Chapter One
Ashley stared at the confirmation email, fresh tears welling in her eyes. She realized she hadn’t even thought of the trip once since her mother had passed away. In fact, it had been the last thing on her mind for the past three months since a drunk driver cut her mother’s life short, long before she had a chance to live it fully.
They had planned the trip down to the very last detail; the hockey game, the hotel, even the places they wanted to see and visit during their 7-day Canadian vacation. All of this was nothing now, not anymore. Now, she didn’t even care to go.
Ashley closed the laptop and wiped the tears away with the palms of her hands. Her father was coming over for dinner tonight, and she did not want to cry in front of him, not anymore. She wished, for once, to have a normal dinner without any devastating meltdowns.
A little after seven, the doorbell rang, and Ashley ran to open it. Taking one look at her face, her father, Paul, reached out a firm hand, resting it on her shoulder.
“Have you been crying?” It wasn’t a question; her puffy and red-rimmed eyes gave her away.
“No,” she lied, and when her dad pulled her into his arms for a hug, she broke down, letting the tears flow free. “The stupid confirmation email for that hockey game came in today. It’s just another one of those small moments that makes this so much harder, you know?”
“I know, baby. I miss her too. Every day.” Paul kissed her on the forehead, then shrugged off his jacket, which she took from him and hung up.
“Come into the kitchen, Dad. I made spaghetti.”
“My favorite.”
“Mom’s favorite, actually.” Ashley winked, grabbing her dad a cold bottle of beer from the fridge. “You always preferred Alfredo, right?”
“Well, who doesn’t?” Paul screwed the cap off the bottle of beer and raised it to his lips as Ashley scurried around the kitchen, setting the table. “You know,” he said to her, the bottle hesitating on his lips. “I found those hockey tickets your mom had ordered when I was cleaning out some of her stuff. I still have them. Maybe you should still go?”
Ashley spun around, pain slicing down her middle. “Dad! How can you even say that?” Tears welled in her eyes once more, but she forced them back, taking a deep breath. Paul stood and put a loving hand on her shoulder. “Ashley, honey, I love you more than anything in the world. But you can’t let her death put your life on hold. That isn’t what she would have wanted.”
“I just…” she began, but he held his hand up to stop her.
“Let me finish. You’ve been moping around for months now. That’s no way to live, and you know that. You should go, it’s already all paid for, and it’ll get you out of the house and out of this rut you’ve been stuck in.”
“I do still have the vacation time off work. I guess I’ve been so busy I never thought to cancel it.” She said, drying her eyes. “But, I can’t, it wouldn’t be right.”
“She would have wanted you to do it, to go and be happy. Not sit around all day being depressed. I won’t take no for an answer! I’ll dig out those tickets when I get home and bring them to you this weekend.”
As Ashley laid in bed that night, her father’s words played over and over in her head. She knew he was right; she had practically become a ghost herself these last few months.
Maybe this will help, she thought, perhaps this will be the break I need to snap myself back into the real world.
…
On the day of her trip, Ashley’s nerves were entirely shot. The first airport had delayed her flight for nearly two hours, and she had to run as fast as she could through the hallways to try and make the connecting flight. She rushed to the terminal desk where a young blond woman sat clacking the keys on her computer, hardly noticing that all the passengers were still waiting in the seating area, sitting bored, some of them napping.
“Hello, sorry to bother you,” Ashley said, breathless. “Is this flight 232A to Edmonton?”
The woman looked up, slightly annoyed. “Ticket, please?”
Ashley rolled her eyes and handed the women her ticket; the woman barely glanced at it.
“Yes, but it's delayed. Probably another hour at most.” She handed the ticket back and dropped her gaze back to her computer screen. Ashley sighed, feeling the woman was done with her and looked around. It was nearly 6 PM, and the flight would still be almost five hours before arrival. At this point, it would be midnight before she could even check into her room.
Looking around the terminal for an empty seat where she could sit and charge her phone, there was only one feasible option. The corner, on the floor, where a man already sat. Ashely was stunned by the gorgeous man. His head rested against the wall, eyes closed, and his phone was plugged into the outlet next to him. His strong jawline was what drew her in the most. His firm cheekbones and long nose made him even more handsome. He had shaved blonde hair on the sides, and longer spiked on top. She wanted to run her hands through it to see if it was as prickly as it looked. Wait, she shouldn’t be fantasying about any man right now, what was she thinking, even if she couldn’t stop staring at his face. Trying not to wake him, Ashley scooted down next to the outlet and plugged in her phone.
Intending to just shut her eyes like the man next to her for a moment, she leaned her head back against the wall and took a deep breath. She must have been more tired than she expected because when she had awoken, nearly everybody had already boarded the plane. Quickly, she gathered her things up and walked over to the line where the last few people were showing the stewardess their boarding passes. Ashley handed hers over, and the attendant checked it briefly before handing it back.
“Enjoy your flight.”
Ashley politely thanked her and took a deep breath. Still unable to believe she was actually doing this. She had been to Canada a few other times, for different hockey games, but never alone. She and her mother had always traveled together. But her dad and friends were right; this seemed like the best way to put the sadness to rest and get out of the dark shroud of grief that had been surrounding her all these months.
As she boarded the plane, she felt almost a therapeutic feeling of excitation rush over her. How long had it been since she was this excited about something? She didn’t know.
The seats were labeled from A-E, as such, that to her right, closest to the window was seat A, with B and C next to it. Seat D was across the aisle from C, and E was the window seat on the left side of the plane. Looking at her ticket again to double-check her seat, she saw she was in row 27 seat D.
Approaching the seat, she noticed that there was already somebody sitting in it. Ashley stopped in her tracks and couldn’t believe her eyes. The sleeping man that she had sat next to earlier was sitting in her seat. Could she be this lucky?
He looked up at her and saw the confused look on her face. “Oh, is this your seat? I can get up,” he said and started to stand. He couldn’t believe the same woman he saw sitting next to on the floor was standing in front of him. He had wanted to wake her to board the plane but thought she looked so peaceful.
She could tell right away from his accent that he was Canadian.
Probably taking a flight back home, she thought. “It's ok! I was going to ask whoever was here if I could have the window seat anyway.”
She smiled at him as she said this, and he noticed right away that she had a charming accent. This matched with her pretty blue eyes made him almost taken aback for a moment. He smiled back at her, “Let me get your bag for you, then.”
“Thank you so much, that’s sweet,” Ashley said to him and handed him the bag before getting into her window seat. As she sat down, she looked over at him as he was putting it up and saw his shirt pulled up as he lifted t
he bag into the overhead compartment. She noticed from the bit of skin that was showing that he had those v-line muscles on his hips. She wanted to run her tongue along those v-lines. Subconsciously, she bit her lip and briefly imagined what it might be like to run her hands over them. Again! Why was she starting to think of this stranger like this! Her body needed to calm down. The thought made her blush, and she had to look away as he sat back down in his seat next to her.
He noticed as he sat down that she turned her head away from him rather quickly. He just assumed maybe she was a nervous flyer or something and hoped after takeoff her nerves would calm down some. After all, it would be nearly a 5-hour flight, and they would be stuck next to each other the whole time.
The flight attendants started making their announcements and began safety demonstrations. He looked over at her, “I’m Gregg, by the way.”
She blushed again, but this time couldn’t exactly tell why. “Ashley.” She replied, unable to make any more words come out.
“Ashley.” He repeated. As he said it, he noticed how easily the name rolled off his tongue. It made him smile.
She looked at him probably a little longer than she meant to, but she couldn’t help it. There was just something about him that struck her as … she couldn’t think of the word. Intriguing perhaps, attractive. His eyes looked kind and inviting as if she could stare into them and get lost, and his lips looked soft. She found herself wondering what it would be like to press her own lips against his, and then stopped herself.
What is wrong with you?! You don’t even know this man, she thought to herself, feeling the heat in her cheeks come to the surface yet again.
This briefly made her wonder if maybe looking at her, he might think she was crazy. Thankfully, the plane was beginning to roll down the runway slowly, so she pushed that thought out of her mind.
Gregg never had a problem with flying, but he was always a little uneasy during takeoff. He put his arms on the armrests and leaned his head back and closed his eyes. Ashley did the same, only decided to fold her hands in her lap instead of the armrests. The sudden jolt as the plane left the ground caused her to jump, and instinctively she put her arm atop his on the armrest.
“Sorry.” She said nervously and began to move her arm back.
He took her hand in his, “It’s ok. I hate this part too.” The warmth he felt from holding her hand in his was incredible. Here was this woman he knew nothing about apart from her name, and yet almost out of instinct, he took her hand, wanting to comfort her in her moment of uneasiness. He worried the gesture might seem creepy, but she didn’t take her hand out of his.
Ashley could feel the blush rising in her cheeks again; only this time, with this one gesture, she could feel the blushing heat radiate through her entire body. Thoughts of pressing her lips to his, getting lost in those magnetic eyes, brushing her hands over the v-line muscles at his hips, began to make her head swim. She left her hand in his and leaned her head back on the back of the seat and closed her eyes.
For a moment, they just sat there. Two strangers on a plane, fingers interlaced, he gently brushed his thumb up and down over hers, a wordless expression that was so intoxicatingly soothing for them both. She leaned her head up and looked at him.
He smiled at her, “See? Nothing to it.”
She pulled her hand away from his, embarrassed, “Sorry, again, I just…”
“Really, it’s ok.” He interrupted her. Then, not wanting her to put in headphones or something and tune him out for the rest of the flight, he asked, “So, what brings you to Edmonton? Just connecting flight there, or are you visiting someone?”
“I am uh… going to a hockey game. Oilers game, in fact. I had planned the trip with my mother, but she,” she tried to choke down sadness, “she wasn’t able to make it, so it’s just me.”
“Oh, no way! What seat are you in? I have season tickets, actually. Maybe we can go together,” he said, and as the words came out, he instantly wished he could suck them back in. “I mean, I don’t know what your plans are, sorry if that sounded…creepy somehow or something.”
Typically, a stranger asking her on a date after knowing her for barely a period of half an hour would indeed sound creepy to her. But there was just something about this man that made her feel entirely comfortable. Almost as if she were able to spill her entire life story out to him on this plane ride, and he would sit there and not appropriately and interject his own stories with hers, and they would laugh as if they had known each other for years.
“I might take you up on that offer, Gregg! I’m not from here, in case you couldn’t tell by my accent.” They both laughed at that.
“No way, not at all,” he said, and they both laughed again.
As the laughter died down, the flight attendants prepared to move the cart carrying beverages down the aisle. “Well, the offer stands.” He said to her, hoping she would see that he genuinely meant it.
She smiled, and her mind went back to how comforting it felt with her hand in his as the flight attendant asked them what beverages they wanted.
“Can I buy you a drink?” he asked, motioning his head at the cart.
“I thought you’d never ask,” she teased, and they both laughed again. “I’ll have a whiskey and coke, please.”
He ordered two whiskey and cokes. As the flight attendant was getting the drinks, he thought to himself how adorable her laugh was, and her smile. He felt himself wanting to make her smile and laugh more. Also wondered if the warmth from just holding her hand was so exhilarating, what would it be like to kiss her, or even be inside of her. Now it was his turn to blush at the thought.
After a few drinks, the conversations flowed quite nicely. The two of them shared stories and laughed together. They were having such a good time that they lost track of how long the flight had been. To a passerby, they would seem like a young couple who had known each other for some time now, instead of only having met a few hours prior. Gregg produced a few travel-sized bottles of fireball whiskey he had brought onto the plane from the gift shop and was surprised to see when she laughed and had him bring down the carry-on bag he had so kindly stowed away for her from the beginning of the flight. She had also bought some of those travel-sized bottles of whiskey.
They laughed and shared more stories until finally, Ashley told him she could not drink anymore. “I can’t, or I won’t be able to make it to my hotel tonight. Plus, you’re making my cheeks hurt from laughing.” They laughed again at this.
“Well,” Gregg said, “We could watch a movie if you want. I downloaded some before the flight.” He produced a set of headphones and handed her one of the earbuds.
She considered this a moment, and then took the jacket from out of her travel bag and covered herself up with it like a blanket. He lifted the armrest so he could move close enough for her to use one of the earbuds. She moved closer to him and laid her head on his shoulder. She was surprised at how easy the gesture came out as if it were as basic and comfortable as sliding into your socks in the morning.
The feeling he got from her laying her head on his shoulder was electric. He found himself wanting more and not wanting this moment to come to an end.
As the movie ended, the flight attendants were making announcements and telling everybody to get back into their seats. Ashley couldn’t help but feel down by this. This mysterious stranger she had spent nearly the last 5 hours with would soon disappear from her life, and that made her feel upset. The thought of being alone again on this trip that she should have been on with her mother anyway profoundly saddened her.
“I hope there is a rental car place open this late tonight.” She said to him, in an attempt to hide some of the sadness.
“I am sure they will.” He frowned, then added, “But if not, I can give you a ride. My car is here at the airport.”
“So, do you often pick up girls at the airport after business trips?” she asked him, a little more sharply than she meant to sound.
He laug
hed, “Oh no, actually. This is my first business trip, and I haven’t exactly been picking up any girls in a while, really. I’ve been so busy with work.”
“I’m sorry, that was so rude, and you’ve been so sweet.” She paused a moment, unsure how to put what she wanted to say into words. She wanted to tell him yes, please drive me to the hotel and then come inside with me, press those lips I have been staring at for the last 5 hours against mine! But that seemed too forward, and she was not that type of woman. On the other hand, this was her vacation, and she was under strict orders from her friends to loosen up and have fun. “It’s so late, and I really don’t want to put you in an awkward position.”
“It really is no trouble. I can even pick you up in the morning and take you to the car place if you want.”
Or just stay the night, she thought. “You’d do that for me?”
“Of course. Besides, I don’t think they’ll let you rent a car smelling like whiskey,” he said, and they laughed.
They made their way through the terminal and down to the baggage claim area, laughing and making jokes the whole time. He carried her bags to the parking lot for her.
“What hotel are you in?” He asked and opened her door for her.
“Nisku Inn, it isn’t far from here.” She replied, and as he placed his hand on the small of her back to help her into the car, she felt a wave of warmth rush over her whole body. What is it about him that is driving me this crazy? She wondered.
Gregg went around and got into the driver’s seat. When he put the keys in the ignition, Ashley asked: “I think we have time to do at least one car karaoke song before we make it there.”
He laughed, “You don’t think I will?” and they sang on the way to the hotel. When they pulled in, he said he would walk her in and make sure she got checked in okay, and she didn’t object to that. She was mentally trying to work up the nerve to ask him to stay the night with her.
Chapter Two
The clerk at the hotel was very polite. “Free Wi-Fi, indoor pool, breakfast is served between 5-9. You’ll be at the end of the hall on the right over there,” she motioned the direction with her head, “first floor.”
Dirty Point Page 1
