Chapter 8: Appetizer anyone?
Nathan
I pulled into Ashton's driveway ten minutes early and debated waiting in the car for a few minutes. As a rule, I never showed up early for a date. Women appreciated punctuality but loathed being surprised with an early arrival. As with everything concerning Ashton, all my rules were a wash. I wanted to see her, and I didn't want to wait.
I tried to at least discipline myself to walk to the front door like I had some kind of control. I knocked, expecting her to answer, but was surprised when I heard a dull thump from within the cottage like something had fallen or had been knocked down. Going by instinct, I reached out and tried the doorknob. Finding it unlocked, I pushed the door open and stepped inside. Adrenaline raced through me as I heard struggling coming from the other room. Calling out to Ashton was only a formality since there was no way in hell I was waiting around to see if someone was attacking her or something to that effect. Her muffled response only fueled my fire as I prepared to kick someone's ass. Little did I know what I would find instead.
Perhaps the finest panty-covered ass I had ever seen greeted me. Seeing that Ashton wasn't being attacked, I allowed myself to enjoy the show. Offering my assistance made her creamy skin take on an enticing shade of pink that begged to be touched with my hands and lips.
By the time she had regained her composure long enough to kick me out, I was fully aroused and fighting the temptation to scoop her up in my arms and tumble down on the bed that was practically calling my name.
Fifteen minutes later, Ashton emerged from her room with all her clothes in their rightful places. "Not one word," she threatened as I appraised her appearance.
I couldn't help throwing my head back and laughing at her feisty tone. I was used to dating women that were dull in their refined ways. Very rarely did they ever lose their cool, and they never said anything without weighing their words carefully first. Somewhere along the way, I had convinced myself that's what I wanted. Being with Ashton's quick tongue gave me a glimpse of what I had been missing. In the last forty-eight hours, she had made me laugh more than I had with all the women I had been with combined. >"Wow, you're like Google, your knowledge knows no bounds," I joked, ignoring the way my heart rate had kicked into hyperdrive at the knowledge that he was sticking around for a while.
At my comment, she reached over and whacked me with the remote.
"Bitch, that hurt," I complained, rubbing my sore leg. "Fine," I said when she held up the remote again. "Yes, it was him. He nearly scared the shit out of me, jumping in after me like that. I was under the water when I heard a big-ass splash behind me. I was convinced that damn bridge was coming down."
"So, you're telling me this guy also has a hero complex? God, that's rich. Now I'm super bummed I didn't take him first the other night. I wouldn't mind a little mouth-to-mouth if you catch my drift."
"I'd have to be in a mineshaft, hundreds of miles beneath the earth not to catch your drift," I answered dryly. "It was sweet, but I'm not looking for some heavy relationship."
"Honey, neither am I, but that doesn't mean you can't have fun in the meantime. He's obviously panting after you like a dog. Use him for mind-blowing sex and move on," she said, grabbing a third slice of pizza.
"You sound like Fran. Aren't small-town girls supposed to have a higher sense of morals or something?"
"Honey, it's Sunday. Do you see me at any kind of church? Nope. My lack of morals was exposed many years ago. That and the fact that I may or may not have corrupted some of the boys when I was younger may have me on the 'we need to pray for her soul' list at all three churches in town. Seriously though, they act like skinny-dipping in the baptism pool is frowned upon," she quipped, winking at me outrageously.
"Nuh-uh, please tell me you didn't," I asked, torn between laughter and horror. I wasn't a churchgoer, but I'm sure that pretty much ranked up there with peeing in holy water or something like that.
"Only a couple of times."
"A couple of times?" I said, finally giving in to the urge of laughing.
"Okay, more like five times, but seriously, it was spread out at all three churches. So, really it was closer to one-and-a-half times at each church. No biggie," she said defensively.
"Well, that's one way to look at it, I guess. At least you were spreading the love, or boobies more accurately," I teased, pointedly eyeing her large chest that never seemed to want to stay confined beneath the material of her shirts.
"Truth. These babies deserve to be shared," she answered, cupping her breasts for emphasis.
"Does that mean you've decided to break it off with Jackson again?" I asked, naming her on-again, off-again boyfriend who drove me more than a little batty.
"Yeah," she said, looking guilty. "I just couldn't take it anymore. His dumb-ass mom is forever feeding his head with stories about how a good girl should act. She has him convinced he's going to go to hell for sticking it in me before marriage. She's always telling him we're too young for sex and not mature enough to handle it. I swear I feel like I'm back in high school rather than my senior year of college. I like him and all, but he seriously needs to figure out the kind of man he wants to be. Either he's a man that has his own mind, or he's a mama's boy. Regardless, I'm sick of holding his hands through his guilt. He gets all excited during the whole act, but after it's over, he acts like he's run over a dog or something."
"His mom would shit if she knew how many teens were sexually active at my old high school, and it was even worse at college. She should be happy you two are at least adults. Are you going to drop him for good this time?"
"I think so. There's a guy in my Psych II class who's been asking me out since the semester started."
"Good for you," I said, not admitting that I'd always questioned her and Jackson's relationship. I'd seen his wishy-washy attitude about things firsthand. Plus, he was a total douche about letting Tressa do certain things, like attend parties closer to her college. He had once commented that she was lucky he allowed her to make the forty-five minute commute to her campus each day. I had to fight the urge not to punch him in the throat for that one.
"You think so?" she asked, sounding insecure for the first time since we'd become friends.
"Absolutely. You totally deserve someone who's not constantly belittling you when he's not trying to sex you up."
"It feels scary," she admitted. "We've been on a break before, but we've never dated other people, and we've been together practically since we were freshman in high school."
I nodded my head, already knowing everything she was saying. As far as I was concerned, seven years of bullshit was seven years too many. "I think you're making the right decision. You deserve way more than that mama's boy is willing to give you," I reassured her. "When are you going out with the guy from your class?"