Aspen Falls

BRB -- December 27th

      I rolled over and the rest of the bed was empty.  Rubbing my eyes so I could focus...I didn't even have a dog in here.  I rolled back to the table next to Aspen's bed and grabbed my watch from where I put it last night.  I could get use to waking up in her bed...preferably with her next to me.  But if Blue was gone that meant Aspen didn't sleep well last night or had been up for hours.  Being as tiny as she is and how soundlessly I slept holding her, I didn't even feel her wiggle out.

      I made my way downstairs, still fighting with my watch that didn't want to go on my wrist and stopped at the sight in front of me.  Aspen and Bristol were both in the kitchen with their backs to me, in their little sleep shorts.  It made me laugh how eerily similar they were.  Everybody talks about doppelgängers but fuck...they should really take one of those DNA tests.  Hell, they even had the same breed of dog from the same litter.

      Where Aspen's right leg was the one covered in ink, Bristol's left leg mirrored her 'twin's'.  Where Bristol's right arm was covered...Aspen's left arm was the one.  They even had the same damn flags in sync with each other.  If you looked hard enough and long enough, without Hunter or I ripping your throat out, you could tell that Bris was an inch, maybe two taller.  But now, in the kitchen watching them.  It was hard even for me to tell which one was which.  They had their hair up in the same messy buns, same color shirts...they probably didn't even know that they did this.

      They were singing, rapping, some NF song.  I recognized it because it was on one of the playlists that Aspen sent me.  It was her thing.  Even in the two years I didn't acknowledge her, she still sent me a monthly recap of songs she had fallen in love with.  With how loud the music was I was really surprised that I slept thru it.  I couldn't even sleep thru Hunter's snores.  Having Aspen in bed next to me, must mute out everything more than I thought.  She had definitely wormed her way into my heart more than I thought.  She had basically seeped so far into my being she was in my bone marrow at this point.

      Bristol had turned around with a spatula in her hand, her mic, and stopped when she saw me just standing there observing.  "Hmm...and I thought the cookies were delicious."

      I laughed making my way further into the kitchen now.  "Easy Bris..."

      "A girl can simply just appreciate delicious desserts...especially if they're shirtless."  I heard Aspen growl a little at her statement.  I never pegged her as being the jealous type but it made a small smile appear on my face.  I couldn't remember ever having a girl jealous over me.

      As much as these two could pass off as twins, honestly.  Triplets even, when Archer was alive.  Bristol did nothing for me.  Us guys definitely had an unbelievable good luck streak with pulling girls that were so far out of our leagues.  The Ellington brothers and I had the brunettes covered.  Tate, Casey, Wyatt and Chris had the blondes down.  And sure Bristol Renner was just as breathtakingly gorgeous as the youngest Ellington, all the girls in our motley family were, but Aspen?  She had me.  Hook, line and sinker.

      I hit the button on the coffee maker and then wrapped my arms around Aspen's waist.  I slipped my finger under her chin bringing it up to mine and crushed my lips to hers.  Silently letting her know that she had nothing to worry about with me and any other girl on this earth.

      "Good morning gorgeous."  My voice still had sleep in it but it was working for me from the way Aspen responded.  She melted against my body while I pushed my hips a little into her, letting her feel exactly how I felt this morning.

      "hmm...I love this."  She had her hands in my hair, fluffing it.

      "A mess?"  I raised an eyebrow in question.