To be or not to be? (Book #1)

Chapter 13

Ashley awoke again at 4 o clock in the afternoon. She was surprised at herself for sleeping on and off for 24 hours. She got out of bed, feeling much better, and went into the bathroom to freshen up. She put some deodorant on, brushed her teeth and hair, and threw her still-clean hair up into a loose ponytail. She washed her face with warm water, and took a deep breath as she dried her face. Her headache had subsided to a dull pound, and her throat was raw, but she could swallow without difficulty. She was thirsty, though, and trudged out into the kitchen to get some water. Madison, Mark, Megan and Mike were playing a card game at the table, and Ashley assumed Alex was on the couch by the fire which she could hear crackling. Her heart raced at the thought of him. She had slept with Alex! Of course, it was completely innocent, and sex was probably the last thing on his mind last night. He cared about her, she knew that, but she didn't know in what way he cared about her. They had something special, that's for sure. they had been best friends since preschool. She just sighed thinking about the way her heart melted around him and realized that he would never feel the same. She had to accept that, but she didn't want to. Madison smiled up at her from her hand of cards.

"How are you? You look better." She asked, noticing the dark circles gone from under Ashley's eyes. Ashley nodded.

"I feel a lot better." She said. Madison winked at her, and Ashley didn't really catch on, rolling her eyes and going to see what Alex was up to. She couldn't stay away from him, and she wondered how she was ever going to make herself stop loving him. She found him laying on the couch, eyes half closed, with his phone in his hands.

"Hey Al." She said, smiling at him. He looked up at her, sitting up on the couch. Ashley sat down next to him, still half-smiling at him.

"Hey, how are you? I mean - are you better?" He asked, concern flooding his features. She couldn't stop the butterflies from rising in her stomach and making her heart flutter as well.

"Um, yeah, not 100%, but I'm much better. Thanks for taking care of me." Ashley said, grateful yet again to her best friend, who always took care of her. He smiled.

"It's no problem. But, uh, are you okay," His voice dropped into a husky whisper "after last night." Ashley felt the heat rising to her cheeks at the remembrance of her episode last night. The butterflies only increased, making it worse. She nodded, gulping.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm really sorry about that." She said quietly, her eyes dropping from his face onto her hands, which she was playing with nervously. His hand reached out and covered hers forcing her to stop her nervous habit.

"Don't be. I'm always here for you." Alex said, removing his hand from hers. She wanted him to leave it there, to lean in and kiss her, and hold her like he had held her last night. But she just smiled her thanks at him, got up, and went into her room to check her phone. She was laying on her bed texting her mom, and after a few minutes, Madison walked in and shut the door behind her. She sat on Alex's bed, across from Ashley. She grinned and couldn't help but let a giggle bubble up her throat before she spoke.

"I saw you and Alex this morning." She said, winking at Ashley, still grinning. Ashley sat up, and smile playing at the corners of her lips. She nodded slowly.

"Yeah, I had a bad dream and he let me sleep with him." She said, a full blown grin on her lips. Madison bounced up and down, squealing under her breath. Ashley giggled.

"So was it amazing?" She asked.

"It was so amazing." Ashley confirmed. They giggled and gushed over how cute last night was, and then they settled down.

"Mark is setting the hot tub up, do you want to come out?" Madison asked.

"Sure! Sounds like fun!" Ashley said. She and Madison got up, and Madison went back into her room to change into her bathing suit. Ashley had brought her favorite bikini, secretly hoping that she'd get to wear it on this trip. It was a twisted bandeau with a halter strap. It was red and black with matching bottoms. She slipped it on quickly and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around her body. She walked out to see Madison, Mark, and Alex all in their bathing suits. The four of them went outside and shed their towels, quickly slipping into the hot, bubbling water and escaping from the cold air. Ashley couldn't help but notice that when she took her towel off, Alex's gaze locked onto her body. She smiled to herself as she slipped into the hot water, noticing that he didn't look half bad, either. She had seen him shirtless many times, but she still wasn't used to it. Madison and Mark were already in the water, cuddling and laughing at each other, so Alex slid in next to Ashley, throwing his arm around her playfully, and whispered in her ear.