One Step Ahead

Wondering...

      They were also alternating the work of preparing meals, and since it was Briar's turn to make dinner, Ashley pulled out a sketchbook and pencils, placing them on the coffee table as she pulled something from the freezer, then began rummaging through the refrigerator. "Did you finally decide on something?" he inquired.

      "I most certainly did," she replied, waving a tomato in his direction while turning on the faucet with her free hand. "We're having fish tacos, with mango-tomato salsa."

      "I can hang with that," he told her. "And if you want, I'll throw together a salad when they're a little closer to being done. But if you don't mind, I think I might actually jump in the shower right now. I feel like I may have mulch in places where it shouldn't be."

      "You go right ahead," she chuckled, placing the fish into a baggie and dropping it into a sink full of water to thaw. "I'll grab one after dinner, and then maybe we can watch another movie or two."

      As Ashley retrieved clean clothes from the bedroom, then moved to the bathroom, Briar began dicing the ingredients for the salsa into a bowl. After finishing with the mango, she rinsed the juice from her hands and walked to the stereo, popping a CD into the tray and starting it up as she returned to the kitchen. She made short work of the onion and tomato while humming along with Black Stone Cherry's "Blind Man", and "Please Come In", and then placed the bowl in the refrigerator, while pulling out the ingredients for the marinade.

      Finding that the fish had thawed enough to dice, she quickly cut it into bite-sized chunks, replaced it into the bag, and added the seasoning before returning it to the refrigerator as well. Then after washing her hands, she began pulling dishes out of the cabinet, preparing to set the table. As she removed a pair of glasses, the button of her shirt cuff snagged the handle of a cup and sent it crashing to the wooden floor, spraying shards of ceramic across the room.

      Almost instantly, the bathroom door flew open and Ashley dashed out, still dripping, with only a towel wrapped around his waist. "What happened? Is everything okay?" he inquired, glancing rapidly around the room.

      Briar was momentarily speechless as she observed his near nudity, but managed to recover her voice and reply, "It's okay, Ash, a cup fell out of the cabinet and broke, that's all. No worries."

      His body relaxed, and he sighed with relief. "That's good. I was just getting out of the shower when I heard something breaking, and I guess I freaked out a little. Do you want me to help you with that?"

      "No!" she immediately responded, earning a puzzled look from Ashley. She took a breath, and continued in a slightly calmer tone. "No, you don't have shoes on, and there's no telling how far this mess went. I've got it, you go get dressed, okay? And don't come in here without your shoes, until we can be sure I got it all."

      He nodded, and returned to the bathroom as she plucked the broom and dustpan from the corner, trying to will her hands to stop shaking as she gathered the broken cup into a neat pile. 

      Ashley shirtless was definitely not a unique sight, but the realization that the thin towel was the only thing keeping him from being totally exposed to her gaze had rattled her more than she expected. Yes, she had admitted to herself that she found him incredibly attractive, but she had resolved not to allow him to become aware of the fact, for two reasons. The first was because she didn't want to make things awkward between them, and risk their friendship, and the other was because she was well aware that she was nothing like the large-breasted, scantily-clad women that he had displayed a preference for in the past.

      By the time he came out again, still damp but fully clothed, she had swept up all of the visible shards of the cup, and was in the process of setting the table. "Sorry about that, Tink," he said as he entered the kitchen. "Like I said, I heard the noise and got a little spooked."

      "I totally understand," she responded. "I probably would have done the same thing myself. I'm gonna start the fish in a couple of minutes, if you'd like to pull out the tortillas, and maybe get started on that salad."

      He began gathering the items she had requested as she removed the fish from the refrigerator and added it to a pan. She stirred the slightly sticky mixture, making sure it didn't overcook, while Ashley assembled a salad, and placed tortillas on the plates she had set out. Once the fish had cooked through, she transferred it to a bowl, and they sat down to eat.

      They engaged in casual conversation during the meal, and when they finished, Ashley washed the dishes, and they moved to the living area. After looking through Wiley's collection of discs, as well as the ones they had purchased, they finally agreed on the Gene Wilder/Richard Pryor comedy "Stir Crazy", followed by "The Thing", with Kurt Russel. Briar went to take her shower before they started the movies, and Ashley sketched as he waited.

      As they watched the movies, it struck Ashley that Briar's behavior was a bit odd, and by the time they were halfway through the second film, it became evident to him that something was bothering her. Replaying the days events in his mind, he couldn't think of anything that he had done that might have annoyed her, but it concerned him enough to stop the movie.

      Turning a confused gaze on him, she inquired, "What did you do that for?"

      "Are you pissed at me for something, Tink?" he responded.

      Her expression became even more bewildered as she asked, "Why would you think that? I don't have any reason to be mad at you."

      "Because you've been pretty much ignoring me since we finished eating. You're usually making comments on the movie, or telling me stories about some of your shoots, but you've barely said two words tonight, so I'm not sure what else to think."

      She sighed deeply, closing her eyes momentarily before looking back at him and saying, "No, Ash, I'm not mad at you. I just have some stuff I'm trying to work out in my head right now, and I'm sorry if I made you think I was angry. Just give me a little bit, and I'll be fine."

      He rose from the recliner and walked to the couch, where Briar was curled up in the corner, with her head resting on the arm. Sitting down next to her, he stated, "If that's what you want, I'm cool, but if you feel like talking about it, I'm all ears."

      She nodded and gave him a small smile, but said nothing. He placed his hand on her arm, and was startled by her reaction, as she instantly stiffened, and seemed to shrink away from him. His expression was one of absolute bewilderment as she refused to meet his eyes, and he noticed a flush creeping across her face. Then it occurred to him that her mood had changed after he had come charging out of the shower, and his worry was replaced by a flicker of hope.

      "Briar, look at me," he coaxed. "Please?"

      She turned to face him, but still couldn't look him in the eye for more than a second, and he decided to take a risk, saying, "Well, if you weren't angry with me before, hopefully what I'm about to say won't change that. But I'm just wondering if you actually have any idea why I take so long in the shower?"

      The question finally caused her to look at him curiously, and she finally mumbled, "I hadn't really thought about it. But why would that make me angry?"

      "Because every since we watched that movie you danced in, I haven't been able to get it out of my head, and my 'shower time' seemed like the only way to keep from humiliating myself in front of you. But now I'm sort of wondering..."

      Her words came out as a barely audible whisper. "Wondering what?"

      "If maybe... you feel something too?"

      She finally met his eyes as she replied, "Ash, I've been attracted to you for... I don't even know how long, I just... I guess I didn't think I was your type. I mean, I've seen the girls you usually go for and..."

      He cut her off by cupping her face in his hands and claiming her lips with his own, gently at first, and then with increasing passion. She responded in kind, tangling her hands in his hair in order to draw him closer, until they had to stop for breath.

      Foreheads touching, they stared into each others eyes, realizing that they had reached a turning point in their relationship. Once they crossed that line, there was no turning back.