All In

by Amy DeMeritt

  “Are you supposed to be out running like a marathoner?”

  She turns at the sound of Skylar’s voice and releases another laugh as she lifts her tank top to wipe her face. “I have fractured rips, not legs.”

  “It doesn’t hurt to run?”

  Skylar’s eyes are slow to scan up her glistening smooth olive sculpted legs, exposed only a couple of inches above her knees to her ankles, and over her abs that are still exposed while Ashton fans herself with the tank top. As she meets Ashton’s light gray eyes, her smile instantly spreads and her cheeks blush.

  “It’s a mild irritation, but it felt good to exert myself.” Still breathing heavily, she stretches her legs and hamstrings. “Is Gloria coming here or are we meeting her at the apartment?”

  “She asked us to meet her there. How far did you run?”

  As she walks over to the security pad to access the door, Ashton pulls out her phone and brings up the fitness app she uses to track her distance and speed.

  “I ran 8.23 miles to be exact.”

  With a disapproving scoff, Skylar nudges her hip, asking, “Are you crazy? You shouldn’t be pushing yourself so hard right now.”

  Ashton gives her a devilish grin as she opens the door and waves her inside.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” Without answering, she swiftly picks Skylar up in her arms to cradle her against her torso, making her squeal with laughter. “Oh, my god, put me down!” She laughs as she wraps a hand behind Ashton’s sweaty neck for something to hold onto. “You’re going to hurt yourself. I’m too heavy.”

  “Nonsense. You’re very light, especially without my firefighter gear.” She begins climbing the stairs and Skylar gasps as she holds on tighter to Ashton. “You’re also forgetting I already carried you like this under much more challenging conditions.”

  Every step Ashton takes strains her muscles, but every step is steady and strong. The initial shock and worry melts Skylar’s grip on the back of Ashton’s neck and she scratches her fingers through the wet short hairs at the base of her skull.

  “You’re very sweaty.”

  “You like it.”

  Skylar laughs and lightly pats the back of her neck but continues playing with Ashton’s hair. She doesn’t want to admit it out loud, but she does like it. Ashton doesn’t stink – she actually has a nice slightly sweet and spicy scent mixed with the great scent of her men’s deodorant and cologne. Her olive skin is glowing a bit darker from the sun exposure and it’s shining from the fine layer of sweat, making her look like she’s about to pose for a photoshoot.

  By the time Ashton finishes carrying Skylar up three flights of stairs, she’s breathing much heavier, her muscles are burning with anger at her, and her ribs are really aching big time, but she also feels more invigorated. As she sets Skylar down by her apartment door, she grins in victory.

  “Show off.”

  “You like it.”

  Leaning against the doorframe with her hip cocked to the side, Skylar’s form fitting tank top rides up just enough to expose a smooth, slightly jutting hipbone, catching Ashton’s eyes as she puts the key in the doorknob. Skylar notices the passing cool glance of Ashton’s mesmerizing light gray eyes and smiles to herself.

  “Is that going to be your answer for everything today?”

  “Maybe.” Ashton opens the door and pushes it inward while motioning for Skylar to enter ahead of her. “My lady.” She bows dramatically at the waist, and as Skylar walks by, she pets her damp head, making her laugh in her bent position. She walks inside and closes the door. “While I get myself a trough of water, can I get you something to drink?”

  “Sure. You seem to be feeling a lot better. Were you able to dress yourself today?”

  With a grin and a wink, Ashton teases, “Is that your attempt at subtlety to see if you’ll be able to dress me after my shower?”

  With a blurting laugh, Skylar quickly says, “No!” She laughs again with blushing cheeks. “I was genuinely asking about your healing progress.”

  “Honest answer – I don’t know. Erin stayed with me last night and insisted on dressing me this morning before she left for work. But I am in desperate need of a shower, so I shall see very soon.” She grabs the pitcher of water from the fridge and motions to the slowly closing door. “Help yourself to whatever you want.”

  Skylar catches the door as Ashton slides past her to get a glass from the cabinet. “Can I have one of these cans of espresso?”

  Ashton nods as she swallows a big gulp of water and clears her throat. “Yup. Do you want a glass for it?”

  “Sure.”

  While she takes another big gulp of water, she grabs a glass for Skylar, then refills her glass of water. She guzzles the full glass, then releases a gasping exhale and takes a deep breath.

  “Okay, I’m going to jump in the shower. Make yourself at home. I won’t be too long.”

  “Okay.”

  Skylar watches Ashton walk out of the kitchen and down the hall to her bedroom. She takes a sip of the slightly sweet and creamy espresso and smiles. It’s a simple thing, but after nearly dying in the fire, these simple pleasures are much more meaningful and enjoyable. She savors another sip in her mouth for several moments as she walks out of the kitchen and follows Ember down the hall. She watches as Ember meows and paws at the closed master bathroom door. As Ember looks back at her and meows with her paw held to the door, as if asking her to open the door, Skylar releases a small laugh. She picks up the kitten and sits on the foot of the bed.

  “You are just too cute.” She lifts her up and gives her a kiss on the head and Ember meows as she places a paw on Skylar’s cheek. She glances towards the closed bathroom door, and as she looks at Ember again, she whispers, “Ash is pretty great, isn’t she? She saved my life too, you know.”

  Ember meows a few times and rubs her head against Skylar’s cheek. “You’re so soft and you smell nice. Do you actually behave and allow Ash to give you baths? Aren’t cats supposed to be afraid of water? Well, maybe you’re different because of the fire. I’m different because of the fire. I don’t really know how exactly, but I feel different. I have more nightmares than ever, but I feel happier than ever to be alive. Do cats have nightmares? I hope not. You’re too young to be haunted by that memory.”

  As she’s taking a sip of her cold espresso, her cellphone vibrates in her pocket. She sets Ember down on the bed next to her and pulls it out.

  Gloria: I’m so sorry, hon, but we have to push this apartment tour back. A crisis just popped up on a property I’m supposed to be closing on tomorrow. I need to deal with this before I can do anything else. I’ll let you know when I’m free. I hope I didn’t inconvenience you.

  Skylar: No, it’s really not a big deal. Don’t worry about it. I hope everything gets squared away quickly so you can still close tomorrow.

  Gloria: Lord, so do I. This client has been a major thorn in my ass. Tell Ash I said hello and I love her and give her a kiss for me.

  Skylar smiles as she bites her bottom lip and looks towards the bathroom door.

  Skylar: Okay, I will.

  The harder she tries to tug her smile down, the deeper the blush gets on her face and neck. She inhales deeply through her nose and exhales slowly through her mouth. She quickly drinks the rest of her espresso, and as she stands up to take it to the kitchen, the bathroom door opens and Ashton walks out with an oversized gray striped towel wrapped around her waist.

  She stops in the doorway with a curious grin, and asks, “Did you decide to pick my clothes or something?”

  Stumbling over her words, she shakes her head, and explains, “No, I watched Ember walk in here. She was trying to get into the bathroom. I didn’t want you to accidentally step on her when you were done, so I was just holding her and talking to her. I was just leaving to put my glass in the sink.”

  “Me? Step on my baby? Are you crazy?” She walks to the bed to pick up Ember and gives her soft kisses on her head and little nose. “I co
uld never step on my little baby.”

  Skylar sighs as she watches Ashton coo over her kitten and admires her incredible body. Her cheeks blush as she swallows hard from silently wishing for the towel to fall.

  “Gloria texted me just before you got out. She has a crisis she has to deal with and she doesn’t know when she’ll be free. She told me to tell you hello and she loves you and to…” Her voices cracks, and she clears her throat.

  “And to…?”

  Her blush deepens, making her feel like she looks like a lobster. “To give you a kiss for her.”

  With a laugh, Ashton turns towards her dresser, saying, “She’s naughty. You don’t have to do that.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  Ashton turns to face Skylar and sets Ember on the bed as she studies the young woman’s blushing crestfallen visage. She instinctively places her hands on her hips, placing one firmly over the tucked corner of the towel so it remains affixed to her waist.

  “You sound disappointed.”

  “Oh, no, I’m not. I mean, I just…” She vigorously shakes her head and takes a few steps backwards. “I’m just going to put this in the sink and give you privacy to get dressed. Just let me know if you need help.”

  Ashton takes a step towards her and Skylar freezes on the spot with her breath catching in her chest.

  “What’s wrong, Skylar?”

  “Nothing, I promise.” She nearly groans in frustration as her eyes wander to Ashton’s naked and wonderfully built torso, despite her efforts not to look. She clears her throat and meets Ashton’s questioning eyes again. She exhales hard and quickly blurts out, “It’s stupid, okay? Please, just forget it.”

  “No, I’m not going to forget it. Skylar, I care about you and if you’re upset about something I’ve said or done, I need to know so I can make it better.”

  She bashfully smiles as she looks down at the floor and shuffles on her feet for a moment. She looks up, and calmly says, “I guess that’s what I needed to know – that you care about me. When you said I didn’t have to kiss you, I thought you really meant you wouldn’t want me to do that – like that’s something only Gloria can do.”

  “Well, in all honesty, there is a lot I do with Gloria that I don’t do with any of my other friends.” She quickly puts up her hands, and firmly clarifies, “Nothing sexual,” then puts her hands back on her hips to keep her towel on. “Look, Skylar, you’ve gotta do me a big favor.” She starts walking towards her, and Skylar closes the distance so they’re only a few inches apart. “Please don’t measure what you and I share against what I have with Gloria. I already have Erin doing that and it’s just way too stressful and puts strain on the relationships. If you want to be close, we can be close, but you don’t have to force yourself to be like Gloria. I like you for you. You’re an amazing woman and I feel very lucky to have you in my life. You…”

  Skylar perks up on her toes and firmly kisses Ashton on the lips, cutting her off. Ashton’s lips were slightly parted, so as she closes her mouth to return the friendly kiss, her lips gently envelop Skylar’s bottom lip, causing a spark to sizzle through their veins. Skylar pulls away only an inch then kisses her lips again for just a moment.

  “Was that okay?”

  She answers with a hushed and cracked, “Yeah,” then clears, her throat, answering more clearly, “Yes, it was okay.”

  “Ash, I know you don’t want me to measure us against you and Gloria, but is it okay that I want to be close to you like that?”

  “Yes. But I’m warning you, Gloria is very overprotective of me and she can get feisty when I’m getting close to another woman.”

  Skylar laughs and smiles brightly as she momentarily bites the corner of her bottom lip. “I’ll watch out for that. I wouldn’t want to do anything to upset her.”

  “It’s best not to awaken the mamma bear inside her. Since she bailed on us, what do you want to do? Do you need to get back to work?”

  “No, not for a few hours. We can…” She pauses as she tilts her head towards the window. “Is that piano music?”

  “Oh, yeah, that’s my neighbor.” Ashton walks to the window and reaches through the curtains to open the window to let the music in without flashing the world. “Mr. Russel is a professional pianist and is always playing some great classical master piece. Every so often I recognize something like Black Sabbath or Queen, but he typically sticks to the classical genre.”

  Skylar walks over to stand next to Ashton so she can hear the soft music. Her eyes close as she smiles and her head slightly sways with the melody.

  “I know this song.”

  She starts sweetly humming, and after a few moments, she starts singing softly at first, then her voice rises in volume and power, causing a shiver to run through Ashton. The volume of the piano also seems to increase, as if Mr. Russel can hear his accompanist and is trying to offer her stronger backup to her powerful and beautiful voice. Ashton’s breath catches in her chest several times and tears fill her eyes.

  As the song ends, and with her eyes still closed, Skylar quietly says, “Whitney Houston – I have Nothing. She was such a gift to the musical world.”

  “As are you.” Her voice is hushed with reverence.

  Skylar opens her eyes and turns to face Ashton with a serene smile. “Thank you.”

  Skylar leans in to hug Ashton, and it’s not till Skylar’s head is laying on her bare chest that Ashton remembers she’s still wearing nothing more than a towel. She replaces one hand on the tucked corner of the towel to make sure it doesn’t fall while she lightly places a hand on Skylar’s upper back to return her embrace.

  She wishes Gloria was spying on them again right now so she could ask her if she thinks this is something she should be concerned about. It’s not unusual for Gloria to do something like this, but none of her other female friends would do this, (besides Erin when they weren’t a couple anymore). But Skylar has only seen her interact with Gloria and Erin – maybe she thinks this is typical behavior for Ashton. Or maybe she really just wants to be as close of friends as she is with Gloria.

  “Your heart is racing.” Ashton swallows hard, but she doesn’t know what to say. Skylar lifts her head to search her face. “Ash, what’s wrong?”

  “I think I should get dressed now.”

  Skylar’s eyes get big and she backs up, saying, “Oh, god, I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to… I’ve seen you topless so many times that I just… I guess I’m used to it or something.” She turns and walks to the door. “I’m going to wait in the living room. I’m sorry.”

  “Hey.” Skylar stops in the doorway with her back to Ashton. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m sorry I made it weird.”

  Skylar laughs as she looks down shaking her head side to side. “You are always so quick to apologize and shoulder everything just to make someone else feel better. I’m the one who hugged you while you’re wearing nothing but a towel. If anyone made it weird, it’s me. I mean, I understand you’re comfortable with your body and you’re not shy to show it. But that doesn’t mean you want me snuggling up on you when you’re naked.”

  Her back is still to Ashton, making Ashton feel like she’s ashamed to look at her, and making her even more upset with herself for reading too much into the hug. She walks across the room, and while holding the tucked corner of the towel, she places a hand on Skylar’s hip, applying a bit of pressure. Skylar turns to face her with a relieved smile, making Ashton’s face relax and her lips curl upwards.

  “Hug me whenever you want. Well, if you chase me into the shower, then we might need to have a talk, but otherwise, we’re good.”

  Skylar laughs as she glides her hands over Ashton’s sides and wraps them around to her lower back. She perks up on her toes and kisses Ashton’s lips before laying on her shoulder and giving her a light squeeze. She pulls away while playfully pushing a hand against Ashton’s abs.

  “Get dressed. If I hear you scream in pain, I’ll take that as my cue to come back and save you from you
r bra.”

  Ashton laughs as she nods and turns towards her dresser. “Thanks.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  As she’s locking up her veterinary clinic and setting the security alarm, Erin looks at her cellphone for at least the tenth time in an hour. Her pulse quickens and her anxiety increases. She pushes the call button and waits on the line till it goes to voicemail.

  “Damn it, Ash, what are you doing?”

  She races across the empty parking lot to her compact SUV and as soon as the engine kicks to life, she pulls out of the space and latches her seat belt as she merges into traffic. A mile down the road, she tries calling again, but it just rings and goes to voicemail. She has been trying to reach Ashton for three hours, but she hasn’t answered her calls or text messages, which isn’t like Ashton, especially since she’s on medical leave.

  After parking, fairly poorly by the way, she runs to the security door, punches in the access code, and takes two stairs at a time to the third floor. Out of breath and shaking with worry, she tests the knob and it twists easily in her hand. She walks inside and her stomach immediately fills with nausea. From her angle, she can just make out one of Ashton’s bare legs dangling off of the couch with someone’s jean covered leg lying next to it just slightly higher. She swallows hard and slowly walks into the living room.

  The coffee table and side tables are filled with boxes of half-eaten pizzas, buffalo wings, French fries, grease stained paper plates and napkins, and many empty beer bottles. Ashton and Skylar are laying on the couch – snuggling. Skylar is laying on Ashton’s chest and Ashton is loosely holding her shoulder, while Skylar’s hand is under her shirt, resting on Ashton’s stomach. Skylar’s right leg is laying over Ashton’s right leg and between Ashton’s thighs on the couch.

  She quickly pulls her cellphone out and takes a picture of the scene and attaches it to a text message to Gloria.