by McClung, Amy
A gently placed hand on my hip was followed by a voice that sent waves of ecstasy throughout my body. “Want some pointers?”
When I turned, Ash’s face was beside mine. I smiled excitedly. “You made it!” I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him down in an embrace.
He chuckled in my ear. “Told you I’d be here.”
Cameron took his turn next and, of course, ended up knocking in three. I stuck my tongue out at him.
“Show-off.”
He snickered.
"Don't be so cocky," I said, feigning annoyance.
He flicked his shirt. "It ain't bragging mother effer if you back it up."
I rolled my eyes. "That only works for Kid Rock. Nice censorship by the way."
He shrugged. "I can't use the real phrase; it's too graphic and makes me think of my mother in ways I don't wanna." He shuddered with disgust and I laughed.
Ashton came up behind me again. He patted my hips, leaned to my ear so I could hear him over the music, and said, “Spread your legs.”
I jumped, dropping the pool stick on the table, as my head bounced back, hitting him in the chin. I squeaked, “What?”
I quickly covered my mouth when I saw him rubbing his chin. “I’m sorry.”
He laughed, his cheeks flushed as he cleared his throat. “Your stance needs to be wider.”
That familiar tug in my stomach told me I liked the other way he said it better. I took his advice. His left hand rested on the pool table next to me, his arm across my back. His right hand sent electric tingles across my skin as he moved it along my arm to help me aim. His breath was on my neck as he instructed me on what to do. I had no clue what he said. All I could hope was that he didn’t notice the drool on my face.
His hand tickled my stomach and I jerked back laughing.
“What was that?”
He chuckled. “You zoned out. I needed to get your attention.” Apparently he had noticed something was off about me.
“Sorry, I was distracted by...the...balls?” I said, suddenly mortified as to how that sounded.
Cameron snickered. “Gracie gets distracted by balls pretty easily.”
Ashton leaned up against the table and put his hand on my hips. "You alright, Gracie?"
His eyes dipped down briefly to my cleavage and back up. Hmm, that was a good sign. One more test should do it. I knocked the chalk from the table. I bent over slowly in front of him. When I turned to see if he was looking, he had turned to hug some guy that had walked up. I knew he was too good to be true for me.
Slipping away, I walked up to the bar to grab two beers. While I was up there, a man approached me.
"Hello beautiful," he said, as he drew circles with his fingers on my shoulder.
I took a step back from him. The bartender was distracted by another customer. I wished he'd hurry with my beers.
"My name is Wes, what's yours?"
I glanced over at my friends, who hadn’t noticed my dilemma yet. "I'm seeing someone, Wes."
He glanced around. "You look alone to me."
The bartender brought me two beers, I handed him a ten and told him to keep the change.
Holding up the two beers, I said, "See?"
He put his arm around my waist, pulling me against him. Before I could protest, he let go as he backed away with his hands up. An arm came around my shoulders.
"You gotta problem, man?"
Wes shook his head. "No, man I'm good."
Ashton's voice became deeper. "Well, I gotta problem with you putting your hands on my girlfriend."
The deepness of his voice, the possessive way he claimed me, it was all too much to handle. The image that flashed in my head was of Ash ripping my corset open, lifting me onto the pool table and giving me some horizontal refreshment. Snap out of it, Gracie! I shook my head back and forth to erase the steamy thoughts.
Wes walked away.
"Your girlfriend?" I inquired.
Ashton didn't smile. He looked pissed, actually. "He had no right to put his hands all over you. I hate guys like that."
I placed my hand against his heart. "It's okay, I'm used to it."
His jaw clenched. "You shouldn’t have to be used to that crap, Gracie. He needs to learn to treat women with respect."
With my palm against his face, I leaned up and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, for protecting me. You're an amazing friend." I held the beer up to him. "Here, payback for the pool lessons."
He smiled, taking the beer and pressing it to his lips for a taste. I watched his moist lips wrap around the bottle, his Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed it down. I'd never been so jealous of a beer bottle before.
"Come on, you still have a shot to make."
His hand stayed against the small of my back as he led me back to the table. We resumed our positions. Ashton's hands were on my body, his lips next to my ear. I closed my eyes as his breath warmed my ear with the instructions he gave. I bit my bottom lip when his hand pressed against my hip guiding my stance.
"You want to hit the red striped ball. It's in an odd position, so aim for the eight ball at this angle. It should ricochet off at the right angle to bump the red striped ball into the corner pocket."
Ashton moved to let me shoot. I followed his directions and watched, in shock, as it actually worked. I squealed, then wrapped my arms around his neck, and jumped up and down excitedly. After I jumped three times, the fourth time I came down hard on my heels and my foot turned. Ashton caught me before I fell over.
I glanced down. "Damnit, my shoe broke." I pouted. "I love these shoes."
He helped me over to a stool and lifted me up on it. His hand gently lifted my foot as he checked out my shoe. "I think it's pretty much ruined. Stay here, I'll be back in a few."
Cameron stepped over after Ashton left. "Where'd he go?" Then he gasped. "What did you do to those heels?"
My phone beeped. Ashton had texted me and asked, What size shoe do you wear?
I texted back stating, size nine.
"Ok, I think Ashton is buying me new shoes…somewhere."
Cameron wrapped his arm around me. "You better hope he hurries if you expect to win this game of pool."
Ashton was gone for about forty-five minutes. When he returned he had a long box in his hands. His large muscular hands lifted my foot; he untied my shoe, and then slid it off. He opened the box and pulled out…
"Cowboy boots?"
He smiled. "It's downtown Nashville, what other shoes would I find to go with your kickin' outfit?"
They were black cowboy boots with red stitching in the shape of flowers. "These are actually pretty badass."
He grinned. "Glad you like them."
They matched my outfit perfectly. Ashton had great fashion sense, damn it. Ashton placed the boots on my feet for me. I paced back and forth, breaking them in a little.
"Them's dancing shoes, Gracie," Cameron said with his best country twang. "Let's head downstairs and dance on the bar."
Cameron, Ashton, Gavin and I left the rest of the guys to run downstairs to one of the country bars below. Cover was free for ladies and the guys got in free too because Ash knew the bouncer.
The music was blaring; it was a fast country song. A squeal flew from my lips as Ashton lifted me up to place me on the bar to dance. I swayed my hips, tapping my boots against the bar top. One of the bartenders got up to dance with me. She put her hands on my hips and swayed with me.
She was wearing a cowboy hat that she moved to my head and yelled in my ear, "Love your corset! And those boots are smokin’!"
She twirled me around then gave me a dip. I laughed as she winked at Ashton and pushed me backwards. I screamed as I fell off the bar into his arms. He looked down at me and smiled.
"Hey, beautiful."
I giggled as he set me on the floor.
The next song that came on was a slow one. I grabbed his wrist, pulling him against me. I had danced with Cameron like we were a couple before, so why couldn't I do that
with Ash?
"Dance with me?"
He didn’t hesitate for a second. He slipped his hands around my waist, as mine went around his neck. Cameron and Gavin followed our lead. He secured me tighter in his arms as I laid my head against his firm chest. My body had the impression that this was more than just friends dancing.
It was beyond my control as to how aroused I was by being so close to him. He leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to my cheek. His breath at my ear made a light whimper escape my lips.
With a questioning tone, he said, "Gracie?" I looked up into his eyes as he continued, "I think…" As he spoke, something caught our attention, distracting us both momentarily.
A man ambled over to Cameron. He placed his hand on his shoulder as he said something I couldn't make out. Cameron jerked his arm free of the man's hold. Gavin put his hand on his shoulder as if attempting to calm him. Cameron didn't get upset very easily.
I strolled over. "Is there a problem?"
The man replied, "I was asking these two to leave. This bar isn’t for that kind of thing."
Offended, I spouted, "What kind of thing? Dancing?"
The man gave me an odd look. "Miss, you can resume dancing with your boyfriend over there."
This angered me; I moved only inches from his face. "You didn’t seem to have a problem with your female bartender grinding up against me on the bar a few minutes ago."
He stepped back slightly. "Two women dancing together is considered sexy to our male customers. This," he pointed to Cameron and Gavin, "is not."
Ashton lifted me up and put me over his shoulder as the curse words started spewing from my mouth. Cameron and Gavin followed us out.
The bouncer stopped us. "Ash, man, leaving so soon? What's up with your girl?"
I was still so mad I was yelling obscenities.
"Your manager is a homophobe. You don't mind working for that, Bobby?"
Bobby, the bouncer, shrugged. "I got bills to pay. I don’t bring my boyfriend in here because of that guy. If you hear of someone hiring though, let me know, man."
Ashton shook his hand. "Definitely. We'll talk. I gotta get this girl home before she gets herself arrested."
Bobby nodded. "Good luck, she looks feisty."
Ashton replied, "You have no idea."
Once outside, Ashton set me down. I promptly turned to walk back into the bar, and he grabbed my wrist.
Angrily, I pointed at him. "Let go of me! No one makes my friends feel bad! I'm going back in there to give him a piece of my mind."
Ashton laughed. "I think you already did that, Gracie."
Cameron wrapped his arm around mine. "Forget about him. I love you for coming to my rescue, but he's not worth it."
I kissed his cheek. "I don’t like anyone hurting you." I turned to look at Ashton and Gavin. "Any of you."
Gavin spoke up, "You're an awesome friend, Gracie." He kissed my cheek. "We're all lucky to have you. Let's go home. I've had enough fun for one night."
Ashton reached for my hand. "I can take you home, if you'd like?"
I nodded. "Yeah, sure." I hugged Cameron and Gavin before following Ash to his bike.
"I thought maybe Cam and Gav would want some alone time," Ashton said, mounting his bike.
"Oh, yeah, that makes sense."
He reached for my hand again, "Plus, selfishly, I wanted to spend some time with you."
The grin on my face couldn't speak louder to the joy I felt hearing those words. "Are you sleepy?"
He shook his head. "Nope. Where do you want to go?"
Pressing my body against him, I breathed, "Anywhere, as long as I'm with you." Ash's body didn’t tense at my words or the emotions they insinuated.
We pulled into a nice neighborhood, just north of Nashville. Ashton pulled into a driveway and I stepped off the bike first. I removed my helmet and shook out my hair.
"Where are we?"
He reached for my hand, guiding me to the front door. "My house. I thought we could just hang out."
His house was red brick with blue shutters that matched a blue front door. He unlocked it and moved aside for me to enter. The front door opened into a living room with a marble mantled fireplace across from the couch.
"No TV?" I asked, surprised.
He laughed. "Of course I have a TV, silly. Big screen is down in the den, and I have another one in the bedroom. "
I laughed. The response I really wanted to give was to ask if I could see the one in the bedroom.
We passed through the living room as he gave me a tour. The next room was the kitchen, then he waved at the bedroom door as we passed it to go to the basement into the den. The downstairs was set up like a movie room with a big screen television, a small couch, recliners, and DVDs. Lining the walls were neon beer signs, a dartboard, and in the corner, a pool table.
Oh holy sweet love, the fantasy on the pool table started again in my head.
"You wanna hang out down here a bit? Watch a movie?" he asked, with a twinge of nervousness it seemed.
"Yeah, I'd like that." I sat on the couch, and then patted the seat next to me. He sat down and I leaned against him to watch the comedy he had chosen for us. He slid his arm around my shoulder and held me close. Cameron and I watched movies like this all the time, but this felt so much more intimate.
"I'm proud of you for standing up to that guy tonight," he said.
I glanced up at him. "Like I said, I don’t like people hurting my friends. Cameron acts tough about it. The truth is, every time he deals with people like that, it kills him a little more and I hate it."
He kissed the side of my head. "I hate jerks like that. I'm glad we're friends, Gracie. I feel very protective of you myself."
If he added that he thought of me like a sister, I would seriously die right here of heartbreak. He left it at that, though.
I fell asleep at some point. When I woke up, I was curled up against Ashton's chest with my arm around him. His head was lying back against the couch as he slept, snoring lightly. He looked adorable. I ran my hand along his chest, wanting to wake him up with my lips pressed to his, but I had to hold back. His body shifted slightly. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me closer.
I sighed with contentment.
He muttered, "Mmm…Gracie," and it made my heart race.
I glanced up to see if he'd awaken. He was still sound asleep, but muttering my name.
My phone beeped, alerting me of a text. I jumped, causing Ash to jump too.
He rubbed his eyes. "Hey gorgeous, guess I fell asleep."
I cursed my phone. "I'm sorry that woke you up. You were sleeping so peacefully."
He grinned. "Were you watching me?"
I shrugged. "Couldn’t help it, you're so darned cute." I moved away from him to read my text. I rolled my eyes and sarcastically said, "Yay. Hudson misses me."
Ashton stood up, stretching his body, his shirt riding up slightly as his pants dipped a little at the same time. I licked my lips as I watched him.
He held his hand out to me. "Come on, I'll fix you breakfast."
"Thanks for bringing me back here, I enjoyed it," I said as we walked upstairs.
"Me too. If you want, you can grab a shower while I make breakfast."
I'd rather us grab a shower together, I thought naughtily. He showed me to the bathroom and set me up with towels and everything I'd need.
After breakfast, he drove me home. "You busy today?" he asked as I got off the bike.
"Nope, no plans actually. Why?"
He grinned. "Go put on some comfortable clothes. Jeans, t-shirt, tennis shoes kind of thing. I'll be back in an hour and we'll spend the day together. If you want?"
I nodded. "Definitely! What are we going to do?"
He revved the engine on his bike. "You'll see."
Ashton texted me an hour later, letting me know that he was outside waiting. I skipped down the stairs excitedly. Locking the front door, I turned around and discovered him sitting in a pick-up truck. He j
umped out and opened the passenger door for me.
"What is this?"
He laughed. "This is called a pick-up truck. They're vehicles that require gas to run. They're also known to carry beautiful women in them to fun places for the day."
I smirked. "Nice. I meant whose is it?"
He smiled. "It's mine. I can't ride my motorcycle all the time." He held his hand out to help me up into the truck, and then ran around to get behind the wheel. He still refused to tell me where we were going.
It was an unseasonably warm November day in Nashville. Lately it didn't matter what time of year it was, any temperature was possible. Today the high was in the low seventies. We drove the back roads from Smyrna, past the lake, into Mount Juliet.
As I glanced around, I realized we were in a local state park. I hadn’t been there in years. I used to come and walk the trail for exercise with Cameron when we were in high school.
After parking the truck and getting out, Ashton went to the bed of the truck and pulled out two fishing poles.
“Um, what is that?”
He shook his head with a laugh and said, “Fishing poles. You’ve been fishing before, right?”
I snorted and covered my mouth embarrassed. “Sorry. No.”
He laughed again. “I’ll teach you.”
I crinkled my nose. “Do I have to touch the worms or the fish?”
He smirked. “I give you permission to touch only what you want. I’ll take care of the rest.”
Touch what I want, huh? He didn’t know how dangerous his statement could be.
We walked toward the nearest dock. The park was empty considering how pretty the weather was today. Ashton carried a tackle box and the two poles for us. As we set up, he took a fisherman’s hat out of his tackle box and put it on.
I snickered. “Hey grandpa.”
He chuckled and put the hat on me instead. “It looks better on you. It’ll keep the sun off your face.”
I crinkled my nose again. “It’ll mess up my hair.” I laughed. “I’m playing, I’m not that girly.”
