I leaned my bike against the wall in the garage before leaving it. I went up the front porch and into the house, feeling starving. Being around food made me so damn hungry.

"I smell dinner," I said, entering the kitchen.

"Don't get excited about it. Jer is the one cooking tonight," Ike said.

"Fuck you; you cook!" Jer said, throwing a spoon at his head.

Ike ducked, letting the spoon fall to the floor. "I cooked the last few nights. It's someone else's turn for once."

I checked my phone as they argued, but had no new messages. I tossed my phone onto the table and moved to get myself some water.

"I still think Ace should cook. He works at a fucking restaurant," Jer grumbled.

"I'm a waiter, Jericho," I reminded. "I don't do the whole cooking thing."

"Got a new friend, Ace?" Ike asked.

I looked over and realized that my phone was in his hand. I raised an eyebrow at him. "It's not nice to snoop, Ike."

"I was wondering why you weren't wearing your beanie. You rarely take that thing off." Ike tossed me my phone.

"It was lost in a tragic one night stand," I said, checking my phone. Sure enough, there was a message from a number I didn't recognize.

Hey it's Dex. Sorry that Jack took your beanie.

"Ace lost his beanie?" Jer asked, glancing at my hair. "Better than your wallet. Moron."

"Have you ever considered anger management?" I asked him.

"We can go together," he said, turning back to the food.

"Touché," I said, texting Dex back.

I sat down with my water, feeling bored. The house had been horribly boring ever since Alexis and Micah had moved out. Having the kid around had livened things up a little bit. And Alexis was a sappy family-loving bastard, so he'd always been around to at least chat with.

My phone buzzed again. I sipped on my water as I opened the new text message.

Jack should be gone most of tomorrow. If you want to come over, we can search his room for it. I told him to give it to me but he won't.

I texted him back to let him know that I was down for that. I nearly smirked. Something told me we'd end up doing more than just searching for my beanie. Good. I hoped we fucked right on Jack's bed as revenge.

"HEY! INTROVERTED ASSHOLE!" Jer yelled.

Christian appeared in the kitchen a moment later. Jer slid all of us plates of pasta, sitting down at the table with us.

"I'm going out tonight. Maybe I can snatch some wallets or purses," Ike said. There was a neighborhood nearby that he tended to lurk around and steal from people in. He had all the escape routes and hiding places memorized, and it was his go to spot to earn us a little extra cash.

"Good. Shit, who knew Alexis's shitty paycheck actually helped us so much," Jer said.

"He has a better paycheck now. He works with me," Christian reminded.

"Well aren't you a special fuckin' snowflake, Christian," Jer said.

"Shut up, both of you," Ike said.

I looked at the empty chairs at the table. I used to come home and eat alone, since everyone else got out of work much earlier than I did. But we had started just eating when I got home, all of us gathered around the table as if we could pretend we were still a family without Alexis.

"Hey!"

A piece of overcooked pasta hit me in the head. "What?" I asked, glancing over at Jer.

"Quit going out at night. You're going to screw up at work and lose money," he said.

"Oh, calm down. I was planning on taking a break for a little anyways," I said, waving my hand dismissively.

"And your new friend?" Ike nodded towards my phone.

"Not a friend. Just a good night who ended up with my beanie," I said. "I don't do relationships and I'm not interested in friends."

"Well, you're the one who kept telling Alexis that none of us have time for relationships," Christian said.

"We don't," I said, a dangerous grin coming to my face. "You think Alexis really has time for his boy toy? We don't get the luxury of relationships. Even if we did, I'm not interested in that shit. It's all a waste of time."

"Not like anyone would want to date your psycho ass anyways," Jer grumbled.

"I'm sure they'd much rather go for you and your charming personality," I said.

Jer grumbled out a string of curse words at me and I ignored him. Jer tended to struggle getting through an entire sentence without slipping in at least one swear word. You got used to it pretty quickly.

We all finished eating and set our dishes in the sink, heading upstairs and into our rooms. I laid on my bed, hands folded behind my head.

I sighed and pulled out my phone, texting Dex until we had agreed to meet tomorrow morning while Jack would be gone. Dex gave me his address and I locked my phone, tossing it to the side, losing interest quickly. I just wanted my beanie back and then I'd be done with this guy.

I rolled over, the exhaustion finally creeping back into my bones. I turned my lights off and closed my eyes, burying my face against my pillow, glad as sleep draped itself over me.

***

I showered and got dressed, staring in my mirror longingly as my hair sat messily on my head. I didn't have any other hats to cover it with.

I grabbed my comb and fixed my hair quickly. I checked my phone for the time and left the house, deciding to just walk to Dex's apartment since it wasn't too far.

After texting Dex to let him know I was on my way, I stuffed my phone back in my pocket. I wasn't as stupid as Alexis. I wouldn't let myself get trapped in some relationship that was doomed to fail.

A few minutes later, I stood outside of Dex's apartment. He opened the front door and led me inside and up the stairs.

"Sorry that Jack took your beanie. He must've come into my room while I was asleep and taken it," he said, shaking his head. "Is it important to you?"

"You could say that," I said as we passed through the kitchen.

"We'll find it. Come on." He led me up the stairs that were next to his room, into an upper landing of the apartment.

We walked through it to a door on the opposite side of the room. Dex pushed the door open, revealing a lightly messy room.

"This works, I guess. Usually Jack keeps his room pretty clean. Now we don't have to worry about messing it up too much," Dex said, kneeling down next to Jack's bed and peeking under it. "Feel free to search around."

"On it," I said, kicking clothes out of my way, searching for my beanie.

"Sorry I was a total drunk mess. I don't usually do that," he said, then paused. "Okay, well, yes I do actually. But with less embarrassment."

I smirked. "It was a good time. Can't say I minded too much. Thanks for the drinks, Dex."

Dex laughed. "Oh, yea, that. My name is actually Delaney. Jack is usually the one who calls me Dex. I don't mind if other people do, though. Jeez, I must have been pretty bombed to forget my own name."

"I like Delaney better," I said, my mind easily shifting to calling him by that name. "Dex makes me think too much of Dexter's Laboratory."

"Ace, right?" he said to me.

"Ace," I confirmed.

Delaney stood up and pulled open some of Jack's drawers. "Shit, I don't know where Jack put your beanie. He's such an ass sometimes."

"I know asshole roommates," I said, my smirk growing.

We began to search around his room, looking through drawers and moving around the clothes on the floor. Delaney checked Jack's closet and behind his drawers.

"I wonder if he-" Delaney stopped as a door shut downstairs. He motioned at me to be quiet. "Jack?" he called.

But there was no answer, just another door shutting. Delaney sighed, shaking his head.

"Alright, we're probably in the clear. It might be our other roommate," he said, pulling open another drawer and pushing things around. "Jack said he'd be gone until dinner, anyways."

"Jack might have lied a little."

Delaney jumped and spun to face Jack, who was leaning in the doorway of his room. I crossed my arms, grinning and looking between the two.

"Looking for something, Dex?" Jack asked.

"If I said no, would you believe me?" Delaney said.

"Damn, there go my plans of fucking on your bed for revenge," I said to Jack. I narrowed my eyes a little. I could see my beanie poking out of the bag he had slung over his shoulder. "I believe that's mine."

Jack reached up, pulling off the hat he was wearing and tossing it onto his bed. I had expected his hair to be all red, but I realized that he had the sides shaved, a light brown color that must be his natural hair color. The top was a mane of red hair that toppled lightly towards his eyes. He pushed it away from his eyes.

"My hat is getting a little worn out. Maybe now I won't have to buy a new one," he said.

"Jack, just give it back," Delaney said with a sigh. "This is stupid. I offered to buy the guy some drinks."

"No, you were drunk and he was preying on drunks that night," Jack said. "Pretty pathetic, if you ask me."

"Yea, almost as pathetic as stealing a guy's beanie just for some money," I said thoughtfully.

"If it didn't mean something to you, you wouldn't be here," Jack said.

I snickered. "Alright, detective. It was a special little gift and I'd rather not lose it. Sappy backstory enough for you?"

"Ace, right?" he said.

"Is my name that forgettable?" I said.

Jack leaned back against the doorway again. "You want it back, cough up the cash you owe."

"Jack," Delaney groaned. "Cut it out. This isn't a drug deal."

"What? Ace owes some money and he's going to pay it," Jack said. "I don't take well to assholes who manipulate drunk people."

"And yet you offered me coffee after I fucked said drunk person," I said.

"I should've poisoned it," Jack said with a sigh.

"But then you wouldn't get the pleasure of holding my inanimate objects hostage," I said, smirking. "Keep it. I'm not wagging my tail for you."

Jack came into the room, tossing his bag on his bed. "Shame, then. But I guess some mutts just can't be trained."

My smirk turned dangerous. "Who are you calling a mutt?"

"Take a wild guess," Jack said.

"Jack," Delaney said nervously. "Stop it. Just give it back to Ace, already. Who cares about the money?"

"He wants it, he knows how to get it," Jack said, meeting my eyes steadily. "Better start wagging that tail of yours, mutt."

"I am no one's dog," I said. "I'm also not someone you want to piss off."

"What a coincidence," Jack said. "Neither am I."

Delaney stepped between us. "Both of you stop it! God, Jack, you're making such a big deal out of this. Talk about overreacting. So what if I bought a guy a few drinks? It's not a big deal."

Jack sat down on his bed, leaning his body against the wall casually. "Dex, I think this guy could use a little lesson."

Delaney narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Wait a minute, how did you even know I bought him drinks the other night? You weren't at the bar."

"Sure I was," Jack said. "I heard you telling Ace you'd meet him back the next night. So, I followed you there."

"Jack!" Delaney was blushing, glaring at Jack. "Stop doing that!"

"What? I didn't want you going home with him," Jack said. "I don't trust him."

I thought back and remembered how the door to their apartment had opened only a minute or so after Delaney and I had come through it. So Jack really had been following us that night.

"Creepy," I said.

"Just making sure this moron didn't go home with a serial killer," Jack said. "I figured since you came back to our apartment, I'd let it go. If he had tried to go home with you, I would've stopped him."

"Well, I'm going to head back home now," I said, mind reeling. How could I get the beanie back from him? Maybe Delaney could steal it for me once Jack stopped paying attention to it. It might take a few days, but the guys would murder me if they found out I'd had to pay even a penny to this asshole. Plus, I wasn't about to let him tell me what to do.

"Just so you know, if you don't pay Dex by tomorrow, I toss this thing in the trash," Jack said, pulling my beanie out of his bag. "It's pretty worn out, anyways."

A solution so simple I wasn't surprised I hadn't thought of it earlier came to me. I pulled out my wallet, tossing the money to Delaney.

"There. Beanie?" I said. I wasn't going to let him throw out my beanie.

"What, do you think I'm stupid? You're just going to have Dex give you the money back the second I'm not around," Jack said. "Dex, hand me the money."

Delaney let out a groan. "Jack, you're going too far just for some cash. Seriously, man, cut this shit out and give him back his beanie."

"Give me the money," Jack said.

Delaney reluctantly passed the money into Jack's hand. Jack got up, shoving me out of his room and shutting the door, leaving Delaney in there.

"Don't push me," I said, eyes flashing dangerously.

"Unstable and sneaky," Jack said. "Nice."

I reached for the beanie, but he hid it behind his back. He shook his head at me, holding up a finger.

"Not yet. I'll walk you out and then you can have it," he said.

I gave him a dirty look as we walked to the front door of the apartment. He opened the door, gesturing for me to leave.

"You're not keeping my money," I warned him.

"On the contrary," he said, throwing my beanie to me. "I'm keeping the money and that little shred of dignity you were trying to cling to."

With that, he slammed the door in my face.

Rage roared over me and it took everything I had not to kick their damn door down and strangle Jack. Instead, I turned away and stormed my way back home.

I threw open the door to the house, going towards the kitchen. Jer came out, nearly running into me.

"Watch where you're going!" he snapped.

I slammed him against the wall as hard as I could, making him wince. "Don't piss me off," I warned, stepping away from him and going into the kitchen.

Jer rubbed his shoulder, wincing again. "What the fuck has you in a mood?"

I poured myself some water and shot him a glare. "Leave me alone."

"You have your beanie again," Ike said, nodding at it. "So why are you so pissed off?"

If I told them that Jack took my money, they'd kill me. "Piss of."

I left the kitchen and went upstairs, going into my room and locking the door. I pulled out my phone, but had no new text messages from Delaney.

What the hell was I supposed to do? It wasn't even about the money anymore. This asshole thought he had outsmarted me. No one outsmarted me.

My door handle rattled and I glanced at it. Letting out a long sigh, I got up and unlocked it, yanking the door open.

"What?" I asked.

Ike pushed me into my room and stepped in. He leaned against the wall, crossing his arms and eyeing me.

"You've gotten a lot more reckless since Alexis left," Ike said.

"I'm not reckless. Just looking for a good time," I said.

"You have a lot of free time without Micah around. It's dangerous for you," Ike said. "You better not be getting yourself caught up in anything, Ace. We're not going to cover for you."

I barked a laugh. "You think I need you to cover for me? I watch out for myself."

"You do a poor job of it," he said. "Don't get into trouble. You're on thin ice with all of us. You make too many mistakes and you could be the next one out of this house."

He shut my door as he left my room. I clenched my fists tightly. I wasn't going to let myself be chased out of my own home ever again.

Delaney.

All I had to do was use Delaney to get my money back. Then I could flaunt it in Jack's smug face and be done with the two. Delaney might be a good time, but it wasn't worth it to be around someone like Jack, who thought he was so much better than me.

Fine, he thought he was so clever? I'd get my money back and I'd get more out of Delaney. Jack thought I was some obedient puppy who wagged his tail when he was told to, but I'd just have to remind him that dogs had sharp bites.

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A.N.- Okay so you guys seemed to want me to keep posting, and Radish has been nice enough to allow us to post exclusive chapters to Wattpad 2 weeks after they've unlocked on Radish!

If you have an iOS device and want to download Radish, you can read the first 6 chapters of Cheating The Deck for free (chapter 7 will be free this Tuesday!). I post 2 chapters every Tuesday and so far the first 10 are on the site :)

But please give me your feedback on Cheating The Deck! I've been working really hard on this story and I really enjoy writing Ace and Jack, and the way that they interact. Let me know what you think of Jack now that you've seen more of him!