Page 77 of Marley
“What if I took you out tonight? Or next week? Do you shag on the second or third night?” I said jokingly.
Totally not joking.
Once again, something passed across her face and eyes.
“Marley.” She said my name as though she was letting out a long breath or a sigh, and I felt all girly as my insides jumped about and my balls felt all tingly, in a most ungirly way.
“Ashley,” I said in the same manner and a small smile played at the corner of her mouth.
“You should do that more often.” I told her while reaching into the drawer for a frying pan.
“Say your name?”
“Saying my name is good, but you smiling is even better.”
Fuck, I was even making myself cringe. Could I have sounded any more wankerish?
She smiled again and my charm sank to new depths. “See? That was beautiful.”
“You’re so full of shit.”
I shook my head in frustration. I’m not winning with my words, so let’s see what I could do with my culinary skills. “You want some breakfast?”
“You don’t want me to leave?” She asked with raised eyebrows, obviously surprised that I wanted her to stay.I’mbloody surprised I wanted her stay, but I did. She was hungry and that made me want to feed her. I didn’t like the idea of her being hungry, hated it, in fact. Just like last night, I needed to look after her. I had no idea what any of it meant, I just knew that I was about to cook this girl breakfast for two reasons. One, so she’d no longer be hungry and two, so that she’d stay here a bit longer.
“If I wanted you to leave, I wouldn’t be offering to cook you breakfast. I’m not a bullshitter, Ashley. I tend to say what I mean.”
“Yeah, I tend to get into trouble for that,” she said quietly while staring at her toes?her cute toes with purple nail varnish on them.
My eyes travelled from her toes and up her legs, from her legs to her body that happened to be hidden away under my T-shirt. Eventually, my eyes hit her face and I was surprised to see her watching me. I abandoned the frying pan and stepped right into her space. She smelled of my shampoo and body wash. Thoughts of her naked as I washed her invaded every single space in my head and I took her face into my hands.
“You,” I let out a long breathe. “You are so fucking gorgeous.”
Her eyes instantly filled with tears.
What the fuck?
She shakes her head slightly. “Don’t, Marley. Please don’t.” She whispered, attempting to look down but I gripped her face tighter, refusing to let her break eye contact with me.
“Don’t what? What did I do?” I asked her, feeling totally confused.
“Don’t say shit like that to me. Don’t talk to me like I’m an idiot. I know I don’t talk nice like your mum and your sister. I know that I sound common and I know what people say about my family.” She swallowed and her jaw trembled. The sight of her struggling actually caused a physical pain in my chest.
“Ash, sweetheart, I seriously?”
“No, no. Let me finish, Marley. People can think what they’d like about my family, most of it’s true anyway. They’re not good people, and I’m fully aware of that. I also know that people tar me with the same brush, but I’ll never be like them. No matter what happens to me, I’ll never stoop to their level. People can think what they’d like, but here,” She pointed at her head and then her heart. “And in here, I know the truth. Yeah, I like to go out and have a good time. I like a drink and I’ll do the occasional line or smoke a joint, but I’m not a junkie and I’m not a slut. I don’t sleep around.”
She blinked and a lone tear rolled down her pretty little cheek. I knew nothing about her family situation, but I hated that she felt like that, that they’d made her feel like that.
“I’m also not as thick as I sound, and you can tell me that I’m gorgeous till the cows come home, but that won’t get you inside my knickers. I’m not one of your supermodels who can pull a rock star any time she likes. I’m just a shop girl; I’m not in your league.”
I didn’t know what to do or say. I felt panic welling in my chest. I wanted to kiss her so bad?so fucking bad, but I didn’t want her to think that I thought she was easy, and that I was just trying my luck.
My mouth forgets to engage my brain before it starts speaking, and words just start coming out of it.
“Ash, I honestly don’t know anything about your family. I’ve no idea what their reputation is, and I most certainly would never, not in a million years, judge you on the way you talk. You’re just a typical Essex bird to me; mouthy, funny, straight to the point, and in your case, sexy as fuck.” She rolled her eyes, again.
“I’m not bullshitting you, babe, I’ve no need to. Believe what you’d like, but I’m telling you straight up, you are a pretty girl and I would really, really like to kiss you right now.”
