He looked over at her again, and noticed that she was alone, with a far off look on her face. Smiling, he went over to her. "Would you like some company?"
Startled, she looked up at him. "Sure," she told him, moving over on the couch to make room for him. "I never got to thank you for earlier."
"No big deal. Just glad I could help," he told her, with a shrug of his shoulders. He had to keep reminding himself to just act like her friend, even though her lips looked so delicious, all he wanted to do was devour them. Silence engulfed them and neither one really knew what to say, since they had never really been friends. They went from basically being enemies to being in love, all at once. They never really had the middle ground to help them communicate when love wasn't involved.
"I miss you," Ashton blurted out.
Kaylee nodded. "I miss you too." She lowered her eyes to the floor, as she didn't know what was going on between them anymore.
Before either of them could say anything, Ashton felt a pair of hands cover his eyes from behind.
"Guess who," the sultry voice said.
Ashton was taken aback. The voice sounded familiar, but he couldn't place it for sure. If it was the person he thought it was, he knew there would be trouble. He pulled the hands away from his face and turned to look at the woman. There stood the bitch radio deejay from New York who had tried to cause problems between him and Kaylee.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" he spat at her. "Get out, you're not welcome." He looked over at Kaylee, and saw the shock on her face.
"Is that any way to treat a fan? Word in the tabloids has it that you and the girl broke up, so I thought I'd come and comfort you. Remind you what a real woman was," she purred at him, trying to put her arms around his neck in a hug, not even paying attention to the looks of disgust he was shooting at her.
"I don't care what happens between Kaylee and me, I would never touch you, ever again. I told you to get out, so go, before I throw you out myself," he yelled at her, attracting the attention of everyone around them. Security came over to see what was happening, and after getting the orders from Ashton, they escorted her out. She threw daggers at him with her eyes as she was hustled out of the room.
Once she was gone, Ashton looked over to Kaylee. "I'm so sorry about that. I wish she'd just leave us alone."
Kaylee shook her head. "It's not your fault. I know you don't like her." She looked around the room for a minute. "I'm going to head back to the bus now."
"Can I walk you back?" Ashton asked, not wanting her to be alone for someone to jump her.
"No, you stay here. I don't want to ruin your night. I'll just get a security guard to walk me," she told him.
"It's no problem, really. I'm ready for some peace and quiet anyway."
"Fine, but I really don't want you to stop partying just because of me," she told him.
"I'm stopping because I want to. Don't worry, you aren't ruining it for me," he smiled at her.
Just as they were walking out, Colton grabbed Ashton and pulled him aside. Ashton motioned to Kaylee to wait for a minute, then turned to Colton. "What's the problem?"
"Was having that bitch come here your idea?" he asked, not at all happy about the scene that had played out a few minutes before.
"What? No! That was not part of my plan. All I wanted to do was show Kaylee that I wasn't interested in any of the other girls who come here, even though I was single. That bitch showed up on her own, and if anything, she did more harm to my plan than good."
He glared at Colton and shook his arm out of his grasp. He walked back to where Kaylee was waiting for him.
"What was that all about?" she asked him.
"Nothing. Colton is in a funk lately," he told her, walking to the bus with her. There was a long moment of silence.
"You in the mood for a game of cards or something?" he asked.
"Sounds good," she told him with a smile. And for the next couple of hours, things between them were easy and light, giving them both hope for the future.
Chapter 27
By the time the rest of the guys got back later that night, Kaylee and Ashton were sitting at the front table in a heated game of Crazy Eights. They were laughing and joking, which was so refreshing to the other bandmates, though their choice of card games had the others confused.
"Why are you guys playing a kids' game?" Colton asked.
"Because she was kicking my ass at poker, rummy, and 31, so I figured we'd try to play a game more my speed. Go Fish is next." Ashton laughed, the love shining in his eyes, as he looked up at Kaylee while he explained their game selection. His eyes never left hers, causing her to blush furiously.
"I think he was just letting me win," Kaylee laughed.
"No way!" Jayden said. "Ashton is ruthless. He never throws a card game to let anyone win, under any circumstances."
Kaylee laughed again, knowing the truth behind Jayden's words. "Well, how about we call this one a draw, because I am exhausted." She looked up at Ashton and stifled a yawn.
"Finally, I at least get a draw!" Ashton shouted, jumping up from the table and doing a victory dance.
Everyone laughed at him, and as Kaylee went to move past him to go back to her bunk, Ashton grabbed her and spun her around in a dance before letting her go. "Good night, sweetums," he said. All she could do was smile, roll her eyes, and shake her head.
Kaylee grabbed her pajamas and went to the bathroom to change. As she stood in there, she took a moment to fan herself. She looked in the mirror and saw her flushed face. She was in no way over Ashton, and there was no way they could be just friends for much longer. She loved him, he loved her, and nothing would be able to come between them again. She just needed to figure out how to get him back, and let him know that she did trust him. She knew they would be staying at a hotel in the next few days, so it would be the perfect time to make her move, and get the man she loved back into her life, the way he should be.
Once Ashton was sure that Kaylee had fallen asleep, he asked Noah if he could talk to him in private. Jayden and Colton seemed to get the hint, and went to the back to play a video game.
"What's up, man?" Noah asked.
"I need to ask you something serious, and know that you're on my side," Ashton told him, with a look of determination on his face.
Noah said, "Go ahead man, talk to me."
The next morning when everyone woke up, the bus was stopped outside of a hotel. "Sweet!" Jayden yelled, and ran off the bus, excited that they would be in a hotel for the next few nights. The rest took their time getting ready, knowing that there was no rush.
A few minutes later, Jayden came running back to the bus. "Guys, they have a kick ass breakfast buffet in there! Hurry up and get ready so we can eat. I'm starved!"
Kaylee looked to the front of the bus where Ashton was sitting quietly. He sat on one of the couches, biting one of his finger nails and zoning out, staring into space.
She nudged Noah, and nodded her head to the front where Ashton sat. "Is he okay? He seemed fine last night."
Noah looked at Ashton. "Yeah, he's okay. I think he was up late last night or something." He went to sit next to Ashton. The two sat with their heads together, in a hushed conversation.
Kaylee shook her head. She just hoped that things between them weren't going to take a step backwards. She had a great time the night before, but the way Ashton was looking, it almost appeared as though he regretted it. She walked forward slowly, and the minute they saw her, they stopped talking.
"Sorry to interrupt," she said, a bit annoyed. "Are you guys ready to go eat?"
Both of them jumped to their feet. "Yeah, let's go. We've got a busy day today." Noah told her, putting his hand on her back and practically pushing her out the door. The rest of the guys followed her, ambushing the buffet as soon as they got into the restaurant.
Kaylee watched Ashton pick at his food, not really eating much. When the rest of the guys went up for a refill, Kaylee stayed behind with Ashton.
>
"Alright, out with it!" she ordered, and he looked up at her. "What did I do now?"
"What?" he asked, confusion written all over his face.
"We had so much fun last night, and now you're walking around like you don't want to be anywhere near me. You're not eating, you're not joking, you're barely talking. Just tell me what the deal is, and where I screwed up this time," she pleaded with him.
Ashton shook his head. "Trust me, you didn't do anything wrong," he told her. "I'm just having trouble with this song I'm writing, and it's really getting to me. I keep going over the melody and verses in my head, trying to make it work, and it's really distracting me," he tried to reassure her.
"Well, I wish I could help, but you know I'm no good at writing songs." She smiled for the first time that day, feeling that things were still good between them, and that she would be able to get him back, one way or another.
After breakfast, everyone parted ways. Noah and Kaylee decided to go to a movie, and have some sibling time together. Jayden and Colton were going to lounge by the hotel pool, and Ashton was going to try working on the song in his head a little more.
Noah and Kaylee had a great time at the movie. They filled up on popcorn and other movie theater treats, laughing throughout the comedy they had chosen to see. It was nice for them to be able to spend some time together without the rest of the guys around, even if Noah did seem a little distracted on the way to and from the theater.
When they got back from the movie, Kaylee went to her room and took a nap, resting up for the show that night.
All too soon, the group was at the concert venue, warming up, and getting into wardrobe and makeup. Each of them went about their own pre-concert ritual; Colton rubbed his hands, massaging them and stretching them out, Jayden lay on the couch, listening to music through a set of headphones, Noah sat in a chair, going over the songs in his head, Ashton was in the bathroom warming up his voice, and Kaylee was standing on the side of the stage, looking out at the crowd as the opening act played. It always made her nervous to see the people, but at the same time, she needed to prepare herself for the size of the stadium and how many fans were there for the show. If she had seen the audience for the first time when she went on stage, it would have freaked her out.
Soon the guys were standing behind her. They huddled up for a quick pep talk, and then listened as they were being announced. Ashton pulled Kaylee aside and brushed her hair back lightly and rested his hands on her cheeks.
"Just relax out there tonight, and go with the flow. If you need me, just look over and I'll be there," he told her, then slowly bent his head down and touched his lips to hers. Even over the roar of the crowd, he could hear her moan as he deepened the kiss for a brief moment. When he pulled away, he proudly saw that his kisses still affected her. He kissed her lips quickly once more, before backing away and taking her hand to pull her onstage.
She was still in a slight daze as the notes for the first song began. She smiled, knowing that she would be able to get Ashton back. She hadn't lost him for good like she had thought a few days ago.
The band played a perfect set that night, better than they had played in a long time. When the last song was finished, Kaylee felt such a wave of satisfaction and pride soar through her. With things between her and Ashton on the mend, the chemistry on stage surged to a level it hadn't been at in a while.
As she started to walk off behind the curtain, she saw three members of the stage crew each carrying a stool to the center of the stage. Ashton thanked them with a nod of his head, and took a seat on the middle stool, mic in hand. Noah took the stool on the far side, with a different looking guitar in his hands, leaving one stool open.
Kaylee was confused as to what was happening, since their show was supposed to be over; they had played their last song. Remembering Ashton's words before their set, she looked to him for reassurance.
Ashton jerked his head over to the remaining stool, the one sitting next to him. He patted it, telling her to come and sit down. Kaylee looked around as she slowly walked over to the stool.
No one in the crowd knew what was happening, but they were all excited. Most of them were shouting and screaming their love and admiration for the band. The noise didn't die down until Ashton put the mic to his mouth and made a motion with his hand for them to quiet down,
"We just wanted to thank you for being such a great audience for us tonight. Normally this is where we end the show, but I've been working on a new song, and hoped that we could try it out for you tonight."
The crowd erupted again. He let them scream for a moment, then motioned for them to quiet down once more. "This song is a little different than our normal sound, so listen carefully."
Kaylee sat there, still unaware of what was going on, and hating how uncomfortable she felt. The anxiety of the situation was multiplied as she looked out into the crowd. She felt like they could tell that she had no clue what was going on up there, and she hoped they weren't laughing at her.
The first few notes of the song were played by Noah, an acoustic sound with a little twang to it. Soon Ashton's voice blended well with the notes coming from the guitar. As he sang, he looked over to Kaylee, and grabbed her hand for reassurance.
As I lay in this bed all alone
My thoughts drift to memories of the past
Meaningless nights with meaningless girls
Moments of pleasure I knew would never last
You invaded my head, and my heart
I never wanted anyone to know
We made love with so much passion
Fueled the fire and made my feelings grow
(Chorus)
I'm looking forward to the future
Don't want to relive my past
You've changed my life for the better
And baby, I'll fight to make it last
Through trauma and happiness
We've always helped each other through
I want you as my friend and my wife
I want to live my life with you
(Chorus)
I'm looking forward to the future
Don't want to relive my past
You've changed my life for the better
And baby, I'll fight to make it last
Forever and always in my life
Please say yes, and be my wife
By the end of the song, Kaylee had tears streaming down her face, and she swore that she could see moisture in the eyes of Ashton as he sang too.
To accentuate the end of the song, Ashton got off the stool and handed the mic to Colton, who had materialized behind him. Coltonheld out the mic, as Ashton dropped to his knee in front of Kaylee and reached under his stool to pull out a box that had been taped there.
He took Kaylee's hand in his and saw the petrified look on her face. He smiled at her, knowing that this was the moment they would both remember for the rest of their lives.
"Kaylee, I love you with all that I am, and I know that I can't live the rest of my life without you. You mean the world to me, my friend, lover, and sparring partner. Will you make an honest man out of me and marry me?"
He opened the box and held it out to her, with a beautiful platinum engagement ring shining in it.
Kaylee could now see the tears glistening in his eyes, as her own flowed freely down her face. As she heard the words coming out of his mouth, she knew what her answer would be before he even asked. Shaking her head and laughing, she choked out "YES!"
Ashton looked up at her, as if he couldn't believe what she had said. "Yes?" He asked her again.
"Yes," she laughed.
Ashton jumped up and grabbed Kaylee in a hug, sweeping her off her feet and swinging her around in circles with him. He finally put her down before they got too dizzy, and kissed her deeply.
"She said yes!" Colton shouted into the microphone that had captured the whole proposal. The audience went crazy, watching the newly engaged couple, as Ashton finally broke away from Kaylee and slipped the r
ing on her finger. He kissed her once again before they were pushed off stage by Colton and Noah. Jayden followed close behind them.
Back in the dressing room, Noah hugged his sister and whispered words of congratulations in her ear. The other guys followed suit, shaking Ashton's hand after hugging Kaylee.
"You guys all knew about this?" she asked them, almost in a scolding voice.
"Ashton asked my permission last night, and we worked on the music for the song while you were sleeping. He picked up the ring while we were at the movie today, and while you were napping, we let Colton and Jayden in on the plans," Noah told her proudly.
Ashton pulled her back into his arms as she finally got a look at her ring. She couldn't have picked out a more perfect ring for herself. In the center of the ring sat a large princess cut diamond, and the band of the ring was channel set with princess diamonds that even passed underneath the large solitaire. It sparkled perfectly in the light, matching the look in her eyes.
A light knock on the dressing room made them all turn. David, the band's publicist, peeked his head in to make sure everyone was decent before coming into the room.
"Congratulations you two," he said, looking at Ashton and Kaylee. "A little heads up before you do something this big next time?" he asked Ashton with a smile, knowing that he would be fielding a lot of calls from the press over the next few days. He looked at his watch. "Time to greet the fans; let's get to the green room."
And just as quickly as he had entered, he left.
"We'll be there in a minute, okay guys?" Ashton asked, as he held Kaylee back from leaving with the rest of them.
Once the guys were gone, he pulled Kaylee over to the couch and sat down, tugging her onto his lap. He held her hand in his, admiring how the ring looked on her finger. "Kaylee, I meant every word of what I said out there. And I know that things haven't been perfect between us lately. Are you sure about this?" he asked, a bit of uncertainty in his eyes.
Miles of Pleasure Page 21
