42
Ashlynn
Slug – Slow Pulp
I t’s our last full day and night in Vancouver. Cora and I finally got Neha out on the slopes today, though she decided to ski instead of snowboarding with us since she is better at skiing. We keep the pace mellow and don’t go toward the park section. Not only were we able to get Neha out on the slopes, to my surprise neither her nor Cora asked me anything about what happened between Avan and I. I’m not surprised Cora hasn’t asked since it’s her brother–why would she want to know that–but Neha not asking makes me think something is wrong with her. Little do both know, I will be unloading everything on them tonight!
After we finish up on the slopes and head back to the cabin for our last night with Cora, we are all quiet and bummed that this week flew by. Back at the cabin, we all change and jump into the hot tub to help our sore muscles. Neha comes out with a couple of bottles of wine and glasses. Once we all have a glass, we make a cheer for the fun time we had while out here. “So, Cora, when do you think we can see you again?” I ask her.
She just shrugs her shoulders. “I honestly don’t know. I do have some free time coming up. Maybe we can all fly somewhere and meet up for another trip?”
I think for a few about when this could even be possible. I have a busy schedule coming up, but then I think about the last stop in San Francisco. “Why don’t you both come to San Francisco with me, and once I am done with the book signing, we can hang out there for a few days?”
Cora nods her head while taking a drink, and Neha says, “I’ll be out there with Nick for that competition in Santa Cruz.”
Oh yeah, I pushed that to the back of my mind. “Oh! That would be so fun. I have never been to any other type of competition besides snowboarding.” Cora says.
Neha can see my reluctance in going to that, but maybe that would be a good excuse to “run” into Anthony. “Yeah, we can all do that. Besides, Mateo did tell me about it and I don’t want to miss one of his first big riding events!”
We all agree that we will meet back up in San Francisco at the start of June.
After sitting in the hot tub for a few, we head inside for some dinner and sit in the living room in front of the fire and talk about anything and everything. Nothing has really been off limits.
“So, Ashlynn, what happened with you and Avan?” Neha finally asks., I was wondering when that would come out since she is drinking wine.
“I am certain Cora doesn’t want to know what happened between her brother and me.”
Neha and Cora give each other a look when Cora says, “We know what happened, we kind of heard some of it and then left the house for a drive.”
I drop my face in my hands, and I can feel how red I am getting. “Well, okay then. We slept together. We told each other it would be only that one night together.”
Neha looks puzzled at this. “So, he was okay with just a one-night thing and that’s it? Wait, did you and Avan not do that in high school? I always thought Anthony was yours first, but if Avan was there first…”
I shake my head at Neha, “Avan was my boyfriend before Anthony, but he would not have sex with me until I was 18, he didn’t want to because of our age gap. To answer your question, Anthony was my first.”
She looks satisfied with that response.
After we finish up a second bottle of wine, we end up making some hot chocolate and Kahlua. I bring it back out to the girls, when I walk in on Neha telling Cora, “Ask her yourself about him.”
I look over at Cora, “Ask me what?”
She tilts her head back and sighs. “I sound like the worst friend, but what is Anthony like? I’ve seen a few pictures from high school, but I am sure he has changed.”
A bit confused by her question, I ask. “What do you mean, what is he like?”
Throwing her hands up, she says, “Looks, how does he treat you, everything. I want to know what makes you so crazy for him.”
This is going to be tricky; should I tell them now about what he did in the hotel room, then try to focus on all the good that outweighs the bad? I close my eyes and take a deep breath and tell them everything from the accident to the police station. I don’t think both of their eyes could get any wider once I am done. That’s also when I realize I didn’t shed a single tear while telling them all of this. I felt okay recalling it all.
“I am going to kick his ass next time I see him.” Neha says.
“I don’t even really know what to say.” Cora says next.
“It’s okay, you guys; I’m not even upset about it anymore. I forgive him.”
“You forgive him, just like that?” Neha snaps her fingers when she says this.
“Yes, Neha, just like that. He has so much good in him that it outweighs the bad and what he said and did. Yeah, in ways it does hurt still thinking about what he said, but I want him back and I am going to get him back. At least I want to try!”
Cora starts to bite on her bottom lip, really thinking before she speaks. “I think if that’s how you feel, then he must be worth it for you to want him back.” I look over at Cora and just give her a small smile. “Okay, now that we know you want him back, tell me what he looks like now and how he treats you. Don’t you dare leave anything out,” Cora says.
I let out a small laugh because talking about Anthony Ville is one of my favorite things to talk about. His ears are probably burning from this conversation! “We need refills for this, Cora, because the things he does for Ashlynn and how he treats her are going to make you swoon, like it gets me to swoon when she tells me sweet things he does.”
I get up and go make more drinks for all of us and once back in the front room, I sit down and get comfortable.
I start with how he treats me, telling Cora and Neha (even though she has seen it firsthand) “When we are together, he gives me all his attention, like whatever I have to say is the most interesting thing in the world and he only wants to hear my voice. We can be in a room full of people, and he makes it feel like we are the only ones in that room, because he gives me all of him.” I smile while thinking of everything. “It’s so hard to put everything into the right words, because it could never be good enough to describe how he treats me. He doesn’t care who is around, he is not afraid to show affection. He is always holding my hand, has his arm around me whether it’s my shoulder or my waist; it’s like he has to always make sure he is touching me. Every morning, when we have been together, he always pulls me into his body and kisses me awake, whispering ‘Good Morning’ to me.” I have to stop for a minute because I start to get choked up a bit, because–dammit–I miss those mornings. I look over at both Cora and Neha, and each of them has tears in their eyes. “I didn’t mean to make you all cry as well.” We all start laughing at how ridiculous we all are right now. If I cry, it’s one thing, but I am making them cry as well.
“How is it you were able to find not one, but two guys who are so sweet with you?” Neha asks. I just shrug my shoulders with a smile because I did get lucky.
I continue with Anthony’s looks, “I don’t even know where to start on the looks department. Cora he is just...”
“Gorgeous!” Neha says.
“Yeah, gorgeous. He has hazel eyes, dark brown hair, and olive complexion. His smile is enough to make me go weak, dammit. He has this crooked smile that I just melt with. He’s muscular, and I don’t just mean from riding, but he spends time in the gym. Any movement he does it’s like all his muscles just automatically flex with it. He has both arms sleeves tattooed. I don’t know what else to say really, but look at him.”
I hold up my phone to a picture I have of him when we were in Dallas after the Extreme Tour ended and it shows everything I just described, minus his body. “Damn, if you don't snag him back quickly, I may have to move in!” Cora says following up with a quick just kidding.
“Now, get to the good stuff, Ash, and do NOT leave any of this out.” Neha is wiggling her eyebrows at me. I start to bite my bottom lip because how in the world do I describe Anthony in the bedroom? He is dominant but can also be very passionate.
“OMG Neha! Does she always talk like this?” Cora asks.
“Yes, she does. Welcome to life with Neha!” All Neha does is shrug her shoulders because she knows how she is, and she has no shame about it!
We go quiet, while I think about what exactly to say to them without giving too much away. “I’m not going into great detail about that part of our relationship, but I will say this. There are times when he takes all the time in the world, kissing me all over and caressing me. Then other times where it’s like he can’t wait another minute to be in me, like he has waited long enough.”
I smile to myself thinking about all the things Anthony does to me. “Isn’t it the best feeling when they are like that, like they can’t wait!” Neha says.
I just nod my head at her. “So, he kisses you all over, as in where?” This question comes from Cora, which has Neha and me looking at her like she just grew another head!
“Well, he’ll start kissing my toes, then the side of my foot, moving down my legs switching between both, kissing, biting and licking me.”
Neha squeals like a schoolgirl at what I just said. “He kisses your feet? That’s sexy!”
I laugh at her and Cora’s reactions; that’s when I decide to add in another thing I love that he does in the bed. “He is very vocal, too, in bed. There have been times he has told me to open my eyes and watch him while he licks me, or he tells me to open my eyes so I can watch him while he comes undone.”
I close my eyes, thinking about him telling me that in Dallas after the extreme tour ended. “I also love while he is kissing my legs, if I look at him, he gives me this sexy smirk and starts to lick up my leg with the ball of his tongue piercing gliding along my skin!”
Choking, on the sip of hot chocolate she just took, Cora clears her throat. “Excuse me, what did you just say?”
I bit my lip and laugh. “He has his ton…”
“Tongue pierced, that’s what I thought I heard. Just making sure I heard correctly.”
Neha just blows out a breath. “I’m certain his tongue game is amazing if he has it pierced.”
I can’t hide my smile even if I tried, validating what Neha just said. “Nick has his penis pierced, and it is glorious!”
Cora and I look at each other, not expecting that at all. Both at the same time, we shout, “WHAT?!”
Neha nods with her smile growing so wide, “Yeah, I didn’t know what to think when I first saw it, but damn, does it feel good. Nick can work it.”
After that, Cora drops her head into her hands. “Okay, that’s enough of this! You both have me jealous. I seriously am deprived!”
After chatting a bit more, I realize I need to finish packing and get to bed for the night. I’m tired from snowboarding again. Neha and Cora stay up a bit longer. I haven’t checked my emails for a few days, so I pull them up and sit down when I read the one from Heath letting me know the tour got pushed back to start mid-April, which isn’t so bad, I guess. Reading over everything, I hear a light knock on the door and Cora’s soft voice. “Can I come in?”
I set my phone down as Cora peeks her head in. “Yeah, come in,” I tell her.
“Neha fell asleep about 10 minutes into the movie, so I thought I would take advantage and hang out with just you!” We talk for hours; after a while I can see Cora wants to say something but doesn’t really know how to let it out. So, I push her to get it out, “What are you thinking about, Cor?”
She shakes her head. “It’s nothing, really–not important.” I give her a look she knows all too well: that I do not believe her, and she better get it out. “I just wish I could find somebody who would love me; hell, just like me the way Anthony does with you and the way Nick does with Neha. I thought I had that with Brock, but that was all short-lived.”
This breaks my heart at her confession. Cora deserves someone good, someone who will treat her like she is all that matters. “Cora, I have no doubt you will find that! When you do, that guy will be so lucky to have you!”
She looks over at me. “Promise?”
I nod once. “I promise.”
Cora and I are quiet for a little while, while I start to pack up my suitcase. She asks me, “Has he tried to reach out to you?”
I take a seat on the bed. “Yeah, he has. I had Heath silence his text alerts, but I see the number bubble. I just haven’t been able to look at them. I think I am scared to see what they may say.”
Cora grabs my phone and hands it to me. “There is only one way to find out what they say. You should read them. I bet it will tell you where he is at about everything.”
I take my phone; again, it feels like the heaviest thing I have held in my hand lately. I take a deep breath and look at Cora, then open my messages and see Anthony’s name.
Anthony : 6 unread messages
Cora is waiting for me to say something when she ends up asking, “So, how many do you have?”
I look up at her. “Six unread messages.”
She smiles at me. “I obviously don’t have a clue what they say, but if I gathered anything about Anthony this past week from what you have told us, they are probably remorseful and heartfelt. I’ll leave you alone while you read them.” She gets up to leave, but stops at the door. “Didn’t you tell him to not contact you?” I look up at her with a smile. As she leaves, Cora says, “I bet you’re glad he didn’t listen!”