Oceanside

by Michelle Mankin

  “Whoa,” my sister announced, and we shared an incredulous look. Ashland had left the room. We stared at the damaged door leaning against the jam. It could probably be restored to functionality. But it needed to be reattached to its hinges first. “I must say I never really understood your fascination with him until now.”

  I burst out a laugh.

  “I didn’t know men like him still existed.” She smiled. “Busting down doors, carrying in distress damsels, looking like Chris Hemsworth while waxing poetic.”

  “He’s a rock star. They’re sort of like poets.”

  “He’s hot.”

  “He is but…” I shrugged. “He’s not interested in me that way.”

  “That look he gave you in there,” she hooked a thumb over her shoulder, “didn’t say ‘not interested’, Fanny.”

  “He’s a guy, and I was naked,” I countered, but it was worth noting that she had read the situation the way I had.

  “Keep telling yourself stuff like that if it keeps you from clamming up around him.”

  I didn’t reply. I wanted to believe that he could be attracted to me, and I did get tongue tied around him for sure, no use denying it. I reached for my clothes. She shook her head and gestured to his closet. “He told you to put on one of his shirts until Karen gets here.”

  “But they’ll smell like him,” I grumbled. The bed was bad enough. I kept pushing the blanket away to sleep, and he kept returning to tuck it around me.

  “You like the way he smells?” She gave me an apprising look. She knew how I was about scents.

  “Yeah,” I admitted.

  “You aren’t over him.”

  “Can we please not talk about this right now with me practically naked, the door busted and him just in the other room?” I whispered with my watchful gaze on the darkened hall.

  “Sure, but don’t you think this is fate’s way of giving you a do-over for what happened a year ago?”

  “Almost two.”

  Her knowing smile widened.

  “Fate’s got nothing to do with it. It was just me and my silly crush.” I had obsessed about Ashland from the time my body had started changing as a teen, associating him and his music with every major milestone thereafter. Hollie had her video entertainment. I had the Dirt Dogs, and a different album for every deteriorating phase of my mother’s and Samuel’s relationship. I had played their ‘Sometimes Forever Never Comes’ album over and over again after her death. The bleak theme had seemed to echo my sense of loss. Probably because the band had lost Dominic around the same time I had lost my mom.

  The doorbell suddenly rang. I jumped. “You’ve got to stay out of sight,” I hissed pointing at the bathroom. “Go.” Hollie looked like she wanted to say something more but only nodded and complied. I went to the walk-in closet, stepped inside and grabbed the first shirt I saw drawing it over my head. Soft, worn, mauve hued cotton slid into place the hem skimming my thighs just as I heard Karen’s voice. I swayed, not because she was inside the apartment and could potentially see Hollie, but because his shirt smelled that good.

  I moved to the hall and cocked my head to listen.

  “Is she asleep?”

  “No.” He made a sound. “Definitely not. She just got out of the shower.”

  “And you’ve got a weird look on your face like you got caught doing something you shouldn’t. Something you liked a lot apparently because your mouth’s doing that wicked curve thing… What gives? Uh-uh. Don’t give me the shoulder shrug, Ash. That’s what guys do when they’re trying to pretend that something isn’t a big deal when it really is. So what happened?”

  He said something low.

  I took a step closer.

  “You saw her naked?!” This time there was a feminine cluck of disbelief. “And she’s worried about me seeing her without any hair?”

  “She’s a girl.”

  “Yes, I know she is, and I bet you have a more than fair idea on that count now, too.”

  “Frances!” she called. I jumped again.

  “Yeah,” I returned.

  “I don’t give a damn about how you look. What I care about is that some creep terrorized and hurt you. Do I need to add Ash to the list of persona non grata?”

  “No. It’s ok. I fell stepping out of the shower. He came to my rescue.” Twice now it should be noted. “It was an accident.”

  “Well ok, I guess. But you know you and your sister can come stay with me. There’s plenty of room with me and Ramon.”

  “Thanks.” My eyes burned. No one had ever fought over me before. Sure my mom had wanted me around. But my stepfather and his superficial celebrity crowd? Not so much. Not that I had wanted to fit in. “We’re fine here.” And we wouldn’t be staying long anyway. Just until I regained my strength.

  “I brought stuff for both of you. Clothes. Underthings. He guessed your sister’s size. Shampoo, moisturizer, bath gel so you don’t smell like this loser. I’m leaving it all here with Ash. And he has my number if you need anything else or even if you just want to talk things through. Call me, ok?”

  “Ok. Thanks, Karen.” My eyes burned. I found myself overcome once again by her kindness.

  “You’re welcome.”

  I heard murmuring after that. It went on for a couple of minutes. Then Karen shouted out a goodbye which I returned and I heard the door clicked closed. I had barely taken a step backward when Ash suddenly appeared.

  “You eavesdropping, little one?” His deep voice and his hum inducing gaze swept over me.

  “I’m not little.” I raised my chin

  “No you’re not.” He considered me intently.

  “That’s not what I meant.” I flushed. It was impossible to miss the suggestive glint in his eyes. Obviously he was recalling seeing me naked. “I meant, I’m not small in stature.”

  “You are in comparison to me.” He took a step closer, his much larger compellingly masculine frame overshadowing me as he glanced over my head. “Where’s Hollie?” The sound of running water was an answer to his question apparently. His gaze returned to me. “You look nice in my shirt.” His voice had gone so low I had to suppress a corresponding shiver. His lips slowly curved up on one side.

  “You wanna stay dressed like that I certainly don’t mind, but if you wanna come into the other room, there’s lasagna I can heat up and there’s a shit ton of clothes to sort through.”

  “I love lasagna.” My mouth started to water.

  “I think most chicks would’ve gotten glassy eyed about the four shopping bags of clothes.”

  “Most chicks haven’t been combing through the trash the past few weeks for food.”

  His eyes pinched registering the punch of that truth. “I hear you. Are you gonna cry if I tell you there’s salad and garlic bread to go with the lasagna?”

  I nodded.

  He grinned. “I’ll get you a box of tissues.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Ashland

  All I did was microwave the lasagna, but I got an inordinate amount of satisfaction watching Hollie and Frances scrape their plates clean. The first and the second go around.

  “No more.” Hollie waved off the refill on her Sprite.

  “Frances?” I questioned with the half full liter bottle of soda poised over her empty glass.

  “No. I can barely finish what I’ve got. I’m about to pop.”

  “More pain reliever?” I studied her face. The swelling had gone down some around her nose and the bruising was less pronounced beneath her eyes. The warm-cold treatment we had instigated seemed to be working already, but she was proving to be stoic about her pain. The only indicator that she was hurting again was in her eyes, and those were starting to widen enough for me to get a read.

  “Yes, you need some,” I answered for her. “You’re waiting too long between doses. The key is to stay ahead of the pain.” I remembered that from Linc’s surf injury. “Let me get the Tylenol.” I pushed back from the table to get the caplets, reaching for her empty plate plan
ning on dropping her dish in the sink on the way into the kitchen, but her sister stopped me.

  “I’ve got the dishes.” She gave me a firm look. “You can take care of Frances.”

  “Ok.” I dipped my chin to acknowledge her and turned to Frances. “We have our orders. You get to the couch with what’s left of your drink. I’ll bring you the meds and the warm compress and ice.”

  “Alright.” She pushed back from the table wincing as she straightened. My eyes met hers. They were such an unusual color, nearly a translucent grey when she had been piqued earlier, but they had darkened now because of the spike in her pain level. She turned away, her movements slow and deliberate. I watched her make her way to the couch just a couple of feet away. I wanted to help, wanted to scoop her up and carry her, but I knew she wouldn’t appreciate my interference. She was mending. I needed to let her assert her independence.

  I turned back to my appointed task and caught Hollie’s gaze as I shook out the pills. Her hands in the sink, she offered me a soft smile. She was the more trusting, open one. I got the impression whoever the abuser was they had concentrated most of their efforts on Frances. The result of that effort glaringly obvious. The older sibling seemed well-practiced at being the younger one’s shield.

  I put the bottle back in the cabinet where I kept the meds, threw the eye mask in the microwave to rewarm it and refilled the ice pack from the freezer while it heated. When I had everything ready I took it to Frances. She had her eyes locked on the ocean. She didn’t even acknowledge my approach until I dropped down beside her. Her gaze sharpened as she regarded me.

  “Hey,” I said softly, my eyes drifting over her features. The shower had removed the lingering traces of grime. She had full lips that had been a distraction every time I had looked her way while we’d been eating. Silver eyes notably beautiful under arched brows that were so dark I had mistaken the color for black when she had been all dirty, but they were actually auburn. The drapes matched the carpet I realized as I recalled the sexy-shy woman who had stood before me earlier, her alluring nakedness barely concealed by a towel. Perfect tits. Slender waist. Subtly flared hips. Red curls. Long shapely legs. Silken skin. All enticing. I’d gone hard the moment I laid eyes on her.

  With her head covered by a black Roxy beanie I could easily imagine auburn hair tucked underneath it. Her stretchy yoga clothing accentuated the curves I considered myself fortunate to have seen unveiled. Once she fully healed Frances would be more than pretty. She would be a goddess.

  She had been wise to cover her beauty with dirt and hide her attributes beneath loose clothing.

  “Here.” I held out the caplets to her. She blinked at me a couple of times before she dipped her gaze to my hand. Her expression clearing, she reached for and took the pills from my palm. The pads of her delicate fingers skimmed my skin. I knew she didn’t mean it as a caress, but my brain took it that way, and my body responded. My eyes darkened as I watched her lips part. She placed the pills on her pink tongue and leaned forward reaching for her glass. She brought the drink to her mouth to swallow them, and I swallowed, too, to moisten my suddenly dry throat.

  “What’s going on inside that pretty head of yours,” I asked her, my purpose twofold. I was interested sure, but I also needed to get my mind away from imagining her mouth and tongue doing other things.

  “Nothing.” She sighed.

  “Big sigh for nothing.” I reached for the eye mask before it could cool. “Lean back,” I ordered, and she complied, her warm breath spilling over my hands as I laid it gently over her eyes.

  “That feels so good.”

  I almost groaned. My cock swelled taking her statement another way. “The heat increases the blood circulation and reduces the tightness in the muscles.” An entirely different process was going on with my cock right then, but I made a concentrated effort to get my thoughts under control. “So you wanna share what you’re thinking?”

  “Not particularly. No.” She had been closed lipped like this at lunch, too.

  “You’re pretty stubborn, you know that.”

  “You don’t want inside my head, Ashland Keys. And you don’t need to get mixed up in my shit.”

  “Fa-Frances!”

  “No, Hollie. Stay out of this. It needs to be said.” She removed the eye mask and fixed her gaze on me. “I appreciate all you’ve done. All Karen has done. I’ll accept your hospitality because I have to right now. But my thoughts are my own. As soon as I can I’m moving on. Hollie and me both. Please don’t try to get her to tell you things that I won’t. You can’t fix the problems we have, and you’re not responsible for what happened, either.”

  My gaze hardened. Her response seemed out of proportion to my simple inquiry. It almost seemed personal. “Your choice of course, Frances. Leaving now would be a dangerous choice in my opinion. If you’d drop the shield a bit, give me a try, you’d find out that I’m trustworthy.”

  “I’ve insulted you.” She frowned. “After all you’ve done. I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry. My head’s hurting again. I think I’ll go lie down some more.” She reached for the ice pack and stood, glancing her sister’s way. “You coming, Hollie?”

  “In a minute. I just need to finish up in here.”

  “Alright.” She turned back to me. I’d risen, too. Apparently she hadn’t noticed. Her eyes widening, she took a step back from me, her pulse point in her neck beating rapidly. She had space between the coffee table and the couch to move right or left to continue on to the bedroom. I didn’t get the impression that she was afraid of me as a potential threat. Her nostrils flared. Was she attracted to me? Was that why she continued to be so furtive whenever I got close? I searched her features for clues. Her mouth was parted. She licked her lips. Her eyes had grown noticeably darker.

  Possibly.

  For me there was no possibly about it. I throbbed with awareness when she was near.

  “Goodnight, Ashland.”

  I liked the way she said my name. There was a slight accent in her voice. One I’d heard before. I cocked my head to the side trying to place it.

  “Ash,” I corrected.

  Something flared in her eyes, but she dropped her gaze before I could get a read.

  “My friends call me Ash.” I removed the distance between us and touched her arm. The connection between us sizzled with heat. “Can’t you?”

  “Don’t,” she pleaded. “Please don’t do this.”

  “Do what?” I reached for her, gently capturing and lifting her chin. Her skin was appealingly soft. But I needed to see her eyes. There were answers inside them. I knew it.

  “Don’t touch me.” Her gaze glowed translucent with her emotions heightened once more. “Don’t push. Just let me be.” She shifted and slipped away.

  I watched her go thinking that what she wanted wasn’t possible. Even when she had only been another mystery on the streets, I hadn’t been able to let her be.

  Chapter Eleven

  Ashland

  “She’ll never take it, you know,” Hollie declared.

  “Take what?” I turned to look at her. Her strawberry blonde hair was freshly washed and loose around her tiny shoulders. Like her sister, she wore new clothing from Karen’s shop, for her a loose fitting blue Roxy tank and grey beach pants that she had rolled up at the ankles. So she was a little smaller than I had guessed.

  “That leap of faith you’re asking from her. If it was just her involved? Maybe. But with me in the picture? Never.”

  “Why’s that darlin’?”

  “Lots of reasons. Guilt. Responsibility. Love. I’m sure you understand.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “You and Linc grew up together, right?

  “Yeah.”

  “From what I’ve read about you two and heard in interviews, he seems more like a brother to you than a cousin.”

  “You seem to know a lot about it.” I nodded. “Aren’t you a little young to be a Dirt Dogs’ fan?”

  “Not m
e so much. No offense. But my sister is.”

  “Frances?” I raised a brow, looking back toward where she had gone before I returned my attention to Hollie. “She doesn’t seem like much of a fan.”

  “Well, she was.” She shrugged one shoulder. Was it a bullshit move denying the significance of what accompanied it when girls did it? “Anyway, I bet you took care of him. Linc. Looked out for him the way my sister does me.”

  I lifted my chin to acknowledge that I had, and still did. That I always would. I studied her anew. She seemed vaguely familiar to me on some level.

  “On account of the abuse?” she asked, eyes similar to Frances’ insightfully trained on mine.

  “Partly,” I revealed. True I had wanted to protect Linc from any more physical harm. Mostly it had been simply because I loved him.

  “I’m guessing you knew what was going on and you couldn’t stop it.”

  “We were kids, but yeah.”

  “It’s like that with us a lot. We each had our suspicions…well, now we both know.”

  “I can understand that.”

  “Yeah, I think you do. I’ve only just met you, and I can tell why she was so…” She shifted her slight frame and pursed her full lips. “I’ve said enough.” She put down the dish towel. “I better get to bed, too. She’ll fret about what I’ve already told you. Seventeen years old but she still treats me like I’m ten.”

  “She’s not much older than you are.”

  “She’ll be twenty-three a month after I turn eighteen.”

  “When’s your birthday?”

  “Two weeks from now. Not soon enough.”

  “Anxious to vote, huh?”

  “Anxious about a lot of things. Goodnight, Ash.”

  “Night. Hollie.” It didn’t escape my notice that she had taken to calling me the shortened friend version of my name where her sibling wouldn’t.

  “One more thing.” She stopped and turned to look at me biting her lip and twisting her hands. She was nervous. Where Frances’ hands fluttered Hollie’s twisted. “For what its worth if it were up to me, I’d tell you everything.”