14. Ambrose
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
AMbrOSE
A s I drive Aspen back to her apartment near CSU, I try not to sulk. My woman hasn’t said no to moving in with me, but she hasn’t said yes either. She asked me to drive her back to her apartment—I assume to have space to think over my proposition. I want her to decide, preferably sooner rather than later, so I’m driving her back to her place to speed this along.
The stubborn part of me refuses to say her apartment is her home. I would sooner wipe my ass with sandpaper before calling her college efficiency apartment her home .
No. Her home is with me, back on the mountain in our cabin.
Her apartment is temporary at best—a very short temporary, if I have it my way. Sure, her commute to in-person classes will be longer. Although Aspen said for her last year of doctoral studies, her in-person lessons are not as frequent, with most of her learning done in the forest near my place. It’s a point in my favor.
Pleading my case, I mention her commute will be shorter to her field studies living with me at least half a dozen times while driving into town. Aspen nods, deep in thought as she stares out the windshield of my pickup truck.
A minor consolation of driving Aspen to her apartment is me learning where she’s living, if not with me. With the roads into the Rocky Mountain National Park still needing clearing from fallen trees and debris from the storm, I can’t take Aspen to her car she left behind from when she drove into the mountains yesterday. She doesn’t seem overly concerned with me knowing where she lives—I assume that’s a good sign. If she plans on remaining in her apartment, I hope she’s ready to have company. I plan on being with her every chance I can get until I’ve convinced her to move in with me. Either way, we’ll be together. It’s the one bright spot in this whole agonizing scenario I find myself in.
Aspen mentioned her apartment was in the middle of an old, overcrowded building, where the walls are tissue paper thin and the college kids are up all hours of the night. Sensing an opportunity, I barter with her, promising to get high-speed internet and turn one of the upstairs rooms into an office for her to have a quiet place to write her dissertation, anything to sweeten the deal for her to choose to live with me.
She’s quiet, contemplative. I do not know if that is a good thing or a bad thing. There’s still much I need to learn about my woman, though I hope her silence means she’s thoroughly considering my offer.
Ugh! The not knowing is making me paranoid. What if once I drop her off, she ices me out? What if my only shot at closing this deal is right now in my truck?
It’s pretty hard to negotiate with a woman who isn’t engaging in conversation.
Frustrated, I run a hand over my face and try to calm down. Losing my cool will do me no favors.
“My apartment is over here on the right,” she says, finally speaking and not the words I want to hear at all.
I pull my pickup along the curb next to a worn-down, blah-looking, brick building—typical off-campus apartment complexes. I scrutinize the area, looking for any flaws I can use to make my home look more appealing to her.
The area is safe enough, I guess, but it’s still a fair walk to campus. Either way, she would need to drive her car or take public transportation to where her science classes are located. There’s a popular college bar across the street, sure to bring drunks around to her area and not helping reduce the noise issues she already faces with the building residents. A bank is further down the block and many other cookie-cutter apartment buildings. Her building is bookend by a fast-food restaurant and a U-Haul store. It’s constant traffic and constant noise—not suitable for my nature-loving woman.
I’m about to point this all out when Aspen curses. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Alert, I turn to face her. “Is something wrong?”
Ignoring my question, Aspen jumps out of my truck, stalking up the sidewalk.
What the hell? She didn’t wait for me to open her door, busting out like she was going to war. I jump out my side of the truck, speed walking to catch up to her.
“Aspen, darlin’, wait up.”
“You have a lot of damn nerve.”
I nearly halt my walking, completely caught off guard by her hostile tone. It’s not the first time I’ve heard her speak like this, but this time I did nothing to trigger her aggression. Is she talking to me?
My mind spirals, immediately thinking the worst. Maybe I could have laid off persuading her to move in instead of bringing it up every five seconds. Perhaps she’s overwhelmed. I’m an ass for pressuring her. I want to beat my head against her building for driving her away.
“You can take your yurt and shove it.”
Excuse me? My what now?
There’s only one yurt squatter I’m familiar with, and it sure as fuck is not me.
My eyes look ahead to where my woman is stomping toward, seeing Gary hanging out by the corner of her apartment complex, looking like a lost puppy and like he was waiting for her to arrive.
Aw, hell naw! If this shit-stain thinks he can weasel his way into my woman’s good graces again, he can think again.
Bee-lining for the pissant, Aspen reaches him first.
“Go away, Gary. I don’t want you near me again.”
Gary tries reaching for her, but Aspen smacks his hand away. Instead of taking the hint to get lost, Gary pushes into her bubble.
“I fucked up, Aspen,” Gary says, starting with the excuse right off the bat instead of taking accountability for his actions like a decent man. “I smoked waaay too much weed and couldn’t think straight.”
“Being high is not an excuse, Gary. Loads of people do it without making dangerous choices. You put me—me, your girlfriend —in danger, all because you wanted to play hero to some stupid dead trees.”
Gary winces. “I’m sorry. I tried to make it right as soon as I sobered in the hospital. It’s not my fault those nurses and doctors weren’t taking me seriously.”
“No, it’s your fault she was in danger to begin with,” I thunder, closing the distance between us.
Aspen spins around to face me, stepping in front of me and blocking my advance. She places her palms on my chest, like she’s trying to calm my rage from the outside in. “Brose, no. He’s not worth it.”
“He might not be, but you are, darlin’. Let me deal with the twerp.”
Gary’s eyes bulge, recognizing me instantly. He scrambles back, holding up his palm to me. “Stay away from me, tree killer. It’s because of you I got concussed and Aspen was left on the mountain.”
“It’s because of me she got off that damn mountain,” I shout heatedly as I point an accusatory finger at him. “And you gave yourself your own concussion. Stand under a diseased tree long enough and shit is bound to fall on you. Your stupidity could have gotten you both killed.”
“Brose,” Aspen says in a stern tone. “Let me deal with this. I’m a big girl and can handle my own battles.”
“Of course you are, Aspen,” I say with all the sincerity in the world. I’m well aware she’s capable of handling this chump. “But why should you have to fight your battles alone when you have me by your side?”
My woman looks at me with admiration, her eyes going teary and a small smile playing at the corner of her soft lips. “And I appreciate you going to bat for me. However, I need to handle this one on my own.”
“Fine.” I pout, folding my arms over my broad chest and planting my feet. There’s no way in hell I’m leaving her alone with him, though. “I’ll be your backup.”
Warmth seeps into my body when she cups my bearded cheek in her delicate hand. “Thank you, my Mountain Man.”
“What the fuck is this?” Gary demands heatedly, scowling at the two of us. “You’re with this guy now?”
“Who I spend my time with is none of your concern anymore,” Aspen replies coldly, turning to face her ex. “You lost all boyfriend privileges the day you chose a tree over my safety.”
“Oh, come on, Aspen!” Gary whines, throwing his hands in the air. “I made one mistake and you’re running to this asshole? Who is he to you?”
“I’m the man who replaced you, boy .” I sneer, wrapping my arm around Aspen’s waist and yanking her against me—driving the point home she’s mine. “You lost her. Move on. I’m sure there’s a tree needing a hug somewhere. Go pitch your yurt under it.”
“Don’t tell me what to do, lumberjack ,” he hisses, saying lumberjack like it’s a dirty word.
Unable to help myself, I bark a laugh in his face. “ Lumberjack? Oooo, ouch. Aspen would rather climb this lumberjack than your scrawny sapling any day.”
With a look of disgust, Gary’s mouth drops open on a gasp. He palms his chest like my mark hit him right where I intended.
Aspen groans, pinching the bridge of her narrow nose. “Ambrose, please. You’re not helping.”
She’s right. I’m not helping deescalate the situation. Yet, if I can’t physically beat the snot out of him for leaving my woman on the mountain after the fact, I’ll crush his hope of winning Aspen back. Having succeeded, I stop baiting Gary.
“Sorry, darlin’. The show is yours.”
“Thank you,” she whispers to me before turning her attention back to a furious-looking Gary. With how red his face is, I half expect smoke to come billowing out of his ears.
“Regardless of you trying to rectify the situation after sobering in the hospital, it doesn’t erase the harm you caused me. I could have died , Gary. I can’t forgive you for this.”
Gary shakes his head like he’s unable to accept her rejection. “Listen, Aspen. I can change. I’ll cut back on the weed. I’ll even give up yurt-living if you give me another chance.”
Aspen sighs, rubbing between her eyes like she’s fighting off a headache. I can’t say I blame her. The guy is a stage one clinger.
“Even if I wanted to give us another shot—which I don’t—I could never trust you putting my safety first. This relationship is not salvageable, nor do I want to remain with you.”
“Come on, Aspen. I fucked up. It’s nothing new.”
“You’re right. You messing up isn’t new. But this was one major fuck up that nearly cost me everything. I’m not willing to gamble with my life again. Period.”
Gary opens his mouth to argue, but my woman is all over him like bees on a wasp.
“Lets be honest with each other. This thing between us ran its course. It was never going to go anywhere. And I haven’t been happy with your lack of interest in my needs.”
Oh shit! She’s going there? And here I thought I was the one kicking him when he was already down.
It takes all my self control not to bust a gut. The show’s about to get good.
“What are you talking about?” Gary asks, scratching his head then hissing where he must have rubbed the goose egg he got from the tree limb. “We have tons of shared interests?”
“I’m not talking about shared interests. If it was a shared interest, my needs would be fulfilled too, and not only yours.”
The guy is clueless. Gary looks skyward, his face all scrunched like he’s calculating something difficult in his head. “Uh, whaaat?”
“I’ll save you a few brain cells. Our bedroom life was dead—for me.”
“What? Nah. You’re wrong,” Gary argues.
“Name one time you got me off?” Aspen challenges, folding her arms across her chest and cocking her hip.
Hell, I love it when she gets bitchy. It’s a major turn-on seeing her put Gary in his place.
“There was that one time I did what you asked,” Gary says dismissively, proving her point he gave squat about her satisfaction.
My eyes bulge. “One time?!”
My poor woman. To make up for her ex’s lack of attention, I will never leave her unsatisfied. Aspen is a queen and her body deserves to be worshipped like one.
“Piss off!” Gary snaps at me, his face turning redder from embarrassment.
Before I can snap back, Aspen delivers her final blow. “I faked it.”
There’s no stopping the hysterics. I throw my head back, laughing loudly at the sky.
Pretty proud of my woman. She doesn’t need any help to emasculate her ex.
“Nu-uh! No one can fake it that well.”
Shocking the hell out of both of us, Aspen pulls a Meg Ryan from When Harry Met Sally . She releases an exaggerated moan that any man with half a brain would know is super fake.
“Oh, yes! God, Gary. Yes, just like that. Don’t stop.”
Gary blinks, bewildered. “Did…did you just orgasm on the sidewalk?”
Here he is, sober, and his true colors are showing. It was never weed impairing his judgement.
Probably realizing her ex was always an idiot, Aspen goes off. “No, Gary! No, I didn’t orgasm spontaneously. It was to show you how easy it was to fake a real one, all to protect your fragile ego. You could never handle me not coming after a few weak thrusts from you. I wore out two dildos, taking all my sexual frustration out on them because I wasn’t getting it from you.”
Daaamn. Just push him into the grave. He’s finished.
“The sex was only one of our issues where you disregarded me. Like everything else, it was always what you wanted. Never once did you care to do what I wanted, unless it benefited you.”
Gary scoffs, shaking his head with obstinacy. “That’s not true.”
“It is! Like yesterday, we weren’t supposed to be hiking in the mountains. You agreed to take me to brunch, but changed the plans last minute, not informing me of the new plans or what I should wear to prepare for our excursion. I nearly froze to death because again, I was unprepared for mountain hiking. AND YOU STRAPPED ME TO A FUCKING DEAD TREE!”
“Easy, darlin’, I say, rubbing circles into the small of her back to calm her. “Save that aggression for me later.”
Aspen lets out a long sigh, like she’s regrouping before she’s glaring at Gary again. “For months, you put yourself first in our relationship. It’s not entirely your fault. I should have insisted on more from you, instead of letting you off the hook as soon as you complained. But I was desperate enough to make our relationship work that I accepted less from you as a partner. I’ll take the blame for my part. But you need to accept your faults, too.
“Our brunch date was a last chance to show me you could put my wants ahead of yours, and you couldn’t even give me one hour. How is that fair? I don’t deserve to have my wants ignored. I’m done with not having my needs met. It’s time I put myself first.”
Gary has the decency to look ashamed. He looks at his feet for a long moment before addressing Aspen again. “I can see where I never took your needs into consideration, and I’m sorry. You stopped complaining months ago. I thought you were cool with everything.”
This schmuck. All I can do is shake my head as he digs his relationship with Aspen into a deeper grave. Makes my work a lot easier.
“No, I wasn’t cool with anything,” Aspen says, rolling her eyes. “I was checking out. I should have ended things months ago when I stopped asking for more from you. Sadly, a part of me seemed to think I didn’t deserve better treatment, until I found someone who puts me and my needs first.”
Aspen looks at me, her lips lifting into a beautiful smile. My chest puffs out as my ego inflates, learning I give her what she needs.
Me, the luckiest a-hole on the mountain, satisfies this feisty woman like no one can.
“And this,” Gary says with a huff, waving a hand at me with disdain, “old dude?—”
“Hey!” I bark, interrupting him. “I’m not old. I’m not even a decade older than Aspen.”
Gary continues, uninterested in what I have to say. “He gives you what you want?”
Aspen wraps her arm around my waist, leaning into me. “He does.”
Bragging seems wrong in the moment, given Gary is getting his ass handed to him by my woman. However, inside, I’m whooping with pride.
Her ex rubs his neck, looking put out. “Wow. This is not what I expected—losing my girlfriend to a logger.”
“You didn’t lose me to a logger, Gary. You lost me because you’re an asshat.”
He shrugs, finally accepting defeat. “Whatever. Can I still use your shower when I need it?”
The nerve of this loser.
“Are you for fucking real, dude?” I want to say more, but Aspen beats me to it.
“Read the room, Gary. You’re no longer welcome. You’ll need to find other accommodations for bathing.”
With the biggest exaggerated sigh, Gary returns to the corner of the building where his pack leans against the brick veneer. He slides it on to his shoulders before giving us a two-finger salute.
“See you around, Aspen,” he hollers over his shoulder. “When you come to your senses, you can find me in the park.”
“Not a chance in hell,” I grumble, tightening my arm around my woman as I lead her to the entrance of her apartment complex.
When Aspen walks past the entrance, I raise an eyebrow. “Where are we heading? Is there another way in the building?”
“We have to make a stop at the U-Haul store before heading into my apartment.”
“O-kay?” Confused, I open the door to the U-Haul store next to her complex. “And why are we stopping here?”
“To buy boxes for the move, of course.”
My heart stutters in my chest, halting me in place and Aspen with me. I look down at my woman, hope surging through my veins. “You saying what I think you’re saying?”
Aspen gives me a flirty wink. “If you’re thinking I’m agreeing to move in with you, the answer is yes.”
Hollering like I won the lottery—because I did with her—I hoist her into my arms and swing her around in a circle.
“Give me your lips, woman,” I husk before attacking her with kisses.
Aspen giggles against my lips. “Put me down, big guy. We got boxes to buy.”
“Right,” I say in agreement, placing her back on her feet.
Taking her by the hand, I stride to the front counter like my shoes are on fire. The clerk behind the register’s eyes grow wide when I slam my credit card down on the counter. “Give us all the boxes.”
“Not all the boxes,” Aspen corrects, trying not to laugh. “I don’t have a lot in my studio apartment.”
“Right,” I agree with her before addressing the sales clerk again. “Give us some boxes— a variety.”
I’m sure I’ve got the dopiest smile plastered on my face, but I don’t care. I’ve got something to smile about and everyone is going to hear about it.
Proud as a strutting peacock, I grin at the clerk while motioning with my thumb at Aspen. “She’s moving in with me.”
“Congrats,” the guy says in a monotone voice as he rings up our order, seemingly uninterested or jealous.
Yeah, probably totally jealous. And who wouldn’t be?
I’ve got Aspen Fair—the most breathtakingly beautiful woman in the Rockies—agreeing to not only being my woman, but sharing a home with me.
What more could a man want?
I gaze lovingly at Aspen as she bounces excitedly beside me, waiting for the clerk to hand us our packing materials. Her green eyes sparkle with enthusiasm as she stares longingly back at me, making my heart squeeze like she’s hugging me with her pretty smile.
Okay, I want more—a lot more. A ring is definitely next on the list.