"So, tonight's the concert."
"Yup." I grin, tossing mom Ronnie's sleeping bag. "You're sure you're okay with her going out by herself?"
Camping is one thing. Ronnie camping with no family around is totally different, I was shocked when mom said yes.
"Sage will be there." She shrugs before fidgeting uncomfortably, "So about tonight..."
"The concert starts at eight and you already have the address of the hotel and the room number. I'll text check in to let you know I'm okay." I assure her, not liking the look on her face.
We had a deal, there's no backing out now.
"Do you..." She hesitates.
"Do I what?"
"Do you... you know... have..."
"Have what, mom?" I demand, she's making me nervous.
"Do you have protection? God, I thought you were smarter than this." She spits out, turning red in the face.
Oh, no. She's choosing now to be open about this sorta thing? It's a little too late if I do say so myself. "Mom... um, you don't have to worry about that right now."
Plus, I already packed some, but she doesn't need to know that. I mean it, this isn't the type of thing we'll do so early on.
"Ashton, it's best to be sa-"
"Safe, yes I know. I've done it before, I know how to put it on and how to act accordingly." I rush out, suddenly finding it difficult to look her in the eyes. When I wanted to be closer to my mom this isn't what I had in mind.
We stand there awkwardly for a moment before my phone rings. Desperate for something to cut the tension, I answer immediately. "So, when you go away tonight are you planning on screwing before or after the concert?"
"Gabe, you know most of the time I want to kick your ass!" I seethe, trying to angle the phone so mom can't hear.
The look on her face tells me it's too late. Great.
"Or are you going to skip that lousy concert and get right to business."
God, he just doesn't shut up. "I'm going to the concert then dinner so shut the hell up before I literally knock you into next week."
He snickers, clearly amused with himself. "Don't be such a bore, Ashton, we all know it's bound to happen."
"Tonight is going to be a night of peace and relaxation away from the kids and you dumbasses. I won't let your loud, vulgar mouth spew horrible words out and ruin it. So. Shut. Up." Gabe will not ruin our first date. I want to make it to the third before he taints things.
"See you in an hour, lover boy." He teases before hanging up.
I growl, looking up to find a smug mom smirking at me.
"Have a nice night, Hun." She pecks my cheek before sauntering down the hall.
What a nightmare.
*****
Easton
Coach is still waiting for your decision.
Ash
You already know my decision
Easton
Yeah, well it's a stupid one.
Ash
No, it's not. I'll see you next summer.
"Sage, where the hell is the first aid kit?" Scarlett screeches, running downstairs.
"In the car, how many times are you going to ask?" He replies, not bothering to look up from Ella's laptop as they watch vines.
"And the spare sleeping bag in case Silver gets cold?" She calls out and I pocket my phone to follow the sound of her voice.
Someone sounds... tense.
Rounding the corner, I'm left speechless. Tense she may be but hot she definitely looks. I need to add crop tops to my list of favorite things, along with the color white.
She brushes right by me, mumbling lists underneath her breath as she heads to the car. Or more specifically, the car Sage is driving tonight.
Thirty minutes later Sage grabs my arm, a desperate look in his eyes. "Bro, you've got to help me."
"What do I need to do?"
"Get your girlfriend and leave for the night, I'm ready to jump off a cliff her nagging is so bad!" He runs his fingers through his hair as he looks around.
I want to laugh at his desperation, but he jumps behind me. "What the hell are you doing?"
"Sage, hand me the keys." Scarlett orders, stopping in front of us.
"Do something." He whispers, pinching my arm.
Ouch.
"Sweetheart, why don't we head out?" I try to usher her to the car, but she sends me a glare that freezes me in place.
"You honestly think I'm going to leave before them? There's still so much to do." And this is the part where I apologize for trying to go against her.
"Actually, we're about to leave." Sage offers, jumping out from behind me.
"We are?" Silver asks, shoving a cookie in his mouth.
Sterling slaps him as Saffron drags Scarlett towards the door. "We are."
Following the group outside, a headache begins to form.
"My man."
"Shut up and get in the car." I snap, not wanting to hear his taunts.
"Try to be quiet, noise complaints never end well." He winks, shoving my shoulder.
Before I can punch him, Sterling joins us. "Funny, wasn't I the one who complained about you that night two years ago?"
Gabe's smile falters, "You were the one who snitched?"
Sterling wickedly grins and I wonder why I often write him off as the peaceful twin. "Ohhhh, Gabe!" He mimics in a girly voice.
"You little shit, I was grounded for a month because you got Manny involved." He lunges for him and I hold the hot head back.
Nothing to set Scarlett over the edge. Speaking of the mother hen, she wanders back over with a panicked gleam in her eyes as she finds Sage. "Please, for the love of God, do not let her out of your sight."
"We'll be fine." He assures her, sending me a look to distract her.
"She threatened to fight a bear." Sage laughs and I have to choke back my own amusement. "I'm serious."
There's no doubt in my mind. Someone's really got to talk to that child about the importance of playing it chill for the mental sanity of her sister. And anyone who has to be around Scarlett.
"Love you." Sage tells her before practically shoving his sister in my arms with the silent order to distract her.
"They'll be fine." I whisper, holding her in place. I'll go insane if she tries to check on one more thing. There's only so much to worry about.
The tension begins to dissolve as the last of the idots pile into the clown car. "Don't do anything I would do." Gabe taunts with a wink.
Okay, so I guess our only option is to sit down and play Pictionary. Zev slaps him for me as the duo shuts the car door shut.
"You look nice." I offer, figuring flirting is the best distraction. It's worked every other time.
Crimson stains her cheeks as she smiles.
"I hope you never stop doing that." I offer mindlessly.
"Doing what?
"Getting flustered when I compliment you. It's one of my favorite things." It never fails.
Running my hands up and down her sides, I kiss her jawline. Finally, no one is around. No siblings. No responsibilities. No pesky ass friends. My thoughts roam as I carry on.
"Ash." A hoarse voice pulls me from my thoughts. "As much as I would love to continue, we really should go."
Shit, I thought I was the one doing the distracting. Clearing my head as we walk to my truck, I remember what we're even doing. "You know, this might be our first real date."
"Really?" She sounds so surprised.
I open the truck door, "Yeah, my girlfriend happens to be really busy." Understatement of the century. "But that's ok, she's worth the wait."
One hundred percent.
"Then it's about time you get a proper date." She smiles, holding me in place.
Touché, Sweetheart, touché.
*****
Tonight has been perfect, except for the constant flow of text messages from Easton. Some people just can't learn how to take a hint.
Finally having enough of the harassment, I text while I wait for Scarlett to pick a place to eat.
Clay
If your girlfriend cared about you a fraction as much as you cared about her then it wouldn't be an issue.
Ah, shit. Who gave this ass my number?
Ash
Possibly
Clay
You haven't told her, you dumb, arrogant bastard
Ash
No need to, my mind's made up
"There's a bar right down the road that has great fries." Scarlett grabs my hand, snapping me back to reality as she drags me through the masses of people.
It's humorous to watch her maneuver through the crowds at top speed, not caring who she runs into. Sadly, I have to deal with the glares, but I just shrug helplessly. I'm not the one in charge here.
Once we're seated at a high top in the corner of a poorly lit room, surrounded by college students, I can't help but recognize how eventful it is.
Is something like this waiting for me in Alabama?
"Nice place." I offer, pulling her stool over to mine. The table is too big to be between us.
"My mom loved this place in college." She explains softly.
Oh. I still haven't figured out what to say to that, so I just wrap an arm around her.
We talk about everything and nothing, enjoying each other's company and the fries, which are beyond amazing. My phone buzzes with a text and I remember I haven't texted mom in a while. However, I just throw my phone down after I read the message.
Clay
No, it isn't, it's just clouded by stupidity
I really think I'm gonna punch him in the face next time I see him.
"What's wrong?" She asks and I mentally swear.
"Don't worry about it, tonight's supposed to be about us." I shrug, trying to appear nonchalant but it fails severely. She gives me a look that promises attitude if I don't speak up. "Scarlett, please just drop it."
The look intensifies.
Well, it looks like I'm telling her tonight. Go figures my luck would fail me tonight. "Please don't get upset."
"I won't, you can tell me anything." She smiles and the worry intensifies. Let's see how she feels after this truth bomb.
Staring at the table because I don't want to get slapped, I clear my throat. "They want me to graduate early."
"What?" She whispers and I almost wish she was yelling.
Angry Scarlett I can handle, hurt Scarlett only makes me sad.
"It's for football, go to college after the fall semester of senior year to prepare for football season. The summer alone isn't enough time." I try to explain, hoping it would make her feel better to know it's not my idea.
"Oh." Yeah, oh.
"I don't want to and I'm trying my best to get out of it." I hurry on, hugging her. Although, the more I think about it, the more I think the option was only to be polite. I can't lose my scholarship.
"No." She says and I'd be lying if I didn't say that word stabbed through my chest. No? "This is what you need to succeed, Ashton. You can't let something as silly as graduating early hold you back."
The pain dies down because I know she's right. This is my chance to make something out of myself worthwhile. I can be the best there ever was as long as I allow myself the opportunity.
She tries to smile but fails and I panic. This leads to a whole new conversation we haven't had in depth yet. Mainly because we thought we had more time.
"Please, don't let this scare you. There's FaceTime and texting, plus I plan on calling you every day." I assure her, things will be perfectly fine.
A smile forms but it's faint. "Don't worry about me, you need to focus on you."
And just like that she looks away, dismissing me and my promises.
Focus on me. I try to label exactly who I am, and I come to the conclusion that I'm still figuring that out. Six months ago, I hated myself. I had no future. No promise. No nothing.
But I'm different now and while there's a lot I'm still learning, something's I'm certain of. I'm a lot tougher than I thought I was, not physically but emotionally. I'm an intelligent smart ass who has a short temper at times. I'm slowly beginning to learn the importance of seeing the positive rather than assuming the worse. And there's one thing I see crystal clear.
Cupping her chin, I see the tears and feel horrible. We can't hide our emotions. "I'm nothing without you, Scarlett, so you better be prepared for good morning texts at four thirty in the morning and random calls between classes just so I can hear your voice." Something tells me they'll be happening a lot.
Because I'll be so far away, taking different classes, living in a dorm room with a stranger, eating edible food that my mom hasn't touched, surrounded by strangers I could care less about because they won't be my friends.
They won't be her.
Soft fingers brush my cheek and a small part of me is annoyed that I'm crying but I crush that feeling. I have to feel this in order to accept it. Hopefully she does too.
"Only if you're okay with me sending you goodnight texts at two in the morning when I can't sleep."
A wide smile pulls at my face as my forehead rests against her shoulder, that's all I needed to hear. "I already have a plan to help with that."
I actually spent the entire plane ride home yesterday planning. "And what's that?"
"I'm going to give you some of my clothing and you'll get to wear it for a while before exchanging the old sweatshirts and stuff for new ones. That way you get things that smell like me and in return, I get things that smell like you."
A fair trade plus we'd obviously have to meet halfway to exchange things and that's half the fun right there.
"Here I was thinking you thought I smelled." She teases, hurt washing away from her features.
Resting my forehead against hers, I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "Sweetheart, I'd give up my ability to smell everything else if it meant I got to smell you every day."
Which is ironic considering pretty soon I won't even be seeing her every day, but I don't get to pout about it. That's a selfish use of my time that I'm not willing to sacrifice.
There's plenty of time.
"Hey." She kisses me softly, dissolving the little lines of worry from my mind. "I'm not worried, you're the one thing in life I'm sure about, Ashton."
That's the first time she's ever claimed me like that. I never knew how badly I needed to hear those words until now. "Thank you."
"Besides, the sooner I'm able to brag about dating a college guy, the better." A smirk appears and I can't help but chuckle. Of course, her mind goes there.
"Maybe now I can lie and say I'm the older one in the relationship." I counter, knowing I would never do such a thing.
A retort is on the tip of her tongue but I kiss her, forgetting about everything else in the world.
*****
Walking down the street I can't help but acknowledge how much I love the girl next to me. So much it's not even funny and as badly as I want to say it, I can't. Not after such an emotional turn of events. Because I'm definitely not saying that just because we had that talk. Maybe I'll say it tomorrow once things are calmer.
Scarlett slows with each step and I roll my eyes. Her feet hurt and she won't ask for help. In one swift motion I throw her over my shoulder.
"Put me down, Ash." She demands, slapping my back as we walk by a group of slightly intoxicated party goers. "People are looking at us."
Well, then let's give them a show. Slapping her ass, I laugh. "Who cares?"
A hard slap across my own ass is the pissed of response I get.
"Save it for the bedroom, Sweetheart." I tease knowing it would shut her up.
"You're insufferable."
And you're adorable.
The walk to the hotel is silent, once were in the elevator I glance over to find some guy checking out her ass. Glaring at him, I decide the stairs would've been a better idea. Throwing Scarlett onto the bed, I pull off the bulky wedges she chose for shoes.
"How did my girlfriend like our date?" I ask, crawling up to rest my head against her chest.
Fingers run through my hair. "I think it was pretty satisfactory."
Excuse me? "Just satisfactory? Because I'd say it was a pretty damn good-"
"Hey, Ashton." I hum in response. "Just kiss me."
Her request is my command. Kissing her neck, I get pushed off. What the hell did I do wrong?
Before I can ask, her face hovers over mine placing a firm kiss to my lips before pulling away. My heart rate picks up with each kiss as her hands greedily fumble with the buttons of my shirt. As she continues to trail down my skin reality crashes back into my mind. If we continue there will be no stopping.
But I don't want to stop.
So we don't. Kissing continues till she pulls away once more. In a swift motion her shirt is gone. Damn, I didn't see that one coming. Apparently, I'm not very good at hiding it either because she smirks, closing my mouth for me.
Smooth, Ashton, real smooth.
"You know, you really should work on your reactions."
Very funny, two can play that game. Flipping us over, I take her in. Selfishly taking my time. "Have I ever told you you're beautiful?"
She shrugs, "Once or twice."
"Well, you're the most beautiful person I've ever laid eyes on." I state and I'll prove it to her.
Working my way across her skin on a mission, I chuckle as hands latch through my hair. Who's smirking now?
Fumbling with her pants, I freeze before jumping back up to her face. Oh, no. "Scar, we don't have to..."
I couldn't just stop while I was ahead, could I. Please don't tell me I've ruined a perfectly good night because I didn't use my head.
Her chest heaves as she stares up at me, "I'd prefer it if we did."
Holy shit.
"Are you sure b...because I don't want you to feel-" God, am I nervous?
"I'm sure. You're you and I'm me, there's really nothing else to think about." She explains calmly, cupping my cheek to kiss me.
Nothing and no one else.
*****
I can't sleep.
It's physically impossible to when all I can focus on in the person sleeping on my chest.
I'm so going to hell for lying to mom but in my defense, this wasn't supposed to happen. I would've worked out this morning if this was planned. I mean, there was no complaining but still... Woah.
A phone rings and I reach for mine in hopes of not waking her up but it's not mine. It stops and just as I get comfortable it rings again. Sighing, I reach for it but a weak groan stops me.
"Need sleep."
I chuckle, kissing her head. Whoever it is can wait. Wouldn't surprise me if it were Gabe calling to harass us.
A third call fills the room and she answers it, "Hello?"
One second our night is perfect and the next it's pure hell.
*****
Hi, I'm alive and so emotionally drained but LiC hit 5 million reads and I'm so so thankful!!! Also, please take three minutes to go vote for the three Fiction Awards Categories!!
I love you all- Mo