The Tour - A.I.

19. Staycation

We arrived back at Ashton's apartment later that night with a load of groceries. I started to help him put everything away, but after asking a question every five seconds about where something goes, he became frustrated and demanded I sit on the counter and wait for him to finish.

"What do you want to do for dinner?" He asked, putting away the last item and coming to stand in front of me.

"It's up to you." I shrugged. "I could cook something for you, if you want."

"You can cook?" He asked, leaning forward on the counter, arms on either side of my legs.

"Of course." I laughed. "I grew up in the south. That's basically the first thing you learn as a girl."

"Okay, sure." He smiled.

"What do you want?"

"Can we start with dessert?" Ashton smirked, leaning forward and placing a kiss on my lips.

I rolled my eyes jokingly and sighed. "How about spaghetti? I know you have everything for it."

"Sounds good." He replied.I jumped down and started pulling various items out of cabinets and the fridge.

Ashton took my place on the counter, watching me move back and forth as I prepared the food. It was quiet for a few moments, just the sound of water boiling and my footsteps.

"What else did you do growing up? Besides cook." He asked.

"I rode horses a lot. I loved it. Travis and I grew up on a farm so I was always doing something with animals."

"Were you two close when you were younger?"

"Yeah. I mean, we would fight like siblings usually do, but we were pretty close. He was just as overprotective then as he is now." I replied, stirring the pot of sauce.

"What about your parents? Are you close with them?" He asked.

"Yeah. I definitely was when I was growing up."

"So what made you want to move here and work with Travis?"

"You ask a lot of questions." I laughed.

"I'm just curious about your life." He smiled.

I smiled back as I added a few ingredients into the sauce. "I moved out here because my parents are even more overbearing than Travis, and I felt that it was time to cut the cord. This was the best option."

"Moving across the country? That's pretty extreme." He joked.

"Says the guy that moved halfway across the world." I laughed.

"That's different, it was for my career. Not to prove a point to my parents." He shrugged.

"I wouldn't have moved out here alone. I only did it because Travis was here. As I got older, it became more difficult to be an adult around my parents. I love them, but they don't seem to understand that I have to grow into my own person." I explained, draining the water from the boiling noodles.

"I guess that makes sense." He replied.

It was quiet for a few minutes as I finished getting dinner ready."Are you close with your siblings?" I finally asked, wanting to change the subject from my family.

"Very. I miss them a lot. It was a different relationship though because I'm so much older than them."

I nodded my head in response. "Can I ask you something personal?"

He gave me a small nod, waiting for me to continue.

"What was it like growing up with just your mom?"