Everyone was clapping their hands and telling me good job, everyone except Tony. When I got back to sitting on his lap, he just wrapped his arms around me and said, "You have got to tell him soon, Sadie. Nice try with the song change but I saw your heart break out there. I don't like it."
"I love you Tony, but I have to do this my way."
"I will always be here for you."
"Same goes for me." I turned to everyone and said, "Now let’s get another drink."
I had been in contact with Kaleb and Lindsey ever since the dreadful night at Lindsey’s house. We had all gone out again several times since and so I thought it would be fun to have them over to my house for a change. Heather and I never did have parties at our place because all of our friends have always worked at a bar. It just made sense to go out instead of stay in. I asked her if she minded and she said she and Jason were going to Chicago to visit his grandparents, so she didn’t care. I cleaned all three levels being it was a town house. We never used the basement unless we needed to do laundry, so I thought that would be a perfect place for them to trash, versus the upstairs.
One last run to the liquor store and I was set. It was kind of exciting to host something. It reminded me of the barbeque Heather and I had at the park.
When everything was ready, I threw a quick text to Colt to wish Maddie happy birthday. Then I popped a beer. Doesn't hurt to get an early start.
An hour later Jameson showed up first. He and I laughed at Duck Dynasty for a while until Kaleb and Jeremy got there with Lindsey, Nicole and Steve right behind them. A couple of other people from the party that night had been coming around also, so I had gotten to know them as well. Cory, Jill, Dana, and Todd were a blast to hang out with. When it seemed I had a packed house upstairs, I moved everyone to the lower level to make it easier. My dad was awesome enough to bring over the ping pong table once I told my parents about the get together I was throwing. I immediately threw out a challenge for beer pong. The cups were close so when everyone said they were up for a game, I set up the table. There was also a card table and music, so the party didn’t take long to get going. I had bought a couple of bottles of pucker and flavored vodka for shots and those were going down pretty smooth for all of us. I was kicking Kaleb’s ass at beer pong when he had to take a phone call and paused the game to go upstairs so he could hear. Lindsey and I started to dance to "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons. I have to say this is a great song. Jill, Nicole and Dana started to dance with us. We were being stupid, not seductive. This was a house party not a club. Kaleb came back down and the game resumed. In the end he beat me and boy, did he rub it in. Then Jameson wanted a turn. I let the guys have at it and went upstairs to grab another beer. When I turned the corner to go into the kitchen, I stopped dead in my tracks .What had shocked the shit out of me was the man standing in my family room. The look on his face read the same shock I was feeling.
"What are you doing here?" came out of my mouth before I could think of something better to say.
"I could ask you the same thing?" He still looked in disbelief.
"This is my house, your turn."
"This is your house?"
"I just said that. I don't mean to be rude but why are you here?"
Just then Kaleb came up the steps and took in the situation. Then he walked over and said, "So you found it okay?"
We both just stood there staring at each other. Not saying a word.
"Sadie, do you remember Ash Williams from school? He just got out of the Navy yesterday. I hope you don't mind, but I told him if nobody answered the door, it was probably because we couldn't hear it from downstairs. So to just walk in."
Say what? The Navy. I met up with this guy a little over a year ago. He wasn't in the Navy. He sold stocks and trades. What the hell is going on?
"No, I don't mind and yes, I remember him, but not so much from high school. He and I saw each other up at ‘51’ last year. Right, Ash?"
"So you live here?"
He avoided my question like he couldn’t get past the first part. I was lost with it all too. Kaleb saved the day by answering for me.
"Yes, this is her place. We’re all down stairs. Why don't you come down and say hi." Ash followed Kaleb down the steps while I walked over to my couch and plopped down. What the hell! My life couldn’t possibly get any more confusing. I must have sat there awhile because the next thing I knew, Lindsey was asking me why I wasn’t with everybody else.
"Oh I'm sorry. I just had to think about something. It’s okay. Let’s go."
I took her hand and led her back down.
When we reached the bottom, my eyes immediately found Ash. God was he HOT! I had thought of him from time to time. You know those chance encounters that stay with you and turn into what would have happened if this were different or that? He didn’t look up, but I knew he was fighting it. The chemistry between us never left. The second I saw him in my house, it hit me. The last thing I remember is him helping me into a cab and saying he would give me a call. I would like to say I had been waiting on that one but to be truthful, I completely forgot. I walked over to the table and grabbed the chocolate vodka. I poured it into a cup instead of a shot glass. This was going to be a long night.
Ash was talking to Jeremy and Jameson about the Navy. He apparently worked on an air craft carrier. That sounded pretty exciting, but he didn’t sound too excited when he was talking about it, so I guess it wasn’t. I was sick of standing in one spot eavesdropping on his conversation, so I went upstairs to use the bathroom. When I got there and closed the door, I started to freak. All of the memories were coming back to me. I practically had sex with him on the dance floor of ‘51’, twice! "I can do this" kept going over and over in my head. I finally managed to pull myself together and opened the door to get back to my friends, when I ran smack into Ash, again! The eight pack was still there. Yep. I counted again. You would too.
"Sorry about that. Excuse me." I never looked up and he never moved. So my hands never left his stomach. Which was starting to stir something in my girly parts, if you know what I mean? I switched to walk around him but he moved as well. We danced like this until I was willing to look at him. When I finally did he said, "I'm sorry about the way I acted when I got here. It was just crazy to get to see you again."
"Yeah, uh, me too."
"You’re looking good, Sadie. Real good." He said it as he stepped back far enough to take me in from head to toe. Chills erupted, covering my body. How can he make me feel like this in a matter of seconds? I finally stepped around him and went to the fridge for a beer. As I reached in to grab one, I heard him take in a breath and then he followed that by saying, "The view isn’t too bad from this angle either." That comment made me want to either stay right where I was or drag him up to my room. Neither was going to happen, so I just stood up, didn't acknowledge it and asked if he wanted one also.
"If it means you get to bend over like that again, then yes, I'm very thirsty."
"Nice try, Jack, now you can get it yourself."
He walked over to me and lifted my chin to look in his eyes. "My name is Ash, not Jack. I would tell you that you will be screaming it later, but I'm not that kind of guy." That’s it. My panties just melted.
"So you’re not the kind of guy that can make a girl scream your name or..." He grabbed my face to kiss me. I just knew that was what was coming but Nicole came up the stairs and Ash immediately pulled back. "To be continued" is all he said and then walked back down the stairs. I smiled at Nicole but once she walked into that bathroom, my ass was up the stairs changing my panties.
When the party started to die down, I was drunk. I didn’t want to get too wasted. I wanted to have a night with Ash that I would remember. And I really was looking forward to tonight with him. We had been trading glances all night. So when he offered to stay and help me clean up, I was jumping up and down clapping my hands inside. I said goodbye to everyone and thanked them for coming over. Kaleb seemed to be the only one who acte
d like he thought it was strange that Ash would stay. But then again, he is the only one I told I was seeing someone, and then Colt came and picked me up that one time. Is it wrong what I was doing? I looked over at Ash and thought, nope, nothing about this man was wrong. We finished picking up and sat down on the couch. Both of us were tired. I had so many questions I wanted answers to.
"So when did you go in the Navy and why are you home already if you enlisted. Don't you have to be there for four years or something?"
"That is a lot to answer. Well first, I joined right after I last saw you. I pretty much hated my job and decided it was time for a change. I went into the Navy branch because I wanted to be an on carrier fire fighter. They had me take all the tests and I passed with flying colors. After boot camp in Chicago, I went to what they call ‘A’ school in Memphis. Then they stationed me in San Diego, California. That's when everything went to hell. They fucked up my paper work somehow and had me assist in the launch of air crafts. I kept talking to my superiors and they kept telling me it would get straightened out. It didn't. Well not until a few days ago when they told me it was all fixed but I would have to start my time over. I had already been in over a year. I didn't want to do that, so when they offered me an out with an honorable discharge, I jumped at it. They told me I could be home by my birthday which is today by the way. So here I am. Are you asleep because I know that story could put you there?”
"Not, at all. Don't get me wrong, you’re very long winded but it was interesting. Is today really your birthday and you’re just now telling me this, why?"
"Now who's long winded? Yes, it’s today. I'm 25."
"Well then, happy birthday, stud."
"Thanks. You’re pretty hot there yourself."
"So what do you plan to do now? I mean, if the Navy is out, then what now?"
"I don't know. If I stick with what I really wanted to do in the first place, I'm going into the fire academy. It doesn't pay that well, but it would be something I love."
"Then I totally think you should do it."
"What about you? What have you been up to all this time?"
"How much time have you got? No, I'm just kidding. I have work and friends. That keeps me pretty busy."
"Still hanging out at ‘51’? Because my stalker nature was going to take me there tomorrow night to see if I could run into you again."
"Seriously?"
"No. Come on now. Do I look like I need to stalk a girl to get her to go out with me?"
"I don't know. You were doing a pretty good job of it up at the bar with me."
He grabbed me and tickled me until I needed him to stop. He let up, but by this time we were in a position that could lead to something else; which I wanted so badly. So when he sat back up, I sighed.
"What was that sigh for?" Did he just call me out?
"What are you taking about?"
"Really, Sadie, do you think I'm that easy? I told you, I'm not that guy."
Well, that's a bummer. Mood kills in over drive.
"What kind of guy are you?"
"The kind you will never forget." He stood up and walked to the door. "Unless your number has changed, I still have it. Can I call you tomorrow?"
I was floored. He really was leaving.
"Yeah, it’s the same number."
"You didn't answer about the call."
"I'm not that kind of girl."
"And what kind would that be?"
"The kind you don't have to work for."
"Oh, I plan to work. Harder than you can possibly imagine. You'll just have to wait and see." With that, he opened the door and walked out. I threw myself back on to the couch. Did that really just happen? Just then a text came through my phone. I got up to look at it. It was from a number I didn't recognize. But I knew exactly who it was from when I read,
GET READY FOR ME.BECAUSE I'M GOING TO HAVE U. BY THE WAY, LOVED SEEING U THROW YOURSELF ON THE COUCH. U DO HAVE A WINDOW RIGHT THERE. NO STALKER HERE.
GOOD NIGHT SADIE AND DREAM OF ME. I PROMISE U WILL BE THE SPOT LIGHT IN MINE
CHAPTER 34
I thought I would have heard from Colt by now. It had been three days since he left. The only thing I got was this morning and it just said WILL DO. I'm getting so tired of this ignore-Sadie-while-I’m-out-of-town thing. I do not expect much. Texting is pretty easy to do now a days. I drove over to Tony’s instead of sulking. He answered his door with his usual smile and hug.
"What brings you by, girly?"
"I was bored and wanted to spend some time with you. Is it a bad time?"
"Not at all. I was just getting some stuff together for a case I’m working on. How was your little get together last night? Go okay?"
"It went great. But something crazy happened. Do you remember me telling you anything about a guy named Ash from up at ‘51’?"
"That's the only guy you have made out with besides me, since Colt came along, right?"
"Right. Well he showed up last night."
"Where? Your house?"
"Mutual friends got him there, but yeah. Isn't that crazy?"
"Did you guys hook up again?"
"Nope. He wouldn’t let it happen. Something about being the kind of guy I wouldn't forget or he needed to work for it or some crazy talk."
"Sounds like my kind of guy."
"You fucked me the first chance you got. Don't ‘my kind of guy’ me."
"And look where it got me, the friend’s zone. Not that I want to go there again, but you see my point. Men and women are not all that different. Losing respect can happen fast if it is given away too quickly. It needs to be earned by both sides. We already had that. That's why we are okay."
"I get it. So it probably doesn't help my cause that I was practically drooling all over him and at one point needed to change my panties?"
"Shut up! You have it this bad already? Sadie girl, rein it in. Make him work for you, honey."
"Oh, I did. I told him that. And he said he’s going to work harder than I can imagine. You have to see the text he sent me at the end of the night after he walked out the door."
I showed Tony and then he said, "Like I said, my kind of guy. You heard from him yet today?"
"Which one?"
"That isn't even funny. You haven't heard from Colt?"
"No and it’s weird. When he left, we were better than good. He will be home in two more days. Maybe he is just consuming his time with Maddie, which is how it should be."
"Is it that hard to call and see how you are doing?"
"I’m feeling the same way."
We sat around for a while talking and watching TV. I was making lunch for us when my phone started to ring. I had left it on the table so when I looked back at it, Tony was watching me with a huge smile on his face.
"You don't know it's him. Stop smiling like that."
I walked over, picked it up and sure enough it was the same number from last night's text. Then it was me smiling from ear to ear.
"Well answer it already, before he goes to voicemail."
I pushed the answer button and just said, "Hello."
"Did you dream about me?" I blushed something fierce and Tony laughed quietly at me.
"Not once. You?"
"Nope. I guess we need to work on that." We both laughed.
"So, are you busy tonight? I was going to go look for a certain girl at this bar, but I decided she isn't worth my time. I found another one I want. And I would love to take her out tonight."
"I think you’re confused. The girl at the bar probably would love for you to show her a good time. This one isn't looking for a boyfriend." Tony’s jaw hit the floor.
"Oh make no mistake, Sadie. I just got home. I thought we might be able to hang out and have a little fun, but I'm not looking to find a wife today. Don't flatter yourself too much. You might get a big head. So can I see you tonight, or what?"
"Maybe you should go to the bar after all and find the original girl. She just might be waiting for you."
<
br /> "I might just do that. Talk to you later, hot stuff." And then he hung up. I looked at Tony and his face was beaming.
"Oh my God! Tony, that was crazy awkward."
"And you did crazy good. Well, at least from the one side of the conversation I could hear. Are you going to go?"
"Should I?"
"Hell yes! Just don't give it up yet. Let him wait."
"I need to get going. If I'm going to do this, I need to shower and shave. I have to do a ton of stuff."
"Go if you feel the need, but don't worry too much about how you look. You’re already beautiful." I leaned over and kissed him.
"Thanks. You’re the best. I will call you tomorrow and let you know how it went."
"See ya, Sadie."
I walked into’ 51’ and the place was packed. Bryan and Geoff were working the front bar so I went and sat down there. Bryan came over and handed me a beer without even asking what I wanted. It tasted good. He knows me too well. Geoff popped over and handed me a red bull and vodka. Now I'm double fisted.
"Really, guys? Am I an alcoholic?"
"Not at all, we just argued over your first drink of choice." Bryan said this as he was looking at me to prove he was right. I picked up the glass and took a drink. Geoff threw his hands in the air and said, "Who’s the man?"
"Bryan, don't think you didn't win either. I took a drink when you first handed it to me, remember?" Now his hands were in the air, "Boooyaaa!" Geoff walked away sulking.
"Truth is boys, I change it up. If I'm tired and need the pick me up, I go with the Red Bull. If I'm good, I stick with beer. You’re both right."
"So you come here that much?" I heard from behind me. I looked over my shoulder and there was Ash. I patted the seat next to me in an effort to get him to sit. He grabbed it and pulled it out to make room for himself.
Finding Solace Page 24