21. Ashley
CHAPTER 21
ASHLEY
I t’s past one in the morning but we’ve been at the party for only half an hour. We went to The Heritage first. I keep looking for Sean even though I’m not here because of him. Now I get why the Augustine dorm parties are infamous. This one is wild. There’s something different happening on each floor. We’ve made it to the second floor, where they turned the hallway into a mess of plastic, water, and soap. To reach the other end, you have to body glide. Hard pass. I already have a sprained ankle.
“How is this even allowed?” I shout to be heard over the loud music.
“It’s a tradition that goes way back. School administration looks the other way,” Scarlett replies.
“It’s all fun and games until someone breaks their neck,” Blair chimes in.
She surprised all of us when she said she’d come to the party. She even came to The Heritage with us.
“Should we see what shenanigans are on the third floor?” I ask.
“Hold on. I want to record this.” Kadence takes her phone out. A guy who just reached the end of the hallway is about to slide back. He’s not wearing a shirt, and he’s shredded. No wonder she wants to film it.
He breaks into a short run before he dives onto the soapy floor. The crowd hollers and whistles as he speeds past the onlookers. I realize too late he’s not slowing down and he’s about to crash into us at the end of the hallway.
“We need to move,” I say, but there are people in the way, and with my crutches and boot, I really can’t move fast.
“Shiiiit!” body surfer boy shouts just before he hits Kadence first, then Scarlett and me, knocking us down like bowling pins. Blair is the only one who manages to jump out of the way.
There’s laughter all around us. If I hadn’t fallen in an awkward position, I’d be laughing too. But at least I’m not embarrassed. I’m facing the guy and notice he seems dazed. “Hey, are you okay?”
“I think so.”
The girls try to get up, but everything is super slippery including the guy under us, who’s attempting to rise too. I’m sure everyone is filming this and it’ll be all over the internet within minutes.
“Stop squirming, buddy. You’re not helping us,” Kadence complains.
“Sorry.”
It’s even more difficult for me to get up with the stupid boot on. Suddenly, someone grabs my arm and lifts me off the floor with ease. I shouldn’t be surprised that the assistance came from none other than Sean. He seems to always be around when I need help.
“Are you okay?” he asks with his brows pinched together.
I wasn’t embarrassed before, but I am now. Why did he have to show up when I was sprawled on the floor?
“Yeah, thanks.”
“Ugh. I’m wet like a baby seal,” Kadence complains, and I turn to her.
“That’s what she said.” One of the Kaminski twins snickers. They must have come with Sean.
Instead of getting annoyed, Kadence smirks, and her eyes sparkle with interest. She’s not going to miss the opportunity. The twins are already two of the most popular hockey boys on campus.
“I didn’t know you were coming to the party tonight,” Sean chimes in, drawing my attention to him.
“It wasn’t planned. The girls dragged me out tonight. I had no idea there was a party happening in your dorm.”
His eyes are innocent when he replies, “Me neither. Just found out tonight after the game.”
I have no reason to believe he’s lying. He didn’t even hesitate to answer, and he doesn’t look guilty. I feel foolish now for my earlier annoyance.
“To be honest, I was hoping for a quiet evening. I’m destroyed,” he continues.
I look at the chaos around us. “No chance of getting that here.”
He touches my lower back and steps closer to whisper in my ear. “Can we go back to your dorm?”
“Uh…” I tense, afraid that people will notice Sean’s proximity is far from innocent. But no one is paying us any attention. Kadence and Scarlett are busy talking to the Kaminski twins, and Blair is… hell, I don’t know where she is.
“I’m sure your friends will be fine.” Sean chuckles, guessing my train of thought.
“They will be, but I don’t see Blair anywhere.”
He frowns. “Ryder’s sister is here?”
“Yeah. Hold on. Let me text her.”
I grab my phone and see that Blair beat me to it. There’s a text from her already.
BLAIR: Sorry. I had to leave. That wasn’t my scene. Ryder is taking me home.
“She left with Ryder,” I say.
“Did she, now?” His lips curl into a crooked grin that makes my heart flip.
“What?”
Still sporting a grin, he looks at the twins. “Yo, Alex, Logan. I’m gonna drive Ash to her dorm.”
The twins nod, then resume the convo with my friends. Now I get what amused Sean. He’s playing the protective brother role, just like Ryder. If people only knew.
“Where are your crutches?”
“Uh… I dropped them when I fell.” I search for them on the floor, but Sean finds them first.
He grabs the crutches, but instead of giving them to me, he keeps holding them and takes my hand. “Can you walk with your boot?”
“I suppose I can.”
“Okay. We’ll get out of here faster without the crutches.”
He’s right, the hallway is too crowded. Sean uses his body to carve a path for us, and even though my pace is slow, we clear the busy area in no time. There are less people near the elevator, but I’m sure it will take forever for our turn.
“We can use the stairs,” I say.
“I need to check my room first, but it’s on the sixth floor. I’m not gonna make you walk up the stairs.”
I smirk. “You can always give me a piggyback ride.”
He arches both brows, and amusement dances in his eyes. “I suppose I can. Let’s go, then.”
SEAN
This is the first time I’ve brought Ashley to my room, and now I’m regretting it. My side is a fucking mess. I have books, notes, and clothes scattered everywhere. I’m lucky that my roommate is chill.
“Wow. Did a tornado run through your room?” Ashley asks.
Rubbing the back of my neck, I reply, “I left in a hurry today.”
“Do you need help organizing it?”
I glance at her with my brows arched. “Are you serious?”
“Why would I joke about it?”
“I don’t know.” I step into her space and cup her cheek. “You’re sweet for offering, but?—”
“Sean, my man. You’re home,” my roommate says as he comes into the room.
I move away from Ashley quickly. “Hey Donnie. I just got here.”
His eyes are bloodshot, and he’s sporting a dazed look. “No worries.” He finally notices Ashley. “Didn’t mean to interrupt anything. I just came to get the brownies.”
“No worries. You’re not interrupting anything,” I reply quickly. “This is Ash, my stepsister. I was just giving her a tour.”
“Oh, the famous Ash. Nice to meet you.”
She quirks a brow. “Famous?”
“Sean talks about you nonstop.”
Hell. Shut the fuck up, Donnie.
“Is that so?” Ashley looks at me. “What does he say?”
Donnie grabs a medium-size plastic container from his desk. “That you’re awesome at everything you do.”
My ears are burning, and in an attempt to hide my reaction, I start tidying up my side of the room.
“Do you guys want a brownie?” He opens the container.
“Are those special brownies?” Ashley asks.
“You betcha.” Donnie grins.
She turns to me. “Do you wanna share one? I mean… are you allowed?”
I shrug. “Technically, no. But how’s that different than getting wasted?”
“Wise words, man,” Donnie pipes up.
Ashley takes one, and I ask, “Where did you get these?”
“My aunt dropped them off earlier.”
“Your aunt?” Ashley chuckles.
“She bakes the best brownies.” Donnie smiles proudly.
“And she’s like only five years older than him,” I add.
“Oh. Well, lucky you. How strong are they?”
“Don’t know, to be honest. Start small and see how you feel.”
“Gotcha.” She breaks off a piece and offers it to me.
I’m tempted to eat right off her fingers, but I don’t dare with Donnie in the room. I pop the small piece into my mouth while Ashley eats another bite of the brownie.
“I got to take these to the fourth floor. You staying or going?” Donnie asks.
“Staying,” I reply quickly.
Ashley gives me a quizzical look. “We are?”
“Gotta organize this mess, remember?”
“Hey, I’m not coming back tonight. If Ash wants to crash in my bed, totally fine,” Donnie chimes in. “See ya later.”
He walks out, leaving the door wide open. I shut and lock it. No more interruptions.
“Do you really want to tidy up your stuff now?” she asks.
“No.”
I’m in her space in the next second. We’re not organizing anything tonight.
ASHLEY
“Sean, stop laughing. This was supposed to be a stealthy operation.”
“Sorry,” he replies only to start giggling a second later.
I laugh too, even though I want to remain serious. Impossible in our current state. We ended up eating the entire brownie, and now we have the munchies. Sadly, there are no snacks in Sean’s room, which is surprising. Sean told me Donnie gets high on the regular. Maybe that’s why there are no snacks. He ate them all!
We’re hoping there’s food left in the vending machine at the end of the hallway. The raging party never made it to the sixth floor, but we still don’t want to get caught together. The problem is, Sean won’t keep his hands to himself. He keeps pulling me into his body from behind, and I keep pushing him back.
He has his arms wrapped around my waist when I get a visual of the vending machine. There’s still food in it, and it’s like I found a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Sean peppers open kisses on my neck, but I’m starving.
“Look, Sean. Food.”
“Hurray!” Sean releases me and sprints ahead only to almost collide with the machine.
“Oh my God. Don’t break it.” I hobble after him.
He starts to pat his jeans. “Shit. I didn’t bring my student card. Do you have yours?”
“Are you serious?”
“Wait.” He sticks his hand in one of his front pockets and fishes the card out. “Got it. Phew. We’re saved. What do you want?”
I stand next to him and check out the options. “Oh, get some Cheetos, and Butterfingers.”
“I’m getting all the Cheetos.” He sticks his tongue out and bites on it like a little kid as he pushes the buttons.
“Oh, get the Pringles too, and KitKats.”
“You got it, babe.”
It takes a while to buy all the snacks we want, and our arms are full on the way back. We also got water and sodas. Sean pushes the door closed with his foot, and then we dump our loot on his bed.
“Man, we scored.” I sit next to our mountain of snacks and open a bag of Cheetos and stuff two pieces into my mouth at once.
“They must have restocked the machine recently.” Sean joins me on his bed and attacks the candy first. He finishes three candy bars by the time I finish my bag of Cheetos.
“Hey! I want some chocolate too.”
“Oh yeah. I’ll get you some chocolate.” He reaches for the back of my head and slants his mouth over mine.
I can taste the chocolate on his tongue, but the kiss is more spicy than sweet. It almost makes me forget the food. Sean pulls back, smiling like a fiend. “How’s that?”
“Hmm… pretty good.”
He quirks a brow. “Only pretty good? I’m hurt.”
I shove him back. “Shut up and give me one of the Butterfingers you’re trying to hide.”
“I wasn’t, and I resent the accusation.”
“Whatever.” I grab the candy bar. “You always had a sweet tooth.”
“You remember that?”
I give him a droll look. “Duh. It’s hard to forget when you’d eat all the freaking ice cream. My mother had to buy a second gallon and hide it from you.”
He laughs. “Ah yeah. Then I found the second gallon at the back of the freezer and finished that one too.”
“I know! Kenzie and I were pissed. I bet you ate the whole thing on purpose.”
“I did. But if it makes you feel any better, I got terribly sick and spent the whole night puking.”
I smirk. “It serves you right.”
He shakes his head. “God, I was such an idiot.”
“I hope you’re over that phase for good.”
He stares at me for a couple of beats, and even though his eyes are hazy, I feel the intensity of his stare deep in my bones. “I am over that. I promise.”
The butterflies in my stomach come to life again.
“Do you want another candy bar?” he asks.
“No, I want you.”