Chapter 13
~
Rhea
The rest of the day at work was far less exciting than the fire had been.
By the time I was closing up the store, I was burning with anticipation for what would happen with Calder that night.
I had a feeling that he was ready to dial up the intimacy, especially since he probably already knew that I had been with Beck and Ash.
Both of them had rocked my world in a way that I hadn’t thought possible before.
But somehow, I was still dying to get behind Calder’s carefully curated walls.
I wondered if he would hold back when we had sex, too, or if he would finally allow himself some freedom.
I had tasted an appetizer of the animal that was hiding behind his composure, but I was craving more.
I wanted him to pin my arms above my head and have his way with me in whatever way his heart desired.
Focus, make sure you locked up properly, I thought, dragging myself out of my daydreams and back to the quiet mall.
I checked the doors and looked through the window to see if I actually did switch off the lights.
Somehow, I couldn’t remember anything that I had been doing; I’d been on autopilot for probably twenty minutes or so.
Luckily, my job wasn’t exactly rocket science, and even if I did make some minor mistake, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. The worst that could happen would be a write-up, and since it’d be my first, I wasn’t too worried about it.
Once I’d finished my checks, I forgot all about work, and marched to the exit with a song in my soul. I was nervous on top of the excitement, wondering if it would go well, if we’d have that same harmony that I’d gotten with Ash and Beck. If we didn’t, then I had no idea how I would deal with it.
When I reached the parking lot, I noticed a familiar motorcycle waiting in one of the closest spots. Curiously, I approached. I recognized Ash from the shape of his body, and I smiled when he removed his helmet and expertly shook his hair into place.
“Hey,” I said, taking in the sight of him in his leather and jeans. “What are you doing here?”
“Well, I got off early,” he answered, leaning forward so that his face was only a few inches from mine. “And there’s something that I’ve been wanting to show you. On a proper date.”
“Does that mean our last date was improper?” I asked jokingly, and the corner of Ash’s mouth lifted in a sly smile.
“You know it,” he said, before offering me a second helmet and nodding toward the back of his bike. “I promise you, this one will be just as amazing. All you have to do is get on.”
My wild side immediately wanted to know where Ash was going with this.
I imagined jumping on that bike and letting him take me to some distant place, somewhere where magic felt real.
But I hesitated, and glanced further down the parking lot to where my car stood.
Ash looked over his shoulder in the same direction, then back at me with curiosity in his eyes.
“Actually, I…” I paused, and sighed. “I kind of have plans with Calder. I promised I’d meet him at the station after work.”
“You could still do that,” Ash replied, not lowering the helmet he’d offered. “We won’t be too long, and I could drop you off right at the front door.”
“What about my car?” I asked with a frown forming on my forehead.
“We’ll make a plan to get it home.” It seemed like Ash would have an answer for every point I raised. I was pretty sure by now that he wasn’t going to back down without giving it his best shot. “Come on, Rhea, aren’t you at least a little curious?”
“I am,” I admitted, sighing. “You promise you’ll take me to the station?”
“Cross my heart.”
“Okay, but you have one hour.”
“Calder’s shift only ends in an hour and a half.”
“Fine.” I rolled my eyes, pretending to be annoyed, but my heart was already ablaze with curiosity about where Ash wanted to take me. I hoped that Calder would forgive me for my detour, though I had the feeling he’d be angrier with Ash than me.
I took the helmet and clambered onto the back of the motorcycle. “Where are we going?”
“You’ll see,” Ash answered mysteriously, waiting for me to get settled before he made the bike roar to life. The noise would have drowned out any further questions, so instead I simply held on to Ash’s body and let myself go along for the ride.
I recognized the first few turns, but then Ash headed in an unfamiliar direction.
He wove through wide and narrow streets toward downtown.
This time, it looked like he wasn’t going to take me out into the woods.
I wondered what kind of places Ash frequented in the city.
Maybe a biker bar or some dark secret coffee shop in an alley?
I wasn’t sure, but I didn’t think he’d take me to a disco skating rink or a show at the theatre.
Finally, Ash turned down one more narrow street at the edge of the city center, and stopped at the corner. I was surprised.
The place that he’d parked in front of was an old ice cream parlor that looked like it had been empty for several years.
The signs had lost some of their letters, the paint was flaky and had lost its color, and someone had sprayed graffiti over parts of the walls.
The windows were dusty and dirty, and I couldn’t really see anything inside from this distance.
Ash got off the bike first and took off his helmet.
I followed with some hesitation. This didn’t exactly seem like a very romantic date destination, and I had never figured Ash to be the ice cream type.
I’d seen him more as the ‘bitter coffee and sushi’-type.
But even if he had brought me here for ice cream, the place had clearly been closed for a while.
“Uhm…” I started, glancing around the street. There wasn’t much else around; an old arcade and a convenience store that seemed close to its end, too. Nothing that would suggest an incredible evening with a mysterious guy, or some hidden gem that only certain people knew about.
“Come sit with me,” Ash said, not answering any of the questions that must have been clear on my face. He perched on the curb between two cracked slabs of cement, one of which had weeds growing through it.
I gave the street one last glance before I walked over to Ash and sat down next to him on the weedless side of the curb.
Ash was quiet as he pulled two nips of whiskey from the inside of his leather jacket and offered me one.
I laughed at that; that was more like Ash.
I opened mine and took a sip, as did he.
The bitter liquid burned my mouth slightly.
Not exactly something I’d describe as smooth, but then again, I didn’t know a lot about whiskey in the first place.
“So, this is an interesting choice,” I finally said, using the nip to gesture to the parlor behind us. “Not exactly what I’d pictured you’d want to show me.”
Ash looked at me with something more serious in his eyes and he sighed. “I used to come here all the time, when it was still open.”
From the tone of his voice, I realized that this place must have meant a lot to him. I stayed quiet, hoping that he would tell me more, that he’d show me something deeper about himself than I’d seen until this point. He didn’t speak for a moment, simply taking another sip.
Then, he glanced over his shoulder.
“I used to come after school,” he continued slowly, as if it was difficult to put the story into words. “I didn’t want to go back to an empty house.”
I watched his face, where an expression somewhere between nostalgia and sadness had taken root. I hadn’t known he’d had a lonely childhood, and it made me wonder about his parents. What were they like? Did he still speak to them, or had he lost contact? What kind of childhood did he have?
But I didn’t ask any of the questions that were on my mind. It seemed like, with Ash, it was best to let him say what he needed to when he was ready. I didn’t want to push him too far if he actually wanted to open up to me.
Before he continued, however, I noticed a UPS van pulling into the street. It was Jackie’s, and as she passed, she waved to me. I returned the gesture, secretly hoping that she wouldn’t stop to chat. If she did, it was possible that Ash would shut down for a while before he told me anything else.
Luckily, Jackie continued down the road, only parking once she reached the convenience store.
If she was sticking to her route and not taking any breaks, she wouldn’t interrupt our date.
I felt a bit guilty for thinking like that, but I really didn’t want to miss out on this moment with Ash.
It was a different side of him that I hadn’t seen yet.
“Anyway,” Ash said after another slow sip of whiskey. “My mom had no idea that I came here. She worked two jobs and she was barely home, so she just didn’t notice.”
He sighed and let out a dry laugh. “Honestly, I’m pretty sure she’d have killed me if she found out I was hustling on the sidewalk for sundae money.”
“You could’ve been doing worse things,” I pointed out with a shrug. “Sundae money hustling sounds pretty wholesome to me.”
Ash looked at me with a different look in his eyes; one that told me there was more he was holding back. “You’d think so, right? But… yeah.”
He stayed quiet after that, and I took a sip of my own whiskey. It burned again on its way down. I didn’t think it would be my drink of choice any time soon, but it did warm my chest and deepen the emotion of the evening.
“I have to ask,” I eventually said, shifting so that I was sitting with my leg against his. “Why did you bring me here?”
Ash stared off into the street. Jackie had left in the opposite direction, which I was relieved about.
“I guess I wanted to show you that I’m more than a great lay,” he said with a sly smile, putting his arm around my shoulders. “Plus, Beck and Calder have been spending a lot of time with you, and I didn’t want to miss out.”
I laughed at that, and all of the tension in the air dissipated into the sound. I leaned against Ash’s chest and drank in his spiced cologne.
“Time well spent, I have to say,” I admitted, watching as the sun grew low in the sky. I needed to get to the station soon.
“So, what about it?” Ash said expectantly. “Does this put me ahead of the pack?”
I spent some time thinking about the question before I answered.
“I’d say you’re all tied.”