonna be all that sympathetic and I'm not in the mood to hear about how I should fuck the next random guy I come across."

"Fuck are you talkin' about, you thought I was with her? And you were a dick about it?" Ace didn't know what Cam was apologizing about, Cam was kind of always a dick to him and it most of the time rolled right off of Ace's back as long as he didn't feel disrespected so he was confused as to why he was saying sorry now. "Alright that was a real good one. I'ma give you this round." There was no doubt that Cam was more clever than Ace was, so the older Claymore wasn't even surprised that little bro got the advantage on him in a battle of words. "Yeah she ain't but I'm into her I think." It was Ace's turn to shrug, "Yeah I didn't but it ain't bad if you were happy." He sat back and crossed his arms, uncomfortable with feelings, maybe especially with Cam, but he was pushing through, "I can be sympathetic, you fuckin' asshole. My fuck somebody else advice ain't cause of him though, that's just like the move in my experience. Why'd it happen? Humor me, I'm tryin' to be sympathetic. Believe it or not I'd rather see you happy."

The difference between the brothers was that Cam didn't have the same precedent to Ace when it came to how people regarded him. He couldn't hide his emotions in plain sight the way his brother could, if only because people always assumed Ace was in a bad mood or not far off it. Sounded like a blessing, honestly, and maybe that was why Cam had come off so strongly when Ace had walked into the living room. He'd rather people think him angry instead of heartbroken, it was easier to deal with. "Fuck off, didn't need to. Trevor can handle it. You saw for yourself," he scoffed, though didn't intend to argue any further on whether he'd intentionally pulled his punch or not. "Still too soon for distractions," he finally spoke after slamming back another dumpling, "And no, I don't fuck with girls. You think I'd just be friends with Arden if I fucked girls?" The 'gay ugly' part did make him laugh though, more than he had in a minute. "Good date?" he asked, trying to steer away from himself though he wasn't sure it was going to work considering the brothers were as good at holding a conversation with each other as, well, each other. "I mean, seems like she left you hangin' if you brought back this much food."

"What's with everybody and this chick, she got cotton candy flavored nipples or somethin'? I mean she ain't ugly but fuck. Maybe I ain't all that into blondes or somethin'." Ace secretly felt a little proud of himself for making his brother laugh but didn't let on. He nodded slowly, as talks about their romantic lives were more something the Claymore brothers fumbled through rather than had. "Yeah, I mean I ain't got no complaints about it, she don't either smartass. Nah, she ain't leave me hangin'. I mean she ain't let me crack or nothin' but I didn't expect her to. Can't fuckin' wait until she does but I ain't in no rush either. What do you think about her? Tessa? And don't give me that good girl shit, she ain't some saint and women don't like to be treated like some fragile damsel ass bitches anyway. That's your role in life." He accentuated his joke with a playful push of Cam's head, "You ask me about my date cause you don't wanna talk about gettin' dumped no more?"

"What makes you think you're my type? And please don't say you're everyone's type or i'm gonna go around telling people you're corny, and also unc status. Besides, me and Marlo made things official so I think i've got the best you guys have to offer." Arden said with a small smile, still not completely unnerved by Ace's presence but warming up a bit now that they had a bit of rapport. If this relationship she was so confident in was going to last she knew she was going to have to figure out how to be around the Lost Boys without looking like a total wimp. Not that she wanted to look or act like some badass, she wasn't trying to pretend to be something she was not, she just wanted to be seen as someone durable and steadfast. Or at the very least not be someone who could be seen as a weak link to the people she cared about. "For a couple of years, yeah. Just until my mom recovered enough to even step out of the place and we scrounged enough money for the deposit and a couple of months rent on an apartment. I almost forgot what it felt like to not sleep on the floor." She said with a chuckle, taking the seat opposite him, arms crossed in front of her while she still clearly kept her guard up now that he was getting into business talk. "That's all i'd need to do? Just drive someone around. Sounds simple enough. There's gotta be some danger to it though, right? That's why you're paying so much?"

Ace raised an eyebrow at her, his face not giving away his amusement right away, but before he spoke it did give, "Official huh?" He full on smiled, happy for his boy, knowing how down bad he was for the blond, "Anyway I guess your type is as clear as day." He motioned to himself, considering he and Marlo weren't all that different in the broad strokes of 'type', "No you didn't. You got Marlo but congratulations all the same. Guess we gotta jump you in now." He held a serious face just long enough to make her sweat then laughed, paying her back for implying he wasn't her type. "Yeah a mattress hit different after sleepin on a couple of shitty blankets and a flat ass pillow for a while." He shrugged after Arden's initial response of her new job, "Yeah I mean you could get pulled over, I'd say that's pretty fuckin' dangerous. We're gonna give you someone else's license. If you got caught with that, wouldn't be no good, but that ain't happen yet so you should be alright." He debated for a moment if he should stop there at the 'need to know' but he thought better of it, considering divulging more information as a test of sorts for her plus he figured she should have a full picture of what she was getting into. "Picture this - you ride a guy somewhere, let's say overnight airport parking. He gets out, finds a car and takes it. That's it, your role in it is just transportin' talent. The risk ain't zero but it's low hangin' all things considered. You takin' the job?"

Cam scoffed a laugh, giving a sarcastic little salute. It all felt very reminiscent of his childhood, of Ace finding him scared or hungry or some combination of both and somehow managing to help but in the worst way possible. At least nowadays he was less likely to be scared of his brother, to cower and not fight back, just as much as Ace was less likely to hit him as a form of education. "Just feel sorry for her, is all. I've seen you eat and it ain't pretty." He caught the bag and didn't argue, instead giving Ace a grateful nod. Outsiders may not have understood their complicated history but Cam knew his brother better than anyone, knew he cared even if he'd been fucking terrible at it a lot of the time. He grumbled with a mouth full of food, flipping his brother off before he stuffed another dumpling in his mouth. "Got dumped. Stayin' here until he moves out. Don't give me shit about it, bein' sad don't make me weak. You saw me at the jump, I'm in it when I need to be."

"Yeah you're one to talk." He said knowing Cam was about to go feral on the contents of the bag. Ace had his suspicions confirmed, which is why he could nod quickly. The selfish part of him was happy about it - he didn't think the guy was good enough for his brother, Ace thought of him as week and naive in the nicest terms and he didn't want Cam suffering because of someone's moral code predicated on feeling superior to other people, it was part of why his brother regarded them and himself as low lives and trash and Ace had little patience for that. He loved Camden with all of his heart believe it or not, but his brother was very annoying at times and the older Claymore rolled his eyes, "I ain't raise nobody weak." He told Cam not thinking less of his brother because he was sad about a breakup this soon after. He didn't want to divulge in that moment, but his last breakup with Storm had Ace reeling - it felt different as she had moved out and that had fucked with Ace who had become almost a ghost for the better part of that month. "I saw you pull your punch yeah. Wasn't by much sure but I ain't say nothin', did I?" Ace didn't ask for more credit from Cam mostly because his brother was stubborn like him and didn't think he'd ever receive it. "I think if you got some dick it might help. Best way to get over someone, right? Or like do you fuck with girls too? I ain't never really ask that part. If you do I know a couple of chicks who think you're cute. Ain't no dudes comin' to me and tellin' me they think you're fine though, I don't know why maybe you're gay ugly." He knocked his shoulder against Cam's with a small smile knowing it was probably because most guys were afraid of him.

"Professional," she clarified, eyeing him in a way that gently told him not to even consider opening a conversation in the other direction. She hadn't meant for her jaw to go slack when he stretched, but she supposed she couldn't be blamed when faced with a view like that. He knew exactly what he was doing and she wasn't so stubborn to deny herself a treat. Truthfully she hadn't realised what she'd said until he'd repeated it back to her, which in turn made her pause with her chopsticks half way to her mouth. "I mean... of course you are. Like when you say I'm your people. I don't believe in it being a scary word. It's harder to trust someone than it is to love them anyway so just, get used to it."

Ace smirked back at Tessa - he wouldn't push into talking about her past relationship yet (though if they kept going in the direction they were it couldn't be an off topic situation forever) but her warning look as if anyone could make Ace Claymore back down if he didn't want to was cute. He felt her eyes on her as he stretched, which wasn't the desired result, but he wasn't mad at it whenever she did sneak a peek, especially he'd done the same and not for the first time earlier. He softened though when the subject of her loving him came up. He didn't take it as she was in love with him, but that wouldn't have changed his reaction to hearing it. Ace knew he was hard to love - his parents couldn't manage to do it and if his brother did, Ace reckoned depended on the day. Storm and the lost boys loved him and vice versa but there had been so many years between them since they were young. In comparison, Tessa hadn't known him for long and he'd been a boogeyman to her for at least half of that time so it stirred something in him to know that. Still, there was something in him, that insecure wounded part that he rather not interact with ever that lived at the very bottom of his being that told himself not to hold her to that, "Alright then…" He said slowly then picked up a dumpling and held it out for her, "I got love for you too." It was the best he could do without feeling like he wanted to kick his own ass but it was something. "Eat."

"Mm, yeah, I mean, that's the only way to run these things. All or nothing, true life sentence," Tessa chuckled, always entertained by the way people categorised her family. Whether they were a cult, a coven, a gang, she always liked that people saw them as a unit, an unbreakable force. She knew she was pushing her luck even asking about it at all but she wouldn't allow any blame. All she wanted was to know him, to get beneath the skin of the smooth operator he always was around her. "Nothing saying you can't be. Just statistically I'm usually dealing with guys who think anything other than vanilla is like, the antithesis of masculinity so..." The amount of dumplings they ordered was surely enough to feed an army, but Tessa was too excited to try as many as she could to care. Where her sisters were adventurous in other ways, Tessa's explorative side appeared when a menu was around. "I like celebrating the people I love, sue me. What else is there in life, really? Aside from dumplings, because these..." she stuffed one in her mouth and let out a small moan of delight, "so good."

"You mean in the personal or professional sense? Either way when you're the peak of masculinity such as myself you ain't gotta be all fragile about it." Ace smirked and being playful stretched though it was more like a purposely thinly veiled attempt at flexing. Once their food arrived that was when Tessa really lit up and Ace enjoyed being in the glow of it. He picked up his chopsticks, rubbed them together briefly then didn't hesitate to start eating. What she'd said caused Ace to stop mid chew but he recovered quickly and just watched her for a few moments, "I'm one of those? People you love?"

Cam had been doing well to ignore the guys and all their quips about his emotional state. He didn't prescribe to the idea that he had to be unfeeling, that being sad meant he was weak. If anything it just made him more useful to Ace, less inclined to talk back. Then Ace was in his space nudging him back to reality and Cam slowly turned his head to look at him. "I don't want your room. Fuck knows what I'll catch in your bed," he said, deadpan. Still, he appreciated the gesture, could understand that it was his brother's attempt at being, well, his brother. "You go on dates?" That part almost made him smirk, and the dumplings did smell good so... it would have been rude not to accept the offer. "Thanks... I don't really smell like goat, do I?" he lifted his arm to sniff his sleeve, trying his best to meet Ace half way.

"You're gonna catch these hands if you don't get your ass off of this couch soon." It was a joke and Ace was pretty sure that came across in his tone even though it was also fairly deadpan. "First you were gettin' on me because you think I don't treat women good enough now you're shocked I go on a date. Tough fuckin' crowd." He grumbled while he shoved the bag into his brother's chest, "Eat." He told him, and it came out like more of a command but Ace meant for it to be loving. He got deja vu from it, recalling the countless moments that Ace would come back with whatever food he'd managed to acquire and set in front of Cam to make sure his brother ate when they were kids, except then he didn't stick around while Cam ate, just barked the order and hid away from the household. "You do, but not cause you're sad. You've smelled like one for years." He sat down next to Cam then, and looked at his little brother, wanting to ask what was up with him, but again, it didn't really feel like Cam would think that was his place. Then again, when had that ever stopped Ace before so without any tact he stopped being a pussy and asked, "You get kicked outta your place or somethin'?"

Tessa found it easier to play in make believe, to speak without thinking and say things that weren't going to cost her anything. She got caught in her head so easily, trying to unravel herself to say and do the right thing, trying to reverse engineer the desired outcome and figure out the perfect thing to say to get there. Maybe it was stupid, but it helped her feel more comfortable in the reality of spending time with Ace where they were openly feeling out new avenues of their relationship. "Can't say I understand, but if they're willing participants all I can say is... I hope he finds his purpose." Birthdays were more her speed, indicated by the way she leaned across the the table, eyes wide, "I didn't pick you for a cookies and cream man, but that's good, that's good, I can work with that. I mean, I usually go a bit crazy with the birthday feasts but I can keep it to just a cake if you want something low key. A big cake, I guess, with all the manly appetites in your house..."

"Can't say I expected you too. You got your own gang anyway and there ain't no gettin' out of yours." He smirked at her, referring to Tessa and her sisters. He had no desire to talk about it more, to explain himself, but if he had he was sure he could pull out more than a few parallels between the greasers and the Lisbons. He found it endearing how genuine she was in throwing herself into something as simple as making a birthday cake and willingness to do even more. "Why can't I be a cookies and cream man?" Their waitress came around and as promised, a lot of dumplings were ordered, Ace having every confidence that between their two gangs leftovers wouldn't exist for long. "I didn't know birthdays got you so excited, guess I shouldn't be surprised though. You're real cute about it either way."

"Knew it," she fake whispered, smiling to herself. Her eyebrows shot up when he said he wouldn't do the dishes, expression saying she'd clearly like to see him in an apron and rubber gloves, but she sighed and agreed to his compromise in their make believe game of house. "Fine, I'll accept those terms." She gave the server a polite nod as they were seated, noting how Ace wasn't immediately feared the way he was when he walked into a North Side establishment. "Is that something that happens a lot? People wanting to join? I've heard the sign up procedure is... gruelling." Tessa chose her words carefully, truly curious considering it was all entirely voluntary and she couldn't imagine why anyone would. All of that aside, his birthday was a much more exciting prospect for her. "Your birthday? Well, I suppose it depends if you're too old for parties," she chuckled. "All I need to know is what kind of cake you want."

Did Ace know what the fuck they were talking about for real? Nope, but the discussion was nice and easy and fantasy, and maybe it was as easy as it was because there was no scenario in which they'd be living under the same roof in domestic bliss where they would be splitting chores. Tessa liked to fantasize, Ace knew that and he didnt hate it so it was no harm, no foul and he shook her hand on the agreement that he'd take the trash out and not do dishes while she cooked, "I guess I could dry 'em though. Fair division of labor and shit." The greasers weren't a secret society so Ace felt no ways about telling Tessa who wanted to join and who would be, "Happens often enough. It's pretty bad, some forged by fire shit. You gotta be tough, this ain't the scouts. The kid is lookin' for purpose, I get that." He smirked, knowing she'd get a kick out of his birthday being around the corner, "August 1st. Uh...I don't know I like Oreo cakes, cookies and cream I guess."

"So... is that what this is?" she gestured between them, "doing favours so I'll feed you?" Of course she was kidding, she knew it wasn't like that, but she could see herself in the story of his neighbour. It was slowly opening her eyes too, to the side of the South Side that no one spoke about. Usually it was all about trying to 'clean the place up', rather than the good parts of the community like the way they looked out for each other. She shot him a look as he opened her door for her, glad for the moment it took him to get around to the driver's side so she could double check her cheeks weren't burning up. Sometime's he'd just drop comments out of nowhere that would make her stomach flip. Obviously they both knew what was going on, but Tessa always felt like a deer in the headlights when it was brought into full focus. "And the way to my heart is through doing the dishes so I'd call that a fair trade," she countered with a sweet smile. "What's up in Lisbon land? Everything's fine," she shrugged, the topic always one she tended to be tight lipped on. "I mean, everyone's doing well. Nothing of note to report. We're thinking about going on vacation soon, but that's about it. Nova's requested it, despite how happy I am to stay home, I'll always indulge her. And the news in greaser land? Or if that's classified, just Ace land will suffice."

Ace laughed at Tessa's question, "Yeah, I've been playin' the long as fuck game just to get some food off of ya. Food you describe as 'pretty decent'. Fuck outta here." He chuckled again as it was obvious it wasn't a real question, just Tessa way of flirting. "Nice try, do I look like I do dishes? Fuckin' apron and rubber gloves on and shit? I'll take the trash out though." He compromised in their hypothetical while they made their way inside of the restaurant and they were sat pretty quickly, the staff knowing and regarding him with both familiarity and respect. "Lot of it is classified, yeah but uh let's see Cam's buddy Trenton asked me to join the greasers. I'm givin' him time to change his mind right now but I'm gonna let him. That's about all the not classified shit I could tell ya. In Ace land though, my birthday is comin' up. Ain't really sure what I wanna do about it yet."

After all the shit that her dad had gotten their family into because of his involvement with other greasers back in the day Arden swore to herself that she would never get involved in their business like he did. Not because she believed she was better than them but because she didn't want to get trapped in some hole like her old man, digging herself deeper and deeper down in an attempt to get herself out. She wanted to get out of Rosewood eventually, to live out her dream of being a broadcast journalist in some big city, to experience life outside of her hometown. She didn't hate where she was from, she didn't hate being a south sider, if anything growing up there was exactly what instilled the drive to do bigger things. That was why she finally got the sense to seek out Ace's help, despite sitting on his contact info for as long as she had, her pride wasn't greater than her sense of survival. Despite her friends trying their hardest to keep her out of the greaser side of their life, Cam especially, she was always going to have a proximity to it. She wasn't trying to sign up to be a part of their crew by any means so she didn't feel the need to prove that she was some tough chick, she could admit hanging around Ace made her nervous, but along with making her money she did want to show that her loved ones weren't wrong for trusting her. After a quick peek through the door's peep hold she opened the door, stepping aside quickly lest he run her down, closing the door just as fast so they weren't spotted together. Arden scrunched her nose when he smiled at her, feeling more and more like prey he was sizing up. "Ew. Please never look at me like that again." She said as a joke to ease some of the tension she was feeling. "Uhh. I mean yeah, I know how to drive. I've got my license. I didn't bring a car with me though. I didn't know i'd need one?"

"Please, you wish I was lookin' at you in the way you're thinkin'. You ain't my type, beauty queen and even if you were still wouldn't touch you with a 10 foot pole." Ace wouldn't do that to Marlo knowing how he felt about Arden. He shot the words back easily sensing she was trying to joke. "I don't need you to drive nowhere tonight, no worries." He looked around at the room, "You were stayin' here huh? After that fire and shit…Tougher than you look.That's good." He sat at the shitty little table in the corner and kicked the equally shitty chair opposite from him out so Arden knew to sit as well. "Alright so it's like this. If it's illegal you don't put it in writing or say it out loud on the phone that's why I wanted face to face but here's what I'm offerin' you. I want you to pick someone up when I say so, it'll be pretty late at night. They'll tell you where to take 'em, usually it'll be the airport but it might be somewhere else too sometimes. All you gotta do is drop him off. Everytime you do that, you get a grand. We got a deal?"

Despite their past, Tessa still felt shy around someone so forward as Ace. She wasn't exactly prudish anymore, but she wasn't Ace's level of blatant. When it came down to it he was going to win every attempt to make her blush, that was a given. "Never you mind what I'm doing," she responded, happy enough to admit that she too liked what she saw. When she came out from the showers she instantly had a smile upon her face at the sight of him, and happily tucked herself under his arm. "Dumplings may very well be the pillar of my food pyramid," she agreed with his choice, though she would have been happy enough to go anywhere. "Xiao long bao are heavenly. If I could only eat them for the rest of my life I'd be satisfied. Perfect balance between soup and dumplings, two very precious food groups to me. I make an alright manduguk too, just quietly."

Ace didn't see himself as blatantly sexual but then again he didn't see himself the way most of the world did so maybe he was. Regardless, he knew Tessa wasn't but he didn't think of her as virginal and pure either so like with most things with her he trusted that if it were too much she'd let him know. "Hell yeah then that's what we're gonna eat. There's this old lady across the street who I do favors for sometimes so she loves me, everytime she makes Xiao long bao she makes extra for me and the boys." They got to the car and Ace opened Tessa's door on a pit stop to the driver's side, "Then you gotta make it for me then. You know the way to my heart is through my stomach and I know you want it." He grinned as he started the car and took off towards his favorite dumpling spot, "So what's up in Lisbon land these days?"

"Next time I'm taking you to my pilates class," Tessa told him, dropping her hands because her arms really were spaghetti by that point. "At least there I might have the upper hand." She started to agree, until she fully registered what he'd suggested. Her jaw went slack for a moment, letting out a small stammer until she found her words. "You- you wish. Move," she side stepped past him, walking a few paces before she glanced over her shoulder, "and stop looking at my ass."

"Now you're assumin' they'll be a next time. I tell you what. I don't know what the fuck pilates really is but if it lets me see you in clothes like this sign me the fuck up." Ace laughed big at her reaction, "You're droolin' a little bit, princess." He poked fun at her while she walked passed and he enjoyed the view only to get called out for it. "Hate to see you go, but love to watch you leave." He said, heading to the guys' shower. He re-emerged freshly showered and met Tessa out front. "So what are you in the mood for?" He asked as he draped his arm around her shoulders, "How do you like dumplings? I can eat like 100 of those motherfuckers."