Page 37 of Make You Miss Me

Coming out of the bathhouse, I find Ash already finished and sitting on top of my Jeep deep in thought. My stomach fills with dread as I climb up to sit beside her and see the look on her face.

Grabbing her hand to soothe her, she speaks before I have the chance to. “You were supposed to be fun. You weren’t supposed to be so much more.”

Her eyes fill with tears, and I pull her to me. “Baby, tell me what you need. I’ll do anything for you. I’ll fight any battle if it means I get to keep you in my life. Just tell me what we’re fighting against.”

Her face is full of agony. “Trent, I’m promised to someone else.”

I feel like someone just sucker-punched me with her revelation. Having a hard time controlling myself, I say, “What the fuck do you mean? Promised to someone else…this is the twenty-first century Ashley.”

She grabs my arm as I go to stand, needing some space. “Please, let me talk.”

Turning to listen to her, she goes on. “I’m promised to a man I have never met. We will be wed when I turn twenty-one. Our fathers are… business associates, and they have made this deal without our permission. I have no say in the matter.” She pauses to gather her thoughts.

“Going against this arrangement could jeopardize so many things in my life. It puts the people I love in danger and that’s not something I’m willing to do. The risk is too great.”

Seeing my brain work and knowing I’m trying to put the pieces together, she places her finger on my lips. “T please don’t ask me things I cannot tell you. Just know that my father loves me, but he is associated with some dangerous people. Unfortunately for me, I have to reap what has been sown by others.”

What the fuck is her family caught up in? I thought this kind of shit was only in the movies.

“Is Lottie caught up in this shit, too?” I ask.

“God no! Although her family is fucked up, her situation is very different from my own.”

I pace back and forth, trying to compose myself. “Ash, this is fucked. There has to be something we can do.”

“No Trent, please don’t make me regret telling you this. Just give me the rest of tonight to enjoy our time together. A time I’ll hold on to during the dark days. You help me forget the responsibilities of my future and make me feel like the fun, free-spirited teenager I want to be, and for that, I am forever grateful. Please give me one more night of that.”

The pleading look in her eyes pulls at my heartstrings.

My emotions are all over the place, but I know one thing for sure; I don’t want to take a second of my time with her for granted.

Sitting back down beside her on the hood of my Jeep, I pull her into me. Wrapping my arms around her body.

“Okay baby, what do you want to do?”

“Just hold me, make love to me, kiss me, talk to me… everything. I don’t need any sleep, I just want to spend every moment until my plane leaves tomorrow caught up in you.”

I kiss her temple and hold onto her tightly.

“Trent, I want to say one more thing… You make me feel so much. It scares the hell out of me to admit that, but you deserve to know that no matter what, I will always remember you and these precious moments.”

She starts to get choked up, but continues, “I want you to be so successful and live out every single one of your dreams. Even though I don’t even want to think about this, I do want you to know that someday you are going to make a lucky girl so fucking happy. Please don’t ever settle for anything less than someone who treats you like the King you are.”

“Baby doll, it would always be settling if it wasn’t you,” I say as I grip her chin,leaning in to kiss her.

“You are perfect, Trent. If anything in my life ever changes and you still feel that way, I promise I will find my way to you.”

“I’ll take that promise,” I say, taking her hand to my chest. “For now, I will respect what you’re asking of me, but know I am here at the drop of a dime. Fate brought us together twice now. I’ll hold on to the fact that it will bring us back to one another again someday.”

I peck her on the lips. “You know what they say… Third times a charm,” I say, trying to ease some of the worry on her pretty face but internally knowing I will find a way to have her.

Ashley licks her lips, smiling back at me, whispering softly, “I miss you already.”

Epilogue

Ashley

In the last month of my life, I have done a lot of soul searching.

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