Brandon felt the tension but hoped that as the night wore on, he would chisel away at it. He didn't want the whole night to be uncomfortable, even though it was starting out that way.
Outside of the hotel, they hailed a cab and got dropped off at the closest theater. Kaylee picked the movie, a super-sappy chick flick, and Brandon paid for the tickets. They sat together and watched the movie, but they couldn't have been further apart mentally. When Brandon reached over to hold her hand, she let him, but she didn't squeeze back or give any indication that she liked holding hands with him. When he finally let her hand go, she dug into the popcorn in order to have something to do with her hands.
They went through the night with very little conversation. It was apparent to both of them that the date was a mistake. At the end of the night, he dropped her off at her door, but when he leaned in to kiss her, she turned away.
"I told you I wasn't ready for this," Kaylee said apologetically. She looked into Brandon's eyes before bidding him goodnight and disappearing behind the door to her room. She didn't want to hurt Brandon, but he just wouldn't listen to reason.
Not wanting to be alone, Kaylee knocked on the door that joined her room to Noah and Ashton's. When no one answered, she knocked again. She knew that they had the night off, but didn't think they would have gone out already.
A very groggy Ashton answered the door, wearing only a pair of boxers. It was a sight that Kaylee was used to now, and didn't even bat an eyelash at. His normally spiky hair was matted against his head on one side, obviously where it had been resting on his pillow.
"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you," Kaylee said, turning away to leave.
Ashton caught her wrist. "Wait, what's up?"
The touch of his hand made her think about the way he had caught her fall in the tub, and the fact that he had seen her naked. The blush rose in her cheeks and she looked away. "I just wanted to see what you guys were doing," she said, gently trying to break his hold on her wrist.
"Noah isn't here, but you can come in and hang out with me if you want," he offered, pulling her into his room without waiting for an answer. If he noticed she was blushing, he didn't show it. But then again, he was probably too sleepy to notice much of anything. "Wasn't tonight your big date with Brandon?"
Kaylee rolled her eyes. She hadn't intended to talk about it, but something about Ashton asking opened the floodgates. "You know, he was perfectly nice, he even brought me flowers. But the whole night, I was counting the seconds until I could get away from him," she sighed. "I told him that I wasn't ready yet, but he couldn't get it through his thick skull."
Ashton collapsed onto his bed, pulling Kaylee down with him so that they were spooning. His eyes instantly closed, trying to go back to sleep, but still listening to what she was saying. She was going on and on about how Brandon just wouldn't take no for an answer.
Ashton yawned. "Maybe it's not that you aren't ready, maybe you just don't want to be with him ."
She stiffened in his arms. She knew exactly what he was implying, and she didn't want to go there. She didn't even want to think about going there. "When did you get to be so smart?" she asked.
"I've always been smart, baby." He chuckled, half asleep.
"And why are you being so nice to me?" She yawned deeply and felt her whole body relax. The tension began to drain away, and she was suddenly so very tired she could barely keep her eyes open.
His hand covered her mouth. "I'm not fully functioning. Just enjoy it and quit complaining."
Kaylee did just what she was told, which wasn't hard since she had already fallen asleep in Ashton's arms. He joined her in Dreamland shortly after that, enjoying the comfort of the bed and the woman next to him.
Chapter 7
Kaylee rolled over to face Ashton. She felt his arms tight around her waist. She ran her hands through the back of his hair, and softly brushed her lips against his. As their lips touched, a thousand little shocks ran through her body.
He pulled her closer and deepened the kiss. Their tongues dueled passionately. Ashton rolled their bodies together so that he was on top of her. His hands were no longer on her cheeks, they were making their way to the bottom of her shirt. His fingers sought out the velvetysoft skinon her stomach, causing her breath to catch.
Kaylee's head fell back in pleasure, and Ashton took advantage of the situation by attacking her neck with his lips. He nibbled on the exposed skin, licking and nipping at its sweetness. This was it, the moment she was going to lose her virginity, and Ashton was making sure she was ready. She felt an arousal like she had never felt before. Each time his lips connected with her skin, jolts of pleasure shot through her body. An uncontrollable moan escaped from her mouth. She was overwhelmed by what was happening...
"Kaylee?" He shook her shoulder. "Hey, wake up. Are you okay?" Ashton asked. Her twisting and turning, along with her tiny cries, had awakened him from a hard sleep. Once he was awake, he was fully alert. He was worried that she was having another nightmare about that man who assaulted her.
"Kaylee! Wake up!"
Kaylee sat up instantly. She looked next to her, where Ashton watched with a concerned look on his face. There was a moment of sheer confusion in her eyes, and then they widened.
"Oh shit!" she moaned, covering her face in embarrassment. She'd been dreaming about getting it on with Ashton. Ashton, of all people!
"Were you having a nightmare?" he asked her, softly rubbing her back.
Kaylee jumped out of bed at the touch of his hand, nearly tripping on the sheets. At the thought of what an ungraceful mess she must look like, she blushed hard. "No, I'm fine."
Ashton watched her, noticing the appearance ofthe blushrising on her face. "What was that all about?" he asked. Kaylee twisted nervously under his gaze, trying her best to avoid his eyes. The realization dawned on him and a smug smirk played over his face.
"You were having an erotic dream!" He started laughing. Kaylee sat on the edge of the dresser, afraid her legs were going to give out. She buried her head in her hands.
"Who was it? Who was the star of your dreams?" he prodded.
"Shut the fuck up, Ashton! I wasn't having an erotic dream," she growled.
"Me thinks the lady doth protest too much." He laughed even harder. "So, who was it? Jayden? You seem to like the drummers. No, there's no spark there. Brandon? Nah, after tonight, I know it wasn't him." He watched her squirm under his watchful eyes and inquiring mind. His grin grew wider.
"It was me, wasn't it?"
Kaylee's head jerked up. She saw the taunting look he gave her, and she was mortified. "You wish!"
"So, was it steamy? Did I rock your world?" He crawled to the end of the bed so he was right in front of Kaylee. He stared at her until she finally met his eyes.
"Want to make your dreams a reality?"
She felt her heart stop. Did she? Was that what the dream was all about? Did she really want him, or did she just have that dream because Ashton had been there for her so much since the assault, and she was just grateful to him?
They stared at each other for a long moment. Then Kaylee took a deep breath.
"Get over yourself. You're so delusional." She started to walk away, only to be stopped by his hand around her wrist. She looked back into his eyes, feeling the fire within and not knowing what to do about it.
"When you're ready to admit it, come find me." He released the grasp he had on her wrist and watched her walk away.
Just before she got to the door joining their rooms, Noah came barging in, closing the door quickly behind him. "There you are!" he yelled at her. "I've been looking for you all over. I have a little surprise for you."
Kaylee groaned. She wasn't really in the mood for his games at this point, not after dealing with Ashton and his ego. "What now?"
"Cheer up Buttercup. You'll like this," he promised. He went back to the door and opened it up.
Kaylee saw a vision that made her breath catch in her throat. There stood a petite
woman with bright red hair, pale skin with freckles, and crystal-clear green eyes. "Ryver?"
"Kaylee!" The little redhead yelled back.
The two girls ran to each other, laughing, and embraced hard. They rocked each other back and forth. The rest of the world was completely forgotten. "Oh my God! What are you doing here?" Kaylee asked.
"Your brother invited me to stay with you while you're here. He said you're never in one place for long, so this was the perfect opportunity to get together," Ryver explained.
Kaylee looked at her brother, so much joy in her eyes, and hugged him. Noah hadn't seen that kind of happiness in a long time. He was suddenly very, very glad he had taken the time to get in touch with Kaylee's dear friend.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"You're welcome." He hugged her tighter before releasing her.
"Come over here and sit down so we can catch up," Kaylee said, dragging Ryver to Noah's bed. "How have you been?"
Ryver's eyes wandered to the nearly naked man who was lying in the next bed, watching the two girls curiously. Kaylee followed her eyes and groaned again.
"That's Ashton. Ashton this is my best friend and pledge sister, Ryver," Kaylee introduced grudgingly.
"Nice to meet you," Ryver said with a wink.
"And you." He gave his patented smirk. "So, I'd love to hear some stories of the wild college days. How did you two meet?"
Kaylee wasn't speaking up, so Ryver did. "Kaylee and I met at a sorority rush. We were both looking at all the sororities, and got to know each other going back and forth to all the rush parties. When we were both invited to pledge Zeta, we instantly clicked. We went through a semester of hell together, and even though we had other pledge sisters, we had this bond that no one else could match. We really leaned on each other through the whole thing, and after that, our friendship was cemented."
"Ah, how nice," Ashton said with fake sentiment. "So, give me the dirt. I want to hear all about the little partier that we all know and love."
"Well, there was this one time that Kaylee..." Ryver started but couldn't finish because Kaylee had her hand covering her mouth. Ashton laughed.
"Come on Ryver, let's go to my room. I'm sure the guys want to get ready to go out," Kaylee said, dragging her friend to the door.
"Are we going out too?" Ryver asked.
Kaylee looked at her brother, wanting to go out, but unsure of her safety. Noah nodded his reassurance, effectively making up Kaylee's mind. "Why the hell not. It'll be good to let off some steam," she glared at Ashton.
In return Ashton waved, his smile growing by the minute. "See you soon, lover."
Kaylee flipped him off, and disappeared through the door with Ryver.
"So, what's with him? He's kind of cute," Ryver said, raising her perfectly curved eyebrows at Kaylee.
"Ugh, just a thorn in my ass," Kaylee rolled her eyes.
"So, what's the man situation? Who's available, who's single, who's hot?" Ryver was always looking for a good time.
"Well, Jayden and Colton really cool; both are available. Um, don't go near my brother, he's off limits, and Brandon is too...I think."
"What about Ashton?" she asked.
"What about him?" Kaylee shrugged. It was the unofficial end to the conversation, even though it wasn't an actual answer. The idea of answering that question made Kaylee a little nervous, and maybe a little...jealous?
No, that couldn't be it. That wasn't possible.
"So, we'd better get ready," she said brightly. "The guys won't wait forever for us."
The girls talked about what had been happening since they saw each other last. Even though Kaylee told Ryver some of what had happened when she was assaulted, she didn't give the full details. Kaylee didn't know that there was no need to tell her everything, Noah already had. Ryver didn't push for details; if Kaylee wanted to talk, she would. If she didn't, that was alright with Ryver too, since it hurt even her to hear all of what happened. Even if Kaylee didn't like Ashton, Ryver still thought he was okay in her book for saving her best friend.
Kaylee took one final look in the mirror before deciding that she was ready. She wasn't trying to look perfect; she had no one to look perfect for. She sure wasn't searching for anyone either. Ryver appeared next to her, and Kaylee took her outfit in.
"Wow, if those aren't 'Fuck Me' shoes, then I don't know what are," Kaylee laughed.
"Hey, just because you don't want to get any tonight doesn't mean that I don't either," Ryver said. They were so alike in many ways, but the main area they differed was the sex issue. Ryver couldn't get enough, while Kaylee was content still being a virgin.
"Well, let's go find you a man then. Might I suggest Jayden?" Kaylee asked formally. That way she felt less like a pimp.
"Lead the way." Ryver waved her hand and allowed Kaylee to walk ahead of her.
The girls picked Noah and Ashton up first, then went to get Jayden and Colton. Kaylee couldn't help but notice how extra hot Ashton looked that night, as if he had actually put some effort into getting ready. Most of the time his sex appeal came from his nonchalance about looking good. Tonight was a different degree of sexiness all together. His black pants were neatly pressed, and his blue button down shirt was nice and crisp. He had the sleeves rolled up a couple of times, showing the black leather band around his wrist. The top two buttons of the shirt were open, giving a glimpse of the beginning of his pecs, along with the leather band tied tightly around his thick neck.
Kaylee shook herself. She was concentrating too much on Ashton, but he wasn't anything special. She took her brother's arm and hooked it with her own, determined to ignore Ashton as best she could. Colton on the other side of her, and she hooked her other arm with his. She felt like a star, with a handsome man on each side of her. So what if one was her brother; he was still a cutie.
Behind Kaylee and her boys, Ashton and Jayden took Ryver's arms. Jayden was doing his best to impress the girl he had just met, but he felt like he was in the shadow of Ashton.
At the club, they found a rather secluded table to sit at. It was an area for the in-betweens...not quite famous VIPs, but not common folk either. The drinks flowed freely, and everyone was feeling good. Kaylee pulled Colton to the dance floor, knowing that he had moves. She sang to the music as they shook their asses. Kaylee hadn't had this much fun in a long time, and in that moment, she realized how much she missed it.
By the time they returned to the table, they were worn out and sweating. Colton hugged Kaylee tightly, happy to have his dance partner back.
Kaylee looked around and saw her brother talking and laughing with a girl who looked oddly familiar, but she couldn't remember from where. Jayden was at another table a few feet away, talking to a group of guys, laughing and having a good time. Nowhere did she see Ryver or Ashton.
A sudden, sick feeling hit her in the pit of her stomach. She thought that she had given Ryver the idea to stay away from Ashton. Her eyes roamed over to the bar, several times over, trying to find the two missing from the group.
Colton noticed her sudden anxiety, and mistook it for her being nervous around so many people. He reached over and began massaging her shoulder, trying to give her some reassurance. Kaylee caught his eye. Her smile was a little shaky.
"You want to get out of here?" Colton asked her.
"In a minute." She turned her head to continue looking for Ryver. She finally saw her parting the crowd, trying to make her way back to the table. A little relief came over Kaylee, until she saw Ashton trailing behind Ryver, linked together by their hands.
When they got closer, Kaylee noticed that Ryver's lipstick was smeared, and Ashton was wearing it. Her hopes had been crushed. Averting her eyes from Ashton, Kaylee pulled Ryver aside, wanting to find out what was going on, and what had happened - or hadn't happened -- with her and Jayden.
Kaylee looked at the joy written on Ryver's face, and despite her admonitions to herself earlier during the night to ignore Ashton, the thought of Ryver with
him hurt her. "What happened to Jayden?"
"Oh, he's not really my type," Ryver slurred after a moment of careful thought.
"So you went for Ashton?" Kaylee asked. "What were you thinking?"
"Dude, he's hot!" Ryver giggled. She looked over at Ashton and waved, and he winked back before tossing a shot.
"I thought I told you to stay away from him!" Kaylee was getting angry, and she had an idea why. Ryver was her best friend, but at that point, she had never hated her more.
The smile left Ryver's face. "No, you never said he was off limits. You only said Noah and Brandon." Even though she was drunk, she still remembered the conversation, and she was quite proud of that fact.
"Well, I'm telling you now, he's off limits!" Kaylee yelled at her. She could feel the blood rising to her face as the anger really set in. She didn't realize how loud she had yelled, and had no idea that Ashton was close enough to hear her.
"Why is he off limits all of a sudden?" Ryver wanted to know.
Kaylee got even more flustered. "I don't know. He just is."
"Well, it's too late. I'm really into him," Ryver argued.
"Ryver, all he's going to do is fuck you and leave you."
Ryver laughed at her friend and how naive she could be. "I'm aware of that. That's why I'm hanging out with him. It's the same thing I want."
"Forget it, I'm leaving. Thanks for visiting." Kaylee was frustrated, not only with her friend, but with herself as well.
She went to get Colton, to see if he would take her back to the hotel, and when she returned, she saw Ryver and Ashton leaving the club together, hand in hand. She and Colton went to say goodbye to Noah and Jayden, then slowly walked back to the hotel. They didn't say much on the way there; Kaylee was lost in her own thoughts and Colton could tell she was upset, but he didn't know why, and he didn't want to make it worse.
Colton escorted Kaylee to her doo, and hugged her goodnight. "It was great having you back again, Beautiful."
"Thanks Colton. For everything."
Miles of Pleasure Page 5
