Ashten's POV
As predicted, it took forever to get downtown to get the car, and I swear to God, if I heard one more thing about cocks and titties fly out of Tommy's mouth I was fully prepared to literally kick him out of the car and leave him for dead on Ventura Boulevard.
Although, there was one bright spot in the day. While Tommy and I were sitting in dead stop traffic, James called and asked if I wanted to meet him for dinner that night. I was totally shocked to hear from him. I know he had told me the night before to expect a call from him that day, but in guy speak that meant two or three days. So imagine my surprise when I heard his voice on the other end of the line. I immediately accepted the dinner invitation. I hoped I didn't sound too desperate.
"Fuck yeah!" Tommy exclaimed after I told him about my dinner plans. "Dude, are you stoked?"
"Yeah," I replied, trying to sound nonchalant, although I'm sure the ear to ear grin on my face was a dead giveaway. "Damn, what am I going to wear?" I wondered aloud.
"Something hot," Tommy replied, even though I, technically, wasn't talking to him. "Preferably something that shows off your big titties."
Titties. There we went with the titties again. I rolled my eyes and scowled at Tommy. "What if James isn't a tit man?"
"He's a tit man. Trust me. We all are. Any man who says he isn't a tit man is a fucking liar."
"There are guys who are ass men," I offered.
"Yep," Tommy replied as he pulled into the LAPD impound lot. "Asses, hips, thighs, lips. We all pretty much like it all. But, titties are a whole different thing." He parked the car and glanced at me for a moment. "Actually, you should go with showing off the titties AND the ass. Go with your strengths. Besides, you need to make up for the fact that you didn't give it up last night."
I wouldn't be so sure about that, I thought to myself as Tommy got out and went to collect the black SUV that was now considered stolen property. It was only minutes later as I slid into the driver's seat and breathed in the leather interior smell of the Lexus that my mind wandered back to Nikki. Fuck, I thought as I followed Tommy back to the house. Could I really go out with James not knowing what really went on with Nikki the night before? No, I couldn't. I've never been able to do something like that. It wasn't just because of the feelings I developing for Nikki. It was about my self-respect. But, dammit, I really wanted to do some playing around with James. Especially since Nikki was so far out of reach. My mind was so full and I could feel myself starting to do the classic "Ashten freak out." You would think someone with a PHD in psychology could get a better grip on her emotions. Maybe I should prescribe myself some Prozac.
By the time I got back to Tommy's the frenzy I had whipped myself into had all but subsided. I'd decided to suck it up and just come out and ask Nikki what happened. I can do this, I thought to myself. I can be an adult and clear the air with him.
As I pulled into Tommy's driveway and parked the Lexus in front of the guesthouse, I assured myself I was ready. That is, until I walked towards my front door and caught a glimpse of Nikki sitting by the pool. Yeah. He definitely had no shirt on and even though the entire exposed part of his body was covered by tattoos, I could still see the tone of his chest and stomach, not to mention his perfectly defined arms. Oh yeah, let's not forget the sunglasses and navy blue bandana he had tied around his forehead, or the knee length dark green board shorts that hung low on his hips. Great. I was supposed to talk to him like an adult and all I wanted to do was lick him. Perfect.
"Son of a bitch! I cannot do this." I grumbled.
"Do what?" I jumped, not realizing Tommy was standing right behind me. I really need to start keeping my thoughts to myself around here.
"Nothing, I...," I was cut off by a noise that resembled the starting of a lawnmower. Tommy and I looked at each other, puzzled, as we made our way towards Nikki, who was sitting under an umbrella at one of the patio tables, reading a book. The large jug of PowerAde sitting next to him led me to believe he was still as dehydrated from the previous night as I was. Good to know someone else still felt like shit. He looked up at us as we approached.
"What's up?" Nikki looked up at us, his incredibly gorgeous fuck me eyes were hidden by his sunglasses. Thank God.
"Dude, what the fuck was that noise?" Tommy asked, still looking around trying to locate the source.
"The lawnmower," Nikki replied, lighting a cigarette.
"I didn't even know I had a lawn mower," Tommy replied, still looking baffled.
"Is the gardener here?" I asked, mentally scanning my day planner. I didn't think the gardener was due to come until the following Monday.
"Nope," Nikki said, a slight smile forming on his perfect lips. "Storm."
"Storm?" Tommy and I said in unison.
Nikki's smile turned into an all-out grin as he exhaled. "Yep."
"What the fuck is she doing mowing the lawn?" Tommy asked in disbelief.
"Here's the deal," Nikki began. "When I went to pick her up at the police station, I ran into some of the parents of the other kids she decided to go joy riding with. Turns out they were all at a party and when it got busted, they all piled into the Lexus to try and take off." Nikki flicked ashes off the end of his cigarette. Tommy and I nodded as we both took seats across from him to hear all about the rest of the previous night's drama. "But, of course they were stopped before Storm even turned on the ignition. Apparently, all of their blood alcohol levels were way over the limit."
"Damn," Tommy replied, leaning back in his chair and shaking his head. I remained silent. I was all too familiar with this type of situation. The whole thing made me sick to my stomach. "They could have killed someone. Or themselves."
"No doubt," Nikki nodded in agreement. "Anyway, grounding Storm doesn't seem to be working, so I took a different approach. I figured the best thing for her hangover would be a lovely day of working outside in the hot sun. I said as much in front of the other parents and they loved it. They made their kids get into the car with me and told me to call them when I fucking feel like it."
"Hence the lawnmower, "I replied as I looked around the yard. There were four girls and one guy. They guy was pushing the lawnmower around Tommy's massive yard and looked like he was on the verge of passing out. Two of the girls were on their hands and knees in the grass picking up random cigarette butts and anything else left on the lawn after the party. Finally, I found the third girl and Storm, who were at the other end of the driveway. Apparently, they were nominated to wash all of Tommy's cars. All ten of them. By washing, I mean vacuuming the interior, doing the windows, tires, rims, as well as washing and waxing the exteriors. She was currently working on Tommy's silver Porsche.
"Shit," Tommy said with a smile on his face as he scanned his property, "I'll be they think twice before taking another drink anytime soon."
"Exactly," Nikki replied, putting out his cigarette.
"Dude, that's fucking brilliant," Tommy laughed. "Anybody puke, yet?"
"No, but you can tell they want to."
I smiled and nodded in agreement. I knew for damn sure the last thing I would want while hung over was to be working in the hot sun being Nikki's bitch. Well, actually...never mind.
"Yeah, I'm pretty happy with it." Nikki looked around at his minions and even with his sunglasses on, I could see a look of amused evil spread across his face. It reminded me of when the Grinch decided to steal Christmas from all of the Whos in Whoville. He looked over at me. "What do you think, Doc?"
"About what?" I asked. I hadn't heard a word he said. I had been too busy wondering if Nikki the Grinch had a naughty or nice list. Which one would I want to be on? "Naughty."
"What?" he and Tommy said at the same time.
Fuck! I said that out loud, didn't I? Sure did. Not to mention that I'm pretty sure I was ogling Nikki almost to the point of drool. I couldn't help it. You know those old cartoons where Wyle E Coyote was so hungry that everything he looked at turned into a steak? You get the idea.
"Do you think she'll learn, this time?" Nikki took his sunglasses off and looked at me. Why did he do that? I felt all the heat in my body rush to my lower region.
My voice caught in my throat and then I finally pulled it together. I couldn't even look at Nikki. "I hope so."
Tommy, still laughing, got up. "I'm hot, are you guys hot?"
"YES!" both Nikki and I said, very quickly.
"Cool. I'm gonna go in and get some drinks. After I go torture the kiddies, of course." Tommy looked at his watch and then back to me. "You better hurry up, Ash. You're gonna be late." He walked off towards the girls on the lawn.
"Stay away from the teenaged girls, T-bone!" Nikki laughed as he yelled after him. He looked back over at me. I felt his eyes searching my body "What are you going to be late for?"
I had to know. I had to know, now. Unfortunately, I didn't exercise the tact I really hoped for. I couldn't control my mouth. It just came out. "Nikki, did we fuck last night?"
Nikki snapped his head up quickly. If his eyebrows weren't covered by his bandana I'm sure they would have reached the sky. I think he was more shocked over the fact that I asked the question as opposed to the actual content of it. He recovered pretty quickly, though. His widened eyes returned to normal size, and I'm pretty sure they brightened a little. I also noticed a slight shade of pink run across his cheeks. What was this? Nikki Sixx, blushing? Or, so I thought. As his lips started to curl into a slight smirk, he went from the guilty kid who just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar, to the kid who was PROUD of being caught. The silence was deafening as he reached for his cigarettes, lit one, and blew out smoke. His eyes met mine again, and then went straight down to my chest. I think he made my nipples hard just by looking at them.
He finally spoke, his eyes coming back to mine. "I figured you were wondering about that, since you did the walk of shame to your bathroom and all."
Now my eyebrows were approaching the sky. How did he know that? "Wait a minute," I said, accusingly, "earlier this morning while you were standing in my kitchen, you asked me where I slept. If you didn't know, how did you see me walk from my bed to the bathroom?"
Nikki's POV
She was definitely glaring at me. Busted! Ok, fine. Yes, I was awake when she crawled out of bed and I totally lied about not knowing she slept next to me. So, fucking what? I just wanted to catch her off guard. Maybe this was my way of forcing the hand and getting her to admit she wanted me as much as I wanted her. Either way it was fun to watch her sit there and squirm. I decided taunting was the best way to play this. I smiled at her and looked back towards the pool, purposely not making any eye contact. "You don't remember?" I glanced at her with my peripherals.
Ashten bit her lower lip and looked away. It was working. I was getting to her. She was growing more nervous with every passing second. "No, I don't."
"Why do you want to know?"
She looked back at me and released her lip from her teeth, her eyes softening. "Come on, Nikki."
"Could it possibly be because you are going out with James tonight?" I struggled to keep my voice from shaking. The thought of the two of them together made me want to fucking puke.
Ashten looked astonished. "How did you know about that? It just happened on the way downtown."
I shrugged and tried to act like it didn't matter. "I know everything," I took another swig of PowerAde. "Would it matter?"
"What do you mean?"
"Would you still go out with James if you fucked me last night?" Please say no.
Ashten took in and finally released a deep breath. She leaned back in her chair, causing her rack to point straight out. Jesus Christ. "Yes," she finally replied, "I'd still go out with him. I just wouldn't get physical."
"Why not?" Please tell me it's because you love me.
She shrugged and started running her hands through her hair. "Because I'm not the kind of girl who does a different guy every night. Besides, other than Tommy, he's your best friend. It just wouldn't be right."
"That's good to know," I replied. It wasn't the exact response I was hoping for, though. What I really wanted was something in the way of her throwing her body onto me and saying she realizes she can't live without me. Immediately followed by her whipping her shirt off and shoving her tits in my face, of course. Apparently, that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. So, if I couldn't fuck her, I was going to fuck WITH her. I smiled at her again while scooting my chair closer. Then I threw my arm around her, pulling her chair closer to mine. To my surprise, she actually rested her head on my shoulder.
"So?" She asked, obviously awaiting my answer to her original question.
"You know," I began, trying my best to hide a smile, even though I knew she couldn't see my face. "I've heard that the best way to jog your memory is to retrace your steps. Since you don't remember, I guess we could just go ahead and fuck NOW and...."
Ashten shot up out of her chair, pulled my bandana off of my head and started swatting me with it. I laughed and held my hands up in defense. "Seriously, it may come back to you. If not, no loss. It's a win/win."
"Tell me...tell me...TELL ME!" Ashten roared as she kept swatting. At this point she was smiling and I was laughing so hard my stomach hurt. After a few more seconds, she breathlessly flopped back into her chair and pushed stray pieces of hair from her face. "Never mind. I don't even want to fucking know anymore," she replied in defeat while tossing my bandana back at me."
"Oh, I think you do," I replied, retying it around my head.
"True."
"Does your pussy hurt?"
"Nikki!"
"No, really," I replied. "Does it hurt?"
"No."
I leaned in inches away from her face. "Then we didn't fuck. Trust me. If I'd have gotten a hold of you, you would be walking crooked."
"Hmm," Ashten leaned back and pondered. She looked as though that thought appealed to her. She looked glanced back over at me with a little hint of dirty in her eyes. I liked that look. She was about to speak when her phone chimed, signalling a text. She checked it and a sweet smile crept over her mouth, causing her face to light up. Fucking James, no doubt. She texted back quickly and put her phone in her pocket. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure," I replied, the moment completely over for me. "You passed out in one of the patio chairs and I carried you into your room. I went to take a piss and had every intention of going to pass out on the couch. I just didn't make it. You must have taken you clothes off yourself. I never saw or touched a thing. " I sunk back into my chair, hoping I didn't look like I was pouting on the inside. "Now you can go out with a clear conscience."
"Yeah, I guess I can," Ashten stood up a leaned over, planting a kiss on my forehead. "Thanks, Nikki."
I nodded as she pranced away towards her place. I can't even describe what I was feeling at that moment. Hurt, rage, anger, fear. I had a different emotion every five seconds and I could feel them all pulsating through my veins. God fucking dammit! I was inches away from telling her. From begging her not to go out with him. I couldn't do it. The minute I saw her get excited about James, it was over. I had lost this battle. The war was still within reach, though. I just had to start playing dirty. I'm Nikki Fucking Sixx. I get what I want.
I reached for my cell. I needed to make a call.