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It wasn't his thing, but he'd come to cheer on the team from time to time, like good friends did. Hell, he probably met Brandi there.
Ashley looked as though I'd struck her. She shook her head. Her tongue swept across her lips in a way that made me stare.
The things she could do with that tongue… My mouth went dry. I'd give almost anything to put my arms around her, pull her to me and kiss her silly. I wanted to wake up next to her again.
I looked away from her mouth.
It couldn't happen. Not with her, not with anyone. I was done with women. I might get a dog. A boy dog. Or a rabbit. Those were cute and didn't make too much mess. You could even take them for walks. Plus a rabbit wouldn't laugh at me if I fell over, or said something dumb.
"I suppose it would," Ashley said softly. She looked about as enthusiastic as I was.
"I'm sure he'll work hard to make it up to you," I said. "He broke rule number one, but he's a good guy, most of the time. He messed up, I'm sure he won't do it again."
I wasn't sure, but if he did, I would… I'd set my attack bunny on him. After I got an attack bunny, that was.
Maybe that was going too far. Bernice would put an aggressive rabbit in the slow cooker if it tried to bite her.
I'd hire an attack rabbit then. Surely that was a thing? If it wasn't, then it should be.
"Yeah, I'm sure he would," she agreed.
"Then you two can live happily ever after," I said lightly. "Get married. Have little Krises and Ashleys." The idea of them having babies made me want to shove the fictional rabbit down Kris' underpants. There would be no babies if it bit his dick off.
That petty thought gave me a few moments of pleasure.
"That is why we made the plan in the first place," Ashley agreed.
"Mission accomplished." I looked at her sideways. "You should be at his place, wherever he's living now, not wasting time with me." I wanted to beg her to stay. Not just for tonight, but forever.
"Yes, I should." A tear slid down her cheek.
Without thinking, I wiped it away with my thumb. My hand lingered on her soft skin for a few moments too long.
Finally I dropped my hand to my side. "I'll see you out." My breath hitched in my throat. My pounding heart slammed harder.
"Yeah." She stepped toward the door and out into the deepening evening.
Closing the door behind her felt like locking my heart away in a vault. I mentally threw the key into the bay and let it sink right to the bottom.
CHAPTER 21
ASHLEY
I walked away from his door feeling numb. He was right, I supposed. If I was going to ask Kris to see me anywhere, the game would be a good place for it. As good as any. If the conversation got awkward, or stopped altogether, we could watch the game. We wouldn't have to sit across from each other in a crowded restaurant, or bar.
The downside, and it was a big one, was that I'd have to see Chase again. Sure, he might be a dot on the field, but he'd still be there. Then if we got invited to post game drinks, I'd see him there too. Unless we said no, but then we might have to explain why.
Damn, why did adulting have to be so difficult? Was it too late to go back to being a kid? I'd enjoy some finger painting about now, followed by a screaming tantrum on the ground.
Either of those things at my age would get me locked away somewhere. The latter one anyway. Finger painting might be considered therapeutic, even if I painted Chase's bike.
The idea was more tempting than I'd like to admit. I wouldn't use anything that wouldn't wash off. I wasn't a monster, I was pissed off and a little bit heartbroken.
Again.
I really needed to make better choices when it came to men. For one thing, I shouldn't have come here in the first place. Why did I? Just to yell at Chase for standing me up, or because I really wanted an excuse to see him? Maybe a little bit of both.
All I did was make things worse. Although, things were somewhat clearer now.
