Due to a miscommunication at work, I had to catch a red eye flight to Miami for a cover shoot. I’d been so busy lately that I hadn’t really talked to Ash. I spent all day Thursday on the phone with the managers of whoever I was shooting for the cover, and then spent Friday getting the job done. By the time I pulled into my garage, it was 11 at night and all I wanted was a hot bath and my bed. Maybe a glass of wine. I’d figure that out after the bath.
That’s not what I received. Opening the front door, I was confronted with the smell of cooking food. Steak, what I thought were potatoes, and the aroma of asparagus assaulted my nostrils. Dropping my bag by the stairs, I peeked around the corner into the kitchen. A shirtless Ash was setting the table. Two plates, knives, forks, spoons. Two of everything.
“I know you’re there.” He said, making me laugh. I hadn’t made a sound other than when I came through the front door. Which he wouldn’t have been able to hear from where he was anyway.
He turned with open arms, engulfing me in his warmth when I stepped into them. He smelled wonderful, like home. I hadn’t had time or energy to miss him while I was gone but, in this moment, I realized that I had. I had missed him fiercely in the two days that I was gone.
“Welcome home, baby.” He whispered, tilting my face up to kiss him. It was a sweet, passionate kiss. One that spread fire from my toes to the top of my head. I wanted it to last forever. But he had to pull away to finish the food.
“Medium rare, just how you like it. With mashed potatoes, gravy and I cooked the asparagus in butter with a few spices.” He said with a flourish, setting a loaded plate in front of me. I watched him sit down, and for the first time in days, I ate a home cooked meal. And actually, enjoyed it.
I didn’t have the distractions that I usually had. I had a plate of fantastic food, and the company of a fantastic man. We spent a good hour or so talking, laughing. Just being ourselves, but together. It was a meal we’d shared a million times, but it was also different. A good kind of different.
He offered to clean up while I took a shower, but I shot him down.
“You don’t cook the food and then clean up after. Go sit, have some Jack. Watch tv or something. When I’m done, I’ll take a shower and join you.” I explained, kissing his cheek.
He chuckled and left. I got the dishes into the dishwasher and started it. Then I grabbed my bags and headed upstairs. Half an hour later, I went back down to find Ash sprawled out on my couch. One leg up on the back, the other straight across. I started to walk past him, to my papasan chair. But he grabbed the hem of my shirt and pulled me down on top of him.
I laid my head on his chest, hearing his heart beat. He had one hand on my lower back, and the fingers of the other were running through the tangles in my hair. I don’t know when I fell asleep, but I must have. Because the next thing I knew, the sun was streaming through the window. I looked at the clock and saw that it was almost noon. Stretching, I heard someone walk in downstairs.
Walking downstairs, I was surprised to see Nikki standing in my entryway.
“Um…” we both said at the same time.
“What are you doing here?” I asked her.
“I could ask you the same thing. Last I checked, you don’t live here.”
