I was startled from sleep on Wednesday morning by the sound of the doorbell ringing. Rubbing my eyes as I sat up, I realized I didn’t have any clothes on. I found my shorts by the side of the bed, and zipped Ash’s hoodie over my bare chest. Coming downstairs, I heard the door open. And there was Andy and Juliet.
“Um…hey guys.” I said, startled. They both looked up at me, and Juliet’s face broke into a grin.
“Did we interrupt something?” she asked, eyeing the near lack of clothing I had on.
“No, thank god. Nothing other than sleep.” I explained, coming down the rest of the stairs to hug her.
“Our flight to Los Angeles got delayed, and Ash said we could stay here for a bit if we needed to.” Andy said as I hugged him.
“Something he failed to tell me.” I laughed.
I went back to the bedroom to wake Ash, who was emerging from the bathroom in nothing but a pair of briefs.
“You’re gonna want to put something else on. We have unexpected guests.” I told him as I walked into the closet.
He snaked an arm around my waist, pulling me back to him.
“You didn’t even kiss me good morning.” He pouted.
“Yeah, and I don’t intend to now. I need clothes.” I replied, sticking my tongue out at him.
In an instant, his hand was under my jaw, and his lips were on mine. The dominance was… astounding. I loved it. As fast as it had happened, it was done. He smirked and said
“Maybe next time you’ll listen.” Before spinning me back to the closet and smacking my ass.
I took a moment to regain my balance, breath and mind. Then I dug around for a bra, a shirt, and something other than short shorts. I came up with a new Jurassic Park tank and some printed capri leggings. Once dressed, I went back downstairs. I found the three of them lounging in the living room, Ash still clad in his boxers.
“Ash, seriously. Pants at the very least.” I scolded, then headed to put coffee on.
Juliet wandered in as I was hunting for something to eat.
“This is amazing.” She said, taking a seat at the tiny table.
“What is?” I asked, pulling out a box of pancake mix and a pack of bacon.
“Seeing Ash like this. He seems so… domesticated.”
I had to laugh at that.
“I guess this is a side of him that you guys have never really seen. But it’s been like this ever since we met.” I told her.
Ash was a lot of things, and a wild child was definitely one of them. But whenever he was around me, he was calmer. More civilized.
“He’s always this way when he’s home, with me. It’s been that way ever since I can remember. Even with the weekends spent binge drinking and being the playboy. He’d wake up in my guest room the next morning and be totally chilled out. Of course, he woke up with a hangover, but he was still calmer than he’d been the night before.” I told her, measuring out pancakes into the griddle.
“I guess I’m jut used to him being the playboy drunk. Maybe his calm side is one that he saves just for you. Or maybe he’s becoming more mature.” She replied, getting herself some coffee.
When the food was done, everyone gathered around the table, Ash stopping to kiss the top of my head before he sat down. We laughed and ate. They shared stories of what had happened in England, including Ash getting his hair singed off onstage. I had to chuckle at that.
“Who was that girl you went on the swings with?” Juliet asked, getting another cup of coffee.
My head came up at the question.
“That was Dani. She’s a model, and an old friend.” He said calmly, taking one of my hands in his while he used the other to drink his coffee.
“Dani as in Dani Divine?” I asked
“Yeah. We haven’t seen each other in a long time and she wanted to catch up.”
I nodded, taking a drink from my mug.
The tension was palpable after that, and everyone was less talkative as they finished eating. Ash volunteered to clean up, but I shooed him into the other room with the others. I needed space. He wouldn’t hear it though. I was in the middle of loading the dishwasher when he came back in.
“It’s not what you think.” Was all he said.
“I didn’t think it was anything at all, Ash.” I replied, grabbing the griddle from by the stove so I could wash it. He took it from my me and put it back where it had been.
Gently, he took my hands and turned me to face him. Just as gently, he cupped my face.
“Bella. Dani is nothing but a friend. I’ve been a lot of things in my life, but I would never treat you that way. I’ve learned from my mistakes. Fucking hell, I’m 34 years old. It’s about goddam time I pick one girl and stick with her.”
At this point, there were tears running down my face. He wiped them away with his thumbs and kissed my forehead softly.
“You’re stuck with me, babe. I’m not going anywhere. Now or ever.” He said as he pulled me into his chest.
I couldn’t tell you how long we stood there, embracing each other for all that we were. But we must have stood there long enough to attract the attention of the Biersacks’ because they appeared in the doorway, hooting and hollering and making us both laugh.
They left a few hours later, leaving Ash and I on the couch. He was absorbed in a video game, and I was reading. My legs were over his, his elbows on my shins. I glanced over the top of the book at him every so often, watching his brow furrow and unfurrow with whatever was going on in the game. For me, this was contentment. This was happiness.
This was… family. Even though I had a very large family, I had always felt out of place among them. Like I was the black sheep. Even though my older brother had made a lot of the same mistakes I did, I still felt like I made them a lot worse than he had. But Ash had never felt like a mistake. From the moment we’d met at that party all those years ago, he had felt like the best choice I had ever made.
He looked over at me.
“What’s on your mind, angel?” he asked, eyes roaming over my face.
“Nothing. I’m just… happy.” I replied, smiling as I leaned forward to kiss him.
