Loving Ashley

by Lauren Nicole

  “No, I’m sorry. She’s off. Is there something I can do?”

  “Nope,” is all he says before he turns around and walks away. He storms off and out the front door. What the fuck was that? There is something about that man that I don’t like. I brush off the uneasy feeling I have and go back to making sure everyone is good for tonight. I want to get it all done before Ashley and Nancy show up. They should be arriving any time now.

  As the band begins to play their set, I have taken up a seat in the corner by the bar; this is the perfect place to watch what is going on downstairs. The bodies on the dance floor move together as their hips dance to the music. There is a group of girls out there that keep glancing over to my brother and me. If I were single, I would be turned on by that and probably picking out which one I want to take home, but now they just look desperate and unattractive. I turn my attention back to the dance floor, making sure everything is running smoothly. I head over to the bar so I can grab a bottle of water, with there being so many people in here, it’s hot. Just as I am leaning down, I hear her voice.

  “Hey, gorgeous. How about a shot?” I yell over the music.

  “Hey, baby.” Leaning across the bar, I pull her head toward me for a quick kiss. Knowing I am at work I make it quick, not that I really give a fuck about anyone though. If I want to kiss my girl, I will.

  “What kind of shot do you want, love?”

  “Blow job.”

  Umm, yes, please!

  “I could go for one of those. In fact, let’s go upstairs.” I wink.

  “Play your cards right and you just might get one later.”

  I get busy making the shot up for her and Nancy and then slide the shots across the bar top, watching as the girls do their shots. They have to put their mouth around the shot glass with their hands held behind their back. They must then pick up the shot glass with their mouth and tip their head back, letting the liquid slide down their throat. Just watching her do it has all the blood rushing toward my cock. Fuck, if that doesn’t turn me on.

  Moving around the bar I come up behind her, pressing my hardened dick into her ass. The little minx decides to make it worse and grind against me. Bringing my lips to her ear, I tug slightly and whisper, “Keep doing that, baby, and I will drag your sexy ass upstairs and fuck you on my desk, if we make it that far.”

  I turn her fast, slanting my lips over hers and demanding entrance with my tongue. I can taste the Baileys still lingering in her mouth. A small moan escapes from the back of her throat, making me deepen the kiss. The clearing of throats pulls me back to the present. Shit, it’s easy to get lost with her. Her eyes remain closed when I break our connection. My body protests in the air between us.

  “You two good or do you need a room?” Nancy asks.

  “We’re good.”

  We head over to the high top I had roped off for the girls. The table sits just to the right of the stage and close to the bar, so I can keep my eyes on her all night. The girls take a seat on the stools and order drinks from Becky who is fairly new here. We hired her to take Ashley’s spot when she can’t work because of school. She seems to hit it off with all the guys; she stands about five six with medium length brown hair. Becky is pretty, but I’m not interested in her like that. The girl I want is sitting in front of me looking like a fucking angel. I really do have it bad.

  The band finishes their last set around midnight, and the crowd is just getting started. The DJ takes over so the crowd doesn’t die down. I go and talk with the band in the back while they pack some of their stuff up, letting them know they are more than welcome to come back at any point and play. Everyone seemed to love them. They played country, which I will admit I was scared at first with the group of people that typically visit here, but I must say I was completely wrong about the whole thing. It was so busy at one point I lost my focus on Ashley and helped behind the bar. I hated knowing that she was in my bar dancing and other men were watching her, wanting to take her home. Next time she is here she will not leave my sight.

  I make my way back to main area after the band loaded up and left. Weaving in and out of sweaty bodies on the dance floor to make it back to my woman. I bump shoulders with some guy, and when I look down to apologize, I notice it’s the guy from earlier who asked for Ashley. What the hell is this guy back here for? He doesn’t say anything to me this time, just keeps walking away. I haul ass to her and find out if maybe she knows him. It’s probably just a friend or someone, even though deep down I know it’s not. I could keep wondering about who he is all night and freak the fuck out, but I don’t. I lean down so she can hear me.

  “Who is that guy?” I ask while pointing over to where I had bumped into him. But of course he’s gone again, he’s like a damn ninja.

  “What guy?” she asks as she scans the area I was pointing toward.

  “Never mind, he’s not there. He came in earlier and asked if you were here. I just ran into him again.”

  She begins to look around and so do I. I want to see this guy show his face, so I can maybe figure out what it is about him I don’t like. It’s probably because he’s asking about my woman and I don’t share nicely. I look back to Ashley and watch her down another shot. Fuck, at this rate she will be drunk by the time we leave and will blow my plans for tonight. I go over to the bar and grab a glass of water for her to chug. Thomas can take care of Nancy. As she is downing the water that I had to force her to drink, I ask one question on my mind.

  “How did you girls get here?” Because if they drove, they are sure as fuck not driving home. Their car can sit in the parking lot all night for all I care. I will not tolerate drinking and driving.

  “We took an Uber,” Nancy replies.

  Thank you, Jesus, that means her ass is coming home with me.

  “Smart move.”

  The four of us go back to enjoying the music and the girls continue to drink. Even though I keep making them drink water in-between, they are still drunk. They are out on the dance floor for the final song of the night, which just happens to be a slow one. I see a guy come up and try to dance with her. Over my dead body. Moving quickly to her, I wrap her in my arms, bringing her body to mine. The guy thankfully takes the hint and walks away. Smart move, man, smart move.

  We stay wrapped in each other’s arms for the whole song. Her head rests on my chest and arms around my waist. I can tell she is more than feeling the effects of the drinks. As the song comes to an end and the bright lights come on, the bouncers start to escort people to the door and the bartenders close out the last of their tabs. I help Ashley to the bar stool and sit her down while I help clean up and count the money.

  Thomas and Nancy are at the upstairs bar, leaving just the two of us down here after my crew leaves. Ashley looks like she is about to pass out on me.

  “You going to fall asleep on me, baby?”

  “No, oh by the way, I want to thank you for the rose.”

  What—the—fuck.

  “What rose?”

  “The one you left me on my desk.”

  “Baby, I didn’t leave you one.”

  All the color drains from her face as something begins to set in with her. I quickly reach across the bar and move her face to look me in the eye.

  “Ashley, what is going on?”

  “When I got to school this morning there was a single rose on my desk, and I thought it was from you.”

  Oh shit.

  “Who is it from?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe it is one of my kids or maybe—” She stops midsentence, looking completely terrified and goes ghost white.

  “Baby, you are scaring the shit out of me. Who is it from?”

  “I think it’s from the dad of one of my students. He always walks him to class and this morning when he saw the rose he smiled.”

  Oh hell no. Hell to the fucking no. I ask her to describe to me what he looks like and fuck me if that doesn’t sound like the guy that was here looking for her. I knew I had a bad feeling abou
t the guy, and now I know why.

  “How would he know that you work here? Unless he noticed you this summer, before school had even started.”

  “I don’t know. I don’t talk about it at school or anything.”

  The anger I feel inside is burning deep and is about to explode out of me. Before I take it out on her, I turn away, grab her tumbler of water, and throw it at the wall. Watching it shatter into a million pieces onto the wood floor. That is nothing compared to how and what I am feeling right now.

  “Taylor,” she says, bringing me back to now.

  “Has he tried anything?” Hating to ask, but needing to know.

  “Of course not. I would have told you.”

  I need to drop this subject for now, before it gets worse and I say something I don’t mean. None of this is Ashley’s fault; I just need to get my emotions in check. I finish cleaning up and counting money before we head out. The drive to her house is quiet as we are both lost in thought. When we arrive at her house, I drag her to the bathroom and draw up a hot bath. Stripping us out of our clothes before we descend into the water. She sits between my legs, leaning her back against my chest. I lather soap in my hands and begin to rub her down.

  “Don’t be mad at me, baby,” she whispers.

  “I’m not mad you, I just don’t know how to handle my feelings. I want to go kill him with my bare hands.”

  “Please don’t, because then I would lose you.”

  Needing to be closer to her, I drag her out of the bath and onto her bed. I sink into her warm heat in one smooth thrust. Our movements are slow but powerful. I hold her eye contact the whole time, watching her eyes give all of her feelings away. She squeezes my dick tighter, letting me know she is about to come. I quicken my movements as her orgasm takes over, milking my dick of every ounce of cum left. I made love to her with everything in me, this wasn’t fucking, it was lovemaking.

  “I love you,” I say as we come down from our high. I couldn’t go another day without her knowing.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  ASHLEY

  Wow, this is the first time he’s said those words to me, last time it was because I let it slip out. Looking in his eyes all I see is love, even though I can still see worry in there. I wish I could take that away, but I don’t know how. Never did I think that the playboy could love me. I really hope he is saying it because he truly feels it and not because he just got done fucking me. I have heard of that before. Still looking in his eyes, I tell him exactly how I feel.

  “I love you, too.” Shit, that feels great to finally say out loud. The smile that takes over his face could light up the world. Making his dimples show in the process. He bends his head and kisses me slowly and passionately, making all my worries go away. That’s how we spend the rest of the night—wrapped in each other’s arms and making love multiple times. We fall asleep just as the sun is coming up.

  *

  The next couple of weeks fly by as we get used to being in class and with our classmates. I am getting the room ready for our day when Michael and his dad walk in. Great, just what I wanted to deal with this Friday. I haven’t seen him in about a week, so I thought that maybe the rose wasn’t from him. I greet them, being polite and all since I am his teacher. Mr. Cooper sends his son to have a seat and get out a book to read. Michael is one of my quieter kids in class; he normally plays by himself or just reads. He comes over and stands in front of my desk, causing me to tilt my head back to look at him.

  “Hello,” I say, because what else is there to say?

  “Ashley.”

  Oh no.

  “Miss Williams,” I correct him.

  “Miss Williams, I was wondering if you want to have dinner with me one night?”

  What the fuck, is he serious? This can’t be real.

  “Mr. Cooper, thank you for the invitation but I have a boyfriend, and I am your son’s teacher. So I can’t.”

  He gets a pissed-off look on his face and storms out of the room without even so much of a good-bye to his son. Looking over at Michael, I see he has tears falling down his face. Walking over to him, I kneel at his desk and ask him what’s wrong. He tells me he misses his mommy.

  As I am about to ask him what he means, the bell rings for kids to come in. I make a mental note to talk to the office about that later.

  We get busy and have a fun day before our three-day weekend. Monday is Labor Day so we are off. Which is why I am working at the bar tomorrow night. I have actually missed it some. Michael seemed to cheer up more as the day went on, and by the time it was over he was laughing and smiling. I noticed his grandma picked up today, I’ve only seen her a couple of times. I have come to find out that she is from his mother’s side. I still haven’t figured out what happened to her. After my class is long gone, I lock up and make my way home.

  I throw on some sweats and pop dinner in the oven. Tonight, Nancy is coming over for a girls’ night along with Kaylee from the bar. We just plan to have some drinks and girl talk. After the day I’ve had, I need one. I know I have to tell Taylor about being asked out, and I will. But honestly, I am scared shitless. He freaked out over the rose; Lord knows what he will do over this. I will tell him tomorrow before I start work, I make it a plan to go in early and see him. Just now I am seeing him early for different reasons than I originally wanted.

  As I wait for the girls, I pour myself a glass of wine. My phone rings from the table, picking it up I see that Taylor is calling.

  “Hello.”

  “Hey, baby. How was your day?”

  “It was good, how was yours? Shouldn’t you be working?”

  “I am, I took a minute and came up to the office so I could call you before the girls get there.”

  “Oh, okay, they should be here soon. Dinner is about ready and I’m in my comfy clothes.” That causes him to chuckle. He makes fun of me because the moment I get home I always take my bra off. He just doesn’t understand; us women have to let our puppies breathe.

  “Well then, I will let you go. Call me before you go to bed, baby.”

  “I will, I love you.”

  “I love you too, gorgeous,” he says before he ends the call. I still haven’t gotten used to him telling me he loves me, but fuck if it doesn’t melt my heart every time.

  Ten minutes later, the girls arrive and we sit down for dinner. I made one of the quick, frozen lasagna meals. Normally, I would make it from scratch, but I didn’t want to clean up the mess. I tell the girls about Jacob asking me out.

  “You have to tell Taylor, you know that, right?” Nancy says.

  “Of course. I never said I wasn’t going to tell him. I said I was scared of telling him.”

  “Why?” Kaylee asks.

  I fill her in on the rose incident and Taylor’s reaction. She is in shock just as much as Nancy was when she found out. After I tell her the story, I drop the whole conversation, because I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I just want to enjoy my girls’ night and deal with Taylor tomorrow. Tonight is just about me and my girls. After we eat, Nancy grabs the bottle of tequila while Kaylee cuts the limes up. For the next few hours we laugh, drink, and talk about the guys. It’s almost like we are a bunch of high school kids, just with some added drinks. I don’t think I have laughed this hard in a very long time.

  By the time I crawl into bed at one thirty, the girls are passed out in the spare room. Since I promised to call Taylor before I went to bed, I pull out my phone and dial his number.

  “Hey, you,” he says loudly. I can hear the bar noise in the background, which means he is nowhere near his office.

  “Just letting you know I’m going to bed.”

  “Come on, baby,” I hear a female voice say closely to the phone.

  “Who the hell is that?” I don’t even give him time to reply, I just hang up the phone. Immediately, the phone begins to vibrate on the table next to me, flashing Taylor’s name. I hit ignore, which causes him to call even more. Finally getting tired of hearing it go off,
I turn the phone off. I don’t want to talk to him right now. Not after hearing that girl’s voice. I roll over and let sleep claim me.

  I am jolted awake by someone crawling over me, my flight or fight instincts kicking in, but before I can scream, my mouth is covered by a strong hand.

  “It’s me, Ash,” Taylor’s smooth voice says.

  “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “I couldn’t take you being mad at me. I had to come and make it right.”

  “How did you get in?”

  “The guys came and picked up the girls, so I locked up and here I am. Go back to sleep, we will talk in the morning,” he says while kissing my forehead. I roll back over and fall asleep with his arms wrapped around me.

  I wake up feeling really hot. Opening my eyes, I see I’m wrapped in Taylor’s arms. I vaguely remember him coming in this morning. I slide out of bed and softly tiptoe to the kitchen and begin making breakfast for us. Just as I slide the breakfast casserole in the oven, two strong hands grip my sides. I feel his five o’clock shadow brush the skin of my neck.

  “Morning, baby.”

  “Morning,” I reply, still a little ticked off about last night. I know he wants to discuss the situation. Turning me quickly, he smacks his lips to mine, silencing me with his kiss. I want to stay mad at him, yell, or even hit him, but when his lips touch mine, I’m a goner. My body gives in each time, even though my head is telling me to fight against him. We have that love-hate relationship sometimes. He ends our kiss shortly after he started it. Grabbing my hips, he lifts me onto the counter and tilts my head so we are looking each other eye to eye. Damn it, I hate when he does this.

  “I want you to know that the girl you heard in the background was not for me. She was talking to the bartender, James. She was just standing right next to me because the place was busy.”

  “Oh,” I mumble, feeling somewhat stupid.

  “You know I would never cheat on you, baby. I worked hard to get you; I won’t just throw it away. Tell me you believe me, baby.”

  “I do.”