Speakeasy, Doll - Ashton Irwin Fanfiction (Mob!5SOS)

Chapter 3

Cass had just finished her fourth drink for the night, watching as the band played a hot tune that got hoppers on the floor doing some swell Charleston’s. Together, they had worked through almost half a bottle of hooch. Ashton had eased the conversation from idle chatter to a real talk. He liked her wit and general smarts. It was easy to tell she wasn’t some Dumb Dora looking for a quick dollar.

“Where’d you come from, doll?” Ashton suddenly asked.

“Sorry?”

“You don’t drink like a middle-class Chi town girl and you definitely don’t act like one either” he explained.

She couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m from Chicago, but I haven’t really grown up in the city.”

“Where then?” he questioned.

“A little place on the North side” she shrugged.

            She’d never thought about the way she drank, but apparently Ashton noticed something different about it and even how she acted. He looked at her like she was a foreign drink that he had just acquired a taste for.

Cass had to change the subject before he started asking the hard questions. “Who came up with the name Club 96?”

“Ah” he chuckled, glancing down “I did actually.”

She noticed how his cheeks started to tint with a light blush. “Where’d the name come from?”

“Well, doll, look where the place is” he shrugged, meeting her gaze.

His eyes were warm under the dim lighting, making her feel warmer than any quilt she’s ever downed could. “The corner of 19th and 96th…”

He nodded, running a hand through the mop on his head he called hair. Cass liked how it had a slight messiness to it, like he ran his hand through it often. She couldn’t help but giggle, admiring his creativity, or maybe even lack of.

“I like it” she admitted.

            Ashton raised his glass to her in a sort of teasing way, making her smile. Just as he was about to say something, Julien came over to the booth.

“The place is about to close up, Mr. Irwin” he informed him before walking towards the bar for one last drink.

“I should probably get going” she sighed, really not wanting to leave at this point.

“Where’re you staying? Let me give you a ride” Ashton suggested, taking her hand without even realizing it.

Where his skin touched hers felt warmer than the rest of her body. He got her heart racing and legs feeling weak. She knew right from this point he wasn’t like the other mobsters that’ve been involved in her life. He was a little regular, a little big timer, and even a little hard-boiled. And the surprising thing was that she liked it. She liked him.

“Oh, it’s a little apartment downtown, nothing worth fussing over” she insisted.

“Downtown? Like in the slums?”

She just nodded, looking down. “No way I’m letting you walk those streets this late” he argued.

“Ash” she sighed softly, slipping her hand out of his and standing.

“No way, Cass, those streets are dangerous” he reasoned, getting up as well and grabbing her wrist.

Again that touch caught her off guard, making her feel things that weren’t helping her arguement with him.

She glanced around the place, spotting Luke and Julien watching them from the bar. “Well, I can’t exactly stay here, now can I?”

He thought for a moment before his eyes lit up with an idea. “You can stay at my place.”

She was about to argue, but he cut her off. “There’s plenty of rooms, we’ll have an early breakfast and I’ll drive you to your place before noon, no funny business, I swear on my grandfather’s grave.”

She watched his face for a moment, contemplating her options: go back to her freezing one room apartment with no food or go to Ashton’s warm mansion with plush sheets and hot food. Cass couldn’t remember the last time she had something more than a piece of bread and some water.

“One night” she stated.

He smiled and something about that smile made her feel good, safe even.