Troublemaker (5SOS)

Chapter Eighteen

Tara and Kody spent the next hour together, talking and laughing and enjoying each others company.  Kody painted Tara's nails lime green and they each wore charcoal face masks, ridding the toxins from their skin.  They felt like little girls at a sleepover.  As if they hadn't just gorged themselves on nachos, they also ordered pizza to be delivered to the house while they watched a movie. 

"Let's take these off before pizza comes," Kody pointed to her face mask, "because who knows, the pizza boy might be cute." 

Tara excused herself to her bedroom to check her phone, because she started feeling guilty that she'd gone this long without texting Ashton back.  The last thing she wanted was to make him feel like she was ghosting.  As she picked up her phone, the first notification was from Snapchat, and it merely said "michaelgcliffor is typing..."

There was nothing from Michael, so she left it alone.  Maybe now that they had sex, she wouldn't hear from him again.  Without thinking too much into it, she pulled up the conversation with Ashton.  He'd sent a selfie, which made her smile instantly, forgetting about the insecurities she'd just felt.  His next messages were short and sweet, simply asking what moment she'd been thinking about the most.  He mentioned that his favorite moment was watching her face light up as he sang on the beach, and of course, watching her lips move with the dialogue of the movie.  She didn't even realize that she was doing that, and she felt embarrassment wash over her.  

Without thinking too much into her response, she apologized for disappearing and explained that she was just spending quality time with her sister.  He already knew that moments like that were few and far between.  There was something about that night that brought them back together.  Maybe it was because Kody knew that Tara needed her help.  Maybe they just realized that they weren't complete opposites, after all. 

"My favorite moment", Tara paused to really think about their first date, and all of the things she loved about spending time with Ashton, "might have been when we were able to escape the chaos of everything else and just exist together, watching the ocean waves and the moonlight, feeling your arms around me.  Feeling safe."

She did feel safe with Ashton.  Was that enough?  She'd like to give it a real chance with him, where they could be together with no distraction.  Michael was the biggest distraction of the night.  He was impossible to look away from.  Ashton replied instantly, as if he had his phone in his hands, just waiting for her response.

"Please", he said, "by all means, go spend some time with your sister!  I'll be here whenever you want to talk."

Tara smiled at her phone.  "I always want to talk to you".

"Maybe it's too soon to ask, but would you want to grab something to eat tomorrow night?"

She was just wondering if she should ask him out again, just to see if the feelings she had for Ashton were real, or if Michael stole the spotlight.  "Deal.  Just us this time?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way".