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“My grandpa loved cars,” she explained. “He had collectables and models. When I got old enough, putting models together was how we spent time with one another.”
She was quiet after that, seemingly reflecting on memories she didn’t want to actually talk about out loud. Not until we were both in the car, and headed to the main road, did either of us speak again.
“I guess I should ask you where you live.”
“Maybe a mile away. I seriously could have walked.”
“And I seriously wouldn’t have let that happen. Tell me which way.”
It was two turns, and I never actually got to get above thirty miles an hour before we were in a small parking lot. I jumped out quickly from the car and made my way to her side, letting her stand out of the car before I lifted her into my arms again.
“Which one?” I asked, nodding toward the row of doors that looked like an old hotel set up. I imagined they were small apartments, but with how close they were to the campus, what more did you need?
“The first one, but Rhys, I got this.” She tried wiggling from my arms, making me tighten my hold on her.
“I’m not putting you down, Ash.” My voice was low, a deep declaration that gave away how much I needed to take care of her. Even if I couldn’t explain why.
When we approached her door, she pulled a key out from her bag and dangled it in front of my face mockingly. If she thought I was going to put her down to open the door, she was wrong.
“You’re ridiculous,” she muttered, giving up.
“That is one of the nicer adjectives used to describe me.”
She managed to get the key in the door and pushed it open for me to turn and get her inside safely.
The room was no larger than the size of a hotel room with the added bonus of a small kitchen to the side and a partition that created a small separation between the kitchen and the bed.
Gently, I set her on the edge of her bed, and made my way to her freezer, hoping she had something we could use on her ankle. There was no food or ice, but she had frozen cold packs lined up like that athlete she was.
“You are more than prepared,” I laughed. I knelt down in front of her and carefully pulled her foot to rest on my thigh. I pulled her long sock down and unstrapped the tight fitting shin guard. The shape of the shin guard was embossed into her skin, and without thinking, I started rubbing the image.
“Rhys,” Ash moaned, her eyes rolling to the back of her head and her body swaying with the pleasure she felt. My dick instantly hardened, not the least bit concerned that I had decided Ash was off limits.
I pulled off her cleat and the rest of the sock, exposing her entire leg before placing the cold pack in place on her ankle. She jumped at the sudden change, then moaned again when I ran my thumb across her shin before grabbing her other leg and repeating the process.
“You need new shin guards.” I wasn't even sure if that was true, or if she had even heard me. I just needed to say something that excused the fact that I was still rubbing her shins.
Her skin.
Her warmth.
“Rhys?” Her voice was raspy, but she was trying to sound like she was unaffected.
“All good.” I mumbled then cleared my throat. She moved back on the bed so her ankle could stay lifted and I backed away and stood up.
Glancing around her room, I took in everything that defined who Ash was. There were clothes tossed over an old dresser, soccer gear in the corner, and a small table next to her bed. Books were stacked high, all about mathematics and finance, proving she was serious about her goals in life. A few newspaper articles about the team were tacked on the wall, but other than that, they were bare. It looked like a dorm room, temporary, but functional for a student. The only thing missing was pictures—of her family and friends.
“Okay,” I nodded, knowing it was time to leave. “If you’re good then…” I trailed off when my eyes caught the corner of a magazine. It was sticking out from a stack of books that laid close to the bed where I had been kneeling. Reaching down, I picked it up, and stared at myself on the cover.
“Got that at the last game I went to,” Ash shrugged, like it was no big deal.
“I know exactly what game this was. You went to this one?” I turned the magazine toward her, showing her the image of me on the front in my jersey, and a soccer ball being squeezed between my hands as if I was trying to pop it. It was a game day program, with the date stamped on it so there was no questioning which game it came from.
“Yeah. You had a hat trick.”
Yeah the game was good until halfway through, when I looked up to where Mel had been sitting, and she was no longer there.
While Ash explained in the background of my consciousness that Colin had given her and her friend the tickets, I was trying to keep the thoughts of my ex from riling me up. Yet the memories of that night flashed in front of me like an old movie.
