21
Ashlynn
Are You In – Incubus
A fter everyone is done eating breakfast, a couple of the guys passed out on my living room floor and one on the couch. I tell the guys to leave the mess; I will clean it once I get back home after going to meet up with Heath. Noah gives me a weird look, “I was raised to clean up after someone who cooks all the food, I got this Ashlynn!”
Looking at Noah, I say, “You really don’t have to, I don't mind cleaning it up. I am just running a bit late and can’t get it right now!”
After I say this, the team, minus Jax and Chase–who are crashed out–start to clean up my kitchen! I don’t fight it and go to get ready.
Once out of the shower and getting dressed, I hear the lightest knock on my door. “It’s me; can I come in?”
Before I can answer, Anthony is pushing the door open and slipping in. “Thank you for breakfast, it tasted good–a lot better than the nasty fast food we have been living on!”
Smiling at him, I say, “That’s why I did it. I figured you all would like a home cooked meal.”
“So, what are you going to meet Heath for?”
Walking back into the bathroom, I start to put my makeup on. “We are going to go over what cities we will stop at for the book signings! It shouldn’t take me too long. Do you want to come and meet him?”
“Nah, we are going to get the bikes and go see if we can find any place to ride but tell him to come over for pizza and hang out.” Before I can answer Anthony, I get a text from Heath.
Once done getting ready, I look over to where Anthony is sitting in my oversize chair in the corner with a strange look on his face. “What’s going through that head of yours?”
Looking up at me, he says, “We leave in less than 24 hours, and I am not ready to go. I’ve had the best time here with you. I guess I am just not ready for it to be over yet!”
Walking over and standing in front of him, I lift his face to look at me. “We still have all today and we will be in Seattle in less than a week; also, if you are still wanting to come back with me after Seattle and stay those few weeks, you can!” Giving him a little kiss, he pulls me onto his lap.
With his hands gripping my thighs, he says, “Can you be a little later meeting Heath right now? Have a little fun morning ride!”
Pushing him back with my hands on his chest, I say, “I am already super late meeting Heath, and your whole team is in my house, cleaning; they could hear us!”
Giving me the crooked smile that I love, he says, “Good, let them all hear you scream my name, so they know who you belong to!”
Letting out a sigh, I say, “I don’t belong to anyone, thank you very much!”
“Wrong, you belong to me Ashlynn. You always have! I guess I will let you go, though. I don’t want to hold up anything regarding your book right now!”
Getting off his lap, before he can really try something, I say, “I will be back soon, have fun riding! Tonight, we can get the firepits in my backyard going and just hang out with everyone–a chill night!”
I give him another kiss bye. “I like that idea; I will get it setup. Be careful!” Anthony says before heading into the bathroom.
Luckily, Heath only lives a few blocks from my house and from our favorite local coffee shop. Once I get there, of course, they have a line. So, I let him know I will be a bit later since I am waiting in line to get our order placed. Once up to place our orders, I get overly excited about the new pumpkin spice chai tea latte! Obviously, that is what I want; anything pumpkin, I am in, well almost anything. I place the order for my chai and Heath’s vanilla caramel latte with an extra espresso shot. With drinks in hand, I am on my way to his house. Not paying any attention when I open the door, I run right into this girl, somehow not spilling our drinks. “Oh my gosh, are you okay? I am so sorry; I wasn’t paying attention to where I was walking.”
The girl looks down at the sidewalk, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear and very shyly says, “I am okay; you didn’t hurt me. It’s okay; I am fine.”
Once she looks up, although very quickly, I can’t help but feel like I know or have seen her from somewhere. She looks back down and starts walking away, but stops when I start talking to her again. “You look very familiar; do I know you from somewhere? Did we go to school together down in Colorado Springs?”
I notice her hand movements: five repeated taps using her thumb and tapping on the side of her index finger. It’s a nervous tick that kind of makes me a bit uncomfortable for some reason. Finally, she responds. “No, I don’t know you and you don’t know me. You’ve never seen me.”
With that, she turns and walks the opposite way. I assumed she was coming for coffee, but must have changed her mind after our interaction.
Finally getting to Heath’s, he is waiting on his front porch, reading the news when I walk up and take the chair next to him. “Coffee shop is busy this morning. Thank you for getting the drinks!”
Taking a sip of mine and making an “MMM” sound, I say, “Yes, the coffee shop was super busy and then when I was leaving, I wasn’t paying attention and ran right into this girl. Thankfully, I didn’t spill our drinks. I would have been heartbroken!”
Heath takes a sip of his drink. “Ah shit, that is still so hot! You and that tunnel vision is going to get you in trouble one day when you run into the wrong person!”
I furrow my eyebrows at him and just shrug my shoulders. “I guess we will see when that day comes!”
Once inside, we go to the office, which is a little room right off the front entryway. Heath pulls up the information from the publisher regarding the book signings. “So, they think five cities would be a good starting point for book signings, since this will be new for you, and they don’t want to overwhelm you with it.”
I think to myself that five still seems like a lot for a first-time writer, but they would know best. “Okay, so what five cities are we going to hit?” Turning his mac around, so I can see the list. I read them all out loud. “Colorado Springs (obviously!), Chicago, Raleigh, Dallas, and San Francisco.”
I am a bit confused with the city schedule, but I don’t know how this works. Heath can tell I am confused. “It is a weird travel itinerary and places to go, but it will be good and, of course, I will be with you for all the stops. You won’t be on your own.”
After finishing all our business talk, I decide to stay and hang out with Heath for a bit longer. He's one of my best friends, and I always enjoy our talks, even though they can sometimes get heated. I fill him in on Anthony’s Park tour and how I will be going up to Seattle in about a week to spend time with Anthony up there and that he will be coming back with me. “Sounds like you two are getting pretty serious quick–just be careful, Ashlynn. I know he is your one; you feel it in your bones. Sometimes, though, that can blow up when you least expect it to happen.”
I give Heath a look; he usually doesn’t say much to me about my relationships, so this feels odd. “Ashlynn, I am simply speaking from experience. Why do you think in all the years you have known me, I have never been with anyone? My heart and soul are still in pieces from Scarlett.”
I have only heard him talk about Scarlett on a few occasions and I will not open that pandora’s box. “Heath, I promise. I will be careful. Once you meet Anthony, you will see he would never hurt me, at least not intentionally.”
Heading out to go home, I turn to look at Heath. “Do you want to come over for dinner? A couple of the guys are ordering pizza and we are just going to hang out around the firepits and just chill tonight.”
He shakes his head, until I give him a sad face. “Fine, I will come over and meet everyone! Will Neha be there, too?”
“Of course, Neha will be there; Nick is there, too.” With that, I give him a hug and start to head back home, but first I make a quick detour by the coffee shop, just to see if, by chance, the girl is around there. I know I have seen her before, but I can’t place her. Of course, she is not there, though.
TEN! Ten pizzas is how many Nash orders for everyone. These guys better eat them all; I don’t want this left over at my house! Everyone fills their plates up and we head out back to sit and eat around the two fire pits I have. All the team and Nick hit it off instantly with Heath, which makes me so happy!
Heading inside with all the plates for the trash, all ten pizzas are, in fact, gone. Thank goodness. I stand in the dark of my kitchen watching everyone talk, especially Anthony and Heath, like they have known each other for years. That’s when I hear Mateo say, “Dude, Anthony. I thought of the perfect nickname for you and Ashlynn!”
Smiling to myself, I can’t wait to hear this. Anthony looks over, “What would that be, Mateo?”
“The batteries!” Mateo says with the goofiest smile on his face, and everyone else is quiet. “You know because both of their names start with an A, so they are double A, like a battery. It doesn’t work when I have to explain it!”
Walking back out with a blanket for myself and Neha, I look at Mateo, “I got it, Mateo, don’t worry!”
“Thank you, this is why I like Ashlynn! She gets me!”
After Nick, Neha, and Heath all leave for the night, I am sitting around talking to Jax and Nash about the night at the club. They both surprise me by telling me what a douche bag my ex, Ryan, is. “How would you even know what he looks like?” I ask them, very confused by what they are saying.
Nash looks over. “Oh, he was at the club messing with Anthony; we saw him while we were coming to check on the drinks.”
Just then, Anthony plops down next to me. “Yeah, I meant to ask you guys why you carry brass knuckles and a pocketknife everywhere?”
“We don’t always ride in the best parts of towns; I rather have those on us versus nothing.” Jax says this like it should be an obvious thing. Getting up to go to bed, I tell them all where they can find extra blankets and pillows, since they all chose to stay at my house and leave early the following morning.
Once in my room and the door closed, I turn to Anthony. “So, you met Ryan. Why didn’t you tell me you talked to him?”
Coming up to me and putting his hands on the side of my face, he says, “I didn’t tell you because it doesn’t matter. I told him to stay the fuck away from you.” That answer is enough for me! Smiling down at me, he continues, saying, “I’m sorry I won’t be here for Halloween. I know that’s one of your favorite holidays. We will spend the rest of the holidays together, though!”
I had almost forgotten that Halloween is in a few days. “It’s okay you won’t be here; I am more excited about Seattle. Will you please tell me what the surprise is?”
I bat my eyes at Anthony in hopes that will help, but it doesn’t. “It wouldn’t be a surprise if I tell you, but I am going to take you to dinner at least once!”
Laughing at him, I say, “Well, I hope so. I do enjoy food and don’t want to starve!” After talking a bit longer, we both fall asleep. I must have been in a deep sleep because I don’t even feel or hear Anthony get up to leave for Portland. Finally, when he rubs a hand down my arm with a bit more pressure, I wake up, somewhat, anyway. He tells me bye and he will see me in a few days. Giving me a kiss on the forehead, “I Lo… I’ll see you soon!”
After sleeping for a few more hours, I lie in bed fully awake. I think about how this is the second time Anthony has almost said "I love you" but stopped himself. Maybe I need to say it first. As I walk into the kitchen for some coffee, I notice a folded piece of paper on my counter.
Thank you for letting all of us rowdy guys crash at your house!
~Signed a bunch of BMX dudes!