And I do, although I’m not quite sure yet why, but I always have. Whether I want to admit it or not. He has never done anything to warrant my feelings of distrust and everything he says he’s going to do, he does. I just wish I could close my insecurities off and enjoy more of this relationship, but my ex really fucked me up. One day I will wake up and they will all be gone, but until then, there is still a small part of me that believes this will end one day. All good things must come to an end; nothing lasts forever. I might as well enjoy this high while I’m on it.
The buzzer for the timer goes off before we can discuss any more, which part of me is thankful for. I didn’t like where my thoughts were headed. I hop off the counter and pull the food out of the oven while he sets the table for the two of us. Every now and then I catch him looking at me through the corner of his eyes. I always wonder why but yet never ask. After we finish eating, I put a movie in and we spend the day hanging around the house, being lazy until it’s time to go to work. I still need to talk to him about Jacob but don’t know how to bring it up. I guess now is as good a time as any; here goes nothing. I turn to face him on the couch so I can see his reaction.
“So, I need to tell you something, but promise you won’t get mad.” He looks over at me with a raised eyebrow, but yet I can tell his mind is running a mile a minute.
“If it involves you, I can’t promise anything. Not when it comes to you.”
Oh great.
“So, remember that student’s dad who came to the bar looking for me? The one we think left the rose.” His face immediately shows anger. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea after all.
“Yes,” is all he says.
“Well, he asked me out yesterday.”
“He did what?”
Oh fuck, he’s yelling. Not good—abort, abort!
“He wanted to go for dinner, so I told him no and he stormed out of the room.”
“You need to request his son be moved out of your room. I don’t want you to see him again.”
What the fuck? He can’t tell me what to do.
“No, Michael is finally making progress in the class and something is going on at home, I just need to prove it.”
“I don’t care.”
“Well, I do, and if you don’t like it, then leave.”
“Fine,” he yells while walking out the door.
Well fuck, that didn’t go as planned. But he can’t tell me what to do. I am not going to kick that sweet boy out of my class. Once we have both calmed down, I will talk to him again. I know he will see my side sooner than later. Looking at the clock, I see it’s time for me to start getting ready for work.
I take my time doing my hair and makeup, so I know he won’t be able to resist me. Plus, making myself look good also helps with the tips I receive. With it being Saturday, I should be upstairs in the VIP lounge again. That’s normally where he puts me, because it’s closer to his office.
By the time I make it to work and see Taylor, I am looking damn fine. And by the look on his face, he won’t stay mad for long.
Chapter Twenty-Two
TAYLOR
I storm out of her apartment, pissed the fuck off. Not at her but at that douche bag. What the fuck kind of game is he playing? She is mine and no one will take her away from me. I know I sounded like a dick when I told her she needs to get the kid removed, but I don’t mean it. Honestly, it was just a reaction. I know how much she loves her kids. She was already upset with me last night because of the girl standing next me, so I don’t need her mad at me again. I need to fix this just like I fixed last night.
I get to work before anyone is there and head to my office. Leaning back in my chair, I begin working on the schedule for that night. I place Ashley in the VIP section because most of tonight I will be in my office working on the books. For some reason, I just feel like I need to keep her close. I also need to let my bouncers know to keep an eye out for this guy. Luckily, I know what he looks like, when they check IDs they can tell me if he’s here or not. We have three new bouncers starting tonight, so hopefully it all goes smoothly.
About ten to six I make my way downstairs to have my nightly meeting with the guys and tell them to keep an eye out. All of my bartenders arrive just as the meeting ends, and my eyes automatically find hers. I about swallow my fucking tongue; she looks absolutely gorgeous. Her hair is straight down her back and her makeup is a little on the darker side tonight with fire engine red lipstick. All I can think about is how hot her mouth would look wrapped around my dick. Shit, I have to get these thoughts out of my head. Standing up, I have to readjust myself so it doesn’t look so obvious. I mean, everyone here knows we are together, minus the new guys.
I can still see the sadness in her eyes when they meet mine. I wish I could take back what I said earlier, because I didn’t mean it. She looks away and heads straight upstairs. Great, this feels likes it’s going to be a long night. I need to go talk to her before the bar opens and apologize for this afternoon. She can’t stay mad at me for long, and I know she made herself look extra good tonight so I wouldn’t stay mad. My baby likes to play dirty. Snickering to myself, I head to the back to check in with some other staff, I’m going to let her think for just a bit longer that I’m mad at her.
The place is packed by ten thirty that night. The DJ is playing hit after hit, making sure the dancers are having a good time. The dance floor is packed with bodies, making it almost hard to walk through. I took a break from the books and walked around the bottom floor, making sure everything is running smoothly since Thomas is off tonight. CJ, my head of security, spots me and flags me down.
“Hey, man. What’s up?” I ask.
“Not much. Just thought I would let you know some guy came in asking for Ashley again. Except this time, I’ve never seen him before. He says his name is John.”
What the fuck. Why does this always happen to her? And who the fuck is John? I keep playing the name over and over in my head, trying to think if I know anyone named John. But nothing is coming up firsthand. Then it hits me like a ton of bricks. She has an ex named John, who last I heard still wanted to get back together.
“Fuck,” I say before I take off running toward the stairs. CJ is hot on my heels, probably making sure I don’t do anything stupid. When I reach the top, I see a guy, who I’m assuming is John, cornering Ashley. She looks tensed and pissed at the same time. I love it when she gets that fire in her eyes; it makes her look sexy as hell. Slowly making my way over, I try to listen to their conversation. I don’t want him to get spooked by my running up here.
“I came all this way to see you, Ashley.”
“I don’t care. I said to leave. I don’t want to see you anymore. Didn’t you get the hint when I was home last time?”
“Come on, baby.” He tries to grab her hand. I’ve seen enough.
“No touching my staff, and I believe she told you to leave.”
“Who the fuck are you?”
“The owner and her boyfriend.”
He starts laughing. I feel like punching out this asshole.
“Wow, Ashley, do you get paid extra for fucking your boss?”
That’s it! Before I can get my hands on the guy, CJ already has him by the back of his neck and is dragging him out of my bar. Telling Ashley I’ll be back, I turn and follow them out the door. We went out the side exit where nobody else is.
“You’re lucky I’m not kicking your ass for the comment about her. Don’t ever come back to my bar again, or I will have you arrested.”
“Whatever, you can have my sloppy seconds anyway.”
Before I even realize what I’ve done, I hit him square on the jaw. Pulling my fist back, I give it a shake because that fucking hurt. I turn around and head back inside, leaving my bouncer to get rid of him. As I head up the stairs, I’m flexing and relaxing my fingers into a fist, causing Ashley to zero in on my hand. A frown takes place of her smile. She’s not stupid; she knows what happened out there. I go straight to my office and pour myself a shot of
whiskey, swallowing it in one gulp, ignoring the burn as it slides down my throat. I am not in the mood to deal with anyone. Today has just been shitty. They say everything bad happens in threes. So I’m just waiting for something else to happen now. With my back to the door I hear it open and close, I keep my eyes trained on the partiers downstairs.
“What was that all about?” She is pissed, I can hear it in her voice.
“That asshole had it coming to him.”
“Did you hit him?”
“Don’t worry about it, Ashley. Go back to work.”
“No, I want to know.”
I swing around in my chair, pissed off, wishing she would just take the hint and leave me alone. I just need time to gather my thoughts together. Why is she pushing this topic? Before she can answer, Thomas comes into the office. He looks between the two of us, trying to figure out what is going on, but knowing CJ, he already called him.
“Ashley, honey, do you mind giving us a minute alone?”
“Of course. This conversation isn’t over, Taylor,” is the last thing she says before walking out of my office door.
After the door shuts, we just stare at each other for a good five minutes before even talking. I know he’s going to rip my head off for hitting the guy, but I know he would have done the same thing, he’s just more pissed off that it was on company time and property.
“What the hell happened tonight?” he finally speaks up.
“Nothing.” Liar.
“Don’t lie to me. For starters, I can see it on your face; secondly, I could tell something was wrong with Ashley; third—CJ called me; and four—what the fuck happened to your hand?”
Oops, I guess I forgot about that. Looking down at my hand, I see it’s all red with a spot of dried blood on it. I must have caught his tooth when I hit him. I walk over to the sink and wash my hands to get the blood off it. Hopefully, Ashley didn’t see that part. That wouldn’t be good.
I begin to tell him the story, starting from last night. How she hung up on me because she thought I was with someone but we made up from that, then I acted like a dick this afternoon back at her place about the kid’s dad. I tell him about her ex showing up and blocking her in the corner next to the bar. I repeat word for word what he said and why I hit him. Fucker should learn to keep his mouth shut.
“Look, I get why you hit him, I promise I do. But fuck, bro, you can’t be doing that at work. What if he presses charges or tries to shut us down?” Leave it to him to try to see the real side of things instead of the good.
“He won’t. He is too scared to try any of that.”
“But you don’t know that, Taylor. Look, just go home for the night, I’ll stay and close up since there’s only a couple of hours left.”
Not needing to be told twice, I leave down the back steps and exit from the side door. I should have said good-bye to Ashley but I didn’t want to. I need to calm down before we talk. I don’t know what is with her and my emotions lately, but it’s like everything is just happening at once and I don’t know how to handle it all. Honestly, it scares the shit out of me.
When I arrive home, I am somewhat calmer. All of this drama is becoming a lot, and even though I love Ashley and would do anything for her, this is bullshit. This is why I have avoided relationships for so long. Maybe having her come work for me was a bad idea. I should just tell her she should quit because I can’t keep doing this, and sooner or later it will rip us apart.
There is a knock on my door that scares the shit out of me. Who the hell is at my door past midnight. I know it’s not Ashley, she should still be working. When I swing the door open, all my thoughts come to a halt. Standing on the other side is Kim, my ex.
Chapter Twenty-Three
ASHLEY
It has been over two hours since I’ve seen Taylor. I guess he left the bar and didn’t bother to tell me. What the fuck is going on? This day is just one thing after another, first the fight about the kid’s dad, then John shows up out of the blue. And let me tell you what a fucking surprise that was. I never told him where I worked, so I want to know how he found out. And why the fuck did he just show up and demand we get back together? The message I gave him over the summer was not clear enough, I guess. I need to call my sister and see if she told him, because if she did I will be pissed at her.
I begin to clean up the bar, still in a pissed-off mood. My plan is to head over to Taylor’s when I leave here and figure out what is going on. I also want to know what happened between him and John, because I know damn well I saw blood on his fist and that can only mean one of two things. He hit him or he hit the wall, which I wouldn’t doubt if he did both. Maybe this whole relationship was a mistake, we should have just stayed friends, and I should have trusted my instincts. He isn’t ready to be in a relationship and obviously can’t handle me working here.
As sad as I am saying this, I think tonight is going to be my last night working here, regardless of what happens between us. I just don’t need the extra drama tied to this job, and I really don’t need for another parent or teacher to see this kind of behavior and it get back to the principal. That’s all I’d need—to lose my dream job. This job was fun while it lasted, but I have my career I need to focus on. Once I am done cleaning up, I head over to Thomas and tell him that tonight is my last night. Thankfully, he understands and says I always have a job here regardless of what happens between Taylor and I.
As I am walking out the door, Thomas calls out, “Hey, Ashley, be patient with him. He’s not used to these emotions or anything.”
I just nod and walk out. I get that he may not be used to it, but he knows when to act right. Hitting John was uncalled for regardless of what he said, which I’m sure it was bad knowing John. I make it to his house a little after two thirty; hopefully, he isn’t sleeping. Judging by the light on, I think I am good. I knock on the door and wait for an answer. Hearing voices, I can’t help but think it’s weird for him to have company at this hour.
Taylor opens the door, standing there in just sweatpants and no shirt, looking kind of surprised to see me.
“Ashley, what are you doing here?”
Umm, okay.
Before I can reply, I see this drop dead gorgeous blonde come up behind him and place her manicured hand on his shoulder. His body tenses under her touch. She gets an evil smile on her face, one that he can’t see.
“I came to talk, but I see you’re busy.” I turn around and head back to my car. I can hear Taylor yelling at me to stop, but I don’t listen. Cranking the car on, I peel out of the parking spot, seeing him standing there with his hands behind his head in the rearview mirror. I make it all the way home to pack a small bag and head toward the beach. I need to get away for a day or so. I need to clear my head and everything of Taylor.
How could he do that to me? After everything he had to prove to be with me, he goes and messes around behind my back. After the way he acted tonight with John, I figured he really did love me and stood up for me because he wanted to be together. Now it’s all lies, I should have never trusted him, I should have never even given him the chance to date me. I didn’t listen to my brain telling me not to date him; I ignored all the warning signs and still went out with him. And look where that leaves me—alone and heartbroken. Good thing I quit the bar tonight.
I make it to my parents’ beach house around four that morning, I turned my phone off about an hour ago. It kept ringing and ringing. I don’t want to talk to anyone, except I turned it on really quick to shoot a message to Nancy just to let her know I made it safely. Peace and quiet is what I need. Drawing a hot bath, I try to relax. My eyes are all puffy and swollen because I can’t stop crying. No man should make you cry this much, no man is worth your tears, is what my mother always told me. Hell, I never cried this much after I caught John in bed with someone else. Soaking in the tub until it gets cold, I dry off and crawl under the crisp, cold sheets in the bed, naked. I don’t want anything on me or around me tonight. My eyes close just as
the sun is coming up.
I awake to banging on my door. What the hell? Nobody knows I’m here but Nancy, even Taylor doesn’t know about this house. Throwing on the robe that is lying next to my bed, I head toward the door.
“I’m coming!” I yell on my way to get whoever it is to stop pounding on the door. The only person it can be is Nancy, hopefully she brought alcohol. I swing the door open and fuck me, there is Taylor.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
“I’m here to talk.”
Oh, hell no.
“Well, I’m not interested.” I try to shut the door but he blocks it with his foot.
“I don’t give a shit what you want. You will hear me out.” Fucker.
“Fine, whatever. Don’t plan on staying long.”
He comes in and sits down on the couch in the living room. He is busy looking around the house. I take that time to go in my room and change into actual clothes, getting angrier by the minute.
“How did you know where I was?” I ask when I re-enter the living room.
“Nancy.”
Fucking bitch, I’m going to have to have a talk with her.
“Did you hit him last night?” Let’s just get this over with.
“Yes, that fucker had it coming to him.”
“You can’t just go around hitting people, Taylor.”
“The fuck I can’t.”
“Who was that girl at your apartment?
“Kim.”
“Your ex, Kim, as in the one you were engaged to?”
“Yes.”
“Did you fuck her?” Oh boy, he looks pissed now.
“Excuse me? No, why would you think that?”
“Gee, I don’t know. Maybe because when I showed up you were half naked and she didn’t look much better.”
“You really think I would do that to you?”
Averting my gaze from his, since I know he won’t like my answer, I just kind of shrug my shoulders.
“That’s the problem here—you don’t trust me. You are still so hung up on what fuckface did to you, that you still can’t trust me.”
Loving Ashley Page 11