Chapter Eight
Only a small strip of sand was visible next to the ocean, which stretched wider than it had been that morning. Ashlyn began walking along the edge of the beach. With the moon covered, though, she couldn’t see well. She finally found a place along the edge, and she sat down, ignoring the feeling of her shorts dampening from the sand.
“Why did Mark even know what happened? Katy said she didn’t tell him, but she probably told another big mouth who told him.” Ashlyn gave a growl, like an animal that didn’t know how to deal with the challenge presented it.
“It’s like everyone on this set is out to ruin me.” Ashlyn considered her sentence for a few minutes and recanted it. That wasn’t true. Pamela was her friend, at least. Most of the others were neutral toward her. Maybe everyone wasn’t trying to ruin her. Maybe it was just Mark.
Ashlyn waited and waited. Part of her hoped that Brandon would come after her. She wanted him to comfort her and ask her what had gone wrong. But the longer she waited, the more tired she felt. It was time to stop waiting. She wanted Brandon, and she was willing to make a sacrifice to be with him. The least she could do would be to start the conversation and see if he would carry it on.
Ashlyn walked back to the beach house and found Brandon sitting on the back porch. She smiled when she saw his form, and she knew it was him even though the light didn’t show him well.
“I was hoping you hadn’t been carried away by the ocean,” Brandon said.
“I’m here,” Ashlyn announced, “alive.”
“That’s the first step to a happy life you know,” Brandon replied. He stood up and offered the seat to Ashlyn. She refused it, not wanting to sit while he stood. They finally ended up sitting on the edge of the tall deck.
“The storm did a lot of damage,” Brandon said, pointing out a fence that went floating by.
“It’s not nearly as bad as some storms that I’ve seen on the news.”
“Did you see the roof? Whoever is sleeping on the top floor has their bed filled with water.”
Ashlyn smiled. This talk was diverting her from her mission. She needed to explain what Brandon had heard. “Let me tell you about Mark,” Ashlyn said.
“Yeah, he sounds like a fun one to have around,” Brandon replied.
Ashlyn nodded and swallowed. She looked at Brandon out of the side of her eyes. What was she being shy about? She had just made love to this man this afternoon! Ashlyn picked up Brandon’s hand and placed it in her lap, playing with his fingers.
“The thing is that back when we were staying in the mountains, Mark and I kind of became friends. I actually, well, I trusted him. He seemed really considerate and gentlemanly, the opposite of everything that he seems now. And, we had this party. I got super drunk at the party. I have never gotten that drunk before, and something happened. I have a pretty good guess what. The thing that was never clear between us was whether or not I consented to what happened.” Ashlyn bit her lower lip, feeling those pesky tears rising again.
“So, after that, it made things pretty awkward between us. Because I only saw him as a friend. I never thought him super attractive or anything. I know that people do stupid things when they’re drunk, but I just don’t think I would have agreed to having Mark and me, well. . .do anything serious.”
“So now, Mark doesn’t get why you have moved on when he clearly hasn’t,” Brandon summarized.
“Yup, and apparently, Katy has a big mouth. Why else would he have decided at that moment to attack me?”
“We all make stupid decisions,” Brandon summarized. “Look, I wasn’t there. I didn’t see you two before that happened, but let me just tell you this. Don’t blame him or make him into the bad guy just to make yourself better. Take responsibility as well.”
Ashlyn hadn’t expected Brandon to stick up for Mark. Then she realized that Brandon wasn’t sticking up for Mark so much as teaching Ashlyn how to deal with life. Ashlyn nodded and kept quiet. She didn’t know how to transition from. “Sorry about my crazy ex-boyfriend” to “I want to stay with you.”
Brandon made the transition for her. “When are you leaving?”
“Are you ready for me to go already?” Ashlyn teased. “You sleep with me, and then you’re done?”
Brandon smiled and shook his head. “Oh, I am not done with you, baby.”
Ashlyn leaned forward, and the two shared a quick kiss. She realized that now was the time to explain. “Brandon, I think that I’m going to stay behind when my crew goes. I want to stay with you.”
Brandon was silent. He squeezed Ashlyn’s hand gently and waited for her to look at him.
“Are you sure that’s what you want to do?”
Ashlyn nodded. “I love filming, and I will find some way to do it here. I haven’t figured it out exactly, but I know there will be a way. But I just realized, before today even, that what we have together is unique. I can’t just come across a guy like you everywhere I go, even though I have searched, diligently.”
Brandon leaned forward and gave Ashlyn a long kiss. They kissed and kissed. Ashlyn was contented to let the desire build up in her as she tasted his lips again and again. “I’m so glad that you said something,” Brandon finally spoke as he stared off at the angry ocean. “I didn’t want to say anything. I thought that if I said something you might feel obligated to stay just for me, even if you didn’t want to. I mean, we can do long distance.”
“Are you trying to get rid of me?” Ashlyn smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “No, I’m not doing long distance. I want to be with you and enjoy every day of your crazy life. I don’t have a lot of money saved up, but I’ll find something to do around here, at least while you’re here.”
“Ashlyn,” Brandon was shaking his head, and Ashlyn wasn’t sure if he was refusing her or what. “You are one crazy woman. Imagine, if you hadn’t hurried out into the sea to save a man you thought was drowning, we might never have met.”
“I’d rather not imagine that,” Ashlyn responded. “I prefer to imagine the future, with us together.”
“With us together,” Brandon echoed. He smiled at Ashlyn and lifted one of his eyebrows. “I’m imagining what it will be like to take you back to my place when you’re finally done filming here.”
Ashlyn giggled and kissed Brandon again. This was what Ashlyn had always wanted for her future, the carefree, open love that she had with Brandon.
THE END