Ashlyn lay on the bed, and Brandon made room for himself next to her. Ashlyn felt warm all over. Brandon tossed her a shirt that she used to wipe herself before she lay down. She was exhausted. All she wanted to do was sleep.
The storm had picked up. They had passed through the eye sometime while they were busy, and the wind was pounding at the house again. Ashlyn had so much that she felt that she didn’t know how to say. She rested her head on Brandon’s warm chest and began twirling her fingers through his chest hair.
“Are you bleeding?” asked Brandon.
Ashlyn sat up hurriedly and pressed her hand to her head, but there was only a trickle of blood. She lay back down and snuggled into Brandon. “If I am, it’s worth it.”
Brandon laughed gently, but the sound of his laughter was quickly drowned out by the raucous wind.
“Are we safe in here?” Ashlyn asked, a little traumatized from her earlier fall in the kitchen.
“As long as we are not trying to move around too much, I think we shall be just fine,” Brandon assured Ashlyn.
Ashlyn lay quietly, not knowing what else to say. Her mind was going over what had just happened, and she couldn’t help but smile. It was everything she had dreamed it would be. The storm continued to pick up speed, but Ashlyn lay contentedly at Brandon’s side. After everything that had happened, she felt as though he was her protector. She trusted him to take care of her and do what was best.
Ashlyn wasn’t sure if she really did or not, but she felt a jerk that seemed to make her wake up. Ashlyn looked up, rubbing her eyes and saw the door slowly moving open. The wind was silent, and the house was not rocking anymore. The storm was over.
Then Ashlyn remembered where she was and who she was with. She remembered that neither one of them was clothed just as Katy came in the room carrying her big blanket which she had taken into the bathroom with her. She dropped the blanket as she looked at first Ashlyn then Brandon. Ashlyn felt like she should cover Brandon up, like Katy had no right to see him. But Katy apparently felt the same way.
“Oh my god,” she said. She blinked her eyes several times then turned and hurried out of the room. Ashlyn’s immediate concern was that Katy’s big mouth would begin telling everyone what she had seen, just to make her seem like she was in the middle of the action.
Brandon was rubbing his eyes. He had just woken up to see Katy’s retreating back. Ashlyn started pulling on her clothes, searching messily through her suitcase as she tried to find something that wasn’t covered in glass or blood. Ashlyn pulled a shirt over her head and pulled her hair through the collar. She turned around and saw Brandon smiling lazily at her, his naked body still laid out on display.
“Why are you in such a rush?” he asked.
Ashlyn paused and studied him for a moment. Then she reached for a brush and began brushing through her hair. “Well, I know you were kind of sleeping through it, but Katy just walked through the door and saw us. . .together.”
Brandon looked toward the door and grimaced. “Yeah, I kind of wish she hadn’t, but she’s already come in now. If she comes back, then we really know what the problem is.”
Ashlyn tried to push down her smile so that she could show Brandon how inappropriate his comment was.
“Come here,” Brandon said, holding his arms out toward Ashlyn. Ashlyn swallowed hard, because her little nap had been enough to give her more energy. She wouldn’t mind going for round two with Brandon and feeling all of those sensations he had given her earlier.
“I can’t,” Ashlyn said. “Get up. Get dressed. Katy or Pamela might need something, and it’s not fair to say they can’t come in their own room.”
Brandon sighed and let his arms fall onto the bed. “Okay, I’m up.” Brandon began shuffling around the room. He still didn’t trust his shirt, so he dressed in his underwear and shorts only. “Do you have a plastic bag or something? I just want to wrap the shirt up until I can wash it.”
“I’m sure there are plastic bags in the kitchen,” Ashlyn replied. She carefully handed the shirt to Brandon. “I’ll be out soon.” Brandon slipped on his flipflops and shuffled out of the room. Ashlyn took a minute to compose herself. Part of her wanted to rush after Katy and tell her to keep her big old mouth shut. The other part of Ashlyn just wanted to shrug it off. It didn’t matter if people knew. They could think whatever they wanted to think of her as long as it didn’t affect what kind of review Gary gave of her.
Ashlyn stepped out of her room, thinking she was ready to face whatever might hit her.