Picture of Ace ⬆️

Seneca's POV

I woke up this morning and got Maybelle dressed and ready. I still can't believe it's been so long since my sweet little princess came into my life.

Even though these past four years have been a struggle I wouldn't trade a thing if it meant I wouldn't have her by my side.

She changed me in a way that I am so thankful for.

In high-school I used to act like a snob. I loved feeling more important than other people and that's why miles and I made such a good pair. We were better than everyone else or at least that's what we thought.

Now, I would like to point out that we can be a product of our environment and I definitely was.

My father was a typical drunk and hit my mom and me all the time while I was growing up.

Many of nights and days I had to walk around the house and play in silence to make sure that I didn't wake my father from his latest hangover nap.

Every time my mom would build up the courage to leave, he'd tell her how ugly and worthless she was and that no one else would ever love her. Luckily, he left us when I was 14 and moved away with some bimbo.

After he was gone my mom made it her mission to not let my life turn out like hers. That meant she made sure that I had the perfect hair, the perfect makeup and the perfect clothes. I had to be the 'perfect girl'.

It was a hard thing to uphold being perfect at all times but putting other people down made it easier for me. But all that changed when I had Maybelle.

I was humbled by the difficulty of raising a child. I worked on myself because I wanted to be a better human being for her.

I let my blonde hair grow out .... now showing off my natural dark brunette curls. I Pulled out my colored contacts revealing my boring green eyes and said goodbye to my manicured finger nails.

I know that these changes helped account for mine and Miles marriage issues. He wasn't as fond of my changes as I was. He wanted his 'perfect girl' again.

And I knew I just couldn't go back to that life.

I was just boring me now and I was ok with that. I even enjoyed my boring job as a cashier at the local super market 'Joann's'.

Before I turned 14, I had always loved my friends and being around other people. I loved conversations and learning about people. Being a cashier gave me that daily interaction with people that I craved.

Today was a work day so I put Maybelle in the car and dropped her off at preschool. Then I headed to Joann's to start my shift.

My shift started like usual I got myself set up on the register and waited for the morning rush to be over. Once I had checked out the final customer in my line the store seemed to become pretty calm and quiet.

I looked down at my phone for a second just to make sure no one had texted me. Then I decided to pull out my favorite book

I was really starting to focus in on my reading when my eyes were pulled from the pages when I started to smell the sweetest scent that I have ever experienced.

For a second I thought maybe Beth was cooking something up in the bakery in the back. That thought was changed though when a tall man stepped up to my register and it was obvious where the smell was coming from. Him.

I stared up at him for a moment taking in his features. He was very tall, well over 6 ft, and his arm muscles seemed to almost burst out of the tight black tee he was wearing.

His hair was a sandy blonde and was disheveled but in a purposeful way. He had strong facial features but what stood out most were his bright green eyes.......green eyes that I've definitely seen before.

Oh no, I completely froze realizing that these were the same green eyes that were staring at me that night at the restaurant. It was the same man that had growled and flipped his table. I had to admit I was slightly intimidated by someone that could act so angry.

Suddenly he cleared his throat to gain my attention.

"Sorry to interrupt but you're staring darling" he said as a smirk spread across his face.

"Oh ....uh sorry I must have spaced out" I said. I'm sure my cheeks were now as red as a tomato.

"No problem ...... I don't mind at all .....do I know you from somewhere?"

I decided it probably was best to not make eye contact at this point to avoid him remembering anything about me being at the restaurant. For all I know he could be some member of a mob or something.

"No I don't think so unless you've shopped here before" I said - and then continued to quickly ring up his items.

I went to hand him his receipt, keeping my eyes focused on the floor, but our fingers brushed past each other.

Suddenly, I felt something that resembled static shock but more tingly and in a good way.

It spread through my fingers and made chills run through me.

"Could you look at me for a second?" he said in a slightly demanding tone

I looked up and our eyes met. His eyes almost appeared to be a few shades darker than before ....strange.

"I remember where I know you from now! .....you were in the restaurant the other night huh ?

When I uh ...let my temper get the best of me."

"Oh yeah I didn't realize that was you" I said - leaning slightly back unsure of what his reaction would be.

"Oh I hope I didn't scare you ...... I found out uh some very unpleasant news and let my emotions get out of hand. My name is Ace." He said as he reached his hand out towards me.

I shyly shook his hand and started to feel the sparks again. I decided to pull away quickly not sure of what I was feeling.

"And your name is?"

"Haha sorry my name is Seneca"

"Well that's a beautiful name you have there Seneca .......hope to see you around soon."

Then he walked slowly out of the store but not before turning around slightly to smirk and send a wink my way.