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Chapter Nineteen
Ashton
“Thank you for calling Erotic Fantasies. This is Natasha; what’s your fantasy tonight?”
Even though my heart ached, the world still turned and bills still needed to be paid. Just when I thought things were finally looking up, I was back to square one, broke, alone, and sad. My eyes were sore from spending the last couple of days crying over my own stupidity, yet too ashamed to call him and try to reconcile. I silently prayed that he’d at least call me on my line, but why would he? He was probably mad at me in a hotel room for all I knew; that was if he was still in town.
“Hey there, sex kitten,” a deep, husky voice said on the other end. That was a quickly answered prayer. My breath caught in my throat. My heart swelled with love and happiness and ached with loneliness. He was so close, yet so far away. The heavy rain outside came through his end of the phone, reminding me that he was outside somewhere and not down the hall in his room.
“O’Shea?” I said, my voice cracking on his name.
“You okay?”
“I…” No, I wasn’t okay. The apartment felt empty without his presence. The silence bothered me too much, and I could still faintly smell the notes of his cologne, trying to imprint it in my memory before it completely faded away. I missed him, I needed him, I loved him, and I knew if I didn’t tell him while I had the chance, I’d lose him forever.
“I’m sorry,” I finally said, tears burning my eyes again.
“I know, babe,” he said, his voice comforting. “That day was a difficult one. I don’t blame you.”
“I know, but…I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. It wasn’t your fault that things happened the way they did.”
“Shit happens, right?” he joked with a light chuckle. “You know…I’ve gotten so used to being around you that it feels weird not having you close to me.”
I smiled at his words. It was comforting to know that the feeling was mutual. “Yeah. It’s weird being in the apartment by myself now. It’s too quiet.”
“It’s not like you didn’t live there alone before me though.”
“I know, it’s just…you being here made everything better,” I said. He sighed.
“You remember when we were in the barn loft that night? The things we talked about?”
I thought back to that night, thinking of when I thought my life with him was a blessing and a curse. It was a blessing because I was in love with him and the way he made me feel, but a curse because I was too afraid to tell him and was scared of being hurt again.
“I remember.”
“I’d said that my mom told me that sometimes things fell apart for better things to come together.”
I nodded. “Yeah, you did. But you said you wanted to believe it, not that you did.”
“Then I guess I had a change of heart,” he murmured. “Had Kayla said yes, I’d still be in Virginia right now. There was no guarantee that I’d live a happy life with her. What you also said hit home for me. Maybe I’d stayed with Kayla out of comfort, too. I had my own insecurities when it came to being with her, but I ignored them and continued to stay. So I believe my mom was right. If Kayla had said yes…I wouldn’t have met you.”
My heart quickened in my chest. Was he going to say what I thought he was?
“O’Shea, I—”
A solid knock at my front door startled me. “Someone’s at your house this late?” he asked.
I got out of the bed and quickly made my way down the hall. “I’d called Alex and Ava to come over. Kind of didn’t want to be alone right now.” I paused for a moment with a sigh. “Can you call me back on my cell phone a little later?”
“I’m probably going to be heading to bed soon. I think we’re leaving in the morning,” he said, his voice laced with sadness. The knocking continued as my heart dropped.
“Oh.” The five-minute warning on the call went through. “Well, um, have a safe trip back. For what it’s worth, I’ll miss you.” Tears burned my eyes. “And um…I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that I loved you while you were here.”
Quickly wiping my eyes, I opened the door and screamed. O’Shea looked at me with a playful grin on his lips, his phone to his ear.
“Why don’t you tell me that now, sex kitten?” he said. I flew into his arms, wrapping my arms tight around his neck. He hugged me tight to his body as I sobbed against him, so many emotions flowing through me that I couldn’t process them all. I’d thought I’d lost him, that I’d sabotaged my own chance at happiness, but yet he came back for me. He could’ve walked away and never looked back, but he didn’t. That had to mean something more than sex and each other’s company. He looked into my tearful eyes, brushing away a few tears with this thumbs.
“Maybe it was fate that allowed two broken hearts to find each other after having devastating breakups. My life’s puzzle was almost complete, but it looks like Kayla wasn’t the piece that fit. You are.” He kissed my lips gently. “I love you, Ashton.”
