Chapter Four
Ashlyn let the small towel fall to the floor, and she saw that Brandon was on the ground. His back was up, but little pieces of glass sprinkled his T-shirt.
“Brandon, Brandon, are you okay?” Ashlyn wanted to kneel, but the glass on the floor warned her against it. Brandon slowly began moving, and Ashlyn felt a pounding in her head as the blood started thumping and finding its passageway free again. Ashlyn reached for the cloth on the floor, but Brandon grabbed her hand instead.
“Don’t,” he said. “It may have glass on it.”
“Okay,” Ashlyn said, nodding as though she wasn’t scared. But with the amount of blood leaking from her body and the tiny pricks she felt on the rest of her, she knew that she was not in a good situation. “We have to get somewhere and get this glass out.”
“There won’t be room in the bathroom,” Brandon decided. They both took very careful steps. Ashlyn followed Brandon as he led her to her room. “Lay down on your bed here.” Brandon bravely went to the window and made sure that the blinds and curtain were shut as securely as possible.
“Even if something happens,” Brandon said, “I don’t think the glass can make it through those small cracks.”
Ashlyn lay on her stomach, using a shirt from her suitcase to dab at the wound some more. “Let me get the glass off your back first,” Ashlyn said. “I think you got the worst of it.”
Brandon shook his head. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Yes, it does,” Ashlyn insisted. “Remember how stubborn I can be? Just lay down on your stomach and let me do it.”
Brandon finally agreed, and Ashlyn realized that the only reason for such quick compliance must be that he was in real pain. He lay down gingerly, and Ashlyn dragged the trash can over. There were only a few big pieces clinging to Brandon. Only one of those big pieces had made a cut on his lower back.
Brandon grunted as Ashlyn pulled the piece out. “Are you okay?” Ashlyn asked, wondering if she needed to stop.
“Just keep going,” Brandon replied through gritted teeth. Maybe he didn’t like to show that he was in pain, though he had been authentic with her about everything else so far. Ashlyn blinked and studied the back of his shirt carefully, picking out the most miniscule pieces. She then started on the backs of his arms. There were a few pieces that had cut through the skin. They left little blobs of blood that had already started drying. The other pieces were merely on his skin.
“Maybe you should take off your shirt,” Ashlyn suggested. “I don’t know if there are any more pieces. I can at least shake it over the trash can.”
“Okay, that sounds like a good plan. If you have any tape, you might also be able to get any little pieces left on my arms.” Ashlyn dug around in her drawer, but she couldn’t find any tape.
“I don’t have any, sorry.” The wind was whistling hard outside the window, and Ashlyn kept glancing fearfully at it. After just seeing the back door explode, she couldn’t be cautious enough.
Brandon had taken his shirt off, and he was shaking it above the trashcan. A few pellets could be heard falling into the trashcan. “Let me check you out one more time,” Ashlyn said, looking at his back in a concerned manner. She giggled when she realized how her statement sounded.
“You can check me out as much as you want to,” Brandon said. He turned around and gave Ashlyn a sound kiss on the lips. He pulled back and looked concerned. “It’s still bleeding.” He grabbed up the shirt Ashlyn had been using for her forehead and gave it to Ashlyn. “Put it on your forehead. I need to check your back for glass.”
Ashlyn had felt a few prickles of glass on her skin, and she knew that there were a few pieces imbedded in her. She lay on her stomach and waited as Brandon began picking out pieces here and there. Ashlyn felt lulled by a sense of false security. Each time Brandon took a piece of glass out, it was like he was pinching her, and each time, it made Ashlyn feel more and more excited for the next place he would touch her.
Ashlyn’s breathing became heavier, and she felt her panties becoming warm. Who knew that picking shards of glass off of someone could be so exciting?
“Are you holding that cloth to your head?” Brandon asked like a supervisor whose employee was not doing her duty.
“Yes, Father,” Ashlyn replied sarcastically. “Anything you say.”
“Well, anything I say, huh?” Ashlyn could hear the smile in his voice. “I say you should probably take off your shirt to make sure there is no more glass.”
Ashlyn caught her breath. She had to make a decision. Either she didn’t follow what Brandon was saying, which would show him that she might not ever be interested in having him, or she could take off her shirt and risk starting something right there in the middle of the storm.
Ashlyn slowly sat up and turned to Brandon. “What are you trying to do?” she asked, her words sounded clumsy as she tried to keep her eyes focused on Brandon’s face.
Brandon smiled at her. “I’m just trying to be the best doctor I possibly can be.”
“Well, I guess doctor’s orders are doctor’s orders.” Ashlyn briefly stalled as she tried to remember what bra she had put on that morning. She certainly hadn’t been expecting anyone to see it. But it was her black one, and that one was okay for company. Ashlyn took off her shirt and held it out to Brandon.
“Go ahead. Shake it over the trash.”
Brandon took the shirt from her slowly, not taking his eyes off her for a moment. He shook her shirt over the trash then threw it across the room where it landed on top of the dresser. Ashlyn’s heart raced as she let her eyes trail down Brandon’s body. Her eyes traced his hairs that curled out across his chest, down his smooth stomach, and to the top of his shorts. He had a tan belt holding up his khaki shorts, and Ashlyn mentally undid the belt, her eyes dropping just a few centimeters lower to the bulge that Ashlyn knew was his erection. And she could tell that he was erect.
Ashlyn remembered what it felt like to touch him when they had been on the beach before. But if that hadn’t been the right time, surely right now wasn’t the right time either. What did she think she was doing? Ashlyn glanced at her shirt which was across the room. But she had plenty of other glass-free shirts. She should just change and get back to the bathroom. That would be the best decision for both of them.
“Look, it’s still not stopping,” Brandon said. He reached across, and Ashlyn lay back on the bed’s pillows. Brandon dabbed at her head wound, and Ashlyn winced. She liked seeing the concern in his expression. That concern was for her.
“Does it still hurt you?” Brandon asked.
Ashlyn nodded, even though it as more of an exaggeration than a truth.
“I’m sorry. I could see that you hit the counter hard, but I have never seen this much bleeding.”
“It’s a head wound. I’m supposed to stay still. The problem is that I keep moving round.”
“You’re supposed to stay still, but that doesn’t mean that I have to stay still,” Brandon smiled. He glanced down at her breasts, which were filling her bra. He continued looking at her for a few moments before he looked back up and into her eyes. “I’m sorry. I know that we talked before, and we. . .”
“We what?” Ashlyn asked slowly. “What did we decide?”
“Well, I was kind of under the impression that it would be better to wait and not just act on a whim but you know, decide if we were going to make a commitment to each other.”
Ashlyn took a deep breath as she tried to steady the rate of her heart. She didn’t understand why Brandon was bringing this back up. Was he not tempted by her as they sat on her bed and she was shirtless? If he wasn’t tempted by that, then maybe he just didn’t find her very attractive. The idea almost brought tears to Ashlyn’s eyes.
“Well,” she finally said, “I don’t know that’s exactly what we decided. But I think you were right when that happened. We had just met each other, like what, three days before? We’ve known each other almost two weeks now.”
“And we’ve seen each other every day,” Brandon echoed her sentiment. He moved the shirt from her forehead and studied the wound for a few minutes. He finally placed the shirt back on and continued applying pressure.
“The truth is that I want you,” Brandon finally said.
“I think it would be a lie if I said I didn’t want you,” Ashlyn replied. “I mean, yeah, we have issues. You know that from this morning, but I can’t stop thinking about you.”
Brandon smiled and looked Ashlyn in the eyes. “Well then, I didn’t know I had a little fan club.” Ashlyn tilted her head at Brandon and gave him a sarcastic look.
“You know what I meant.” Only Brandon could take words that she had meant to be sweet and turn them into something strange.
“I don’t want to have you if you’re going to regret it.”
Ashlyn slowly licked her lips and took the old T-shirt from Brandon. “I won’t regret it. I mean it when I say that you’re a pretty unique guy. You’re the kind of guy that a girl is lucky to have.” Ashlyn swallowed. “So, I guess that means I want to have you too.”