I Met Her On the Balcony

by Sandra Corton

  “Tell me, who are you going as at this party?” Lucy turned to Ash and asked.

  “Who I’m going as?” He sent her a puzzled look.

  “Ash or Martin, dummy?” Lucy stated.

  “I don’t know. That will depend on who’s invited I guess," he said with a shrug.

  “Does that mean Mark and Sally will be there?” She asked with a frown.

  “Probably, my parents couldn’t have me looking too scruffy to attend their gala event.” He said sarcastically, as he gestured to his outfit.

  His jeans were worn, old, and comfortable. They moulded to his legs in an almost breathtaking way. His t-shirt fit him like a dream across his broad, defined chest. His hair flopped into his face adoringly, while those hazel, golden eyes of his always distracted her with their intensity. There was nothing about him that didn’t make her want to fall to her knees and worship his true glory.

  “There’s not a girl anywhere that would call you scruffy looking,” she assured him, as she marched her fingers up his arm to gently tug on the sleeve of his shirt.

  “That’s good to know, Belle, but unfortunately, it still won’t impress my parents,” he finished on a groan.

  “It’s your party and not theirs. I reckon that you should be able to wear whatever you want.” She argued the point, while stroking the warm skin of his strong bicep, and he couldn’t help his grin from escaping.

  “You meeting with them should be quite interesting.” He said with a small chuckle.

  “I didn’t even think of that. Have you told them about me?” She asked anxiously.

  “Of course, I have.” He pronounced, as he finished his meal.

  She was going to meet her boyfriend’s parents in a few days. The worst thing was that it couldn’t just be a normal type of affair. No, it would have flair and dramas, maybe even some ceremony.

  “Belle, don't worry about it. They may not be as cool as your parents, but I promise that they will be welcoming to you.” He reached across, and brushed away the curl that had fallen onto her cheek.

  “Do I get to meet them before the party?” She asked in a whisper.

  “Yes, I’ve organised a quick lunch with them long before the party.” He assured her.

  He picked up her hand, and twined his fingers with hers, hoping to still her worry. She glanced up at him, but her blue eyes still shimmered with anxiety. He reached across, and stroked a finger over her slightly freckled cheek. When she leaned into his touch, he felt his own tension ease.

  They had each other, and he was sure that would always be enough for him. She loved him for the person he was, not the fabrication that the world saw. No matter what happened on Saturday, nothing could change that.

  Chapter 23 – The problem with birthdays

  Friday afternoon rolled in, and Ash felt relieved that the school week was over. Until he thought over all that was coming in the next couple of days, which made him let out a groan. Lucy was heading home by herself with Penny, and he missed her on the drive home, more than he thought he would.

  The sisters had been acting secretive all day, and he wondered whether he should be concerned. They had told him to turn up around dinnertime, while giggling to themselves and walking away.

  He’d never had anyone treat his birthday as special as what the McConnell family had. His family only ever treated his birthday, as a gruelling chore that they had to get through. They were quick to use it to their advantage; if money was involved, otherwise it wasn't that important.

  Feeling a twinge of excitement, Ash pulled up outside Lucy’s house for the umpteenth time that week. Only Lucy didn’t run out to greet him, instead everything was eerily still and calm. He walked up to their front door, but everything looked dark.

  He knocked on the door, and it pushed open all on its own. He stepped through the door apprehensively, but still nothing. Instantly, all the lights came on, and Lucy’s whole family was jumping up screaming ‘surprise’. By the time he registered that, the two girls were spraying him with silly string that went everywhere. In the end, they all started laughing.

  “Happy Birthday, Ash!” The whole room burst out in ear splitting voices, and he couldn’t wipe the grin from his face.

  “Wow, thanks,” he said earnestly, while pulling silly string from his hair, and they all grinned broadly at him.

  “C'mon, you’ve got the seat of honour tonight,” Lucy tugged on his hand, and dragged him into the dining room.

  A pile of presents sat down one end of the table, with a huge chocolate cake in the middle. He couldn’t believe the trouble they had gone to make his birthday special. He felt overwhelmed by the generosity that surrounded him, and speechless at the fact that they cared.

  “Sit down, and open your presents,” Lucy steered him to the end of the table, pushed him into a chair, and watched him expectantly.

  “Here, open mine first. It’s not much,” Penny pushed a small packet into his hands, as she ducked her head to hide the blush that stained her cheeks. He opened the wrapping to find a new guitar pick in his hands.

  “Thanks Penny,” he said, sending her a warm smile.

  “Alright, ours next,” Bill said with a gleam in his eye. “This here is a traditional eighteenth McConnell present. Open it up, lad.” The older man handed him a weirdly shaped, heavy parcel, and Lucy let out a groan.

  “I can’t believe you got him that.” She said with a roll of her eyes towards her father and brother. Ash sent a grin to Bill, when he finally unwrapped a yard glass.

  “Are you trying to tell me something?” He asked the older man, who just let out a laugh.

  “I got one on my eighteenth too,” Lucy told him wryly. “Be thankful that he hasn’t filled it up yet.”

  “Seeing as how you two are driving a lot tomorrow, I didn’t think that would be too appropriate.” Bill answered

  “Yeah, you can’t see very straight after drinking that much or at least I couldn’t.” Lucy said with a chuckle, and Ash raised an eyebrow in question.

  “Hey, I’m all for drinking responsibly, but you only turn eighteen once.” Bill told Ash with a sly look.

  “Yeah, but then I spent the rest of the night puking everywhere, and Mum made him clean it all up.” Lucy, Belinda, and Daz all chuckled to themselves, remembering the night in question, making Bill huff at them.

  “Here is mine. I thought it was appropriate considering,” Lucy snickered, as she handed him a small, but surprisingly heavy parcel. When he pulled the wrapping off, he shook his head and let out a laugh.

  “Are you trying to tell me to ride a horse, or don’t give up my day job again?” Ash asked dryly, as he fingered the shiny horseshoe in his hands.

  “Yeah, definitely the latter.” Lucy choked on a laugh.

  “Alright, time for some dinner. Let’s get some cutlery and plates on this table.” Belinda ordered, and everyone scurried out into the kitchen, leaving Lucy and Ash in the room.

  “Your family is rather crazy, you know that, right?” Ash asked her with a wry grin.

  “Yeah, I know, but they are pretty great too,” she said, and he nodded in agreement. “By the way, they are supposed to be lucky.” She gestured to the horseshoe they he still held.

  “Really? I didn’t know that. I feel pretty lucky, even if I didn’t have it,” he reached over and tugged on her hand, until he could pull her onto his lap. “Did your Dad really fill a yard glass with beer for you? I still can’t believe that.” He shook his head at her.

  “Yes, but that’s the only time that he’s ever offered me anything alcoholic. He also watered it down, until it was about half beer and half water, but it was still enough to make me sick. I think when Daz was eighteen he made it full strength, but Daz used to be a bit of a partiers, so it didn’t affect him that much. Dad seems to think it's some rite of passage that we all have to do.” She explained, as the other family members organised the table.

  Shortly, they were all sitting down to one of Belinda’s delicious meals. A
sh looked around this tight knit family, and felt a sense of belonging that he never had in his own family. These people accepted him for who he was, not who they expected him to be.

  When they insisted on singing him ‘Happy Birthday’, he grinned with embarrassment, but let them. Belinda handed him the knife to cut the cake, and he laughed at the rather obsessive look on Lucy’s face as she ate a slice. He hadn’t had such fun at one of his birthdays in years.

  When the night finally wound down, he couldn’t wipe the happy expression off his face. He stood by his car finalizing the details with Lucy, while holding her loosely in his arms. He didn’t want to walk away from her, it didn’t feel right to be getting in his car and driving away, but he did, with a huge sigh.

  With an alarm ringing in the darkness, Lucy snapped awake. This was it; she was going to meet Ash’s parents today. She gulped in some air, pressed down on the anxiety in her chest, and prayed for this day to go well.

  She fidgeted on the ride to the airport; she twiddled her thumbs in the plane, and tapped her feet impatiently in the back of the limousine. Ash tried to reassure her that everything would be fine, but it didn’t help her nerves terribly much.

  He had meetings in the morning, which she couldn’t attend, so they had decided that she would spend her time looking around the city. She was rather excited to wander the huge city. It was always different and exciting to her small country town. He dropped her off with a small kiss, and handed her a credit card.

  “What’s this for?” She sent him a dubious look.

  “I thought that would be obvious, shopping, Belle,” he stated dryly.

  “Ah, no, not happening,” she pressed the card back into his hand “Plus, with your name on it, somebody will think that I stole it,”

  “My names not on it.” He sent her a tiny triumphant grin, and she looked at the card that he refused to accept back.

  Clearly, on the front of the card, her name sat in print. Her jaw dropped open; she was speechless and incredibly unsure of how she should feel about this tiny piece of plastic.

  “I’m not good with being bought, Ash.” She finally uttered.

  “Belle, what’s mine is yours. I’m not trying to buy you or anything. This is yours, go nuts.” He advised, as he pushed the card back into her hand.

  “Are you sure?” She asked uncertainly, as she regarded the shiny piece of plastic as if it was diseased.

  “Yeah, trust me, there’s no way you’ll ever reach the limit on that thing.” He spoke casually, and her eyes went wide.

  She tried to force the card back into his hand, which just made him chuckle at her. He drew her closer to him, and reached beyond her to pull the door closed that she had opened earlier. He laid little kisses on the hand holding the card, and then wrapped her fingers tightly around it.

  “Listen to me, everything that is mine is yours. That’s all the good things, and all the crappy bad things, okay. We are equals in this together. This is nothing that any other guy wouldn’t do for the girl he loved.” He insisted, sucking out her will with the intensity of his golden eyes. She closed her eyes on him. When she opened them, she nodded, however reluctantly.

  “Fine, but you know that I’m only going to use it in an emergency.” She asserted, and he puffed out a frustrated breath.

  “Fine. I’ll ring you when my meeting are over.” He hugged her close with a sigh.

  “Yeah, I can’t wait for lunch with your parents.” She said wryly, as she pushed the door open again.

  “I love you, Belle, so stop worrying about it.” His voice dropped down into a drawl.

  Lucy felt her insides squeeze, as his eyes glimmered at her. She pursed her lips, and scrambled back in the door for the second time. Her lips captured his in a slow, sweet heart-thumping kiss. She curled her arms around his neck with a smile.

  “I love hearing you say that you love me,” she whispered before kissing him again. They were lost in their own world when the intercom buzzed, then Ash’s phone began ringing. “Okay, I get it, I’m going already.” She muttered, as she got out of the car.

  She watched him drive away, until he was lost in the traffic that engulfed him. She bit her lip, a mixture of apprehension and excitement buzzing through her. She was in the city on a bright sunny day, and she felt as if the whole world was there to explore.

  The tall buildings that threatened to block out the sun, and the constant city bustle surrounded her. She knew she was gawping like some country bumpkin, but dammit, that’s exactly what she was! With a grin in place, she set forth on an exploration of the unknown.

  Her boots stomped, her hair fluffed wildly around her face, and the credit card Ash had given her sat stuffed in the back pocket of her jeans. She felt ready to tackle anything that came her way.

  When her phone rang hours later, she was quick to answer it. She missed him. It wasn’t the same going around the city by herself. She knew he would’ve made it incredibly fun, instead of becoming continuously lost, until she was frustrated.

  He organised to meet her nearby, and she waited impatiently for him to arrive. She forced herself to stop pacing, and that’s when she noticed people were staring at her. She prayed that she hadn’t been talking to herself, as she bit her lip. What was going on? Why were people staring at her like that? Some girls around her age giggled at her, pointed, and then quickly moved away.

  When Ash came striding up the street towards her, she saw all the people turn their gazes to him. It was no wonder really that he was one handsome guy. That dazzling, devilish smile made her heart beat faster and a tingle run up her spine.

  “Ash,” She murmured his name, as his arms enclosed her. “I missed you. Next time, can we explore the city together?” She nuzzled her lips against the side of his neck, as he nodded at her.

  “Yep, next time I promise I'll take you to my favourite spots, but right now, we have lunch to get started.”

  He stepped back, clasped her hand in his, and led the way down the street. People still stared but this time Lucy could sense confusion coming off them. She put on her biggest smile, and decided to ignore them. She was here with Ash, and he chose her, nothing else mattered.

  “I’m guessing that you didn’t use the card I gave you?” He asked wryly, as he swung their arms together, noticing the absence of shopping bags.

  “I did see a pair of diamond encrusted boots, but I decided that it was just a bit too flash,” she said cheekily, as she pointed to her rather grubby boots that she wore. She looked up at him to see the reaction from her comment. When he let out a bark of laughter, she smiled.

  “And how much were these spectacular boots?” He asked around another chuckle.

  “Quite a few thousand actually.” She said, leaning into his warmth.

  “Oh well you still would have had enough money left over for a second pair, maybe a third or fourth, definitely a fif- Ugh, what was that for?” He rubbed his side where she had jabbed her elbow roughly.

  “You shouldn’t have given me this.” She reached into her back pocket to pull out the card just, as he steered her down a side street.

  “Belle, lighten up okay,” he threw an arm around her shoulder, and squeezed while she frowned at him. “If you don’t then I’m going to buy you those boots, and make you wear them.” He threatened with a grin.

  “Yeah, why don’t you try that?” She pushed the card back into her pocket, and poked her tongue out at him.

  “Wait a sec, what size are you?” He swept her up in his arms, and tried lifting her leg, until she laughed.

  “Ash, what are you doing?” She said around a laugh, as she clutched tightly to his shoulders.

  “Trying to find out your shoe size, obviously. Don’t ask silly questions, Belle.” He chided lightly.

  “Ashton Martin James, please explain what you are doing right this moment!” An intimidating feminine voice asked from behind them. Ash turned and almost dropped Lucy, as his mother looked sternly at them.

  “Hi, Mum.”
Ash said a little guiltily, as he placed Lucy back on her feet.

  Lucy sent a glance to the woman, before looking quickly away. She was tall and elegant looking. Her brown hair swept back from her face into a fancy bun at the nape of her neck. Her clothing screamed designer, making Lucy feel uncomfortable in just her plain jeans and a blouse. The woman’s dark brown eyes assessed Lucy brazenly. She gave Lucy the brush off, and turned a broad smile to her son.

  “Ashton, it is lovely to see you,” the woman gushed, as she pulled him into her arms “But why are you dressed so? Martin must make an appearance with us today.” She demanded, as her eyes snapped between Ash and Lucy.

  Her glare settled on Lucy, who felt anger flame up inside of her. It seemed that the woman decided Lucy was a problem, and she didn’t seem to be getting any friendlier. Ash completely ignored her comment, and reached for Lucy’s hand.

  “Mum, this is my girlfriend, Lucy McConnell. Lucy, this is my mother, Farrah James.” Ash looked between the two women, until Lucy conceded.

  “Hello, Mrs James, it is a pleasure to meet you.” Lucy said politely.

  Lucy stuck her hand out to shake, but the older woman just stared down her nose at her. Lucy eventually lowered her hand, feeling a bit stupid about how she had acted. Ash frowned at his mother's rudeness. He grumbled under his breath, pulling on Lucy’s hand to lead her further down the street.

  The restaurant was small and quaint. Lucy liked it immediately, from the beautifully carved bench seats to the framed pictures of horses galloping all over the walls. This place made her feel welcome.

  “Why would you choose this place, Ashton? It seems so outdated,” his mother looked around the room with distaste.

  “He chose it for me,” Lucy answered, knowing that it was true, especially when Ash smiled at her.

  “That's rather presumptuous.” Farrah looked down at Lucy with a haughty expression.

  “No, it’s just the truth.” Lucy replied decisively, finding it increasingly hard to like anything about this woman.