Page 33 of Ash
“Listen here, you fake, sorry ass, little hussy! You ever talk dirty about my man again and you ain’t gonna have the ability to threaten to sue me! I’ll knock every one of those fake-ass teeth out of that mouth of yours!” I scream as Ash takes me out of the bar, through the hall, and into the elevator.
“Are you going to put me down?” I ask once the elevator doors close.
“No chance in hell,” he mutters. “I’ve seen how fast you can run.”
* * *
I siton the bed as I watch Ash pace back and forth on the balcony. He’s on the phone with his mother and while his mother hadn’t been in the bar during the fight, apparently one of his aunts told her all about it.
Ash hangs up and I watch his hands go through his hair before he turns and walks back into the room.
“Ash,” I sigh. “I am sorry if what I said–”
“Hush.” His low voice growls before he grabs my face in his hands and his lips find mine. I am left breathless when he pulls back, leaving his forehead pressed to mine. “You didn’t have to do that, Sunshine, that was way more than what a fake girlfriend should have to do.”
I scoff and grab his own face. “Hey,” I say softly. “Charming, look at me.” My eyes soften at the hurt in his obsidian gaze. I want to comfort him, but I fear he will take it as pity. And I don’t pity him, it must be so hard to be forced to interact with your abuser.
“You’ve obviously never had a real girlfriend if you think that me standing up for you isn’t in the job description,” I say, partially joking. He huffs out a laugh as he plops himself on the edge of the bed.
“Well, you met my only girlfriend.” My eyes widen and my jaw slacks.
“You’ve only had one girlfriend?” Ash shrugs, seemingly unfazed by my outburst.
“Well, you’ve met my ex, do you really think I wanted a repeat of that?” I have to agree with him there.
“Fair enough.” I look around the room as I stretch. “I’m guessing you’re going to want to sleep in the bed tonight?” Ash gives me a warning look.
“I am sleeping in the bed, Sunshine. You are more than welcome to sleep with me if you’d like, but I’m not sleeping on the floor again.”
I scoff, “How gentlemanly of you, Charming.”
“Never claimed to be one, Sweetheart,” he states as he stands to head to the bathroom.
I hear the shower turning on and I let out a sigh as I begin to slip out of my dress and panties. Walking over to my luggage, I pull out a pair of blue striped shorts and a baggy t-shirt. I slip them on before grabbing my hairbrush and sitting on the edge of the bed while working on my hair.
I probably shouldn’t have caused a scene like that. I just got so angry as I watched Ash go from happy and big and strong to being so nervous and hunched over, as if he was trying to become as small as possible. How dare she make him feel that way. I look up as Ash walks out in black pajama pants and an old Hel’s Ink t-shirt before slipping under the blankets. His eyes never look towards me, and I find myself growing annoyed by this.
Crawling up to the head of the bed, I go to look at him, only to have him roll the other way.
“I’m not in the mood,” he pouts, and I cross my arms over my chest.
“Oh? And why is that?”
“I feel bloated.” I let out a loud laugh and slap a hand over my mouth to silence myself. Ash whips around and moves my hand.
“Oh no.” He grins. “I’ve been doing everything to hear that laugh through our walls at night. You ain’t muffling it here too.” Oh, that was way too sweet. Ash must realize what he said because he clears his throat and sits back down. “You want me to put a barrier up?” he asks, gesturing to the space between us.
“You fucked me in a thunderstorm on the balcony earlier today,” I say flatly. “I’m kind of past the shy stage.” I see the color stain his cheeks as he scratches his head.
“Right,” he mutters, and I watch as he slips a pillow between us.Oh, maybe he doesn’t feel comfortable.I wince inwardly at the thought before turning off my light and laying down.
“Night, Sunshine,” Ash mumbles against his pillow.
“Night, Charming.”
* * *
The shuttle bus parks,and everyone begins to file out, heading to the dock. This includes Wade, who bolts so fast from me that I barely see his slim frame run out the doors. Which sucks, but I know he’s mad at me. I told Wade this morning while at breakfast that I wasn’t sure how I felt about him going flyboarding today. And considering that flyboarding had been the main reason he was excited to be here. It’s safe to say that he is pissed off.
