Page 77 of The Pact

“He had to go take Nora to a playdate. Rosalie forgot and had to be somewhere.”

I flinch at the thought that Kelley must be livid and decide to text him later to check on him.

Ashton hands me my bikini. “Ausra, I told the guys to get lost for today at least. I want to spend some time with you. Just the two of us. If you don’t have anywhere else you need to be, of course.”

I can’t help the smile that’s spreading on my lips. “Did you call dibs?”

He chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck and for once, I’m not the one to blush. “Sorta. Is it ok? My parents are gone for the whole weekend and I thought that we could just hang out here, go for a swim. Just have a lazy summer day. Unless you have something else going on. Sorry, I didn’t think about it, I—Fuck. I’m rambling. You make me a little nervous. But what I meant is that if you have something to do, I’m happy to tag along and be your driver. If you want me to.”

I smile and he visibly relaxes. “I don’t have anywhere to be. I’m not working this weekend. And I’d love to hang out with you. And why are you nervous?”

He offers me a lopsided smile, tilting his head to look into my eyes without stepping back. “Are you kidding? You’re fucking hot. And cool. So I want you to like me.”

It’s my turn to smile. “I’m not cool. I’m just me. And whatever the fuck are you talking about? You’re super hot. I haven’t seen one girl not checking you out anywhere you go, Ash.”

We look at each other for a moment and neither of us says anything else. The air around us is crackling with electricity. I feel so attracted to Ashton that I don’t want to say or do anything that’ll make him change his mind on me being “cool.”

It’s actually the first time that anyone has called me cool and I like how that makes me feel.

We walk out of the laundry room and he tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear. “Let me go check on that breakfast while you put on your bikini. Meet me out back?”

I change quickly and when I step outside, Ashton guides me out to the beach.

There are two comfortable looking loungers under a giant straw umbrella with a small, round table in the middle.

“I didn’t know what you liked, so I got Maria to get you a sausage extreme sandwich. There’s also more pretzels and ...” He digs into a cooler that’s sitting under the table. “We have a choice of soda, sparkling water or more beer.”

I flinch at the sight of the beer bottle. “I couldn’t possibly drink more beer.”

He chuckles. “I thought so, but just in case you thought that ‘hair of the dog’ was the way to go. And beer goes really well with the pretzels.”

I sit on the padded lounger and take a bottle of the French sparkling water he just got me. “This is my favorite,” I say, opening the bottle and taking a sip of the cold, bubbly water. I used to drink lots of it when I lived at home, but since I moved out it’s a treat I can rarely afford as it’s quite expensive.

Ashton smiles. “Yeah, I noticed you liked it at the bonfire. That’s pretty much all you had to drink. So I made sure that I was stocked up.”

His gray eyes are reflecting the sun like a mirror and I don’t know what to say because noticing what I like to drink is really sweet of him.

“Thank you,” is the only thing I whisper as I put my lips to the bottle.

“Let’s eat our breakfast before it gets cold,” Ashton encourages me.

It might be because of the drinking last night, or because my stomach feels finally settled but with the midday sun warming my skin, I must doze off.

I open my eyes when I notice the light changing. Ashton is standing up between the two loungers, rotating the huge umbrella to cast more shade on me.

“Oh, hey.” He smiles. “It’s getting hotter and you were in the sun. I don’t want you to get burned. You have fair skin and I didn’t bring out any sunscreen. But I can run to get some.”

I would’ve never suspected that Ashton had such a caring side. He’s the tallest and the biggest out of the four and the quietest in general. He seems to always stand one step back from the others, observing. It’s been a little bit like that when it comes to me too so far.

He hasn’t avoided me but he’s been less aggressive than the others in seeking me out.

“I can go get some, if you tell me where to look,” I offer but he declines, running back into the house.

***

Ashton

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