AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She looked confused, and while I completely understood why Hunter creeped her out, and pissed me off, he kept an eye on her and told me where to find her. It was making me think that whatever was going on with him couldn’t have been because of me. Or Ash for that matter. He knew enough to know I would come if she needed me, and he felt like she needed me. I may wake up the next day and hate his guts again, but I was thankful for him that night. I was going to cut him a break–a small one–and hoped that this all meant that whatever crawled up his ass didn’t involve me being close to Ash.
“He’s gone.” I held up my phone and showed her his text, letting her draw her own conclusions so that we no longer had to make him the topic of our conversation.
She nodded and started to melt back into my stare as my phone buzzed again with another text. “Fucking hell.”
Erin is wasted. I’m getting a ride share and taking her home. You good?
Your home or hers?
If she wasn’t Ash’s friend, I’d take her to mine. But no, you idiot, I’m taking her to her place.
THEN LEAVING.
Thanks man.
Ash read my screen as I replied to Cruz. She seemed content that Erin was okay. That Hunter was gone. That I was there.
“Take me home,” she whispered. “Your home.”
Without a response, I took her hand and led her toward the elevator. We were only a few blocks from my place and I decided to walk, hoping the time and the quiet city streets sobered her up a little.
“You’re not going to fuck me, are you?” She asked as we got closer to my building.
I laughed, finding her pout endearing. “No ma'am, I’m not.”
“Ma’am?” She stopped walking. “Do I look like your mama?”
“My mama taught me to respect the women in my life. Pardon my manners, they peeked out for a minute.”
“I don’t like your manners,” she slurred a little, proving she was still feeling her rum. “I like when you’re unmannerly. Rude. Impolite.”
With each word she spoke, she was trying harder to enunciate. By the time we got to the elevator and up to my apartment, she had come up with eleven more words to describe how much she liked when I was ill-mannered.
“Straight to bed.” I led her to my bedroom and started unzipping her dress. She let me get her completely naked except for her thong then fell backward onto my silk sheets. “Stay there. I’ll be right back.”
“Bring a condom,” she giggled.
As much as I wanted to be inside of her, it wasn't going to be on a night when she was that drunk. Coming back to Miami to fuck her wasn’t my intention. It was to take care of her, make sure she was safe, and I had done just that. If she woke up in the morning and still wanted to fuck me, then I would show her howrudeI could be.
I brought water and a few ibuprofen back from the kitchen and managed to get her to swallow some of it before she laid back down. Within minutes, she was sleeping so I laid the sheet over her and grabbed my phone.
First, I was going to make sure Cruz was good. Then I was going to send Hunter a message that Ash and Erin were okay. Lastly, I was going to text my brother.
Levi never even asked questions when I took Ash’s call. He saw something in me that told him I was gone. Not just from dinner, but lost to the enchantment of a college girl whose goals in life didn’t align with my own. He could have told me to sit down, to get my shit together. Instead, he texted the pilot and had him ready to get me to Miami.
I needed to set him straight. Tell him Ash was just a friend. That was all I was going to tell him if she came up at dinner and since nothing had changed, the truth was all he needed to know.
Even if I didn’t believe me, I needed him to believe me.
Grabbing my phone from the counter, I started to scroll to Levi’s name when another text came through. Not from Cruz. Or Hunter. Or Levi.
Not even from Colin.
We need to talk. I miss you.
ChapterThirty-One
Ash
