Stay | afi

two.

It was 10:30 when I finally clocked out, about a half hour later than I'd expected. I called my sister to let her know I had a DD run, and she told me to take my time. The kids were already out, and she was binging the newest episodes of The Magicians. I promised her I wouldn't be long.

Ashton was exactly where I'd left him, pacing across the length of a few parking spots. When I got closer, I realized he was speaking to someone in a low, rapid voice. I couldn't make out what he was saying before he spotted me and ended the call impulsively. I don't even think he said goodbye before he stilled and inclined his head toward me in greeting.

"Sorry about the wait. It was a crazy night, I have no idea where all these people came from but I wish they would go back," I laughed a weird tinny laugh that felt alien even to my own ears. Offering Designated Driver services wasn't super weird for the bar or for me personally, but his wordless nature was unnerving. I always talked a lot, but I never really babbled and yet...

"It's kind of chilly. Are you ready to go? Do you need water? I can get you a water." My hand flew to my mouth, clamping down just to make the words stop. Even without speaking, he had this arrogant superiority that rolled off him in waves until he smiled like he did now. The grin split his face, spreading all the the way to eyes that twinkled. In an instant he went from arrogant drunk to excitable child. It was wild, and I couldn't help but smile back.

"I'm good, thank you. I'm ready, I guess..." he trailed off, seeming hesitant now. His eyes had cleared some and I could almost see the wheels turning in his mind. He reached into his pocket, jingling keys there as he pressed his lips together and considered his options.

"Sorry slick, you're not driving." I told him firmly, "But I can drive your car if that'd put your mind at ease."
He shook his head emphatically no, eyes looking wild for a moment.

♦♦♦♦♦♦

Ashton weighed the risks. It was clear the pretty bartender had no idea who he was, and most of him wanted to keep it that way. But she was right, he was sobering up but he wasn't sober enough to drive, especially not on these unfamiliar roads.

He'd overdone it tonight. When he moved away from Los Angeles, he hoped that he would have better luck controlling his drinking. That the conscious effort to separate his personal life and industry friends would help- and for the most part it had, but the loneliness sometimes ate away at him. Tonight, Cal was supposed to come visit to watch a film and have a tour of his new place. He hadn't made it and the bite of rejection, no matter how unreasonable, had Ashton downing whiskey like water and writing angsty poetry like a teenager. He laughed bitterly at himself before shaking it off and returning his attention to the woman in front of him.

She was tall, just a few inches shorter than him, her hair swept away from her face in a braid so it was easy to see her wide gray eyes. She pursed full pink lips at him now, eyebrow cocked as if to say 'I'm waiting'. It made him want to keep her waiting.

He decided to take the risk. Maybe she wouldn't ask any questions about his big house, or where he'd come from. Maybe he could keep his secret a while longer before she realized all those people in the bar were there for him, gawking at him. Everyone had kept a respectful distance so far, but he felt a little guilty that the extra business seemed to be overwhelming the bar staff.

"I'm ready. Lead the way." Ashton followed her across the parking lot to a newer Subaru hatchback in the most obnoxious blue he'd ever seen.

♦♦♦♦♦♦

I breathed a sigh of relief that I drove Kate's car instead of my own. Hers was new and clean, sharp and organized just like she was. There were no car seats or errant sippy cups to toss into the floorboard when we got in.

"Just put your address in here," I extended my phone to him as we buckled. He obliged and navigation picked up before we had made it onto the main road. I followed the robotic voice to the outskirts of town and down a mostly unremarkable street before I spotted the most remarkable house. When the directions informed me that the twinkling fairytale cottage was my destination, my mouth fell open.

"It's so sparkly!" I whispered reverantly.

"Um. What?"

"Your house.. it.. twinkles. It's like a house out of a Disney movie." I was gawking, but I couldn't help myself. The cottage was squat but sprawling, the bricks that formed the driveway seeming to climb up the front of the ornate wooden exterior where it surrounded the door much like the ivy and that framed the windows on either side. Lanterns lit the short path and twinkle lights hung over a patio that stretched across the front of the house. There was a rocking chair on the front porch and an orange tree in the front yard and maybe I'd just met Ashton, but none of this seemed to match the arrogant drunk that had wasted every night this week in my bar, brooding and writing but never saying much. I was awed by the incongruity.

He watched me taking in the house, and chuckled.

"Well if you're so impressed by the outside... do you want to come in?" he asked with a wink and a cocky grin.

I really, really did.