Loving Ashley

by Lauren Nicole

  “Baby, I—” Taylor starts to speak.

  “I wasn’t asking you.” Thomas’s eyes go as big as saucers by my tone.

  “In your spare room.”

  “Together?” I know the answer, but she is my best friend.

  “Yes.”

  “What’s going on with you two?”

  “Nothing, I like her and want to see where things go. Not really sure about her feelings.”

  “Well, I am going to tell you once, if you hurt her or break her heart I will make you sterile for the rest of your life. Are we clear?”

  “Crystal.”

  I walk out of the room as he answers. I want to jump up and down with this feeling of pride. She is my best friend and no one will hurt her, not even him. I probably came off as a bitch, but oh well. I don’t care; he needs to know she is not just some game. She has already been hurt badly in the past and doesn’t need to go through that again. She will break.

  I jump in my shower to wash off from the night before, still feeling dirty. As I tip my head back to wet my hair, I feel a breeze from the door opening. Tilting my head forward, I see Taylor stepping in. I rake my eyes slowly down his body from head to toe. Damn, it will never get old looking at him.

  I raise an eyebrow. “Can I help you?”

  “You want to explain what happened out there?”

  He grabs the soap, lathering it up in his hands before he starts to run his hands down my arms. Fuck, this feels like heaven. I wish I could spend days with just his hands rubbing me down. Nothing will ever feel better than this.

  “Nothing to explain, just telling him the truth. I won’t let him play her.”

  “Who said he was a player? He is actually the furthest thing from one. He’s more of a commitment kind of guy than I am.”

  Ouch, those words stung deep. Maybe this is all still just sex to him. Maybe he just wants to string me along until he’s done, then bam, drop me on my ass. This isn’t good, I can already tell I have fallen for him, and that scares the shit out of me. I step out of his hold and exit the shower without a word. Wrapping the towel around my body, I go searching for clothes to wear to work. I can’t explain the feeling I am experiencing. It’s like he just stuck a knife in my heart without actually doing it. My best bet is to just end us now before I fall any more.

  I walk out of the closet and find him sitting on my bed in just a pair of boxers, his elbows resting on his knees.

  “Ashley.” I continue to ignore him as he says my name. I know he can see it on my face; he’s always been able to read me like a book. When I walk past him, he grabs my arm and pulls me to the bed, pinning me on my back.

  “Look at me.”

  I look up and meet his green eyes. I can see straight through them, and I would bet my life that he loves me, just as much as I love him. Fuck, I love him. I tense at the realization that I said that out loud. He grips my chin, tilting my head up.

  “So do I, baby,” he says, right before he fuses his lips with mine. Holy shit, I think he just told me he loved me. Our kiss is slow and passionate. It almost feels like we are learning each other for the first time. Before things get too heated, he pulls away, leaving me wanting more.

  Chapter Eighteen

  TAYLOR

  “Hey, Mom, Dad,” I say as my parents walk in the front door. I give my mom a kiss on the cheek then pull my dad in for a hug.

  “Hi, baby. Where is your brother?” my mother asks as she looks around the room.

  “He went to open the bar up, then will be back here so we can go for dinner.”

  I grab my parents’ bags and take them to the spare room that they will be staying in for the next couple of days. I make my way back to the living room, where they are seated on the couch. We make small talk about how the bar is making out. You can tell the pride in my voice when I talk about Big T’s Tavern. Hopefully, one day we can expand and open up in another location.

  “Hey, dick weed,” Thomas says, walking in the door.

  “Watch your language, young man,” my mother shouts.

  I snicker under my breath, because no matter what our age is, she can still scare the shit out of us. When she’s ninety on her deathbed, we will probably still be scared of her.

  “Sorry, Momma.”

  I grab my keys, phone, and wallet as we head out the door. I’d made reservations at the steakhouse up the road, and afterward they would like to stop by the bar to check it out. The last time they were here it was still under construction. We wait for about ten minutes for our table to be ready. As we take our seats, my phone vibrates in my pocket. Looking down, I see it’s from Ashley.

  Ash: Miss you.

  Me: Miss you too, baby. How is the bar?

  Ash: Slow right now.

  Me: It will pick up soon. I’ll see you after we eat. The parents want to come check it out.

  She doesn’t reply which either means she got a customer or she is nervous about meeting them. We haven’t been dating long, but I know in my heart she is the one. Now I just need to make sure my parents approve. Which I don’t see why they wouldn’t.

  As if my mother could read my mind, she speaks up. “So, boys, any ladies in your life that you’re serious about?”

  “I am talking to one, but right now we are just taking it slow. Haven’t really put a label or anything on it,” Thomas says.

  “Ashley and I are dating. You will get to meet her later when we swing by the bar.”

  “Is she the one you went on vacation with?” My dad joins in the conversation.

  “Yes.” Just thinking of her brings a smile to my face.

  The food comes as we finish that conversation. Not that I don’t want to talk about her, I would just rather my parents see for themselves. Words can only express so much while actions can do it all. And I know once they see just how in love I am with her, they will fall in love with her, too. The rest of the dinner goes smoothly, as expected. But I want to go see my girl. Fuck, I sound like a damn chick right now.

  As we enter the club, the music hits my ears and the lights glare off the dance floor. For being a weeknight the place is fairly busy. I tell my parents and Thomas that I need to run up to the office and will return in just a moment. When I get to the top of the stairs I see Ashley behind the bar, I stop in my tracks and just stare. Her brown hair is hanging straight down her back and her lips are bright with red lipstick. She is engrossed in a conversation with a costumer as I stand here and gawk at her. As if she can feel my eyes on her, she looks up and the most beautiful smile takes over her face that almost knocks me on my ass.

  I stride toward Ashley, walking around the bar. Linking my fingers with hers, I lead her to my office, backing her against the door after I shut it. Gliding my hands to the back of her neck, I tilt her head to look me in the eye.

  “You look hot, legs.”

  “Why are you calling me ‘legs?’”

  “Because I can’t forget the feel of your legs wrapped around my body. It’s pure fucking heaven, baby.”

  It’s the last thing I say before I lock my lips with hers. Her sweet honey taste invades my mouth. Fuck, I could make out with her for hours upon hours. I’ve never before cared too much for kissing, but fuck me if she doesn’t make me want it do it all night. The friction between our bodies is making me want to rip her clothes off, but knowing we are in the bar and my parents are here, I slowly pull away, both of us breathing heavily.

  “Fuck, I want you right now. But that will have to wait. First, I want you to come meet my parents.” I see the shock in her eyes.

  “I can’t do that right now. First off, you just kissed me senseless and now you want me to turn around and meet them. No, no, no,” she starts to protest.

  “Baby, it’s fine. Trust me. You look fucking gorgeous and they will love you. Just be yourself. We won’t stay long.”

  “Okay,” she whispers under her breath.

  That’s my girl, taking everything in stride. She laces her hand with mine as we make our w
ay to the seating area. I run my thumb over the back of her silky hand to help calm her nerves. As we approach the couch, my mother looks up and the biggest smile takes over her face.

  “Mom, Dad. This is Ashley. My girlfriend.”

  “Such a pleasure to meet you. I have heard nothing but amazing things about you,” my mother says while shaking her hand.

  “It’s great to meet you, too. Taylor talks about y’all all the time.”

  We join my parents while Thomas dims the music up here. Most of the people are downstairs and whoever is up here is talking and not dancing. I pull Ashley close to me so I can drape my arm over the back of the couch, stroking her shoulder with my fingers.

  “So, Ashley, dear, tell me what it is you do.”

  “Well, I am about to start my second year of teaching first grade. I absolutely love it.”

  “That’s awesome. When I was your age, I taught as well, but I was with fifth grade. So, I’m hoping that means you like kids and plan to have them some day.”

  “Mother,” I say in warning. I know she wants grandkids but damn, they just met.

  “Taylor, it’s okay. Yes, I plan to have them, after I get married.”

  For the next hour or so, my mother and Ashley sit there and talk, pretty much leaving us guys alone. We head to the bar while they have girl talk.

  “She seems lovely, son.”

  “You have no idea.”

  A couple of hours later, we leave the bar and head home. I drop my parents off then head over to Ashley’s to show her how much I do love her.

  Chapter Nineteen

  ASHLEY

  The first day of school is finally here. My nerves are shot. I almost feel like it’s my first day as well. I mean technically it is, I now have eighteen students to myself. I get to my classroom early so I can get settled before my students arrive in an hour. Sitting down at my desk, I begin to look over today’s plans, it won’t be much but getting them used to school again. It is a big jump from kindergarten to first grade.

  My mind wanders back to leaving Taylor’s bed this morning. I am one hundred percent falling in love with him. After I met his parents, I knew without a doubt he was the one. Even though I still have moments where I think this will end sooner rather than later. I try not to think of that often, but sometimes at the bar when women come up to talk to him, I feel that way. Even though he has been nothing but faithful to me.

  I am snapped out of my thoughts by a knock on my door. Looking over, I see my first little student arrive with his father who is staring at me. Making me feel a little uncomfortable. I stand up and smooth down my skirt.

  “Hi, I am Miss Williams. Welcome to first grade. And you are?”

  “I am Jacob, and this is my son, Michael.”

  After we shake hands, he leaves a hold on mine for a little too long. I begin to get a weird feeling about it. Just as I am about to yank my hand from his, another student walks in and he drops my hand like it’s on fire. Okay, that was odd. I brush it off and start to introduce myself to some of the kids and parents I didn’t get to meet at back to school night. After all the parents leave, I have the children sit in their seats and empty their supplies from their backpacks. Once finished, we spend the next hour going over names and one thing they want to share with the class. I have a great group of kids this year, I can’t wait to help them learn and experience more.

  The day blows past us before we even know it. It couldn’t have gone much smoother than it did. It took the kids and me a little time to adjust to the schedule and each other, but that normally takes a couple of weeks anyway. I walk outside with my class, saying good-bye to each of my students as they leave with their parents. When I am finished with that, I head back to my room to clean up and head home for the day.

  I pull up to my house completely exhausted. I was hoping to meet Taylor for dinner out, but I don’t think I want to anymore. My feet are killing me and my eyes burn from being so tired. I shoot him a quick text asking if we could do dinner at my place instead. I change into some shorts and a tank top, then crawl into bed and close my eyes, hoping to just get an hour of sleep. I awake to a knocking on my door a short time later. Looking at the clock, I notice I slept for almost three hours. Shit, I must have been really tired. Unlocking my door, I open it to find a very sexy man on the other side.

  “Hey, gorgeous,” he says, giving me a kiss.

  “Hi. Come in. Sorry, I slept later than I wanted.”

  “That’s okay, I figured you would be tired. How was today?”

  “It was good. It’s going to take some time to adjust, but we did well. I made it out alive, so that counts. What did you do today?”

  “Glad to hear. Thomas and I spent the day at the bar, doing paperwork and boring stuff like that. Nothing fun.”

  I grab us some plates and silverware and join him at the table for the Chinese food he brought over. We talk more about my day while we eat, although we eat more than we talk. I am starving; I only ate what I brought for lunch today. By the time we have finished, we head to my balcony to sit and enjoy some wine while the sun has almost completely set.

  “Thank you for bringing the food here. I was too exhausted to go out.”

  “Of course, baby, I figured you would be. So I had a backup plan in mind.”

  We fall into a comfortable silence as we stare into the night. I glance over at him and his features are so strong yet so soft at the same time. He looks completely at peace. He must be unaware of me staring at him, because he continues to look ahead. Listening to the traffic below and the people on the sidewalk. Just looking at him is turning me on, I can’t figure out if it’s the wine or the need I have for him. I place my wine glass on the table between us and make my way over to him to straddle his legs in the seat, making him lean back.

  “Well, this is a nice surprise, baby,” he says, while now placing his glass next to mine. His hands grip my hips with want. Running my hands through his hair, I tug lightly, making his head fall back. He closes his green eyes that say everything I need to know. My lips land on his, my tongue wanting access to his mouth, which he grants me immediately. I slowly start to move against the erection he is now sporting in his pants.

  “Fuck me, Taylor.”

  “Where is this coming from, baby?”

  Why the fuck is he questioning me?

  “Shut up and fuck me.”

  He stands with me wrapped around him and leads us inside to the couch, which is the closer than the bedroom. In no time, he has me naked and bent over the back of the couch, pounding into me. His grip on my waist is so tight I wouldn’t be surprised if he left bruises on me. I let myself surrender to the orgasm that has taken over my body. I couldn’t even tell you what is coming out of my mouth. I feel him go still and the warm sensation flood my inner walls.

  Sagging against the couch, I attempt to catch my breath. He places featherlike kisses up my spine until he reaches my ear.

  “Fuck, baby, that was hot as hell. Where the hell did that come from? Not that I’m complaining at all.”

  “I wish I knew.”

  He doesn’t say anything else as he picks me up and carries me to the shower. We spend the next thirty minutes cleaning each other off then crawling into bed where I pass out on his chest.

  The first week of school goes by in a blur. Before I know it, I am getting ready for the last day before the weekend. When I walk into my room, I see a single rose lying on my desk with no note attached. Hmm, that’s weird; I make a mental note to ask Taylor about it later. He worked last night, so I know he’s still sleeping. My plan was to stay in tonight but Nancy talked me into going to see the guys at the bar. I guess they have a live band and both have to be there, but I’m not working, just hanging out. I need a night to unwind.

  About twenty minutes before class starts, Jacob brings his son in, which he has been doing every day. I find it kind of strange because he is the only parent to be doing that still. It’s like he makes it a point to walk him to class an
d drop him in his seat.

  “Hello, Miss Williams,” he says, drawling out the ‘s’ in ‘miss.’

  “Hi, Mr. Cooper. Hello, Michael, why don’t you go take your seat.”

  “Please, call me Jacob,” he says while glancing at my desk. I look over to see what he is looking at and see the rose. If I am certain, I see a small smile pry his lips but it’s gone before I can verify it. Okay, this guy creeps me out, and I don’t know why. Thank goodness other students start to arrive before I can answer him. He leaves once the others arrive and doesn’t say a word. It makes me wonder where this boy’s mom is. I must look more closely at his paperwork.

  Later that evening, when I’m getting ready to head out, Nancy comes over so we can head out together. I have on a pair of dark skinny jeans with an off-the-shoulder neon pink shirt paired with my black heels. My hair is curly and hanging down my back, swinging as I walk. As I finish getting ready, I tell Nancy about the dad.

  “Girl, if I were you, I would be keeping a close eye on him. That sounds strange and almost like he likes you.”

  “Trust me, it creeps me out. If he is still doing it next week, I will say something to someone. Maybe it’s just because it was the first week of school. Who knows. But enough of that, let’s go hit the bar, I need a drink.”

  I grab my clutch and phone, locking up the house and sliding into the Uber we called.

  Chapter Twenty

  TAYLOR

  I’m making my way around the bar just before the band goes on. This is our first time having a live one, let’s pray it all goes well. The place is jammed pack with people shoulder to shoulder. I believe we have a line waiting outside to just get in. As I am talking to my bartenders in the VIP lounge, a guy comes up to the bar.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Yes, sir, can I help you?” I say.

  “I was wondering if Ashley is working tonight.” All the muscles in my body tense, I give the guy a good look over but know I have never seen him before in here.