Ash

“I’m not a virgin, if that’s what you’re asking,” Ash said.

“How many times have you been really, truly serious about a woman? Because I can’t help but think my friend here got played by you,” Eris said.

“I didn't play Kallie. She’s better than that.”

“Did she start off as a play, though?”

“You mean like I started off as a rebound?” Ash asked.

“Oh, so we’re getting into specifics? Good. Let’s see. You lied about your job as a bartender. You lied about that yacht not being yours. You got my friend stuck out in a storm that almost killed her, then you nonchalantly dumped the fact that you’re a rich fucking bastard on her shoulders like it was nothing.”

“I told her I was rich because I cared about what she thought. I didn’t want to hide that aspect of my life from her any longer. I care about Kallie. I care about your friend. I did on the island, I did in that storm, and I do now. Who cares how we started out? Sure, maybe I was making a play for a woman. But I was a rebound to her, and things morphed.”

“So you’re saying this is Kallie’s fault.”

“What? No,” Ash said. “Stop twisting my words.”

“Then say what you mean.”

“Fine. I will. Kallie touched a part of me I couldn't let go. And I was too much of an idiot to see that me admitting I had money meant her equating me to her ex. And I get that. But I don’t enjoy what you’re insinuating me to be, which is a liar and nothing better than her ex. Because it isn’t true. I do value honesty and integrity. Above all else. I also value Kallie above all else.”

Ash was quickly realizing that Kallie’s friend was a tenacious defender. Which was bad, because he’d already gotten on her wrong side. Ash knew he had to do something to diffuse the situation. He knew getting in with the best friend would be the quickest way to winning Kallie back. But he wasn’t sure what to do. Every time he said something, she twisted his words. And the terrible thing was, he couldn't completely deny her statements. Yes, he’d had other women. Yes, he played it off like he didn’t have money. Yes, that made him look like a liar and that he lacked integrity.

But that wasn’t true.

Most people were willing to forgive a rich man. For anything. And he had to admit, he’d been privileged with that for years. He could make a fool of himself, introduce himself, and people would automatically forgive him. But Kallie and Eris weren’t those kinds of people. Ash didn’t get to enjoy some of the perks of being rich without getting the consequences. Like gold diggers and stuck-up families and people who wanted to use him for exposure.

Ash was also figuring out that he couldn't play himself off to be a normal guy and not get the “normal guy issues.”

The drinks came around and Ash divvied them out. Eris with her rum and Coke, Kallie with her mango margarita he still wasn’t sure she wanted, and him with his scotch. He took a sip of his drink and considered his options as he continued to field Eris’s questions. If he had things his way, he would take Kallie with him and leave Eris high and dry. He knew he needed to talk with Kallie, and everything Eris was saying turned Kallie more against him. He could see it in her face. That was her best friend, and she would always be more inclined to listen to her than to him.

But how could he get rid of Eris?

“Eris, please back off,” Kallie said.

“What? You come back from your vacation a few days early because of this guy and the shock he threw your way, and I’m supposed to back off?” Eris asked.

“Enough has happened. Okay? You don’t have to protect me,” Kallie said.

“I’m always going to protect you,” Eris said. “You’re my best friend. And he lied to you, straight up. About the core of who he was.”

Kallie’s face twisted up in confusion and it made Ash’s stomach roll. He had to stop this madness before it did lasting, permanent damage to what he was in the city to accomplish.

“Do you always travel with a two-female entourage, Ash?”

He looked up and saw Jeremy coming into the VIP room they were sitting in.

“And here I thought you were out still taking pictures,” Ash said.

“Who’s this?” Kallie asked.

“Kallie. Eris. This is Jeremy, the owner of the club,” Ash said.

“One of them,” Jeremy said. “It’s nice to meet you both.”

“What makes you think we’re his entourage?” Eris asked.

“Because he’s the rich one and can have anything he wants,” Jeremy said with a smile.

“Well, for your information, he’s actually our entourage for the night,” Eris said.

“Then I must ask as to how you landed the richest man in town for your own personal entourage,” Jeremy said.

“Isn’t is obvious?” Eris asked. “No man’s immune to a sassy girl in sweatpants.”

Ash breathed a sigh of relief. The chemistry and banter flowing between Eris and Jeremy was palpable. This was the distraction he was looking for. If Jeremy could keep a wildfire like Eris occupied, then he could pry Kallie from her claws and talk with her. Which was what he’d originally come to the city for. To talk with her. To clear the air. But it was obvious Eris had been chattering into Kallie’s ear for much longer than he could’ve ever wanted, and Ash didn’t know what kind of damage control needed to be done.

“And it’s a marvelous pair of sweatpants,” Jeremy said, then smiled.

He stepped closer to the trio and Kallie slid over, making room for him on the couch. Ash watched as the two of them continued to trade barbs, a small grin sliding across his cheeks. Eris was wholly entranced with Jeremy’s sass, which matched hers, and Kallie seemed entertained by the two. The more she turned to look and listen, the more she leaned into him. He slid his arm over the back of the couch, trying to gain more access to her. To open his body up to her in case she fell over into his lap.

This was his chance.

His chance to get Kallie away from her attack dog.

Ash took Kallie’s hand and helped her off the couch. Eris was no longer paying attention, and Jeremy was head-deep in a conversation with a very feisty woman. Ash set his drink down before plucking Kallie’s margarita she hadn’t touched from her fingers, then led her out of the now-crowded VIP area.

“Where are we going?” Kallie asked.

“Just somewhere to talk,” Ash said.

“What if I don’t want to talk?”

“Do you not want to talk?”

Ash looked back at Kallie, but she didn’t drop his hand. Kallie wouldn’t meet his gaze. She was still looking back at her friend. He didn’t want to make her do something she didn’t want to do, but he also had to talk to her. Kallie had to tell him what she wanted. He couldn’t read her mind. He needed her to talk to him. If he wasn’t what she wanted, then she needed to feel okay saying that. If she did want him, she needed to tell him that, so he could stick around.

Even if she wasn’t sure, he had to know.

“Why haven’t you called?” Ash asked.

“You want to talk here?” Kallie asked.

“If you tell me what you want, I can get it for you, Kallie. But since you won’t talk to me, I can’t give it to you. I’m rich, but I’m not a mind reader. Do you want to talk or do you want to go back to Eris? I won’t make you do something you don’t want to do, but the only way anything can get resolved is if we talk.”

Ash looked down into those wondrous green eyes and saw something blooming. The music was too loud and the lights were too low, but the way her eyes widened tugged at his heartstrings. He was frustrated. All he wanted her to do was talk. Speak her mind. Tell him what was going on without her attack dog gnawing at his heels.

“Talk to me, Kallie,” Ash said. “What’s going on?”

“Why did you come find me?” Kallie asked.

Ash slipped his hands into his pockets as Kallie leaned against the wall.

“Because there was a misunderstanding between us. Because I want a second chance at what we had.”

“But what we had was based on a lie,” she said.

“No, it wasn’t. Sure, I’m not a bartender. Though I can make drinks. I just don’t work as one. And I have money. That’s it. That’s all that happened. Nothing about me is any different, Kallie.”

“Yes it is,” she said.

“Why haven’t you called?”

“Because I don’t want to think about what happened!”

Ash sighed and took a step toward Kallie’s body.

“It’s all I can think about,” he said. “And I’m not ready to let the experience go. I’m not ready to let you go, Kallie.”

“You lied to me, Ash.”

“I think it’s more than that. I think that, because of my money, you equate me to your ex. And that’s not the case. I’m nothing like him. I’m nowhere near him. Because I could never do to you what he did. Ever.”

“I don’t know that,” she said as tears rose in her eyes.

“I know you don’t. And I know your life is complicated right now. But our relationship doesn’t have to be. We can still enjoy each other’s company and see where things lead to. That’s it. That’s all I’m asking for.”

Ash could see her wavering. See her shaking her head as a tear wafted down her cheek. So he decided to move in for the kill. He reached his hand up and wiped her tear away, then slid his hand down her back. Feeling the way she still leaned into him. Feeling the way her back was perfectly curved to the bulk of his arm. He pulled gently at her waist, feeling the way she stepped into him. Ash watched her forehead lean into his chest as she sought comfort in the warmth of his arm.

Then he dipped his lips to her ear and whispered.

“I’ve missed the way you feel beside me, Pretty Kallie.”

Like a hummingbird to a feeder, Kallie rose her face up. Kissed his chest. The smooth fabric of his suit. Her arms unfurled from her chest and she wrapped them around him, pulling him tightly against her. He held her. Kissed the top of her head. Closed his eyes and drew in her scent. Memorized her warmth. Oh, how he’d missed this. Missed her next to him.

“Come back to my place tonight,” Ash said.

“I can’t,” Kallie said.

“It doesn’t have to be anything else than this. But this club. It isn’t my thing. It isn’t my style.”

“What is your style?” she asked.

“Come back to my place and I’ll show you.”

“I can’t leave Eris.”

“Eris is fine. Look at her and Jeremy. They’re hitting it off very well.”

Ash watched Kallie’s gaze as she looked over. He sneaked a peek of the two of them and watched as they grew comfortable on the couch. Eris was all smiles and Jeremy’s fingers were already threaded with hers. He had gone in for his own kill and he was working. He was charming the pants off Kallie’s best friend. Jeremy leaned in for his move and planted his lips against Eris, and she didn’t seem poised to turn him away. Rather, she leaned back down onto the couch and wrapped her arms around Jeremy’s neck.

“See?” I asked. “Perfect couple.”

“For the night, maybe,” Kallie said.

I looked down at Kallie as my eyebrows rose to my hairline.

“Eris isn’t a commitment girl.”

“Then it’s a good thing Jeremy isn’t the commitment kind of guy,” Ash said.

“Hey, Jeremy!”

Ash’s booming voice made Kallie jump, and Eris shot him a dirty look.

“What?” Jeremy asked.

“You think you could keep an eye on Kallie’s friend there? I think the two of us are going to go talk.”

“What? You’re abandoning girls’ night?” Eris asked. “With him?”

“Says the girl lip-locked with the owner of the club,” Kallie said with a grin.

“One of the owners,” Jeremy said. “And I won’t leave her side. I promise.”

“You sure about that?” Eris asked. “Because I can be quite a handful.”

“Good thing I’ve got big hands then,” Jeremy said.

Ash looked down at Kallie and saw her toss a wink to her friend. Jeremy and Kallie were soon back to their own personal lip-lock, and Kallie was leaning heavier into his body. Ash took her hand and guided her away from the glass encasement. Away from the club and the loud music and the smoke and the drinks. Pouring out into the nighttime of New York City, Ash breathed a breath of fresh air. A gust of summer wind kicked up and fluttered Kallie’s dress, and he watched a smile cross her cheeks. He could already see her relaxing outside of the chaotic hustle and bustle of the club.

Seems like it wasn’t really her type of place either.