“He brings you coffee every morning? What a cutie!”
Caitlyn and I sat at the table, waiting for Ashton to ring the doorbell so we could go out and do whatever Ashton was planning on doing. When he finally arrived, he greeted me by pulling me gently towards him so that our bodies fit together and kissed me softly on the top of my head. Caitlyn grinned behind Ashton and gave me a thumbs-up. “So what are you two up for?” Ashton asked as he pulled away. I shrugged. I honestly didn’t even care what we did, as long as I got to do it with both Caitlyn and Ashton. Caitlyn said, “I don’t mind.”
A grin appeared on Ashton’s face. “Good, ‘cause I wasn’t going to give you a choice anyway. We’re going on a picnic. All the food’s already in the car,” he said, looking quite proud of himself. I giggled.
“Why are you laughing at me?” Ashton pouted. We were in the car now, him driving, me riding shotgun, Caitlyn in the back seat. “You just seem so proud of yourself for organising a picnic,” I laughed at him. He just shrugged.
“It’s such a beautiful day,” Caitlyn sighed, laying back on the picnic rug almost as soon as we put it down. Ashton and I were unpacking the food. He scoffed, “You sound like you just stepped out of a kids’ book.”
“I don’t even care.” She pulled her big floppy hat (which would’ve looked hideous on anyone else) over her face and I couldn’t see it, but I could feel her roll her eyes under that hat. “Would you like a chip?” Ashton asked, pulling open a bag of salt and vinegar chips and pulling one out to hand to me. I wrinkled my nose, “Not salt and vinegar.” He pulled away, and gasped. “Brooklyn, I am deeply offended. How can you not like salt and vinegar?” I shrugged and giggled. “I don’t know.” He shook his head, tutting. “Well,” he said, reaching for another bag, “Would you like a chicken flavoured chip?” I nodded, opening my mouth. He popped the chip into my open mouth, grinning. Ashton giggled, “You’re so cute,” and kissed me on the nose. “Ugh,” Caitlyn groaned, looking at us in disgust, “You two are so adorable. It’s making me sick.”
“I don’t even care,” I said, making fun of her. She threw her hat at me. “Let’s be extra cute to annoy her!” Ashton whisper-shouted so that Caitlyn could hear. I giggled, moving closer to him so I was sitting right in front of him. “I love you, Ashton!” I exclaimed, raising my voice. “I love you, Brooke!” He pulled me in closer so that I was right in front of him and gently put his hands on my waist. I could feel his touch through my thin tank top and it sent chills down my spine. We leaned in until our foreheads were touching and we were so close that we were almost kissing. “I love you,” Ashton whispered, his breath tickling my upper lip. He peppered my face with kisses. I heard Caitlyn scoff in disgust.
We kissed until Caitlyn shoved a packet of chips between our faces to make up stop.
For the rest of the afternoon, I alternated between lying on my back, my stomach and sitting in Ashton’s lap. “You guys are so cute!” Caitlyn whined, “I need a boyfriend.” I laughed, popping a lolly snake into my mouth. “Go get one then.” She rolled her eyes at me, clearly unsatisfied with my answer. “It’s not that easy, Brooke. You two just got lucky.” Ashton smirked at both of us. I elbowed him in the ribs, causing him to moan in pain. Caitlyn rolled onto her back, staring up at the afternoon sky. She held her hand over her eyes to shield them from the sun. “I just wish someone had a crush on me,” she sighed dramatically, holding the hand that wasn’t in the air to her chest. I patted her gently on the knee. “It’s okay, you’ll find a boy one day,” I promised her. I could feel Ashton laughing beside me. “What?” I whispered, “Don’t laugh; this is a very serious thing for girls!” He shook his head, telling me that it wasn’t what he was laughing about. “Michael has a crush on her,” he whispered softly in my ear so Caitlyn couldn’t hear. “Really?” I grinned. I could imagine it already, Caitlyn and Michael would be so cute together. She was so gentle and small and he was so big and liked to think he was punk rock. Even though he was actually a huge softie.
