Mr. Always & Forever

by Ashlee Price

  The older woman sighed louder and got up from her daughter’s bed. She knew what those hippy communes were like and didn’t want Ashley to forget the bright future she had in front of her. “It’s just one big orgy Ashley. Drugs and sex. That is all it is.”

  She couldn’t help but laugh, even when her mother gave her a sharp look. It was the first thing that popped into everyone’s mind when they heard commune, a lot of free love and free drugs, but that was not how it was at all. Ashley had been to one locally for a week, but the place in California that she had been accepted to was on a whole other scale. There were over two hundred people there with everything on site. She was excited and she wished she could get her mom on board about it as well.

  “I will smoke a little pot and have a little sex, but no more than usual. Promise.”

  “Oh, Ash. I didn’t want to hear that.”

  “Well I don’t know what else to say. You know how much I want to go. They have a huge hydroponic set that I will get to work on. They have animals. It’s going to be great.”

  She was softening, but still unsure about the whole thing. Betty had been a single mother most of Ashley’s life and in some ways it was more about her, than it was about Ashley. She knew that she would be okay, adapting however she needed to. It was her that didn’t think she could do it alone. They had been companions for so long, Betty wasn’t sure what she was going to do with herself.

  It had always been her dream to live on a farm and her love of all things nature had pushed her daughter towards a hippy kind of existence. Now that she was older, it was finally coming to fruition. She looked at the long braids in her hair and the colorful skirt that she was wearing. “Just promise me you will come home. And don’t drink the Kool-Aid if it turns out to be some cult.”

  Ashley was teary eyed and nodded. She was going to miss her just as much, but she knew if she succumbed to the tears, they would both be a mess. “I promise, no Kool-Aid.”

  Waving goodbye, Ashley decided to get out of there while she could. Betty would have said or done anything to keep her there, if given enough time to come up with a plan. Ashley had to get to the airport in time to get on her plane and like always, Ashley was running a little late. But she made it, just barely and relaxed as she sat back in her seat.

  The flight was long, several hours with one change in Denver. When she got out of the airport in Denver, there was already a change in the air. It seemed cleaner and she was able to breathe deeper. There was no telling what California was going to be like, but she was hoping for more of the freshness. Where she lived in the east coast, the sky was never as blue and the air just tasted better there. The further west she got, the wilder the terrain around her and the cleaner the air became.

  Her next stop was at the airport in California and the only thing she could think of was getting to the commune. It was out a ways and the taxi driver got lost twice trying to find the place. There were no signs or roads that led to the Sunshine Commune, but there was a wreath of flowers on a post where the walking trail began.

  The idea was that a person couldn’t bring more than they could carry, thus they would always be satisfied with less. The hike was almost a mile and though there was a trail, it wasn’t smooth and level by any means. She was out of breath and sitting on her duffel bag when she finally made it over the hill and could see the small community below. There was a few ranching fences around one side of the commune, but everything else looked to be part of nature. It was perfect and she sat there for several moments as the lights died down more and more. The sun was long since gone from sight, but still streaming rays down to her part of the earth.

  It was so much warmer there than when she had left earlier in the day. The sky was huge and the breeze blew through the loose strands of her strawberry-blonde hair. The moon was starting to come out and Ashley could have stayed there all night.

  “Are you coming in or just here to look?”

  The voice was attached to an older, portly man that smiled down at her. He had glistening brown eyes and a knowing smile that was disarming and unexpected from a man his age. She smiled back and stood up, her hand outstretched. “I am coming in, it’s just a long trip here and I was resting for a minute. It looks beautiful from up here.”

  “What is your name?”

  “Ashley Porter.”

  “Ah, Miss Porter. Welcome to the Sunshine Commune. I am sure you will be happy here. I hear that you are only here for the summer?”

  “Yes, I plan to go to college in the fall.”

  “Well many people stay after they have been here a while. You will love it so much you never want to leave.”

  She nodded and smiled, but Ashley didn’t believe that she would be staying. She wasn’t going to argue though. The man’s name was Sebastian and he was the founding father of the place. It had been him that she had had to write to for an application to be considered for the place. After a stack of paperwork, she’d been okayed and it was because of the man standing in front of her that she was there. Ashley didn’t want to start off on the wrong foot.

  “I thank you for the opportunity Sebastian. I am sure I am going to love it here.”

  He took her arm as she picked up her bag and started to walk her back to the small community. There were fires burning and people dancing around it. The only thing that was different than how it was supposed to be in her mind was that nobody was naked. It was exactly what she had been looking for, a place to be free from judgment.

  “You will my dear and everyone will love you. Would you like me to take you where you will be staying or would you like to join in the festivities and get introduced to everyone?”

  She wasn’t sure, but she decided that putting her bag down would be a good start. Her shoulder was sore from carrying it throughout the day and a rest sounded better than a dance around the fire. “I think I would like to put my stuff away first. I should have brought less.”

  Sebastian smiled, his brown eyes twinkling at her. “That is the idea. Come with me. I will show you around and you can put your things down, get something to eat.”

  She thanked him and followed him towards the crowd of people. It seemed like everyone was out there and their names were lost in the sea of faces. Ashley was a bit overwhelmed, but she was happy to be there. Not everyone made the cut at Sunshine Commune and she was happy to be one of them. She knew that it was the best place for her to be at the time. Ashley wanted to learn all she could about sustainable farming, but she was not prepared for all of the attention from the men. Out of all the males there, there were three times as many women. It seemed that they were in dire need of more men and she wondered why they were more than happy to accept her into the fold. It seemed to her that the balance of the commune was already severely off.

  It was strange to be getting so much attention and she found herself a bit overwhelmed with so many other women around. Ashley was beautiful in her own right, but it was as if she were fresh meat there to be inspected. She had sun-streaked strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes that made a man’s heart melt and she heard several comments about how pretty and young she was. She had just turned eighteen and her youth was like an elixir to the men. She was introduced and her hand was kissed by half of them, yet their names became a blur as soon as she heard them.

  “Thank you for being so welcoming.”

  There was a group around her and soon she was in the circle, smoking and relaxing. It wasn’t what she had expected, more like what her mother had foreseen, but Ashley wasn’t going to think about it right then. Instead, she got a bit of a buzz and went to bed. There were a couple of offers to share a bed with someone else, but she declined. It was too soon to be playing musical beds and she didn’t want to be that girl, but there were temptations.

  Telling everyone good night, she went to lie down on her small cot in a room with several others. The men and women were sprawled out in every room and she fell asleep to the sound of the commune sharing love. Most men were engaged
with one of many women and the noise was hard to get out of her mind. Ashley had not been expecting so much of the love part, but it gave her interesting dreams to say the least.

  Chapter 2

  “Good morning sleepyhead. I didn’t get to meet you last night, I’m Ana.”

  Ashley opened her eyes to a woman about her age. The girl had brown hair and matching eyes. She was smiling down at her and Ashley sat up.

  “Nice to meet you Ana, I’m Ashley.”

  “I know. I am here to get you for the harvesting. Sebastian said that you wanted to hit the ground running on the farming, so I was sent to come get you.”

  Ashley rubbed her eyes and looked around her. Most of the sleeping places were empty now and when she looked outside of the cob house, she saw that the sun was almost up in the sky already. “Sorry, I don’t know why I slept so late.”

  Ana shrugged and helped her up. “No worries Ashley. There are no alarm clocks around here. But it is nice and warm, pretty day to do some nut harvesting.”

  Ashley had to agree. She went to her bag to find something to change into. She had slept in the clothes that she had arrived in and traveled in. What she really needed was a shower, but as she looked around she didn’t see one. When she asked about it, Ashley was directed towards a bath house that had several showers.

  “Why don’t you get cleaned up and I will meet you out here in a few minutes.”

  “Thanks Ana. I appreciate you helping me.”

  She waved her off. “We are all new here at one time. I remember how overwhelmed I felt when I first came here.”

  “How long have you been here Ana?”

  “Almost a year. I was going to leave but Sebastian asked me to stay and be one of his girlfriends and I never left.”

  “One of his girlfriends?”

  “Yes, he likes you. I can see why. You are very beautiful. I hope you decide to stay as well.”

  Ashley thanked her, but she had a weird feeling go over her. She wasn’t looking for a boyfriend and certainly not one that had many women or was as old as Sebastian was. He wasn’t her type and she couldn’t see herself with a man like that. As she looked at Ana, she had to wonder why such a pretty young girl would make that decision. But she was not there to judge, so instead of saying anything about it, she went into the shower room and had enough shock in there as well. Ashley did notice this dull look in the girl’s eyes that made her wonder.

  Turning away, she moved into the bath house. It was not just naked women in there, but men as well. There was one man that she remembered as Troy from the night before. The only reason she remembered him was how cute he was. What she had not been prepared for was to see every inch of him so suddenly.

  “Ashley. Welcome. I hope you are finding everything okay.”

  She nodded, trying not to look down at the semi hardness in between his legs. “Yes thank you.”

  He moved out of the way from one of the showerheads. “I am done now, here.”

  She blanched as he moved closer to pass her, looking back as he walked away. He was handsome, that much was clear. Ashley felt herself getting red in the face. This was not the kind of free that she had thought she would find there. Everyone around there had no compunction to get naked in front of each other, but Ashley was finding it hard to do so.

  Turning around, she took her dress off and hung it up the best that she could to cover herself. She heard a giggle next to her and smiled at her. “First day is always a bit weird, but you get used to it. Just bodies right, how we were born and all?

  Ashley nodded, but she still tried her best to avert her eyes. “Yeah I guess you are right.”

  “Well Troy is a bit more, but you will get used to it. He likes you.”

  Ashley didn’t know what to say. She had already been told that morning that two men wanted and liked her, but she didn’t know either one. Ashley was starting to worry that her mom had been right about that place. It was just one big orgy and she was on deck it seemed.

  She worked as fast as she could to get clean and get out of there. She dressed before she left the shower area and found Troy talking to Ana. They took her out to the orchards and she spent the day picking nuts from the trees and off the ground. It was a lot of work and she was exhausted by the time it was all said and done. Her clothes were dirty and she was ready to get cleaned up before dinner.

  Troy went with her again into the shower, as well as Ana. When the two started to kiss and touch each other, her face turned red and she left as soon as she could. It was just a bit too free loving for her, but everywhere she went, there were people in all stages of undress and sex. It was like one big mass of bodies after the fire was lit.

  Ashley decided to take a walk instead of staying for the festivities around the fire. There was dandelion wine being passed around and after a few sips, she excused herself and started out towards the orchards from before. She just needed some quiet and some time to think.

  The moon lit her way and she passed the orchard. She was going to stop and sit under a tree, but the air felt too good and the walk made her feel awake. That was what she was looking for, peace and quiet and nature. Ashley wasn’t even worried about everything else.

  She crossed over a fence and kept walking. The land changed, becoming flatter and less trees. Ashley saw a couple of cows and then horses, but she kept on going. Ashley didn’t stop until she heard a clicking sound behind her and turned around. “This is private property Miss. You need to turn around and get off this land.”

  Ashley turned around slowly and was affronted with a man holding a rifle. It was pointed at her and it was all that she could focus on.

  “I’m sorry Sir. I was just out for a walk.”

  “You are a couple of miles from your little commune sweetie. It is bad enough that you guys move next door, the least you can do is stay on your side.”

  Ashley had never seen a gun up close, let alone had one pointed at her. She started to back up away from the man. She couldn’t see him from the tall hat shadowing his face. Tripping on something behind her, she fell.

  “Come on, I am not going to hurt you.”

  He put the gun down and put a hand up to help her up. “I am sorry for this, but I can’t seem to keep you damn hippies off my land.”

  “I just got here yesterday Sir. I wasn’t under the impression that walking would get me shot.”

  “I am not going to shoot you. I was just trying to scare you.”

  She grabbed his hand and he helped her up. “You did a good job of that. I was trying to figure out why I was here, but now I am thinking I shouldn’t be.”

  Grahm looked at the woman and couldn’t help but feel bad about it. She looked scared even in the darkness and his heart sunk. “I am really sorry, okay. My name is Grahm.”

  She shook his hand and looked around. Ashley became aware how alone they were and she worried that the man with the gun would take advantage of that. “Just let me go and I won’t come back here ever again.”

  He nodded and picked up the rifle he had set down. “I can’t let you walk in the dark. I will take you back.”

  “No that’s okay, really.”

  Grahm wasn’t taking no for an answer. He nickered to his horse that stopped in front of them. Ashley couldn’t see anything but his black eyes staring down at her. She had never ridden a horse before and the beast was huge next to her. “Please, I am okay to walk.”

  “You don’t want a ride there?”

  She looked up at the horse and nodded her head. “No thank you Sir.”

  “It’s Grahm and I must insist.”

  Ashley looked at him for a minute and even in the moonlight she could see that he was used to getting his way. He wasn’t backing down and she was under the impression that she didn’t have much of a choice.

  “Your insisting sounds a lot like a command Grahm.”

  He sighed. “Take it as you will.”

  He helped her up onto the horse and he could feel her shaking under his
fingers. “Are you still afraid I will hurt you? I promise I won’t.”

  “No, I have just never been on a horse before. I am afraid I am going to fall.”

  Grahm jumped up behind her and grabbed her around the middle. Ashley gasped as her body was pulled back on his hard one. He pulled her harder against him and she could feel the need behind her. It was suddenly more intimate than the showers that morning and she could feel her face getting hot. When his arms wrapped around her, she settled back against him.

  “Hold on and I promise I won’t let you fall. You can relax.”

  “Ashley.”

  “Hold on Ashley. I will have you back in no time.”

  The horse took off like a shot and she thought she was going to fall off. She held onto the horn of the saddle and was relieved at the hard arm around her waist.

  Chapter 3

  “I told you I got you Ashley. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  It was a funny thing to say since he had a gun pointed at her only a couple minutes before. The ground beneath her was quickly moving and she closed her eyes, leaning back so that she didn’t have to see how fast they were going. Grahm could feel her body tensing and trembling slightly.

  “Are you okay?”

  She nodded, but kept her eyes closed tight. “Yeah I just really don’t want to fall.”

  He chuckled behind her and pulled her closer. “We’re almost there Ashley.”

  She took his word for it, not able to open her eyes. Ashley felt safe in his arms, knowing that he wouldn’t let anything happen to her, even though she didn’t really know him all that well. There was something about the way that he held her that made her sure that he wouldn’t do anything to harm her.

  “Thank you, but can’t we go a little slower?”

  He laughed a bit and then held her closer. The horse slowed down and the new gallop seemed to push him against her harder. Each move made his knot push against her rear and it made the situation that much more intimate. She opened her eyes and saw the commune from where she was dropped off.