His eyes never leave mine as he blows on the grilled cheese in his hand before opening his mouth and taking an even bigger bite than before. He groans as he chews, the sound causing a bolt of electricity to race through me. I don’t understand the reaction my body seems to always have with Ash. It makes no sense, but as I watch him scarf down the grilled cheese, Ifeelthat something again. What exactly it is that I’m feeling is still unknown—amusement, intrigue, curiosity. I don’t know, but it’s there. There’s some sort of tension or chemistry fizzling between us, despite my efforts to ignore it.
It’s fucking confusing.
Not to mention, I find myself enjoying his company more often lately, which is another thing I don’t understand.
Not a word is said while he eats, the kitchen so quiet you could hear a damn pin drop, but neither one of us seems to be able to look away from each other. It’s tense and overwhelming, my heart beating a rapid staccato and my mouth dry. Once Ash finishes, I take the plate and rinse it before placing it in the dishwasher. Refilling his water, I grab the bottle of ibuprofen out of the counter. “Come on,” I say. “Let’s get you to bed.”
Ash waggles his brows at me before sliding off the counter. About halfway down the hall, he rips his shirt over his head, tossing it onto the ground as we enter his room, before shoving his pants down before I even have a chance to register what’s going on. He’s wearing underwear—thank god—but still.
“Where are your sheets?” I ask him as I flip on the light switch.
“Oh, fuck.” His arms hang by his sides as he turns to face me with a frown. “They’re in the dryer.”
Pressing my lips together, I breathe through my nose as I walk over and set the water and ibuprofen on the bedside table. “I’ll be right back.”
When I come back into the room with his freshly cleaned sheets in my arms, Ash is nowhere to be found. Stepping into the hall again, I notice the light is on in the bathroom. I make quick work of making his bed, and by the time he comes back in, it’s finished.
“Thank you,” he mumbles, dropping down onto the bed, nestling his hands under his head on top of the pillow. I can tell he’s tired by the way he can hardly keep his eyes open. “Had to wash these after I jizzed all over them this morning.”
“Excuse me?” My stomach flips. There’s no way I heard him right.
He snorts. “I mean, can you blame me?” His hooded, glossy gaze shamelessly drags up and down my body before he adds, “Look at you.”
My jaw hangs open as my heart ricochets against my ribs while I stand in the middle of Ash’s room, dumbfounded. It’s not but a few moments later that I hear the sound of him snoring. He’s out. Probably won’t even remember this conversation in the morning…but I sure as hell will.
Taking a step toward the bed, I cover him with the comforter before walking over to the door. Before I turn the light off, I rest my shoulder against the frame and cross my arms over my chest, watching him sleep for a minute. Long and dark eyelashes rest on his cheeks. His full lips are parted as he breathes through his mouth. He looks so peaceful.
I end up standing here watching him for way longer than I should, until I eventually swallow around the lump in my throat and flick off the light, heading to my own room. Climbing onto my bed, I lie on my side, letting my mind wander where it shouldn’t go. Wondering what it would be like to fall asleep nextto Ash. Wondering if he’s a cuddler when he sleeps, or if he’d stay on his own side.
Would I like him to be a cuddler? Would I enjoy having him cling to me like a koala?
I blame my tiredness for where my mind goes next. I can’t help but then think back on the very few times I’ve fallen asleep in Violet’s bed. How much I hated having her draped over me as we slept. How difficult it made it to actually get any sleep. Aside from Tucker, I typically don’t like to cuddle. I don’t really like to be touched…but I can’t deny there’s some unknown part of myself that wants to know what it would be like with Ash.
Why is that?
What is it about him that has my mind all out of sorts?
And more importantly, how the hell can I get rid of the thoughts?
Chapter 15
Ash
“Want me to peel that for you?”
Tucker shakes his head as the tip of his tongue pokes out from between his teeth. He’s trying so hard to peel the skin off the cutie orange, but he’s not getting very far.
“You sure? I can get it started for you.”
“I got it,” he huffs with such conviction.
“Alright, little man. Jelly or no jelly?”
“Jelly!”
We’re down by the creek having lunch and skipping rocks today. It’s hot as hell out, but the trees shading the area and the breeze in the air offer a nice break from the sun. It’s been kind of a slow day for me, since I woke up with the world’s worst hangover known to man. I barely made it to the toilet this morning before puking my guts out. It’s almost noon now, and I’m finally starting to feel semi-human again. Although, if I had to guess, I’d say that I’ll probably feel like shit all day.
Tucker’s making way on his cutie, and I’ve got the rest of our lunch out, when I hear a sound that has my ears perking up. I can’t make out what it is… Sounds like trotting? Glancing in the direction of the sound, I realize I’m right…it is trotting. A horse carrying Finn on her back is trotting over to us.
