Page 7 of Dirty Desires
Chapter Four
Ashton
With my bags packed and ready to go, all I had to do was sit and wait for Artimus and the others to arrive in the limousine. I sipped on a rum and Coke to help dull the nervous edge I couldn’t shake.
I really had no idea where the words had come from when Artimus had asked me if I wanted to spend the weekend with him and his wife as well as Duke and Lila. I’d said I would, but only if Nina came along too.
He’d agreed immediately, a wide smile on his face as he’d punched me in the arm, calling me an old dog for some reason.
I believed the fact that Nina and I had been friends for so long was the reason I had so many reservations about what I’d gotten myself into. I didn’t want to lose her as a friend if I couldn’t do the romantic relationship thing with her. I didn’t think I could do it with anyone, and I didn’t want her to think it wasn’t anything against her.
If I could figure it out again, Nina would most definitely be the woman I’d choose to dive into those dark and treacherous waters with. Waters I knew I wasn’t ready to jump into.
So that’s why I kept mulling over why I’d given Artimus that ultimatum in the first place. If I couldn’t get into anything romantic with Nina, then what the hell was I doing making sure she was going to be with me all weekend?
Nothing I did was making much sense to me. And it had all started with Nina bringing me that first cup of coffee. Somehow that first conversation had opened a gate that had been closed for many years, locked up tight, never to be re-opened. But she’d managed to open it without me even realizing what she was doing. I doubted she even realized the effect she’d had on me these last couple weeks.
When my cell buzzed with a text from Artimus telling me they were pulling up to my building, I picked up my suitcase and headed out the door. My heart was racing because I knew I was about to embark on a journey I wasn’t ready for in the least.
When I got to the car, the driver opened the door, and I saw everyone inside except for Nina. “She changed her mind?”
Julia and Lila laughed while Duke and Artimus grinned at me. “We’re picking her up last, lover-boy. No need to worry,” Artimus teased.
The driver put my bag in the trunk as I slipped into the large car, scowling at my so-called friends. “I would rather you not call me that, Artimus.”
I felt like a kid in junior high whose friends were setting him up or something. Only I was the one who’d asked for Nina to be invited—they hadn’t had anything to do with it. My head was all over the place, and apparently, it showed.
Julia opened the fridge of the minibar and tossed me a cold beer. “Here, have one of these, Ashton. It’ll help calm those nerves.”
I opened the bottle as I asked, “Does it really show that much?”
Lila nodded. “Yep. You shouldn’t be nervous. Nina really likes you.”
I knew she did. I wasn’t nervous about that. I was just nervous about everything else.
The beer helped a bit, and when we stopped at Nina’s apartment building, I was feeling a little more confident. Julia pulled out her phone. “I’ll just text her real quick.”
“No, let me go get her.” I pushed the door open. “Um, does anyone know what the apartment number is?”
“Six seventy-five,” Lila told me.
I headed out of the car and went up to the sixth floor. My palms were sweaty, my stomach tight, my head felt like there was a balloon in there instead of a brain, but I was doing it.
I got to the door and rang the bell then wiped my hands on my jeans and shook my head to clear it. When a man about my age opened the door, I just about freaked out. “Hey!”
He stood tall, looking me up and down. “And you are?”
I stuck my hand out. “Ashton Lange. And you are?”
“Kyle.” He shook my hand. “What can I do for you?”
“I’m here for Nina.” I gulped as he let my hand go. His dark eyes pierced me as he eyed me. She had never said a word about any man who might be staying with her. “Do you live here?”
“Yep,” came his response.
“With Nina?” I asked.
“Yep.” He stepped back. “She’s in the bathroom. You can wait here if you want to.” He walked away, shouting, “Nina, someone’s here for you.”
