29
Ashlynn
Control - Mutemath
T he next morning, I'm up early–even before Anthony. So, I decide to head out for my usual walk around the neighborhood, since it's cold out and lightly snowing. After getting back to the house, I open the door and am greeted by the smell of fresh coffee and breakfast. Heading to the kitchen, Anthony is at the stove cooking bacon along with adding batter to the waffle maker. “Smells good in here!”
Looking over his shoulder with a small smile, he says, “Good morning, baby! How was your walk? I got up pretty much right after you left.”
Moving toward the coffee, I pour myself a cup and hold on to it to heat my hands up. “The walk was good–cold!”
After checking on the waffle, Anthony comes over, sets my coffee down, and pulls me into him for a hug, instantly warming my body up. Then, he lifts me up and sets me on the counter. He brings a piece of bacon to my lips, and I take a bite. “Is it crispy enough for you?”
Nodding my head, I say, “It is perfect! Are the waffles almost done?”
Lifting the top to check on the batter once more, he says, “Just about… a few more minutes.”
Moving back to where I am sitting on the counter, he moves to stand between my legs, giving me light kisses all over my neck and then my lips. He holds me there in our kiss. After breaking apart, he says, “Are you sure you want to go to Neha’s today? It’s snowing pretty good!”
I tilt my head to the side because I was just outside, and it was only lightly snowing. I glance at the kitchen window, and the snow is coming down a lot more than when I was out. “Yes, I am going to Neha’s. Don’t worry, my truck is awesome in the snow! Or do you want to take me? That way, you have the truck in case you want to leave? I don’t mind walking home; sidewalks stay shoveled up here.”
“Absolutely not. I won’t let you walk home in the snow, no matter how much you like it.”
Hopping off the counter, I grab the plates and serve us the food. After finishing up breakfast, I go and get ready to get to Neha’s house before the snow starts coming down even more.
Anthony comes into the room right when I am done getting dressed. “You don’t have those Ugg boots to wear in the snow like all the girls?”
I look over at him. “Nope! My high-top Vans work just fine in the snow! Plus, can you honestly see me wear those boots?”
Letting out a laugh, he says, “No, I can’t see you wearing those at all, actually. However, these high-top vans are doing something for me!”
Going over where Anthony is laying on the bed, I lean down to give him a kiss bye. “I will be back in a few; don’t have too much fun without me.”
Walking to the door, I stop and look back at him. “High-tops, huh?”
Giving me a smirk, he says, “There’s just something about them! Be safe driving, please. I love you!”
Turning around and walking back to him, I grab his hand, so he stands up to give me a hug. Standing on my tip-toes for a kiss, I say, “I love you too; I’ll text you when I am heading home!”
Kissing my forehead, he says, “I like the sound of that–you coming home to me!”
Shaking my head at him, I turn and head out for Neha’s.
It only takes me five minutes to get to Neha’s house from mine when driving, even with the snow. She opens her front door as I am making my way up her porch steps. “Dude, it is beyond freezing out here, and all you have on is a dang hoodie and beanie.” Neha acts surprised by how I dress.
I hate driving with my heavy snow jacket on. “How long have you known me, Neha?! I never wear my jacket while driving.”
Shrugging her shoulders, she says, “That’s true. Get in here because we have lots to catch up on. I bought our favorite Moscato wine, too!”
Once inside, I am happy to see Neha has the fireplace going, with wine and snacks on the table. She is ready for a long day of catching up!
Sitting in front of the fire, she says, “So, first fill me in on Seattle. I have been dying to know what you all did up there and how he liked the lingerie!”
I get the biggest smile on my face, thinking about everything we did in Seattle. “We did so much! I don’t even know where to start. You knew about the Orca watching, right?”
Pouring the wine into the glasses, she says, “Yes, he asked me if that was something you would like to do, and I was like ‘um do you know who Ashlynn is and how much she loves Orcas?’”
I laugh at Neha because she is right: they are my favorite. “So, we did that the first day I was there. At first, it wasn’t fun because I was getting motion sickness. I didn’t throw up, but got close a few times. Anthony felt so bad because he didn’t know. Once we saw the Orcas though, it all faded away. It was so worth it.”
I take a drink of the wine, and it is so good and sweet. “After the whale watching, he took me around Seattle. That night, he had Nash’s mom come over and have the house all romantic with candles everywhere and the fireplace going. She even cooked us dinner and dessert for it.”
Neha has wide eyes, with the glass rim to her mouth. “Holy shit, Ash. Who would have thought Anthony was so damn sweet and thoughtful? If Nick did that, I would die. His idea of being sweet is saying, ‘damn that ass looks good.’ Which I guess is a nice compliment!”
I burst out laughing at Neha and Nick; they have a different kind of relationship, for sure.
I continue filling her in on Seattle and going up to Leavenworth and how Anthony said we could try to go back in December for Christmas. I also tell her we also hung out with the team and met Nash’s parents. “Wait, so Nash was on the boat for the Orca watching, and you went to his house?”
Taking a sip of my wine and nodding my head, I say, “Well yeah, It was his grandpa’s boat and we met his parents and had a cookout with the whole team there.”
Nodding her head, she says, “Do you think Nash has a thing for you? That’s weird he would pull you into a hug on the boat, with Anthony right there, but Anthony has nothing to worry about. I will say, Nash is good looking, though. Dark features and tall.”
She is getting off track here. “Neha, we are not talking about Nash, and the second time we saw him at his house, he didn’t pull me into a hug, but just asked how I was feeling! Everyone gave me a hug when we got there, I don’t think it means anything!
“Anyway, after we left and got back to the rental, that’s when Anthony saw the lingerie. It was too good of a set up: I walked down the stairs and stood on the last one, and he saw my reflection in the mirror. He was lost for words!”
Making a loud scream, she says, “Oh my gosh! I wish I would have seen his face, did you–you know–after that? I need to know!”
I can feel my face go bright red, which is a dead giveaway. Neha covers her mouth. “Oh my, what did you all do for you to get so red?”
So, I take a deep breath and tell her EVERYTHING, not in so much detail. “Neha, it was so intimate and felt amazing. I can’t describe it.” Now, I am the one covering my mouth, trying to hide my giant smile, thinking about that night again.
“WOW! Umm, I don’t even know what to say other than wow!” Neha starts to pour us more wine. “I have to admit, I am a bit jealous here. Anthony is setting the bar way too high for all the guys. I am pretty sure Nick would never do anything like that with me or for me.”
I tilt my head a little, because I don’t think Neha knows just how much Nick is in love with her. They may not have said it yet, but he is.
Changing the subject to her, I say, “What have you been up to since I have been gone? Fill me in on everything.”
Getting up and walking into her kitchen, she comes back with a piece of paper and hands it to me. I read the top and it is an offer for a new position with Sports World Magazine as an executive writer. “Oh my gosh, holy shit, Neha! You got the executive position!”
I am so happy for her. She has worked hard to get into that position as a writer; she earned it. “I know! I couldn’t believe it when they asked me into the office. Nick was happy for me and took me to an expensive dinner in Denver to celebrate!”
I smile over to her, “See, Nick is romantic, too. He just does things in his own way.”
She gets a big smile on her face, “Um, we also made our relationship exclusive.”
Well, I wasn’t expecting that, but it’s about damn time. “Finally!” I tell her.
Once we are done filling each other in on what we have both been up to, we get online to book our tickets out to Vancouver to see Cora. We decided to go in mid-February and stay for a week. “I can’t wait to see Cora; it has been too long. I only hope Brock isn’t going to be there. She can’t be herself around him.”
Rolling her eyes and sighing, I say, “I know. I can’t stand him and how he is with her. Maybe we should hook her up with one of the guys on the Overbear team. They are all good looking. However, Cora’s self-esteem is so low because Brock always puts her down.”
I just shake my head because Cora is such a good person and Brock has reduced her to a shell of herself. “She needs an older guy, someone who can see her true personality and love her for it, regardless. Brock doesn’t deserve her; I think she is only with him because she feels like she can’t leave.”
Neha clinks her glass to mine. “That’s the truth!”
Vancouver is booked and ready. We FaceTime with Cora really quick to let her know the dates and she seems excited, but we both know she is holding back because Brock is out of the camera shot, listening to everything we say. Once we end the face time, she sends me a text.
We sit around and talk for a little longer and decide to get a grocery list together so we can go get everything we need to make Thanksgiving dinner. Once we are done with that, we head to the store and get what we need. After putting it all in Neha’s refrigerator, I plan to return tomorrow to help prepare everything ahead of time. I have been at Neha’s house since 11:00 and it is now close to 4:30. I send Anthony a text to see if he wants a coffee before I get home.
After waiting a few minutes to see if Anthony wants to meet me for coffee and no response, I decide to just stop and grab the coffees and take them home. Hopefully he will have the fireplace going; it is freezing out and the snow is really coming down now. I tell Neha bye and we plan on a time for me to come over to get dinner prepared. Luckily, Nick will be back late tonight from his demos. It’s a quick turnaround, but Neha said he didn’t want to miss Thanksgiving with all of us.
After circling the block a few times, I finally find a parking spot on the side of the coffee shop. I turn the truck off and jump out and walk quickly inside. It is surprisingly busy in here. I look at the menu and notice a new latte which is right up my alley. Chocolate chip cookie dough latte. I am sold, seeing my favorite ice flavor as coffee. I can’t go wrong with this one. I place my order and wait at the end of the counter along with everyone else, double checking my phone to make sure I haven’t missed a reply from Anthony, but still have nothing. It’s not like him, but maybe he decided to go out–maybe he was getting stir crazy at the house. The barista calls out my name and I move to grab the cups. Moving over to the station that has the creamer and sugar, I add the amount in Anthony’s coffee that he likes and head to the front.
Holding one of the coffees against my chest and trying not to spill to push the door open, an older gentleman sees me struggling with the drinks and trying to get my keys out. He comes over to open the door for me. With a smile, I tell him “Thank you!” and walk outside.
I think to myself, I really need to look into getting an automatic starter for the truck; it feels even colder somehow since going in and coming back out.
I set the drinks on my hood because I still didn’t manage to get my key out of my hoodie pocket. Finally, yanking my key out and reaching for Anthony’s coffee first, I am hit by a blinding excruciating pain on the right side of my head. Dropping the coffee. I go to touch the spot that is hurting when I feel another sharp pain on the same side of my head.
I fall against my truck, knocking over the other coffee. I reach to grab my head and when I pull my hand away, it is covered in my blood. At that moment, I feel the warm, thick liquid running down the side of my face and starting to drip into my eye.
Everything goes blurry, when…