Page 65 of Ashley & the A-Listers

“Yeah,” he said, heart full and head fuller. “See you next time.”

15. CASUAL

ASHLEY

The following days were… suspiciously lovely.

She saw Dylan at the gym, and while she still harbored confusion and hurt over his actions, she no longer wanted to punch him in the fucking face.

Progress, you know?

Cameron made excellent strides in the next weeks, and he even managed to get her down on the matsonetime, though she was reluctant to let him gloat about the victory.

“You’ve still got four weeks to go,” she told him. “That’s a long way from now.”

But she could admit to herself that Cam’s growth was downright impressive. He’d thrown himself entirely into the art of kickboxing, and she saw improvement every time he stepped inside the gym.

River was like his shadow, tapping along at his laptop while Cameron got his ass kicked. He was focused on a screenplay, and he hadn’t shared much of it with the group, but he worked diligently. She wondered if he’d been making changes based on what he’d been seeing them do on the mat over the past weeks,or if production was way past that point and he was on a different project.

And you know, Ashley didn’t mind his attendance when he showed up with a whole tray of coffees in hand. Every time, Cameron complained about the calories, and every time, River told him he’d gotten a version that wouldn’t piss off his nutritionist.

When they left, Dylan usually trailed behind, sometimes shooting her finger guns or waving awkwardly.

It was… endearing. All of them. If it wasn’t too bold of her to say, it was almost like they were a… pack.

But that was crazy. Dylan was just their bodyguard. In a few weeks, when Cam was on set shooting for his big movie, they’d move on and forget all about her, and her job would be done.

She’d see him on the big screen when his movie came out.

Ashley tried not to let that get her down, but it was the theme of the day, apparently.

While Cam was taking a water break, Ashley’s phone buzzed, and she found a text from Kenzie. Jordan’s family had an emergency and Kenzie was tagging along to support her. The two of them were on their way out of town.

We’re already missing you,the text said.Happy birthday love! Check your email!

So Ashley tabbed over and found a gift card to treat herself to dinner with that weekend.

She wished them well and told them to call her if they neededanything,but in the meantime Ashley sparred with Cam as usual.

It wasn’t until they were about to leave the gym that Friday, the day before her birthday, that Cam said something.

Bag in hand, he walked over, all sandy-blond attractiveness with a cute smile on his face.

“So, since we finished a whole month of training… would you want to celebrate with dinner? With us, in case that wasn’t clear.”

Ashley cocked her head to the side. She wasn’t one to mingle with clients outside of the gym, but…

Cam had that sparkle in his eye, and he was shuffling his feet as if prepared to run away at her dismissal.

River waited over by the door, looking expectant, and even Dylan seemed a bit hopeful.

And Ashley was maybe a bit bummed about spending her birthday alone.

“Alright,” she said, finally, after making him sweat. “Dinner sounds nice.”

“Really?” Cam asked, face lighting up. Even his light scent perfumed a bit sweeter.

“Where to?” she questioned.

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