The blonde slapped a hand to her forehead. "I'm so sorry," she said. "I'm nervous. Yes, I'm Kristen Hall, Abby's roommate. This is our house. Welcome."
"It's really nice," Ash said.
"It's not… I mean, it belongs to Bill and Jana Reynolds. We just live in the guestho—"
"I already told him," Abigail said.
"Oh, of course," Kristen said nodding.
She stepped back and made a sweeping motion with her hand. "Well, welcome, anyway," she said. "Make yourself at home."
"Abigaillll?" A man's voice, coming from the other side of the patio, cut through the sounds of talking and music.
"Oh, yeah," Kristen said. "I was supposed to come tell you that Bill said he needs you to clean the fish he caught this morning. I think Jana's ready to start marinating it or something."
Abigail shot Ash a reluctant smile, but they headed across the patio, toward the sound of the voice that had called out for her.
"Was she serious?" Ash asked on the way over there.
"About what?"
"Cleaning the fish," he said.
"Yes."
"Are you going to do it?" he asked.
She shrugged and nodded, but they had come close to the other man by that point, so she focused on him.
"How many did y'all get?" Abigail asked.
"We kept about ten," Bill said. "Nice-sized Grouper and a couple of Wahoo. I brought six of the grouper home, and Mick kept the rest. Jana said she'd fry them up for dinner if we cleaned 'em and brought her the fillets."
Abigail glanced at Ash. "Ash, this is Bill," she said. "He and his wife, Jana, own the house."
"Pleasure to meet you," Ash said. "You have a beautiful home."
"Thank you," Bill said. "We're glad you're here. Any friend of Abigail's is a friend of ours." Bill looked back and forth between Abigail and Ash like he was contemplating something. "There's so many people here; I can't keep track of who I've met before. I didn't know Abigail was bringing a friend. I wouldn't have asked her to take care of the fish."
"She doesn’t' mind," Jake said, coming up to stand behind them and patting Abigail on the back. "Besides, if Ash is going to try to hang out with her, he needs to see for himself how good she is with a knife."
A few people were standing around, and this statement caused them all to laugh.
"You really don't have to," Bill said. "I can do it. It'll take me about two hours, but that's okay. I don't want you to get your blouse dirty."
"I don't mind," Abigail said.
"Somebody get the girl an apron!" Jake yelled.
"I'll do it!" Kristen said.
"And a glove, and a filet knife," Abigail added. "Bill's big, sharp one with the wood handle."
"Gotcha," Kristen said. "I'll be right back."
"Seriously, thank you," Bill said. "You're saving me a lot of time."
"It's no problem," Abigail said. She looked at Ash with a rueful smile and shrug. "I guess maybe I'm destined to smell like fish."
Chapter 12
Abigail
I knew I wouldn't smell like fish just from cleaning a few Grouper. All I would have to do is wash my hands a few times, and I'd be right as rain. I was happy that Bill had asked me to do it. Cleaning fish was one of my best party tricks, and the timing couldn't have been more perfect. It also helped that I loved to eat Grouper and could clean one of them with my eyes closed.
I didn't learn how to clean fish in college. Studying marine biology had helped to enhance my knowledge about how fish were designed and constructed, which made me faster and better, but that wasn't why I was so good at it. My father loved to fish, and I had been helping him clean his catches since I was a child. His love for fishing and the outdoors in general was part of the reason why I studied marine biology in the first place.
Bill and Jana had a beautiful outdoor kitchen area with a prep station that was set up specifically for cleaning fish. I moved to stand behind the counter and reached down, opening the ice chest, which was full to the brim with gorgeous Grouper. Five or six people were gathered around, and more started coming once they heard the commotion.
I could see Ash standing there, but I didn't look directly at him. I was too nervous for that. I didn't want to start shaking. He was dressed casually in cargos and a white shirt, but he was dashingly handsome, and every time I looked at him I remembered just how big of a crush I had on him. It was honestly like nothing I had ever felt.
I lifted one of the Grouper out of the ice chest, holding it by the tail, and laid it on the counter, getting it into position for cleaning. Kristen came out of Bill and Jana's house carrying everything I had asked for. We had an apron, glove, and fillet knife in our place, but Bill and Jana had top-of-the-line tools, so I usually used theirs when I was cleaning his fish.
Jana came outside with her. I saw them talking to each other as they crossed the patio. When Jana looked up, her eyes went straight to Ash, and she smiled. I could tell that Kristen had told her who he was. Kristen handed me the supplies and I put on the apron as everyone found a spot to watch.
"Why's everybody over here?" Bryce asked, walking over with a curious look on his face.
"Because Uncle Bill caught some Grouper this morning, and Abby's about to turn them into food," Jake said.
I saw Jana move to stand near Ash. She spoke to him and they shook hands, but I couldn't pay attention to what they were saying with my nerves and all the noise and everything.
"Okay," I said, popping my knuckles dramatically. "Let's do this." I put on my cutting glove and grabbed the knife. "Ready?" I asked.
Everyone standing around nodded. At least two of them, Avery and Mark, were filming me with their phones. I had no idea why they would want a video of someone cleaning a fish, but they were doing it. I started with a slit behind the dorsal fin and continued cutting strategically in a curved line behind the fish's head, being careful to slice it at just the right depth.
I turned the fish and made a deep cut down it's back, using the spine as my guide. I turned it again and worked on the area near the tail, stopping when I reached the cuts I had already made. Then, I turned it one more time, working on the underneath section. I could cleanly remove the entire side in four strategic slices. I did so, and then I flipped the fish over, quickly repeating the process on the other side. I didn't waste an ounce of meat.
When I was done, there were two huge fillets on one side of the table, and a head and tail with bones on the other. I looked at Bill, who smiled and reached into the ice chest for fish number two. Everyone who was standing around table began talking and reacting at once. Some of them whistled and commented on how fast I had done that, asking questions about who had taught me and how long I had been doing it.
"You see why I get Abigail to do it?" Bill asked. "That right there would have taken me twenty minutes."
"How long did it take her?" someone asked.
"One minute, twenty-six seconds," someone else answered.
I glanced up to find that it was my friend, Avery, who had been one of the people filming. She was staring at her phone, and she looked up and pointed at it just in case anyone needed proof about the timing.
"How do you do that?" Bryce asked.
"Practice," I said. "And a good knife," I added. "I couldn't work that quickly if I didn't have such a nice knife."
"You make it look easy," Sara Beth said.
"She really does," Kristen agreed. "Mark said the same thing last time we were all watching her. She made it look so easy that he tried it himself. That was a total disaster."
"Heyyyy, it wasn't that bad." Mark said. "We got a couple of fish nuggets out of it." We all laughed at him for saying that.
"I've seen her do it in under a minute," Jake said.
"She did like fifty seconds one time," Kristen said.
"A whole fish, or half?" Bryce asked, disbelieving.
"A whole fish," Kristen said.
"Don't get their hopes up," I said. "These are big Grouper.
"
"Who thinks she can get it in under a minute?" Jake asked.
Everyone's hand went up.
Others started gathering around the table because of all the hype, and I rolled my eyes at Jake.
"Don't make her cut her hand off," Kristen said.
"I won't cut my hand off," I assured her. "I'll do my best to break a minute on one of these, but I'm not promising anything."
I cleaned the five remaining fish as quickly as I could without getting careless. I finished three of them in just over a minute, and two of them in under a minute. The whole experience was a lot of fun. Everyone watched in silence and then reacted dramatically once I finished and the time was announced.
They cheered, and I took a bow after completing all of them. I set the supplies on the counter, and Jana and Bill took care of taking them inside along with the newly cleaned fillets of fish.
Everyone disbursed, going back to whatever they were doing before all the commotion. Ash was saying something to Jake when I looked his way, but he glanced at me, and I smiled at him. He smiled back, and I motioned with a crook of my finger for him to come over to me. He nodded at me and then said something to Jake before heading my way.
"I need to wash my hands," I said. "I thought maybe I could rope you into coming with me."
Ash fell into stride next to me and we crossed the patio and then the small yard before entering the guesthouse. Two of our friends were in the living room when we went inside, but they seemed to be on their way out.
"We came to use the restroom," Callie explained.
"That's fine," I said. "Callie and Josie, this is my friend, Ash. Ash, Callie and Josie."
They greeted each other before the two girls headed outside. I began washing my hands at the kitchen sink, and Ash came over to meet me. I turned to look at him as I scrubbed. He smiled at me, and I returned it.
"I can't believe you did that just now," he said.
"I was trying to show off for you."
"It worked," he said.
"What'd Jana say to you?" I asked.
"She asked me about the season. She said she was a fan."
"I knew Kristen told her who you were," I said. "I could tell by the way she was smiling when she was talking to you."
"She was really nice," Ash said. "She knows a few people at the Arsht. She was telling me they're planning on seeing a few of the concerts this year."
The evening before, I had searched for some of Ash's recordings. I now knew what he sounded like playing the cello. I now knew how very talented he was. Granted, I had never seen him play, but I knew what sort of sounds he was capable of making.
"I didn't know she'd be so impressed by a mover," I said, teasing him while trying to calm down at the same time.
Ash grinned and shook his head at me. My heart was hammering so relentlessly that I could hear it in my ears. I brought my hands up to my nose. They smelled like a mixture of citrus soap and fish, so I stooped to retrieve a tube of toothpaste with baking soda that I kept under the sink for moments like these. I squirted a fair amount into my hands, and worked it in, knowing the smell of fish would be gone once I finished. I rinsed off the toothpaste and then washed again with soap, just to be certain.
By the time I rinsed again and dried my hands, they smelled fresh and clean with no trace of fish whatsoever. I smelled them myself before offering the back of my fingers to Ash for inspection. I expected him to smell my fingers, but instead, he took my hand in his, holding it to his lips like a gentleman. He was looking straight at me as he kissed my knuckles, and the thrill of it was absolutely shocking. I pulled my hand away and giggled nervously.
"I meant for you to smell it," I said.
"I know," he said. "But I didn't want to smell it. I wanted to kiss it."
"It made me feel funny," I said.
"Funny how?"
"Funny, like I can't breathe right."
"That's makes two of us, then."
He propped himself against the counter, and I stood next to him, close enough that our shoulders were almost touching. I could see my chest rising and falling as I struggled to control my breathing.
"Where did you learn how to clean fish?" he asked. "Did they teach you that in college?"
"No. It doesn't hurt that I handle fish all the time, but no. That's just a skill that comes with practice. My dad fishes a lot. He taught me that. I've been doing it since I was a kid."
Just then, the door opened, and Ash and I looked to see who it was. Kristen came inside, looking regretful. "Sorry to interrupt y'all," she said, trying not to look directly at us as she made her way across the room. She cautiously glanced at me once she made it into the kitchen. "I didn't know… when I planned this a few weeks ago, I told Jake he could invite anyone he wanted, and I didn't know… I had no idea he was planning on asking Corey. I know it probably doesn’t matter, but I just wanted to give you a head's up that he's here. He's outside. He just drove up." She looked at Ash. "Corey is Jake's best friend," she explained. "He and Abigail dated for a while, but it was no big deal. We're all still friends. He's a nice guy; you'll see. Nobody's gonna be awkward or anythi—"
"Thanks, Kristen," I said, cutting her off. "We'll meet you out there."
"Yes. Okay. Right. I'll meet you out there. Sorry. I just didn’t want you to be surprised… sorry."
She jogged silently across the living room before heading back outside.
Ash glanced at me, and I gave him a regretful smile. "Sorry," I said. "She probably shouldn't have even mentioned that."
Ash buried his face in his hand, rubbing his eyebrows as if wishing he could erase the conversation he just heard. Maybe it was crazy but I felt overjoyed that he seemed to be affected by it—a little jealous even.
Chapter 13
"Abigail," Ash said. "Before we go back out there, can we talk for a second?"
"Sure," I said. I stared at the tile floor at first, but I saw him turn to look at me, so I looked at him too.
What's that you say?
You love girls who can fillet fish?
You wrote a song about me?
You're madly in love?
You want to marry me?
"I, um, this is hard for me to, uh…" Ash paused. "I'm not in this position a whole lot, well, ever. I'm afraid I’m not too good at it."
"Just say what you're thinking," I said.
He gave me a self-deprecating grin. "I don't know if that's a good idea."
"Is it bad?" I asked, feeling a little nervous.
"No. At least, not to me. I just… I don't know."
"Say it, Ash," I said.
"See?" he said. "Just the sound of my name coming off your lips... being said by your voice."
"Ash," I said again.
He closed his eyes, and sighed as if the sound almost hurt.
I reached out and touched his arm. "What is it?" I asked. He placed his hand over mine, gently trapping it in place. The thrill of his touch was almost unbearable. My knees grew weak.
"Abigail, this might be coming out of left field." He paused.
"It's not," I assured him even though I had no idea what he was going to say.
"I'm jealous over you," he said. "It's scary to me how jealous I am."
My heart pounded, but I just stood there, listening.
"Jake was there, at the country club, and I just kept thinking he was looking at you. And then that chef made you some special sauce, and I hated him for it. I wanted to storm back to that kitchen and ask who do you think you are, making sauce for Abigail? And now, your roommate comes in here saying your ex-boyfriend is right outside, and my heart is beating a thousand miles an hour—like I'm about to get in a fight. I seriously feel adrenaline, like I'm about to have to… I don't know." He regarded me sincerely—his golden-brown eyes peering at me like some kind of wild cat. He took a deep, calming breath. "I'm not used to feeling like this."
I still had my hand on his arm, and I left it there, but I repositioned a little bit becaus
e I moved to stand in front of him. I stood close enough that our bodies were almost touching. I could see the rise and fall of his chest, and the sight of it made me feel even more breathless than I already was.
"Abigail, I know we still have a lot to learn about each other," he said. "But in the meantime, I would love it if you could just tell me that there's a chance you will not entertain the idea of other guys."
I didn't completely understand what he was saying. "Are you asking me if I'm interested in you, Ash?" I was frightfully nervous, but I hoped my voice didn't betray me.
"Yes," he said. "I am."
"For more than a friend?" I asked.
"Yes, Abigail, for more than a friend."
"What about your policy?"
He scanned my face. "I'm mad at myself for even telling you that. There's no policy. That's ridiculous."
"There never was a policy?"
"Yeah, but it's not called a policy. I just don't date. I didn't date. I date now. I date you."
I couldn't hold back a smile at those words. "I guess I date you, too," I said.
He let out another sigh. "Good," he said. "Thank goodness."
"Where are you gonna take me?" I asked with a smile. "On our date."
"Wherever you want to go."
I shrugged. "I don't need to go anywhere. I just figured if we were calling it dating, then maybe that meant we had to go somewhere."
"I'm not really as concerned with going on a date as I am with you telling me I have nothing to worry about with that guy out there, or the ones who make you special sauce, or any other guys, for that matter."
I let out a little laugh, but then I did something bold… something that surprised me. I couldn't stop myself, though—it was like his face was begging to be touched. I slipped my hand off of his arm and placed it gently on his face, letting my fingertips touch is cheek. I was so weak in the knees that I had to concentrate on standing up. Electricity shot into my hand and through my body, causing all sorts of sensations in my mid-section.
"Ash," I whispered.
"What?"
"I was smitten with you when I thought you were a mover. I was drawn to you instantly. You came outside that day, and I was mad at myself for having on pond clothes. Then, I thought you belonged to the cellist, and I hated her for it. I was jealous of someone who didn’t even exist. Then, you came to The Bombay, and I almost fell off of my stool. Then, you were so sweet with Sidney's class, and…" I paused and sighed. "Ash, I haven't even seen you play the cello, and I'm already feeling like I can barely stand up right now. It's honestly funny to me that you would even think that you have anything to worry about with Corey, or Jake, or Victor."
So This is Love (Miami Stories Book 1) Page 9