A month rang bells in my head, and it screamed in recognition. I met Josh’s gaze as visions of being snuggled up to his chest with our legs tangled together engulfed me. It was a month since I crawled into his bed after being found out by Eden, desperate for the comfort that I knew only Josh could provide.
“A month ago you say?”
“Christ,” Josh muttered and shot me a pleading look.
“Yep.” She giggled in reply.
“Well, I better leave you two to catch up. A month is a long time.” I smiled sweetly at Louise, then smirked at Josh as I stood and grabbed my clutch from the table.
“Can you give us a minute?” Josh asked, not waiting for an answer from Louise. He grabbed my hand, and I was soon being led through the crowd toward the back of the bar and away from the thumping music.
“What the hell are you doing?” I scoffed, then we stopped and he dropped my hand.
A look of frustration greeted me, and he took a deep breath before he spoke. “There is no way in hell that you are leaving. Tonight is about you, and not some chick whose name I didn’t even remember. We are leaving together.”
“I’m seriously going to start calling you Tarzan.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“Tarzan beats his chest, grabs a woman, and storms away with her just to make a point. That’s what you just did, so tonight I’m calling you Tarzan,” I stated matter-of-factly.
His gaze pinned onto mine while he tried desperately to stop the smile begging to be seen. “If calling me Tarzan makes you stay, then call me Tarzan.”
“What are you going to do about Louise?” I asked softly. “She seems pretty determined to go for round two with you?”
His eyes darted away from mine and looked back to the table where Louise waited. Hesitation flashed across his face and, at that moment, I saw the first look of regret I’d ever witnessed Josh display when it came to women.
“I really need to stop with the random pussy,” he said and hissed under his breath, as if he was in conversation with himself. “This shit can’t keep happening, especially when I am out with you.”
Was Josh standing before me, saying he was going to give up casual sex? Why was he suddenly so afraid that I’d witness what I already knew was his lifestyle? His forehead pinched, and he looked like he was deep in thought.
“Josh, it’s really no big deal. It’s happened before, and it will happen again. This is you. It’s what you do. It’s completely fine.” I grabbed hold of his hand and finally got his attention, though his face remained hard.
“It’s not fine at all, and you shouldn’t accept it.” He left me and headed back to the table.
With a sigh, I followed close behind him, and Louise looked at us both with suspicious eyes. She stood from the table and grabbed her purse. Her eyes shot daggers at me, then they looked at Josh like he was the biggest loss she’d ever felt.
“I didn’t think you’d ever settle down,” Louise said, with regret tainting her words and a fleeting look at Josh.
“Excuse me?” Josh asked.
“You two,” she spat, once again glaring at me. “I should have realized. You were looking at her like she was the only girl here, and you were looking at him like you would take out any girl that got near him. I can’t believe you let me believe I had a chance. What kind of girl does that? I cannot believe you are with her, Joshua.”
What the hell? I had asked her to join us. I was going to leave them to get reacquainted, and I certainly hadn’t been planning on taking any chicks out. What the hell kind of girls was Josh getting involved with?
She didn’t say another word. She spun on her heal, stormed through crowd, and disappeared. Josh and I looked at each other, completely rattled and confused as to what was happening.
“What just happened?” I asked.
The casual night had completely shifted. We went from talking about sex and vibrators, to me being told that he had been looking at me like I was the only girl in the room. Talk about a complete 360. Being the only girl that Josh saw was something that I’d wanted for years. I yearned for it, and begged the universe to gift me that one experience. Louise was crazy if she thought that after almost five years it had finally happened. I shook my head at the thought and turned to Josh.
“I better get you out of here before you start taking out all the women looking at me.” He winked and held out his hand to me.
I burst out laughing and looked at his hand. I didn’t hesitate for a second, before I placed my hand in his. I only thought of one thing as he led me through the crowd and out to the sidewalk, and it was a thought that made my heart sink for a split second.
Oh, how I wished things could have been so different, but some things were never meant to be.
IT WAS A WEIRD experience walking into my apartment and finding it completely lit up and smelling of garlic. I dropped my keys onto the coffee table, removed my wallet and phone from my pocket, and stopped in the middle of the living room. There was no sign of Ashlyn, but I knew she was here. I could feel that she was here.
The sound of water splashing halted my steps as I walked down the hall toward my bedroom. The thought of Ashlyn naked, wet, and in my tub shot straight to my cock. Clearly, my cock knew that he hadn’t gotten any action lately and needed to make himself known. I adjusted myself, then knocked softly on the slightly-opened door and waited.
“You can come in, I’m decent,” Ashlyn said softly.
I cursed under my breath, gave myself a silent stern talking to, and stepped into the bathroom. I was immediately hit with the scent of strawberry and vanilla. Ashlyn was lying in the tub, covered by bubbles, with her hair piled on top of her head. Her head rolled to the side and she offered me a smile that reached her eyes.
“Hey, Tarzan,” she said in a teasing tone.
“Is that really going to stick?” I laughed, with a shake of my head.
“I’ve always wanted to give you a nickname, and this one you brought on yourself.”
“Something smells good out there.” I decided to change the subject and focus on something other than the ridiculous nickname I had apparently brought on myself. I leaned against the vanity, crossing my legs at the ankles, and gazed down at her.
“I’m making my grandma’s famous garlic prawns in white wine sauce. It’s nice having someone to cook for, so I hope that’s okay?”
“That sounds great.” My stomach rumbled at just the sound of it.
A faint smile hit her lips and her eyes closed. Ashlyn didn’t talk about her extended family. She spoke about Austin religiously, but I had never heard her speak of her parents, and definitely not her grandma. It was a subject that I’d tried to broach on numerous occasions, but she always came up with an excuse to change it.
“You never talk about your family.”
Her eyes shot open at the mere mention of them, and she tugged her bottom lip between her teeth. “You know a lot about Austin,” she finally said.
“That was the first time you’ve mentioned your grandma.”
Her face flashed with softness, and the slightest of smiles spread across her lips. “She died when I was seventeen.”
Fuck. Nice one, Josh. “I’m sorry, Ashy.”
“It’s okay. I have great memories of her.”
“What about your parents? Are they still in Monroe? I can’t believe I’ve never met them.”
The earlier gentleness of her face fled, and her eyes darted away from mine. Immediately, I knew I’d hit a raw nerve and she was retreating. It was only there in the silence of the bathroom that it hit me. Did she even have parents? After being in my life constantly for the past five years, it was only now that I was considering that her parents might not even be alive and that’s why she never mentioned them.