I Met Her On the Balcony

by Sandra Corton

  “That was hot,” he finally muttered, and she quirked an eyebrow in the air.

  “What was?” She whispered.

  “Are you kidding me, Belle?” His voice dropped to its husky tones again, and Lucy shivered at the heated way he said her name.

  “Look, I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about, so please explain it to me,”

  “Geez, you really didn’t do that on purpose?” Ash asked in amazement, his eyes widening.

  “You are starting to annoy me out of my nice chocolate world.” She grumbled at him with a frown.

  “Belle, you looked like… how do I even explain it? All right, no more hot chocolate for you. I don’t think I could watch that again and stay sane.” He declared, his eyes brightening, as she went to take another sip. He quickly pulled her mug over to him. A tiny little growl emanated from her, as she watched him take her drink away.

  “Give it back.” She demanded her tone grumpy.

  “Hell no.” He answered, sending her a small cheeky grin.

  “That’s my hot chocolate. You have your own, see.” She pointed to his mug, as she reached for her own.

  “And you are getting neither.” He told her decisively, as he stood up with both mugs in his hands.

  “It's mine, it's mine, it's mine!” She chanted, as he went to walk out of the room. She quickly chased after him, and when he stood at the sink, she vaulted in front of him. He grinned at her, as she boosted herself onto the sink edge to protect her perfect concoction.

  “These are still going down the sink, Belle.” He warned her.

  “No.” She whined, reaching out for her mug.

  “If you have another sip, and act like that again, I swear I won’t be accountable for my actions.” He told her, his voice low and deep, making Lucy catch her breath.

  She still grabbed the mug from his hands and gulped down as much as she could, loving that rich chocolate taste on her tongue. He quickly snatched it back from her, and tipped both mugs down the sink. The cups clattered against the basin, as he dropped them and gripped her tightly.

  He pulled her to the edge of the sink, so she had to counter balance her weight against him. Almost instinctively, she wrapped her legs around him. She went still, as she finally realised what he had been telling her. He pressed up against her intimately, and there was no denying how aroused he was. She sucked in a breath, as he sent her a searing look that threatened to burn her alive.

  “You stole my chocolate,” she accused him, refusing to acknowledge the position that they were in.

  “Can you at least now understand why?” He questioned, while rolling his hips into hers. She closed her eyes, as tingles spread throughout her body.

  “Yes, but that’s so not the point.” She exclaimed, as he trailed tiny biting kisses along her throat.

  “What exactly is the point?” He whispered in her ear.

  “Oh, um, the point is…” She trailed off, as he found the pulse beat in her throat and ran his tongue over it. “The point is that this means war.” She whispered back, while arching her neck to allow his exploration.

  “War, huh?” He murmured heatedly.

  “Yeah.” She ran her nails down his back, and he shivered.

  In the next instant, he felt cold water gushing down the same spot, and he froze. With a curse, he quickly pulled back, giving Lucy a chance to jump down and run, as she dropped the cup she had filled with water back into the sink.

  “Belle, that was not very nice,” Ash called out to her retreating back.

  “All’s fair in love and war, remember,” she let out a squeal, as he raced into the dining room after her. She jumped onto his back, and smashed a chocolate cupcake into his face.

  “That’s the way it’s going to be, hey?” He asked calmly, while tightening his arms around her knees.

  He pulled her onto his back properly, sharing the wetness. He quickly reached out for his own cupcake revenge, as she let out a grumble at his wet shirt. She wriggled around and tried to get down, but he refused to let her budge.

  When he did let her go, he quickly spun her to face him, and rubbed more chocolate icing on her face than she had gotten on him. A crazy cake war filled the once neat dining room. Cake flew in all directions along with squeals and grunts. Eventually with chocolate spread all over them, they collapsed onto the ground into laughter. Ash rolled Lucy beneath him, and grinned at her broadly.

  “You make my life so much fun,” he told her, as he licked chocolate icing off her cheek.

  “Good, I’d hate to bore you,” She replied, running her sticky fingers into his hair.

  “You would never bore me.” He assured her, as he looked down at her.

  She returned his grin, and Ash lay there admiring her for a while. Even smothered with cake and icing, she was gorgeous. Those bright blue, cheeky eyes gleamed at him, and he felt his heart squeeze in such a wonderful way. All he could wonder was how he had ever survived life without her.

  Chapter 22 – Fights and resolutions

  Ash drove over to Lucy’s house with a broad grin on his face. He still wasn’t sure if he had removed all the chocolate icing from yesterday, he continued smelling its aroma when he least expected it. He pulled up in her driveway, happiness spreading through him, as she ran out of the house to greet him.

  “You’re late,” she accused, as she yanked his door open.

  “I know. I was busy trying to get chocolate icing out of my ears,” he said on a laugh.

  She dropped herself onto his lap before he could even remove his seat belt. She kissed him, snatching his breath away, as her vanilla scent wafted over him. She was warm, intoxicating, overwhelming to his senses, and he loved her for it. She threw everything into her kiss, as her hands cupped around his face cocooning him in her world.

  “I missed sleeping next to you.” She whispered in his ear, ducking her head to hide her blush.

  “Hmmm, I missed that too.” He murmured, as he placed butterfly kisses across her cheek.

  “Really, you two? Get in here and have breakfast.” A voice called out to them. Lucy let out a groan, but stood up feeling a joyful dizziness engulf her.

  They sat around the dining table, a gentle mumbling of morning voices with the scent of toast and pancakes drifting on the air. It had almost become a tradition now that Ash had breakfast at Lucy’s house. He felt accepted here, just like one of the family.

  He had noticed Penny looking at him strangely this morning. When he sent her a questioning look, she just pursed her lips in thought. He could only wonder at what was bothering her, especially since she had taken the news of who he was so well.

  “Okay, I can’t stand this anymore. Do any of you know that Martin James has his birthday on Friday?” Penny stated loudly. Everyone stopped to look at her, and then all eyes fell on Ash.

  “No, were you ever going to mention it?” Lucy asked her brow arched high, as she stared intently at Ash.

  “Maybe,” he said, as he shoved a hand through his hair and looked away.

  “Is turning eighteen no big deal to you?” Lucy questioned him again.

  “It means more than you could imagine. Everything I own can now be in my name, instead of my parent’s, or my brothers.” He told her shortly, and Lucy’s mouth dropped open. Silence overcame the table with everyone looking anywhere but at Ash.

  “I guess you're going to be busy this weekend?” She finally managed to mutter, and when his other hand went into his hair, she knew the answer was going to be interesting.

  “I’m leaving on Saturday morning to deal with lawyers all day. My parents are going to throw me a party that night, but I’ll be home on Sunday.” He told her truthfully.

  “That wasn’t so hard to tell me, was it?” Lucy asked with a frown, feeling a stab of hurt hit her in the chest.

  “Would you mind if we had a party for you on your actual birthday?” Belinda piped up.

  Ash felt shocked that this wonderful family offered to do something so nice for
him. Then again, he shouldn’t have been surprised. They had been nothing if not supportive; caring and understanding the whole time, he had known them.

  “Mum makes great birthday cakes,” Penny added.

  “And Daz does a mean barbeque,” Lucy said, forcing a grin onto her face. It had to be better the alternative than spending no time with him on the weekend at all.

  “Alright already. That would be great, Belinda, thank you.” Ash answered, smiling contentedly in her direction.

  “Would you like to invite anyone from school?” Belinda asked, but Ash shook his head.

  “No, it would be nice to have a low key party, considering what Saturday will be like.”

  A shudder went through him at the thought. He had been dreading Saturday nights party with his parents from the moment that he had agreed to it. They tended to only invite whom they considered worthy of the attention of their singing sensation son.

  It was later that day, when Ash realised that Lucy had been acting strange all day. Everything seemed normal; she was smiling, laughing, and making jokes. Something was missing; she was not being normal Lucy. He puzzled over it, as he waited for her to join him at the end of the day.

  She waved at Ren and Col, and then turned to him. He opened his arms to offer her a hug, which she accepted without a single murmur. Even in his arms, she seemed stiff, not even willing to hug him back. When compared to the girl that threw herself at him this morning, there was a gigantic difference.

  “What’s bothering you?” He asked, as they drove away from the school. She fiddled in her seat for a moment, plucked a stray thread on her dress, until Ash reached over to clasp her hand.

  “When were you going to tell me about your weekend plans? Actually, when were you going to tell me that it was even your birthday?” She finally asked, and he let out a sigh.

  “I’ve been working up to it. Penny just happened to spring it on me a bit earlier than I would have liked,” he said with a grimace, and she sent him a look of utter astonishment, fuelled with a hit of anger.

  “When we got to Friday were you just going to say, ‘see you on Sunday, I’m off to celebrate with my mates’?” She gestured at him wildly, and Ash went still.

  “I wasn’t going to do that.” He hissed through clenched teeth, as he pulled the car over to the side of the road.

  “What are you stopping for, we’re almost home,” she demanded, as he turned the car off, and took in a sharp breath.

  “This conversation is getting ridiculous and annoying, that’s why I stopped.” He stated, turning to face her with a furious look.

  “It’s only two days until your birthday, and you couldn’t be bothered telling me.” She shook her head at him.

  “Dammit Belle, with all the stuff that’s been going on, it seemed unimportant in comparison to the rest.” He told her with a slash of his hand.

  “What’s been going on that’s so different, huh?” She shouted at him.

  “Crystal, for one,” he replied, softening his words with the knowledge that it would hurt her. “Your accident, for two. Your nightmares, for three. Do you want me to keep going, Belle?” He listed them off on his fingers, and knew he had struck a chord when she wouldn’t look at him. “What’s a stupid birthday when compared with all that?”

  “That is nothing. That’s just the normal stuff that I have to deal with.” Lucy muttered.

  “You know something? I’m not used to dealing with ‘normal’ stuff like abusive mothers, which doesn't seem to worry you any.” He said sarcastically.

  “Ash, please, just stop this. I get that it freaks you out okay, but I’m used to it. That’s the way my life is.” She shrugged, which only seemed to infuriate him more.

  “I hate that you have accepted so easily whatever that woman has done to you. I hate it even more that you refuse to tell anyone about it. You know the worst thing, Belle. I hate that you act casual about something that rules and ruins your life!” He finished on a harsh intake of breath, as he glared at her.

  She went still, forcing the tears back that were determined to come forth. He was right, and she knew that. All it took was a person from outside her family to point out the obvious. It was what her family members had been telling her for years. She sucked in a breath, and looked at the roof of the car to try to stem the tears.

  Crystal had ruined her life, and seemed to want to continue trying to wreak havoc in her world. The worst thing was that Lucy always let her.

  “You’re right! You’re right. You’re right, you’re right.” Lucy repeated the words, as she dropped her head into her hands.

  “Yes, I am. Do you trust me enough to try and help you through this?” His calm words washed over her, and she finally looked at him to see that all his anger gone.

  “Yes.”

  “Then answer two questions. Did she push you down those stairs? And was it all in that video?”

  She stared into his golden eyes and gulped. She willed herself to speak, but no words were forthcoming. With clenched teeth, she faced him and nodded her head. A single tear crept out to roll down her cheek, as she finally admitted the truth of that day.

  “That’s all I need, Belle. Trust me when I tell you that we will get her,” he whispered, as he leaned over, and kissed the salty tear away. “Now, the other issue of my birthday, you are coming with me, aren’t you? I thought that would be pretty obvious, but by the way you’re acting, you seem to think you’re not invited, which is just ridiculous.” He said with a roll of his eyes, and she felt relief rush through her.

  The tear dam burst, and she could no longer hold them back. All the emotions she had kept in recently, good or bad, demanded release. All the silly thoughts that she had about his birthday, and how he didn’t want her with him released. The fear that he was keeping secrets from her, escaped in the mad rush of tears. They sat by the side of the road with Ash comforting her in the best way that he could.

  “You know I didn’t bring this up to hurt you?” He asked gently, as her sobs dwindled to occasional hiccups, and she nodded her head. “And you are coming with me this weekend?” He repeated his earlier words, so she nodded again “Thank goodness for small miracles.” He finished on a whisper.

  He hugged her closer, before going through the glove box for the tissue box. She managed a small smile at him, as he handed her the last tissues, and then tossed the empty box onto the back seat.

  “You okay?” He asked, pushing her hair back off her face.

  “Yeah.” She muttered croakily.

  “Good, we are going to my place, and I’ll drive you home later. Text Penny and tell her.” He ordered, as he started the car.

  “Yes, Sir.” She tried to joke, and he sent his beautiful smile her way.

  “As long as we've got that sorted.” He brought her hand over to his mouth, and brushed a soft kiss across the back of it.

  She awoke afterward on Ash’s black leather couch, her head on a cushion in his lap. She didn’t even remember getting out of the car. She scrubbed at her eyes, as papers rustled around her. It took her a moment to realise that it was Ash putting down some homework that he must have been working on.

  “Hey, Belle. I have it on good advice that we need to get some homework done this afternoon,” he told her, as he placed a kiss on her scrunched up forehead.

  “Whose advice is that?” She muttered.

  “Mine, so go get your bag and let’s get organised.” He insisted.

  She let out a grumble, but followed his words. She found her bag next to the front door, which puzzled her. Her brow furrowed, as she realised that she couldn’t remember anything from the time she finished crying. She hesitated in asking him what had happened, she knew it stressed him out when she lost consciousness.

  “Did I black out?” She winced as she asked, and felt surprised when he shook his head.

  “No, I think you just needed a rest.”

  He patted the seat next to him, which she took gratefully. Until darkness crept acro
ss the land, they worked on assignments. Then they studied for upcoming tests, and caught up on schoolwork that had been falling behind.

  A delicious smell wafted her way, and Lucy stopped what she was doing to look around. Her stomach grumbled in response, making Ash look at her with a little grin. With a sigh, she dropped her work back into her bag, tilted her head towards the kitchen, and dragged Ash with her.

  He smiled at her antics, pleased that she was back to acting like herself. His phone buzzed with a message, and he pulled it out of his pocket. He read the message, and a grim but satisfied look appeared on his face. If nothing else, his fame was useful sometimes, and this time he would use it to bring down Crystal Weinburner.

  “Come on, Ash, what are you doing?” Lucy’s voice called from the other room.

  He quickly followed her into the kitchen, which smelt like pasta, cream and fried bacon. He licked his lips, feeling hungry himself. When he spied Lucy sitting on a stool by the counter slurping on pasta, his hunger went from food to the gorgeous girl in front of him.

  What was it with her, and eating certain foods that drove him mental? When she held out a fork full for him to taste, he staggered across the room to her. She smiled, as he slurped it down, and he could only wonder at the unique girl in front of him.

  He leaned closer to her, enraptured by the expression on her face. He licked up the tiny bit that she had missed on the corner of her mouth, and sent her a heated look. She let out a small sigh, and moved closer to his embrace.

  “I see that you’ve found out that Carl is partly our chef, as well?” Ash said, as she offered him another forkful

  “Yep, he is really good too. This tastes great! Thank you so much, Carl,” Lucy called cheerfully to the older man who had his head in the fridge.

  “My pleasure, Miss McConnell,” Carl smiled at her fondly. Ash shook his head in surprise. He had known Carl for years, and had never seen him treat someone as good as he seemed to treat Lucy.

  “I told you to call me Lucy.” She scolded him lightly, and the other man grinned, as he served up a plate for Ash.