Paul threw on the clothes he found scattered around the bedroom and hurriedly tugged on his shoes. He was at the door of the room before he realized he hadn't even said goodbye to Ace.

Ace. God, he didn't want to do this to him. It seemed like every time they got close, Paul would do something to push the reset button.

He had to say something now, or there would be no coming back. And in spite of this crippling fear, he knew he couldn't stay away from Ace.

"Hey Ace?" he called out to be heard over the shower.

"Yeah?" Ace shouted back.

"I've got to head out....