Page 18 of Hooking a Firefly
Chapter 8
Ashlyn rolled over in bed and stretched.Much like a cat would after a long, leisurely nap.Muscles she hadn’t used in a while ached in all the right ways.She should be disappointed in herself, but she felt too damn good to bother with such a futile emotion.Ashlyn sat up and stared around the room, then frowned.She was alone.Where was he?
She nibbled on her bottom lip as a sense of dread filled her.The sheet fell down to her waist, leaving her upper body completely uncovered.Her red locks fell forward as she placed her face in the palm of her hands.Perhaps she had made a mistake.
No, she would not become lost in that line of thinking.It hadn’t been wrong, and she would do it all over again.So what if Harrison disappeared before she had woke up?They had made no commitments to each other.Hell, before last night she had pushed him away at every opportunity.She did not blame him for bailing on her.He might believe last night had been an error in judgement.Ashlyn hadn’t given him any reason to believe she felt something real for him.
Her bedroom door slid open, and Harrison strolled in carrying two mugs.“I made you some tea,” he said as he handed her one of the mugs.“I wasn’t sure how you take it…”
She waved her hand dismissively.“I’m not picky.”Ashlyn would drink it even if she hated it.He’d been thoughtful and she wouldn’t shrug off that gift because he may have gotten it wrong.She wasn’t that mean.She sipped the tea and let the warmth roll through her.Ashlyn closed her eyes and sighed.It was delicious and perfect.“You did good.”
Harrison’s lips tilted upward into a sinful smile.She glanced at him over the rim of her mug.Ashlyn enjoyed seeing him like this.He wore his jeans low on his hips, but no shirt.It would be so easy to run her fingers over all those muscles.She wanted to lick him all over.How had she resisted him for so long?He sat on the bed and met her gaze.“I like you this way,” he said in a warm tone.“You’re more…open.”
She shrugged.“You shouldn’t become accustomed to it.”Ashlyn sipped her tea again.“This is abnormal for me.”
“It doesn’t have to be,” he said.“We could have something special if you allow it.”
Ashlyn wanted to say yes.She had loved him from afar for years.What if she gave in and then everything she feared happened?Yes, not all of her visions happened.But they came true far more often than not.The visions that involve death are the worst.They hurt to see in her mind…if she had to experience them in reality?Ashlyn wasn’t certain she could live through something like that.Though in this case the death would be her own.She wouldn’t live, regardless.
She set her tea on the bedside table.If she didn’t, she was afraid she’d spill it.Then she faced him.“I never doubted that we could have something special.That was never the problem.”
“Then why?”his voice held a hint of pain in it.“I don’t understand.”
She should tell him everything.It would help him come to terms with why she had pushed him away over and over again.But there was also a chance that it would do the opposite.He might be of the mindset that they had wasted years they could have had together.Ashlyn had been trying to spare him pain, and instead she ended up where she swore she’d never be.This thing between them was too irresistible.She wasn’t sure she could have continued to keep her distance much longer, regardless.This was where she was always meant to be.
“A vision,” she said solemnly.“What else could there be.”
“I thought that not all of your visions come true.”He narrowed his gaze.“How bad could this vision be that would make you stay away from me?”Harrison held out his hand to her.“Tell me.Did one of us die?”
She flinched.Ashlyn didn’t confirm or deny his supposition, but she didn’t need to.Her lack of response seemed to tell him everything he needed to know.“Who dies, Ashlyn?”
Still, she said nothing.This would not help anything.She should have found a way to remind strong.Now he was going to be persistent.Ashlyn understood why he would.She would do the same thing if she was in his place.Telling him about her vision would change nothing.It might actually escalate the situation.“It doesn’t matter,” she said in a somber tone.“Death is final and there is nothing that can change it.”
“Don’t you think if I am forewarned, I could do something?”His tone was harsh.“That maybe it could change everything?”
She shook her head.“You don’t have to worry.”Ashlyn smiled but it her lips wobbled.“I won’t let anything happen to you.”
He froze.“What is that supposed to mean.”
She grabbed his t-shirt that had been tossed on the floor and slipped it over her head.She didn’t want to have this conversation without a stitch of clothing on.“I think it’s time you left.”
Ashlyn was no longer living on the high of their night together.She had to try to reel it all back and put them on opposite sides of anything resembling a relationship.Last night, and even first thing this morning, she had started to believe they had a chance.This conversation was proving how wrong her thinking had been.
“You do this every time.”His voice turned bitter as he spoke.“I don’t know why I thought you had changed.One night doesn’t make a miracle.He grabbed his sweatshirt and tossed it over his head, then stomped out of the room.When the echo of her front door slamming filled the room, she blanched.This was it.He wouldn’t forgive her for holding the truth from him.She wrapped her arms around her waist and let the tears fall.At least she’d had one perfect night with him…
Harrison was so angry.He had believed that they were finally going somewhere.How could he have been so wrong?The night had been everything, no better, then he had imagined it would be.When he woke before her, he started making plans.He had to be at practice later, but he thought they could have breakfast first, then later he could take her to dinner.Maybe spend another night together.Harrison had started planning their future.What a fool he’d been.
He parked his truck outside of the arena.Practice wasn’t for another couple of hours, but he had to blow off some steam.What he would really like to do was hit something and hard.That would be stupidity at its best, though.He couldn’t afford to injure himself, especially this early in the season.So he’d work out and hope that the anger seeped out of him while he lifted weights.He might do some skating too.It would feel good to race around the rink before practice.
Once inside, he went to the locker room and changed out of his jeans and sweatshirt.Ashlyn had been wearing his t-shirt but he couldn’t make her give it back to him.He had enjoyed seeing her wearing his shirt, even as pissed off as he’d been at her.He went to the weight room.He slid ear buds into his ears and started a music track that would help keep him moving.Then sat down to do leg curls first.
He was partway into his workout when some of the other players wandered in.One of them was Alek, then not long after Ivan came in.They sat at the weight bench.Alek spotting for Ivan.Harrison watched him as he kept doing his leg curls.Each lift of his legs, the angrier he became.Was it irrational?Yes.But he blamed Alek and Ivan for the pain he was currently in.He was well aware that he made his own choices, but if Faith hadn’t brought Ashlyn to the game the night before…
Then he wouldn’t have had one of the best nights of his life.
Harrison wasn’t fit for polite company.Perhaps it was time to leave the weight room and put his skates on.He could try to skate out some of his negative energy.He stood and stretched.His legs were definitely going to feel a bit sore after he was done with today’s activities.
“Hey, Thoreau,” a teammate called out.
