by Ash, Nikki
“How do you know I won’t just find a woman to marry and divorce her the minute I get my hands on the money?”
Grandfather breathes a heavy sigh into the phone. “Because I know you would never marry a woman unless you loved her. I saw you with Gabrielle all those years ago and I know you wouldn’t say those vows again unless it was for real. And I also know you would never do that to your mother and grandmother.”
Fuck! He’s right. There’s no way I could stand in front of my family and God and vow to love and cherish a woman until death do us part unless I meant every word I was saying. The problem is when I made those vows to Gabby, they were supposed to be the only time I would ever make them. She was supposed to be my one and only, my one true love.
“Grandfather, I appreciate your offer but unless a woman I can magically fall in love with, falls out of the sky and right into my lap, I don’t think it will be possible.”
And just as I am saying these words out walks Ashley looking hot as hell staring daggers my way as she walks past my car to her mailbox to check the mail. Long, straight caramel colored hair that flows down her back with matching hazel eyes. On a good day, they are mixed with green but on a bad day they are mixed with gold, which is how they look now. Her hair and eyes are what you notice first but it doesn’t end there. Because as you run your eyes over her body, you notice her perfect sized tits that I can attest to, fit quite perfectly into the palms of my hands, only spilling out a little. Then when you go a bit farther, you see the soft but flat stomach and amazingly toned tanned legs which seem to go on for miles from the years of exercising and pole dancing classes she has taken at the girly gym she goes to. She almost didn’t renew her membership this year so I renewed it for her as a Christmas present. She is wearing her cocktail waitress uniform, which consists of a tight, low cut black tank top that reads Double D’s across the front in bright orange lettering—the name of the sleazy strip club she waitresses at— and tiny black booty shorts. And to finish off the outfit, she struts back up the driveway in black heels that have got to be a good five inches tall, showing off her toned calf muscles.
Since my windows are tinted, when she gets near my car, I roll down the window so she can see me wink at her, and when I do, she flips me the bird. I laugh out loud as I watch her ass sway back into the house, and then remember I am still on the phone with my grandfather.
“Kaden! Are you there?”
“Yeah, I’m here. Sorry.”
“Your grandmother wants you married and I will do whatever it takes to make sure it’s done. She’s not getting any younger and her one wish is to see you settle down and give her some great grandkids. What will it take, fifteen million?”
Holy shit! He is dead serious about this. You would think my grandmother was on her deathbed…
“Hold up, is Grandmother sick? Is there something you aren’t telling me?”
He doesn’t reply for a second and when he does he says, “Please just think about it. It would make her happy, Kaden.”
It doesn’t go over my head he didn’t answer my question.
“Ok, I will think about it. Regardless, I will be there for her birthday this year.”
I might not be able to give her a great granddaughter-in-law or great grandkids but I can at least go back for a visit for her eightieth birthday. What if she is sick and I don’t go. That wouldn’t be good at all. I live with enough regrets; I don’t need to add any more.
“Thank you, Kaden.”
And with that he hangs up.
I turn my car off and head up to Ashley’s front door. It’s a small two-bedroom house in a rougher neighborhood. Not as bad as some parts of Las Vegas but it’s not the kind of neighborhood you let your kids play outside by themselves in. She said she bought it when she was pregnant with Tristan when she was fresh out of college. I don’t hear much about her deadbeat ex-boyfriend also known as Tristan’s sperm donor, but I do know he left her in pretty bad shape financially, hence the reason why she works part-time as a cocktail waitress. I have begged her to let me help her out but she refuses. Stubborn ass woman!
“Honey! I’m home!” I yell out as I walk into the house, without knocking, in search of Ashley. She doesn’t respond and the only thing I hear is music blaring from somewhere in the house. I head through the living room following the sound of the music and then into the kitchen where I find her.
When I get to the kitchen, the sight in front of me almost knocks me on my ass. Ashley is stirring what looks like spaghetti in a pot and while doing that, she is shaking her ass to the song Closer by the Chainsmokers. She has a wooden spoon in one hand, which she is using as a microphone, while her other hand holds onto the oven door handle. Then she drops her body halfway to the floor, her ass sticking out and then slowly moves her body back up like the goddamned stove is an actual person. Is it weird that I wish I was a fucking stove right now? I am instantly hard and have to adjust my pants before I make a fool out of myself. I clear my throat and she turns around still singing the song. “Now I’m looking pretty in a hotel bar… I can’t stop… So, baby pull me closer in the backseat of your Rover…”
She has now allowed my body to take the place of the stove as she approaches almost too close for comfort and then drops to the floor like she did a minute ago, only to come back up slowly. If I was hard a minute ago, my cock is now rock fucking solid. I step back a foot and clap at her performance.
“Nice; however, it’s an Aston Martin not a Range Rover. Good to know those pole dancing lessons are being used, even if it’s in the kitchen cooking pasta.”
“Hey now, you never know… maybe I’m just working on building up my confidence before I take my moves to a real club.” She takes the boiling pot over to the sink and pours the pasta into the strainer.
“Aren’t you just full of jokes,” I say dryly while searching for some food to taste. Ashley can cook something fierce.
“You still mad at me?” I start looking across the counter to find something to munch on. Fresh rolls out of the oven. Score! I pop one in my mouth.
“You know I hate it when you question my work schedule.” She grabs the basket of rolls and moves them to the other side of the counter thinking it will prevent me from grabbing more.
“I get it. I’m sorry. I just hate that you work so much when it isn’t necessary.” I move to the stove to see what’s cooking over there.
“It’s very necessary. Anyway, I told you I have to work tonight. What are you doing here?” She asks pouring the pasta back into the big pot and then looking down at her phone.
“Well I’m here anyway. Need any help?” I ask lifting the lid to the smaller pot, which is holding her delicious meatballs. I grab a fork and before I can snag one, she snatches the fork from my hand.
“Oh good! You want to help? You can fold the laundry in the dryer while I try to find a sitter for Tristan.” I know she’s only kidding about the laundry but I go to the dryer and grab the clothes to fold them. What kind of best friend would I be if I didn’t help her out?
After grabbing the clothes, throwing them onto the couch, and turning the NBA finals on, I yell back to her in the kitchen. “Brittany cancelled again? I can watch Tristan.” I grab a couple articles of clothing to fold and see a bright pink thong. Fuck! I throw that shit to the side. I’ll figure out how to fold those later.
Ashley comes out of the kitchen frowning down at her phone and then looks up at me folding the clothes and smiles. I love that smile. I would do anything to keep that smile on her face. There isn’t anyone I have ever known besides Gabrielle whose smile can light up an entire room.
“Are you sure? I put a text into Hayley and Liz. I don’t want to take you away from any plans you might have.”
“Tristan!” I call out to him. It’s a small house so it doesn’t take much for someone to hear you. I hear him running down the short hallway and a few seconds later he throws himself on the couch next to me.
“Want to chill with me tonight whi
le your mom goes to work?”
“Yeah!”
“There you go. We are good to go. You staying to eat first or do you need to run?”
“I really need to run. I am hoping to meet with Don to beg for some extra days.” She is now running around the house grabbing her purse and coat and keys. She really is the most unorganized woman. Most of the time it’s the guys who leave shit everywhere, not the women, but Ashley is the exception. She is forever misplacing her debit card and keys. One time she found them in the washing machine!
She gives Tristan a kiss goodbye, first. Then leans over to give me a kiss on my cheek. “Thank you, Kaden.”
Before she can walk away, I grab her wrist bringing her to a halt. “I can give you some money… even a loan if it makes you feel better. Then you wouldn’t need to work at night and you can just focus on Tristan and teaching.”
She lets out a heavy sigh, giving me her signature glare while her hand goes to her hip. “We have already had this conversation. I don’t want or need your money. Can we please not have this argument again?”
I know there isn’t any use in continuing. She’s right, we have had this argument, and it always ends the same way, with her telling me no. She is determined to make it on her own. And she is. She has been living on her own, taking care of Tristan and teaching full time as a kindergarten teacher since I met her. She has also been working at Double D’s since I met her. It was two days a week for extra money, she said. But recently something has changed. I’ve seen past due bills on the counter when she’s forgotten to put them away and she has been trying to work additional days. She’s been doing this same routine for years and now suddenly, she isn’t making ends meet? Something isn’t right. Unfortunately, until Ashley is ready to talk to me there’s no getting any information out of her. She’s too damned stubborn for her own good.
“Have a good night at work.”
“Thanks! And don’t let Tristan stay up past nine, please. It’s a school night, even if school is almost over!” She yells as she flies out the door.
“Who do you want to win the finals?” I ask Tristan as I go back to folding the laundry, throwing some of his clothes at him to fold.
“I guess Cleveland,” he says not really caring since his world revolves around the UFC.
“Ugh… C’mon kid. Don’t jump on that bandwagon!” I groan.
“Whatever… Can we play UFC on the PlayStation?”
I look at the game, seeing that Cleveland is destroying Atlanta. It will most likely be a complete blowout.
“Sure, why not?”
“Yes!” He fist-pumps into the air before running to the PlayStation to set the game up.
Two
Ashley
I get to Double D’s and find Don, one of the two owners of the club, hence the D in his name, and ask if I can speak to him.
“Sure, honey. What’s up?”
“I was wondering if there’s any way I could have some more nights.”
“Honey, we have talked about this. I don’t have any openings. Unless a girl quits or gets fired I am maxed out on hours.”
“What if I danced? I have taken pole dancing lessons for years.”
He shakes his head at me. “Ashley, I would put you up as a dancer in a heartbeat but the women who have been dancing here longer get first dibs. If you would have come to me six months ago you know I would have moved you to the stage but right now my lineup is full.”
Yeah well, the problem is six months ago I didn’t need the money like I do now…
Four months ago…
There’s a knock on my door. A quick glance at the clock on the microwave showing ten o’clock pm tells me it’s too late for anybody to be coming over. Kaden did leave a little bit ago… he probably forgot something. I swing open the door, immediately going to slam it shut when I see who is standing there. It’s definitely not Kaden. What the hell was I thinking not looking out the window to see who was there? His foot catches in the door and then his fingers wrap around the edge pushing it open.
When he gets inside, I look closely at the man who walked out the door almost six years ago, only he doesn’t quite look like the same man. He is a bit skinnier, his clothes are rattier looking, and his eyes are bloodshot like he’s high on something. It looks like he has been through hell and back.
“What do you want?” I whisper-yell not wanting to wake Tristan up.
“I want to see our son.”
“He’s not our son. He’s my son. You gave up your rights the day you walked out.”
“That’s not what his birth certificate says.”
“What the hell do you want, Tyler?”
“I’m broke. I need money and you are going to give it to me.”
“Are you fucking serious? Do you not remember what you did to me when you left? All the debt you left me in! I have to work nights on top of teaching kindergarteners all day just to keep up and pay off the maxed-out credit cards you racked up when you pretended to pay the bills, only to use my hard-earned income to feed your gambling addiction!”
He grabs me by my shirt and shoves me roughly up against the wall. “Listen here, you fucking cunt; I have a right to see my son. Either you give me money or I will take him away and you will never see him again.” His voice sounds so cold and menacing. What happened to the guy I met in my senior year of college? The guy who took me on romantic dates and told me he loved me at the top of the Eiffel Tower experience. That guy is clearly gone and I am starting to wonder if he ever really existed or if it was all just a front.
“Don’t do this, please. I don’t have any money to give you!”
“I will sign over my rights to our son for thirty grand.”
“Where the hell do you think I am going to get that kind of money?”
“You live in Las Vegas! There are plenty of loan sharks. Figure it out. I’ll be back tomorrow. If you don’t have my money, I can promise you our son will disappear. I am sure a six-year old boy goes for much more than thirty grand on the black market.”
He lets go of my shirt and stalks out of the door slamming it behind him causing me to jump.
I pull out my phone and text Don. If anybody knows where to find someone to lend me money it would be him. I’ve overheard all the shady shit he’s dealt with over the years.
Me: Where can I go to borrow a large amount of money?
Don: How much we talking?
Me: $30,000
Don: Damn woman! Do I even want to know?
Me: No, you don’t.
Don: Go to Giovanni Valentino. He owns a Gentleman’s Club about thirty minutes outside of LV. Tell him I sent you. But Ashley be sure about this. He only takes one kind of collateral…
Me: Which is?
Don: Women
I’m not sure what the hell he means by that but I need this money so I’ll just have to figure it out. I can’t take the chance of Tyler coming back and stealing Tristan from me. I’ll deal with any loan shark’s demands if it means keeping my son safe.
He texts me the address and I text him back thanking him. After calling in sick for tomorrow, I double check all the locks on the doors and windows. Then grabbing my pillow and blanket, I go to sleep on the floor next to Tristan’s bed. I’m not taking any chances.
The next morning after dropping Tristan off at school, I head to the address listed. The GPS says it’s a half an hour away, so I use the drive to build up my courage to beg for the money. When I get to the said address I see a beautiful sign that reads “La Stella.” As I drive down the long-graveled road, the most exquisite picturesque mansion comes into view. It must be three stories tall made of brick and Mortar. While it looks to be generations old with old style Church windows throughout with chimneys in several areas, it has a certain modern charm to it. It’s absolutely breathtaking. I pull up to the large U-shape driveway and see several expensive cars parked along the side. I follow their lead and park on the edge of the drive as well, my beat-up car sticking out like a
sore thumb.
Approaching the massive size wooden front door, I take a couple deep breaths gaining the courage to knock, when the door opens with a gentleman who looks to be only a tad bit older than me, maybe in his thirties. He is in a three-piece suit and not at all shocked to see me standing in front of the door.
“Good morning, how may I help you?”
“I am here to see Giovanni Valentino. Don sent me.”
“I’ll let him know you are here. And your name is?”
“Ashley—Ashley Myers.”
He opens the door wider, signaling for me to enter, then leaves me standing in the foyer to, I assume let Giovanni know I am here to see him. From what I can see, the inside is even more beautiful than the outside. To my left is a tall brick fireplace that expands from floor to ceiling. The fire is on and crackling giving it a homey vibe. Wood beams run across the ceilings and in front of the fireplace are a couple of brown leather couches. There is a man sitting on the couch drinking what looks like a scotch and sitting on his lap is a gorgeous woman wearing what looks like nothing more than a scrap of lingerie. She must feel my eyes on her because she turns to face me, giving me a small smile. Her makeup is done to perfection and she’s even more beautiful than I originally thought. I give her a small smile before she turns her attention back to the man she is with.
“How can I help you?” Another man walks over, dressed just as nice as the gentleman who let me in, only this guy runs his piercing blue eyes up and down my body, assessing me.
“I’m here to see Giovanni Valentino. Are you him?”
“I’m his assistant. How can I help you?”
“I need to see him.”
He glares at me for a second but nods his head walking away. A few minutes later he returns.