Ash: Jagged Edge Series #5

by A. L Long

  “Let me get my shoes on and I’ll check it out,” he said.

  I couldn’t help but lower my eyes to his feet. If there was ever a man who could have the sexiest feet ever, it would have to be him. Realizing that I didn’t even know his name, I asked abruptly, stopping him in his tracks. “What is your name? I mean, you never said.”

  “Ash,” he replied.

  A perfect name for a perfect man. “Nice to meet you, Ash,” I said as he stepped to the side, gesturing for me to come inside.

  I couldn’t believe this place. Just the entrance alone was magnificent, with its high ceilings and skylights. I wondered what it looked like at night with the stars shining through the glass. Pulling me from my stupor, he said, “Make yourself at home. I’ll be right back.”

  Nodding my head in agreement, I watched him leave the area before I began making myself comfortable. Wandering to my left, I stepped into the living area where the floor-to-ceiling windows were. I had to take back everything I said. The way the outside beamed though the glass, it was no wonder the larger windows were put in place. Looking around, I could see that there was also a fireplace. What an awesome room this would be to have family get-togethers.

  Turning away from the window, I spotted the kitchen to my left. It was massive, just like the living area. There was a center island with a granite top and a matching counter behind it. All of the appliances were stainless steel, which made the kitchen very classy. Hearing footsteps behind me, I turned and said, “This place is amazing.”

  “I grew up here. My grandparents left this place to me when they passed. I’ve made a few upgrades over the years. Made it more me,” Ash replied.

  “I’ll say. It is breathtaking.”

  “Come on. Let’s see what’s going on with your car.”

  When Ash took my hand and led me to a door in the kitchen, I was almost hesitant to go with him, but when I saw the steps leading to the garage, my mind was put at ease. Even though he seemed like a nice guy, it always seemed as though those were the type of guys a girl needed to be careful of.

  Ash walked to the passenger side of his truck, opened the door, and made sure I got in safely. It took him a while to get in himself. My guess was that he was looking for tools, in case he needed them to fix my yellow bomb. My little Civic was something my mom bought for me on my eighteenth birthday. I thought I had died and gone to heaven when I got that little car. Now I wasn’t so sure, hence the recent name I gave it. I think over the years I put more money into it than it was actually worth. I never had the heart to get rid of it. Plus, there was the fact I would never be able to afford a new one.

  As Ash started the truck, the garage door began to open and he pulled out. It seemed kind of silly driving to my home, especially since I lived only a mile away. He only grabbed a handful of tools, so it wouldn’t have been a problem to walk the short distance.

  When we pulled up to my little house, my car looked pathetic against Ash’s beautiful truck. The minute he looked over to me, I knew he was thinking the same thing. Before he could say anything, I said firmly, “It was a gift from my mom and I refuse to sell it.”

  With a half smile, he responded. “Jules, I don’t think you would get anything for it. It looks like your car is on its last leg, or in this case, spark plug.”

  I watched Ash get out of the truck and walk to my car. Lifting the hood, I could tell that he was a little bit concerned given the way he was shaking his head. Opening my door, I got out and walked over to him. We were standing next to each other, side by side, looking at the engine. Ash still shook his head while I wondered what he was thinking. “When was the last time you had a tune-up?” he questioned.

  Gazing down at the engine, I said in a soft voice, “The last time I had an oil change, which may have been about six months ago.”

  “Well, whoever checked it over should have suggested you have all of the wiring replaced. I will see what I can do, but I would definitely get them replaced.”

  I knew he was right. The yellow bomb was old and probably on its last leg, but it had been with me a long time and had gotten me out of a lot of predicaments. Making his way back to his truck, I watched him as he opened the door to the back seat and grabbed what few tools he had. When he came back, he began working on the engine. I had no idea what he was doing, but I was pretty sure he knew more about car engines than I did.

  “Do you have your key?” he asked.

  Reaching in my front pocket, I pulled out my key, which was attached to my lucky pink rabbit’s foot. Handing it over to him, I watched him slide into the front seat of my car, having a little difficulty fitting his muscular body behind the wheel. When he was finally able to get seated, he turned the key in the ignition and the car began to sputter. With a few more pumps on the gas pedal, the engine started. I put my hands together and began clapping at the success he had.

  Climbing out of the car as best he could, he looked down on me and said with concern, “I’m not sure how long it is going to stay started. I think I better follow you to the service station in case it dies on you.”

  “I wasn’t planning on going to the station. I need to pick up some supplies for the house,” I replied, matter-of-factly.

  “This is more important, Jules. If you don’t get it fixed, you could be left stranded,” he said firmly.

  “How am I supposed to get the things I need if my car is being serviced? It is the only means of transportation that I have.” Maybe I could leave it to get serviced. I guess I could check into renting a car until it was done, but then I would be spending money that I didn’t have.

  “Okay, how about this? I will take you wherever you need to go. Based on the condition of your car, my guess would be that your car is going to be out of commission for at least a week,” he offered with a half smile.

  “You would be willing to do that for me?” I replied.

  “Yeah.”

  I could have given Ash a hug, but instead I got in my car. I was thankful that he came by when he did earlier. If he hadn’t been there to help me, I would have never known to walk to his house. Putting the car in reverse, I slowly back out of the driveway, careful not to run into Ash’s truck. Heading down the road, I looked back in my review mirror to make sure that Ash was still behind me.

  An hour later, we were leaving the service station with information I wasn’t expecting to hear. The entire engine needed to be rewired. It was either that or purchase a new engine altogether. There was very little cost difference between the two, so I looked to Ash for advice. After paying up $1,200, I was buying a new engine for my car.

  Our first stop would be the hardware store. I hoped that it carried everything I needed for the repairs to be done to the house. I needed to get some more nails, paint, a few two-by-fours, and some tape. This would at least be enough to get me started. Hopefully, this house wouldn’t turn into a money pit and drain every last penny from my savings.

  After I found everything I needed, Ash carried the items to his truck while I finished paying for them. As I opened the door to the truck, I noticed a man leaning up against a light pole across the street. It wouldn’t have seemed unusual except he was dressed in a hoodie and it was at least ninety-five degrees outside. Not only was that strange, he was looking right at me. Climbing in, I buckled my seat beat and waited for Ash to get in. Seeing that he was settled, I looked out the back window to see that the creepy man was still leaning against the light pole watching us.

  “What do you think that guy is waiting for?” I asked, trying to act like I was unaffected by the man's presence and the fact that he was watching us.

  Looking out his side mirror, Ash turned the key in the ignition and said, “Beats me. Kind of creepy though.”

  It never occurred to me that Ash would actually drive over to where the guy was standing and confront him. Pulling up to the curb, Ash rolled down his window and asked bluntly, “Is there something you need?”

  When the guy looked at Ash with a pissed-off
look before he walked away, I thought for sure that Ash would jump out of his truck and find out what his problem was, but he didn’t. He just shook his head and put the truck into drive and pulled away from the curb. All I knew was the guy looked creepy, and when he looked at Ash the way he did, there was something really off about him.

  The drive back to my place was killing me with the silence between us. There was still something bothering me about the guy in town and I needed to vent my opinion. “What do you think that guy in town wanted?” I asked, gazing out the side window and then over to Ash.

  “I don’t know, but there was definitely something strange about him. He certainly wasn’t from around here,” Ash confessed.

  “Personally, I think he may have been on something. Who in their right mind wears a hoodie in the middle of summer?” I replied.

  “Does seem kind of strange.”

  When we got to the house, Ash began unloading the items from the back of the truck. Even though I would have been able to do it myself, I was glad that I didn’t have to. Once he had everything inside the house, I thought for sure that he would be on his way, but he surprised me when he said, “I’ll get started in the bathroom. I know how you women are.”

  Before I could protest, he was grabbing the two-by-fours and heading down the hallway to the bathroom. The way he moved around the house made me wonder if he had been in the place before. Moving in the other direction, I grabbed the new faucet hardware and headed to the kitchen. If Ash was willing to offer his help, who was I to stop him? It would certainly shorten the amount of time it would take to get this place in shape.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Ash

  I knew the minute that Juliette spotted that guy across the street, she would think something was up with him. What she didn’t realize was that I saw him before we got to the hardware store. He was also at the service station where we dropped off her car. I knew I should have approached him then, but I really didn’t think anything of it at the time. I had a funny feeling there was more to this guy. I knew one thing for sure, the next time I laid eyes on him, he wouldn’t be getting away so easy.

  Focusing my thoughts back on the repairs I was working on in the bathroom, another thought came to me. “What in the hell possessed Juliette to buy this place?” I understood her wanting to have something of her own, but this was in no way worth keeping. From a distance it really didn’t look that bad, but up close, it was an accident waiting to happen.

  Finishing what I could in the bathroom, I headed to the kitchen to see if there was anything I could do to help Juliette with the faucet. Stopping just outside the doorway, I looked down to the floor and saw those gorgeous tan legs peeking out from under the sink while the rest of her body was resting inside the cabinet. She must have had her iPod going because she didn’t even move when I called her name.

  Walking over to where she was, I lowered my body to see if I could figure out what she was doing. The best I could see, she was trying to tighten the gooseneck part of the plumbing. It looked like she wasn’t having any success, so I tapped her lightly on the leg to get her attention. Her head came up so quickly that she couldn’t miss hitting her head on the opening of the cabinet. “Dang, that’s gotta hurt,” I thought to myself as a screeching sound came from her pretty mouth.

  “Shit, shit, shit!” she cried, rubbing the top of her head.

  I couldn’t help but laugh at the way she looked. It had to have been the cutest pout on a face I had ever seen. Helping her to her feet, I took the wrench from her hand and squeezed my upper body inside the small area. I guess I shouldn’t have laughed at her because the minute I turned the pipe, it split in half, causing water to gush out and burst the pipe wide open. I guess I deserved that.

  With my upper body completely soaked, I pushed from the floor, knowing that Juliette was now laughing at me. At least it made her forget about the bump that was beginning to form on her forehead. Grabbing the nearest towel, I began wiping off the excess water. Getting as dry as I could get with the small dish towel, I looked over to Juliette and said, concerned, “You may want to put some ice on the bump.”

  “I’m good. What are we going to do about the sink?” she asked frantically.

  “The first thing we need to do is turn the water off. It’s too late to get another part, so we will need to do it in the morning.”

  “What am I supposed to do without water until tomorrow?” she huffed, throwing her hands up in the air.

  “It’s okay, Jules, You can stay the night with me. I have a guest room with an attached bathroom.”

  “I can’t do that… This is just great, Not only do I not have a car, now I don’t even have water, and I have to be to work in three hours.”

  The way she was pacing back and forth, you would have thought it was the end of the world for her. Stopping her from wearing down the flooring, I looked down at her and assured her that it would all work out. “Jules, you are making this more of a big deal than it needs to be. You can stay with me; shower and I will give you a ride to work. You can call me when you’re off and I will be there to pick you up. Not a big deal.”

  “You would do all of that for me? You hardly know me.”

  “As I said, it’s not a big deal. Get what you need and we can get out of here,” I said, hoping that she would do as I asked and not stress about it.

  Taking a seat on the couch, I waited for her to gather the things she needed. I was surprised that she accepted my offer. She was right about one thing, we hardly knew each other, but I could see a woman in need a mile away, and Juliette was definitely a woman in need. A faint ringing interrupted my thoughts. I took my phone from my pocket and looked down at the screen. Swiping the accept button, I hesitantly said, “Hello.” I wasn’t sure who was on the other side, but I knew there was someone there. Before I could say another word, the caller hung up. You would have thought that I would have learned that unknown callers were just that, unknown.

  Juliette entered the living room, packing a suitcase that was big enough to be considered more than for an overnight stay. I knew that girls had more necessities than just a change of clothes and a toothbrush, but by the way she was struggling with the case, it had to be packed plump full of who knew what.

  Standing, I walked over to where she was and helped her with her suitcase. The minute I took it from her, it was no wonder she was having such a hard time. “Jesus, girl, what do you have in this thing?”

  “Only the stuff I need,” she replied with an annoyed expression.

  “Okay, I guess I shouldn’t have asked.”

  After locking up the house, we got into my truck and headed to my place. It was going to be strange having someone besides the guys stay the night at the house. It was also going to be hard to simmer down the things that I would love to do to this woman. I only prayed that she didn’t have one of those sexy nighties that got a man all hard and shit.

  When we reached the house, I pulled the truck forward and backed up into the garage. Satisfied that I was in far enough, I cut the engine and got out. Walking to the back of the truck, I opened the tailgate and grabbed Jules’ suitcase. Still couldn’t believe how heavy the dang thing was.

  Heading inside, I led her to the guest bedroom. I hoped that it would be sufficient for her needs. Looking over my shoulder, I made sure that she was still following behind me. When we got to the room, I swung open the door and walked over to the bed, where I placed her suitcase. As I turned towards her, I could see that she approved of the accommodations, based on the look on her face.

  “The bathroom is through there,” I said as I pointed in the direction of the bathroom door.

  “Great, thanks,” she said with a beautiful grin.

  “If you need anything, let me know. Steak okay?” I asked.

  “Steak?”

  “Yeah, for dinner. Do you like steak?” I replied.

  “Steak is good.” she confirmed.

  “Great.” I backed out of the room and left he
r to do her thing. Having her here was going to be hard. I had never wanted a woman as much as I wanted her at that moment, and the bulge in my jeans was confirmation of that. Closing the door, I headed to the kitchen to season some steaks. I wasn’t even sure how she liked it cooked. If I had to guess, well done.

  As I began preparing the meal, I could have sworn I heard something. Going to the living room, I waited for a moment to see if I could hear it again. Thinking I must be losing it, I went back to the kitchen to finish up. Right then, I actually did lose it. Standing in absolutely nothing was the most gorgeous body I had ever seen. She was perfect in every aspect. Her breasts were just the right size in comparison to the rest of her body, with her nipples standing at full attention; my guess was because of being wet and completely naked. The rest of her body was breathtaking, like God knew exactly what the body of a woman should look like. Pure perfection.