Bound Together (Torn and Bound Duet 2)

“Of course. I can’t wait to finally see you compete.” I run my fingers through his floppy hair and push it out of his eyes. Ashton playfully reaches up and snags the tip of my finger, biting gently on it.

“Good, because I want you to be there when I kick Travis’s ass.”

“So, what, I’m gone like fifteen hours and you two are together now?” Drew asks, his tone a mixture of hurt and disbelief.

I glance over at him and my heart drops. I was flying so high on my Ashton cloud I didn’t think about how this would affect Drew. He’s been there for me every day, whether it was bringing me over food or coffee, or just stopping by to make sure I was hanging in there.

I move to stand, but Ashton must sense it, because he wraps his fingers around my forearm, stopping me. “I need to talk to Drew for a minute,” I tell him, silently begging him to understand. His eyes dart back and forth between us, but he lets go of my arm and nods.

When I gesture for Drew to follow me out, he shakes his head. “We can talk here.” His gaze swings back over to Ashton. “You forgave him?” His tone isn’t judgmental, but it isn’t happy either. He’s worried, and if I’m not mistaken I think sad—and I wonder if it’s because he and Brayden aren’t talking yet or if he’s upset that Ashton and I are together.

“I did,” I tell him. “We talked and he apologized.”

“And you’re together now?”

“Yeah,” I say softly. “We are.”

Drew nods. “That’s good. I’m happy for you.” He clears his throat, then looks around me at Ashton. “I know you regret what you did. I saw it in your eyes all week. The way you sulked halfway to depression over what happened. But what you didn’t see… what she didn’t let you see was how badly you hurt her.”

“Drew,” I start.

“No. He needs to hear this.” Drew turns his attention back to Ashton. “You didn’t see her refusing to eat all week. You didn’t see her crying to the point I thought she was going to pass out from exhaustion. I know you love her, and I don’t doubt right now you think you have it all figured out, but I’m warning you right now, if you fucking hurt her again, I will kick your ass.”

“Drew,” I repeat harshly. “Stop.”

“No, MiMi,” Ashton says. “He’s right. I hurt you. I saw it last night when I brought you home wasted. I felt it when I held you. You’ve lost weight… because of me. And if I hurt her again,” he says to Drew, “you have my permission to kick my ass.”

“I don’t need your permission,” Drew volleys. “Let’s just hope it doesn’t come to that.”

“It won’t. He won’t hurt me again,” I say, even though deep down I’m scared of exactly that. Ashton may have the best of intentions, he may love me, and I may be everything to him, but what if I’m still not enough?

“You know I’m here, right?” Drew says to me.

“I know, but I don’t want it to be like this…” I don’t want to lose Drew in order to be with Ashton. We’ve become close and I care about him. “Come to the swim meet with us,” I blurt out. “Please.”

Drew opens his mouth, most likely to say no, but Ashton speaks first. “Don’t even think about saying no. I told you this before. What MiMi wants, MiMi gets. It’s a home meet, too, so you don’t have to travel far.”

Drew groans. “Fine, but I need to shower first.”

“Yay!” I jump into Drew’s arms. “Thank you for everything,” I murmur softly. “I couldn’t have gotten through this week without you.”

Ashton clears his throat and I pull back. “The food’s getting cold.”

“I’ll meet you guys at the pool,” Drew says before retreating.

“You and Drew have gotten close,” Ashton observes once he’s gone. He averts his eyes, grabbing a piece of pancake and dragging it through the bowl of syrup.

“Hey.” I tip his chin up. “He was there when I needed a friend… But that’s all he is, a friend.”

Ashton nods then brings the drenched pancake piece to my mouth. I take a bite and flinch at how sweet it is. Typical Ashton, a little pancake and a lot of syrup. I’m actually surprised he didn’t throw some candy in there while he was at it.

“Good?” he asks, his eyes homing in on my lips, which are now sticky from the syrup.

“Why don’t you come over here and find out?” I taunt, licking my lips.

Ashton growls and reaches across the tray of food—the plate clatters and the cups spill—but neither of us pays it any mind as his mouth crashes against mine. His tongue darts out, licking across the seam of my lips before he pushes through, tangling his tongue with my own. “Mmm…” he murmurs against my mouth. “Delicious.”