Chapter 10
Ash
Audrey was sitting in the passenger's seat of his truck, and he hated the thought of her leaving.
She had made him another amazing meal, and she had confided in him and told him about her fears.
Quite honestly, he still wanted her. He wanted to hold her and protect her, and the fact that she was so honest and vulnerable made him even more attracted to her.
They were parked on her street, and he knew she'd be getting out soon. He wanted to give her space, but he also wanted to let her know that he was still attracted to her after everything she had said.
"Just come by," she said. "I’m not open to the public. I'm just going in to cook for the crew from California. Lu won't be back till the afternoon."
Ash thought about Judd and Sam and how they were both single guys and how they would be spending the day with her. He thought about all the other single guys in the world, and how he wanted none of them to spend any days with Audrey.
"Audrey."
"Yeah?"
Ash tried to pause and gather his thoughts so he could say the right things. "I'm going to come by tomorrow."
"Okay," she said, smiling and nodding.
Their eyes were locked over the center console.
It was dark in his truck, and music was playing.
Ash's heart was pounding. Just looking at her face caused his chest to tighten.
And then his eyes fell onto her lips, and he struggled to regulate his breathing.
He started thinking about his breathing, and he took a deep breath, looking upward and putting his hands over his face.
"What?' she said.
"Nothing. I can't even breathe right."
"Are you okay?" she asked, sounding concerned.
"I'm fine," he said with a little laugh. "I am going to have to warn you that I'm not feeling very deterred by anything you were saying earlier."
"What does that mean?" she said.
He stared at her, and he found it difficult to get a good breath of air into his lungs.
"It means that I still want to… Audrey, you should open the door and go inside because if you stay in here longer, I'm going to kiss you.
And just in case you were wondering how I felt, I don't think it's fair to either of us that you just give up so quickly. I know you like me."
"I do," she said with no hesitation.
This made him smile. "I like you too. So, there.
I hope you stay in the car. But if you go, I'll totally understand, and I still want to hang out with you guys tomorrow.
We can just be friends or go as slow as you want.
It's no pressure, but I just want you to know that I'm not feeling deterred by things you said.
I still find that I want to be next to you.
I'm going to kiss you right now if you stay. "
She thought for a few seconds, and then a little smile crept onto her face.
"I have to say… that feels so good to hear…
I mean, regardless of what happens, it's nice to have you tell me that you…
I'm happy you said… I know what I said earlier might have made it sound like I didn't like you, but that's not true. "
She cut her eyes at him and wearing a serious expression. Their eyes locked, and he felt like he wanted to devour her—to just eat her alive. He wanted to stuff her into his pocket and never let her leave.
"Can you come here for a second?" he asked.
She adjusted in her seat and leaned toward him. She came closer to him, but there was still plenty of space between them.
"Can you come closer?"
She leaned toward him, staring at his face, looking him over.
He knew she was attracted to him, he could see it in her eyes.
She moved close enough that he easily reached up and touched the side of her face.
He could have moved in and kissed her, but he just stared.
He blinked, regarding the place where his hand met the skin of her cheek.
His hand was burning hot. There was heat and electricity in his fingertips.
He knew what they had was volatile, and he wanted to lock this moment into his memory.
He was trying to memorize the curves of her face when she spoke.
"I saw you up on stage," she said, blinking, flirting with him. Her eyes roamed over his neck and down to his chest.
"And?" he asked.
"And you're so good. Being able to play and sing is such a gift."
"Being able to cook is a gift," he said.
"Yeah, just with maybe a different effect on people," she said.
He pulled back and tilted his head at her. "How so?"
"Oh, come on. When I impress people with my skills, all they do is groan and loosen their belt and tell me how stuffed they are."
"As opposed to…" he asked.
She made a face at him. "Your show was like the Beatles," she said.
"Not quite," he said with a laugh.
"It's still the same emotion," she said, looking him in the eyes. "You use your gift, and girls get giddy with butterflies. I use mine, and people get lethargic and uncomfortable." She smiled. "I'm just joking, but you get what I'm saying."
He paused and then responded, shaking his head. "I'm trying to, I really am, it's just that I was getting plenty of butterflies watching you cook. I felt that Beatles feeling from looking at you in that kitchen."
"You felt like a Beatles fan with butterflies when you were watching me make French toast?" she asked, looking doubtful and too adorable.
He smiled and nodded. "Yes, Audrey, I did."
"I think that's the best compliment anyone's ever given me."
He smiled and considered what to say next, but there was no need.
She moved and placed her mouth on his. He was already touching her face, and she reached up and touched his before kissing him.
Audrey was the one who drove the kiss. She let her lips touch his, what must've been ten times, gently pulling back and breaking contact after each one.
She was an expert, and she absolutely drove him wild.
Her mouth was tender and soft, and she licked her lips and kissed him again, causing him to ache with need and pull her closer.
He held back, though. He let her lead the kiss, and within a minute, she pulled back.
She took a deep breath and smiled at him.
"That felt like a better way to say goodnight."
He leaned back, wiping his face and feeling like he never wanted to say goodbye to this woman. "Yes, it did. Thank you, Audrey. Can I please see you tomorrow?"
"I thought you were," she said. "I'll have Lu," she added, reminding him.
"I know you'll have Lu. She does live here."
Audrey smiled again. "Yes, she does."
"So, I'll see you and Bella Luna tomorrow," he said. His arm was resting on the console, and she touched it lightly.
"Yes. And goodnight," she said. "Thanks for tonight, Ash. I had fun."
Her hand on his arm created heat, and his heart was about to beat out of his chest. Ash took her hand and used it to pull her closer.
He kissed her again. He didn't kiss her deeply, but he did it more than once.
It was more like a dozen times. They gave each other a ton of light, soft pecks, and between some of them, they smiled at each other.
And then the kisses started to soften even more.
They started to linger even more, each one lasting longer than the one before it.
Finally, Audrey pulled back with a reluctant little moan. "Um, Ash, okay. I guess we should say goodbye."
"Yeah," he said. "Can I walk you to your door—or your window?"
"No, I'm… I guess I'll see you tomorrow, if you come to… actually, you can walk me back, if you don't mind."
"I definitely don't mind," he said, turning off his truck the instant she said that.
They both got out on their respective sides of the truck, and he went around the front of it to meet her on the sidewalk.
He held her hand, but he was fairly certain that she was reaching for his at the same time.
Either way, their hands were intertwined the whole way up the street and into her backyard.
He wanted to come back to this house and use the front door.
He wanted to hang out with Luna. He didn't say any of that. He just followed Audrey to her window.
She climbed onto the air conditioner unit. "Oh, you have to get on that?" he said, regarding her with a look of concern.
"It's fine," she said, balancing on the edge of it and reaching out to open her window with a quiet groan. "I could just use my front door, but I guess I'm committed at this point."
She climbed inside and then turned to stare at Ash. He was tall enough for his face to reach the bottom of her window. He stretched toward her, and she leaned down and kissed his cheek.
"Thank you for walking me over here," she said, smiling at him.
"You're welcome. Thank you for letting me."
She reached out of her window, and he took hold of her hand.
"Thank you for cooking for me," he added.
"Maybe I'll cook you breakfast tomorrow, if you come by," she said, causing a warm electrical current to flow in his body.
"I'll be there," he promised.