and we played

Chapter 37

ASHTON

*message from the author: for best reading experience, play "Bathroom" by Montell Fish in the background. Enjoy. *

Three days since I last saw her.

Three days in which I've been going mad.

All I have been thinking of has been her lips on my skin. That's all I have been dreaming of too. Her taste. Her smile. The way she looked at me.

She hurries into the bathroom thinking she'll get rid of me, but I'm quicker to place my foot in the door before it closes, allowing myself to enter. It's then I close the door and lean against it, as Mya keep staring in the mirror, afraid to meet my gaze.

"Hello, sweetheart", I begin.

She sucks a breath, not having been prepared for this.

"Ashton", she lets out, her voice shaking.

My eyes are on her as she starts fidgeting with her hair. She's beautiful. The costume that shows off her body. The reflection of her eyes in the mirror. That gorgeous shade of blue. I wanted to see it every morning, so I even painted the walls that color. Took me a while to nail the shade and even the shade I found can't match her eyes, but it was worth a try.

"I called you", I begin. "And texted you. Why did you never answer?"

"My phone was dead", she lies.

I come closer to her from the back, she sees my reflection in the mirror. She gasps, yet I do not move. "Why did you ghost me, sweetheart?"

She turns around so her eyes can meet mine for real.

Fucking apocalypse.

"Because I'm scared", she shouts. "I'm scared of what this could lead to." She takes a deep breath as I cup her face in my palm. "That night...it was great. Believe me, I know. And I know I kept being pulled to you."

I smile, realizing she started feeling it too.

She only continues. "I need you to tell me one thing, Ashton. Have you been my pen pal?"

I do not know what got into her. But I nod.

She turns back around to stare in the mirror. "I'm scared", she whispers. "Those pictures..."
I swallow hard. "I didn't mean to upset you. It was just...I needed to see you, sweetheart. I never said I were a saint. Nor am I a prince. I am not past using less than humane methods to protect what's mine."

"I don't need someone to protect me", she counters.

I shake my head. "That's right. You don't. But in case you'll ever need it, I'll be here. I'll always be here."

She turns around to look me in the eyes. I nod. "Always", I whisper again.

It's then she lifts herself up on her toes, then softly presses her lips on mine. I gasp. Paradise. Before we realize what we're doing, she wraps her hands around my neck as I press her against the door, ready to have her then and there. I can see her hand slipping to the keyhole locking us here.

"Setting me a trap?", I tease her, my mouth not sliding an inch away from hers. 

She's panting as she answers. "I'd hate for there to be interruptions."

I chuckle making my way from her mouth, down her neck, her collarbone. I toy with the ribbon holding her corset and she nods, letting me remove it. The top falls on the ground. I repeat it with her skirt, til she's standing in her underwear and boots in front of me.