Half Hearted

Chapter Twenty

| Ash |

All Ash could do was grin while she immediately shut the door and apologized profusely. He had modelled naked many times before, so he wasn't ashamed about his body.

He loved that he was getting such a big reaction out of her.

"I-uhm-sorry," she was stuttering her words, obviously flustered by the sight. "I didn't know someone was still in here."

Wanting to let her know that it was no big deal, Ash avoided the subject. "Have you done my laundry yet?"

"D-do you still have some laundry in there?" She asked after a brief pause.

Ash looked around the washroom and saw that he still had dirty clothes sitting on the sink. "No," he lied, not wanting to push her further than she'd already experienced. "Everything's out there."

"I-I'll be on my way then," he heard her squeak. Shortly after, the entrance door was opened and closed, and Ash let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding.

What was this feeling? This feeling of adrenalin surging through his veins, but also the feeling of his chest throbbing about like a church bell.

Shaking his head, Ash had a normal shower, and then proceeded to finally clothe himself. He sat on the bed and turned on the TV, waiting for Teresa to come back with his clean clothes.

| Teresa |

My cheeks were still on fire as I finished the last load of clothes.

He acted completely normal, as if it was everyday that people saw him naked. I blinked the thoughts away as the dryer sounded that it was done. Never had I felt so uncomposed in my life.

Taking the warm clothes out of the dryer, I put them in a new bag and headed back to the car.

I was still thinking about it, him in the bath tub. His tattoos and his milky white skin...

I must've been acting psychotic - to think such ludicrous thoughts while I was sober.

Deciding to hold off for a moment on getting back to the hotel, I went through a drive-thru and got myself a cup of coffee. Then, I parked in an open spot and decided to call up Oria.

"Hey, what's up?" She answered on the second ring.

"I..." I trailed off, not knowing how to start.

Oria noticed my sudden change in tone, "why? What's wrong? What happened?"

"I saw him naked," I blurted out, and my cheeks started feeling heated again. "He was in the bath tub and I didn't know and I thought no one was in the hotel and I just walked in there and-"

"Whoa there ranger, slow down," Oria chuckled. "You saw who naked?"

"Ash."

I heard high-pitched laughs on the other end of the line, followed by a deeper set of laughs. And then suddenly Steven was on the phone. "Did you already get to third base with him? I thought you were just his fake girlfriend."

"Shut up!" I looked at the rearview mirror and saw that my cheeks were as red as my scarf. "It's my job now, alright?"

"You had the option to reject the job," Steven reminded me, and I set my head on the wheel in front of me. "But you didn't. Which means there's gotta be something you're feeling for him."

Oria returned to the line. "Don't listen to him - he's tired. Anyways, I'm sure it's not much of a big deal. Just try to play it off, okay? Try to make it seem like you're not a virgin, and that you have seen a guy before."