by Ruby Forrest
Ashlyn took a deep breath as she tried to steady the rate of her heart. She didn’t understand why Brandon was bringing this back up. Was he not tempted by her as they sat on her bed and she was shirtless? If he wasn’t tempted by that, then maybe he just didn’t find her very attractive. The idea almost brought tears to Ashlyn’s eyes.
“Well,” she finally said, “I don’t know that’s exactly what we decided. But I think you were right when that happened. We had just met each other, like what, three days before? We’ve known each other almost two weeks now.”
“And we’ve seen each other every day,” Brandon echoed her sentiment. He moved the shirt from her forehead and studied the wound for a few minutes. He finally placed the shirt back on and continued applying pressure.
“The truth is that I want you,” Brandon finally said.
“I think it would be a lie if I said I didn’t want you,” Ashlyn replied. “I mean, yeah, we have issues. You know that from this morning, but I can’t stop thinking about you.”
Brandon smiled and looked Ashlyn in the eyes. “Well then, I didn’t know I had a little fan club.” Ashlyn tilted her head at Brandon and gave him a sarcastic look.
“You know what I meant.” Only Brandon could take words that she had meant to be sweet and turn them into something strange.
“I don’t want to have you if you’re going to regret it.”
Ashlyn slowly licked her lips and took the old T-shirt from Brandon. “I won’t regret it. I mean it when I say that you’re a pretty unique guy. You’re the kind of guy that a girl is lucky to have.” Ashlyn swallowed. “So, I guess that means I want to have you too.”
Chapter Five
Ashlyn turned away from Brandon. She was momentarily distracted. The wind was silent. It seemed as though the whole world was listening, waiting for the storm to give its plan away.
“It’s quiet,” Ashlyn said.
Brandon nodded. “The eye of the hurricane.”
A methodic thumping somewhere of something smacking against the side of the house sounded out. Ashlyn smiled. It was as though she had made her decision, and the storm had decided with her. All of those games were done. It was time for reality.
Ashlyn rested her head back on the pillow and looked up at Brandon. He was looking thoughtfully at the curtains that covered the window. It gave Ashlyn the opportunity to really study his torso. Her eyes dropped down over every curve, and she imagined what it would feel like to run her fingers over those little muscles that formed mounds just above his belt.
Ashlyn looked up at Brandon and saw that his eyes were now fixed on her. Her cheeks reddened automatically as she wondered what he thought of her admiring him. But Brandon didn’t seem to be moving; only his eyes were strolling across her body.
“Ashlyn, I think you have changed my world forever,” Brandon whispered.
His voice caused Ashlyn’s mouth to fall a little open. She licked her lips and smiled up at him. She wanted to say something clever, something that Brandon would never forget. She couldn’t think of anything. It didn’t matter. Brandon was already leaning down to kiss her.
Brandon carefully placed one hand in her hair. He slowly kissed her, and Ashlyn leaned into his lips. Cautiously, Brandon split her lips and pushed his tongue through. His tongue came through and found Ashlyn’s. Urgency and innate need controlled Ashlyn. She sat up rapidly and ignored the pounding in her forehead.
She reached forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. Brandon’s right hand wandered down her arm and to her hip. He squeezed her tightly. The desire in Ashlyn was taking over her body. She pushed her pelvis up into him then fumbled around to feel the front of his pants.
Brandon pushed himself even harder into her, and he bit down on her lip at the same time. Ashlyn groaned, not able to contain her pleasure.
Brandon pushed her back onto the bed, and Ashlyn lay still as Brandon slowly loosened her bra and pulled the straps off her arms one at a time. He stared at her for a minute before his eyes flicked back up to her. Ashlyn pushed her chest up toward him, inviting him to touch her. He slowly moistened the end of his finger, his tongue playing with the edge. Ashlyn watched his finger as he slowly moved it downward and began caressing her nipple. Ashlyn grit her teeth, scared of moaning so loudly that everyone else would be alerted.
After a mere few seconds, Brandon couldn’t wait any longer, and he bent down and took her nipple in his mouth. It had been so long since Ashlyn had done this with someone. It was as though her body had forgotten what the word pleasure meant.
“Brandon,” Ashlyn moaned, as low as she could. Brandon was breathing hard, even though he had barely been moving. He addressed her neck, slowly moving his tongue up and down the nape, reaching the edge of her ear. He bit down gently then blew in her ear.
Ashlyn felt gooseflesh rise up all over her body. She turned her head, silently hoping Brandon would do it again. This time, he put his tongue in her ear, and Ashlyn felt her whole body go rigid.
He bit her shoulder once more, then his fingers were fumbling at the button on her pants. He slid them down around her hips and pulled them off. He spread her legs apart, and Ashlyn watched as he admired her. He slowly moved a finger up and touched the middle of her underwear. Ashlyn knew that she had wet it right through, and Brandon smiled at her.
“I think I know what you’re ready for,” Brandon smiled.
Ashlyn suddenly felt a sense of desperation. She didn’t want him to be done yet. She wasn’t ready for it to be over. Ashlyn pressed her body up against his, suddenly becoming dominant and directing him. Brandon smiled as she indicated that he lay on the bed. She quickly slid his pants off and just stared at how his tight boxers cupped his penis.
She gritted her teeth as she slowly slid his boxers off. She needed him more than she had ever needed anything. Ashlyn slid his boxers off and saw his smooth skin built up to the rounded point. Ashlyn bent down and ran her tongue along the point. When Brandon groaned, he sent Ashlyn over the edge. No matter how much she wanted, she couldn’t stop. She couldn’t think. She began moving her mouth rapidly back and forth along his erection. Brandon had entwined his hand in her hair. His eyes were closed, and he was moaning off and on.
“Stop, Ashlyn, stop!” Brandon pushed Ashlyn off, almost roughly, and Ashlyn frowned at Brandon. What was his problem? Didn’t he like it? Brandon sat up and started kissing Ashlyn furiously, but she didn’t understand. She pulled back slightly.
“What’s wrong?” Ashlyn asked.
“I don’t want to finish yet,” Brandon said. “If you kept doing that, I would have finished, and I haven’t gotten to the best part yet.”
Ashlyn reluctantly backed off and let Brandon take off her underwear. He reached forward and began touching her with his finger. He touched her sensitive area, and she groaned, clenching up and moving away from him. The pleasure was too strong. She felt like she was going to pass out.
Brandon forced Ashlyn to keep her legs open. “Do it, Brandon. Do it, now!” Ashlyn commanded, feeling that strange feeling right before she finished. Brandon teased the entrance, the smooth skin massaging her. He finally pushed in. With a groan, Brandon moved in and out two times before he sighed and finished inside her.
Ashlyn was breathing heavily as she felt herself finish too.
Chapter Six
Ashlyn lay on the bed, and Brandon made room for himself next to her. Ashlyn felt warm all over. Brandon tossed her a shirt that she used to wipe herself before she lay down. She was exhausted. All she wanted to do was sleep.
The storm had picked up. They had passed through the eye sometime while they were busy, and the wind was pounding at the house again. Ashlyn had so much that she felt that she didn’t know how to say. She rested her head on Brandon’s warm chest and began twirling her fingers through his chest hair.
“Are you bleeding?” asked Brandon.
Ashlyn sat up hurriedly and pressed her hand to her head, but there was
only a trickle of blood. She lay back down and snuggled into Brandon. “If I am, it’s worth it.”
Brandon laughed gently, but the sound of his laughter was quickly drowned out by the raucous wind.
“Are we safe in here?” Ashlyn asked, a little traumatized from her earlier fall in the kitchen.
“As long as we are not trying to move around too much, I think we shall be just fine,” Brandon assured Ashlyn.
Ashlyn lay quietly, not knowing what else to say. Her mind was going over what had just happened, and she couldn’t help but smile. It was everything she had dreamed it would be. The storm continued to pick up speed, but Ashlyn lay contentedly at Brandon’s side. After everything that had happened, she felt as though he was her protector. She trusted him to take care of her and do what was best.
Ashlyn wasn’t sure if she really did or not, but she felt a jerk that seemed to make her wake up. Ashlyn looked up, rubbing her eyes and saw the door slowly moving open. The wind was silent, and the house was not rocking anymore. The storm was over.
Then Ashlyn remembered where she was and who she was with. She remembered that neither one of them was clothed just as Katy came in the room carrying her big blanket which she had taken into the bathroom with her. She dropped the blanket as she looked at first Ashlyn then Brandon. Ashlyn felt like she should cover Brandon up, like Katy had no right to see him. But Katy apparently felt the same way.
“Oh my god,” she said. She blinked her eyes several times then turned and hurried out of the room. Ashlyn’s immediate concern was that Katy’s big mouth would begin telling everyone what she had seen, just to make her seem like she was in the middle of the action.
Brandon was rubbing his eyes. He had just woken up to see Katy’s retreating back. Ashlyn started pulling on her clothes, searching messily through her suitcase as she tried to find something that wasn’t covered in glass or blood. Ashlyn pulled a shirt over her head and pulled her hair through the collar. She turned around and saw Brandon smiling lazily at her, his naked body still laid out on display.
“Why are you in such a rush?” he asked.
Ashlyn paused and studied him for a moment. Then she reached for a brush and began brushing through her hair. “Well, I know you were kind of sleeping through it, but Katy just walked through the door and saw us. . .together.”
Brandon looked toward the door and grimaced. “Yeah, I kind of wish she hadn’t, but she’s already come in now. If she comes back, then we really know what the problem is.”
Ashlyn tried to push down her smile so that she could show Brandon how inappropriate his comment was.
“Come here,” Brandon said, holding his arms out toward Ashlyn. Ashlyn swallowed hard, because her little nap had been enough to give her more energy. She wouldn’t mind going for round two with Brandon and feeling all of those sensations he had given her earlier.
“I can’t,” Ashlyn said. “Get up. Get dressed. Katy or Pamela might need something, and it’s not fair to say they can’t come in their own room.”
Brandon sighed and let his arms fall onto the bed. “Okay, I’m up.” Brandon began shuffling around the room. He still didn’t trust his shirt, so he dressed in his underwear and shorts only. “Do you have a plastic bag or something? I just want to wrap the shirt up until I can wash it.”
“I’m sure there are plastic bags in the kitchen,” Ashlyn replied. She carefully handed the shirt to Brandon. “I’ll be out soon.” Brandon slipped on his flipflops and shuffled out of the room. Ashlyn took a minute to compose herself. Part of her wanted to rush after Katy and tell her to keep her big old mouth shut. The other part of Ashlyn just wanted to shrug it off. It didn’t matter if people knew. They could think whatever they wanted to think of her as long as it didn’t affect what kind of review Gary gave of her.
Ashlyn stepped out of her room, thinking she was ready to face whatever might hit her.
Chapter Seven
Ashlyn paused as soon as she stepped out of her room. She could see a few of the guys working together to clean up the glass from the broken door. Ashlyn noticed Katy sitting on one of the bar stools in the kitchen, talking up a storm with the girls cooking. Curious, Ashlyn hurried over to see what was happening.
She squeezed into the chair next to Katy.
“Hey, Katy,” Ashlyn said.
Katy nodded at Ashlyn, and Ashlyn tried to see what the girls had been talking about. The other girls moved away, and Ashlyn looked around. They were as alone as they might get in the next few hours. She took her opportunity.
“What you saw, I’d appreciate it if you just kept it a secret, between us. I don’t think it would be a good idea for everyone to know.”
“By everyone, I know you mean Mark. It’s okay. I would never tell him.”
Ashlyn smiled, but Katy’s answer didn’t quite make her feel better. “I don’t only mean Mark. I mean just anyone you might happen to want to tell. Sometimes things happen that should just be kept between a few people.”
Katy rolled her eyes. “I’m not a kid, Ashlyn. I don’t need you telling me not to tell that kind of thing.”
Ashlyn set her mouth in a grim line and looked over to where Brandon had begun helping the others clean up the mess. He looked completely involved in what he was doing. “I didn’t mean it that way,” Ashlyn tried to explain. “I just, you know, we’ve gotten to know each other pretty well over the last few weeks, but there are still a few things we don’t know about each other.”
“You mean like if we’re big mouths or not. What do you think I’m going to do? Stand up on the counter and shout ‘hey! Everybody! Ashlyn and Brandon. . .’”
Ashlyn put a hand on Katy’s shoulder before she could finish imitating what she was going to say. “Yeah, nothing like that,” she pretended to joke around. But really her stomach felt sick. It wasn’t like she had done anything wrong. She was an adult. She could decide who she wanted to sleep with or not, but Katy had a way of putting things that didn’t always make them seem like a smart decision.
Ashlyn hopped off the bar stool and got herself a cup of water. Maybe the water would help settle her stomach. She took a few sips and felt a hand on her smile. She turned, a smile already making its way out as she expected to see Brandon over her shoulder. Except, it wasn’t Brandon. Mark was standing there, and he didn’t look too happy.
Ashlyn didn’t know what his problem was, but she didn’t want to find out either. She pointed to the cabinet that had the cups. “Did you want some water? I don’t mind getting the cup for you.”
Mark shook his head. “No, I don’t want water.” He shook his head again and crossed his arms. “What are you going to do? Tell everyone that Brandon raped you? Or are you waiting until it’s been a day or two before you make the big announcement?”
“What?” I looked at Mark like he was crazy. “What are you talking about?”
“I thought that was a habit of yours,” Mark said, his voice pointed. “You know, you lure the guy in, sleep with him, then tell everyone he took advantage of you later on. No? Well, maybe that was just something extra special you did for me, then.”
Ashlyn looked around as she tried to diffuse the situation. All the busybodies were pretending to mind their own business, but Ashlyn could see Brandon looking right at her. Mark’s voice was loud enough to carry across the room, and Mark certainly wasn’t trying to have a private conversation or keep Ashlyn’s most embarrassing moments a secret either.
“Mark, you know that’s not what happened. Do you want to talk about it?” Ashlyn reached for Mark’s arm, but Mark jerked away.
“If you have something to say, then you can say it right here,” Mark demanded.
“I thought you were my friend. That’s what I have to say.” Ashlyn felt embarrasses. She couldn’t believe that Mark was trying to hurt her. “It’s like every day, you prove more and more why I think the way I do. If you were truly my friend, you wouldn’t do this to me.”
�
�Funny,” Mark said without laughing, “I said the same thing to myself when you started throwing around your accusations.”
Ashlyn could feel the tears building up in her eyes. “But that was different,” she tried to reason. Mark was only shaking his head.
“Sure, it was different. Because it was you. When you do something, then it’s always the right decision. But if someone else makes that same decision, then it’s wrong. Just learn to grow up, Ashlyn, and recognize yourself for who you really are.”
“Oh yeah,” Ashlyn challenged. “Who am I really then?”
Mark shook his head. “You don’t want me to tell you. I just want you to think about everything I did for you and the friendship we had then the way you decided to destroy it when it didn’t suit you anymore.”
Ashlyn felt like his accusations were unfair, and she wasn’t going to stand there and take them anymore. She turned on her heel and pushed her way past the few people in the kitchen. She had to get out of there, and the broken glass door was right in front of her. She crunched through the broken glass and out into the fresh air.
It was late, and the beach was dark. It didn’t matter to Ashlyn. She finally was far enough away from Mark’s voice that she could think.
Chapter Eight
Only a small strip of sand was visible next to the ocean, which stretched wider than it had been that morning. Ashlyn began walking along the edge of the beach. With the moon covered, though, she couldn’t see well. She finally found a place along the edge, and she sat down, ignoring the feeling of her shorts dampening from the sand.
“Why did Mark even know what happened? Katy said she didn’t tell him, but she probably told another big mouth who told him.” Ashlyn gave a growl, like an animal that didn’t know how to deal with the challenge presented it.
“It’s like everyone on this set is out to ruin me.” Ashlyn considered her sentence for a few minutes and recanted it. That wasn’t true. Pamela was her friend, at least. Most of the others were neutral toward her. Maybe everyone wasn’t trying to ruin her. Maybe it was just Mark.
