Page 54 of Losing Ansley

"Lincoln." She pauses before her eyes turn to Caroline, but Caroline speaks before she can say anything.

"I'm sorry, Ansley. I should have said something to you. This week has been…." She trails off. "There's no excuse. It would have taken five minutes, but it scared me when I overheard Lincoln's conversation, and I wanted to make sure you were okay." Ansley runs her hands through her hair and exhales a long breath. She glances toward Liv, and I notice Liv is watching but not approaching.

Ansley motions for her to come over, and Liv approaches cautiously. I wait to see what Ansley will say, but she stays quiet until Liv joins our circle.

"Is everything okay?" Liv asks, and Ansley rolls her eyes causing me to flex my hand on her waist. She turns her head to me, arching an eyebrow.

"Well, Lincoln is trying to fix things without talking to me first in pure Lincoln fashion." Disdain drips from her voice, and I want to grab her by the throat and show her exactly why I'm doing what I'm doing. She is my world, and I will do whatever it takes to ensure she is safe. She huffs and leans into me.

"But I should have said something sooner, so I guess I understand." She admits, and my head snaps in her direction so fast my neck pops. She smirks at me.

"I know. Shocker! My stubborn ass is admitting I'm wrong." She exclaims and I snort.

"That doesn't mean you're off the hook for doing this behind my back. You could have talked to me before bombarding me in front of everyone." She admonishes, and I don't give an inch. I have to ensure she's safe whether she likes it or not. Instead, she turns her attention back to Liv and Caroline as Bass stands there, taking everything in.

"There's this guy, Chad, I work with on set that is a total creeper. I've felt uneasy about him since I started working in Atlanta, but I've ignored it. Which is unlike me, but I blame it on all the changes and how exhausted I am all the time." She motions to me.

"We found out over the weekend that he used to work in California and recently moved out here. Apparently, he's had charges brought against him of assault." Liv shifts, and her hand goes to her throat.

"What are you going to do? You have to stay away from him, Ansley." Ansley reaches out and rubs Liv's arm.

"There's not much I can do. I work with him. But there's another woman I work with, Leslie; we made a pact that we'd never leave each other alone. We told Dylan, so he knows about him too." She tells them. I kiss her neck.

"That's not good enough for me. I had to jump on it when Caroline told me about Julian." I state, and Ansley sighs.

"I wish you had told us, Ans," Caroline says. "I didn't mean to overhear Lincoln's conversation, but it made me worry about you." Ansley bites her lip and nods. Bass kisses the top of Caroline's head, comforting her.

"I know. I didn't want you all worried." Ansley admits. "So, what's next?" She asks, and I look at Bass.

"We're going to start grilling in about thirty minutes. Come hang out with us, and I'll introduce you to Julian, and then we'll go from there." He states, and I nod. Ansley pats me on the chest.

"Let's get a drink so you'll loosen up a little. And we need to chat." She winks at Caroline and Liv. "I'll be right back." She grabs my hand and pulls me away.

"I know a way I can loosen up," I tell her, and she snorts.

"We already did that before we left your house. Besides, I'm not too happy with you." She responds as she stops in front of a table with alcohol. She grabs the bottle of bourbon and pours me some. When she sits it down on the table to put the bottle up, I pull her against me and move her hair out of the way, kissing along her neck.

"Hmm… Well, obviously, I need another round. It could be an angry fuck." I tell her. She presses back against me, and I grunt, feeling my cock get hard.

"I'd rather not go to the bathroom and walk in on that." Both of our heads snap to our right to see Bec standing there staring at us. Ansley laughs, and I give her a tight smile. Bailey walks up, giving us all a smile.

"Ansley, you should do the dance game with us. It's fun!" Bailey encourages, and I turn to glance at her. Ansley lifts one shoulder but then glances down at herself.

"I did not come dressed to do that, but if I take off these heels, I'm sure I can manage," Ansley replies, surprising me. "I haven't worked out in so long. I'm going to be completely out of breath." Bec snorts.

"According to Lincoln, you worked out before you came here. So…" Bailey's mouth drops open, Ansley starts laughing again, and I want to be rescued from this group of girls.

"Lincoln!" I hear Bass call my name. Thank fuck! I turn to him, and he motions for me to come out on the back porch with them. I lean in and kiss Ansley.

"Saved by the bell." She whispers, and I chuckle.

"Not even sad about it," I tell her, and she smirks as I grab my bourbon and walk away, leaving the giggling girls behind me.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

ANSLEY

I PLOPdown on the couch between Caroline and Liv, out of breath after doing the dance game twice. I look at Caroline.

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