He grinned at me over the rim of his glass before he jerked in his seat and his eyes lit up excitedly. “Ooh, how about we go Go Karting?”
Go Karting? I’d never done that before. “Sounds fun. Want to?” I asked, turning back to Ashton.
He shrugged easily. “Sure, if that’s what you’d rather do.”
I nodded eagerly, snuggling into his side. Nate pulled out his cell phone, already tapping away on the screen. “Great. I’ll call some of the guys and we can meet them there.”
Ashton’s mouth closed over mine, kissing me almost desperately as his arm tightened around my waist, crushing me against his side. I moaned into his mouth. This was going to be a long day, I could feel it. However, before it could get too heated, our kiss was interrupted by Nate flicking more water at us. “Right then, Seth, Wayne and Ryan are going to meet us there in an hour,” he said happily.
I smiled. I was actually excited to meet the rest of Ashton’s friends and see how he spent his time when he wasn’t worried to death about me. As we sat there talking about racing and who was the best driver, the food arrived. Shelly set a plate of pancakes down in front of me, and I looked at her hopefully. “Do I owe you a fifty or not?” I asked, watching her face, trying to read if she’d really spat in my food.
She laughed. “I didn’t spit in your food,” she promised, looking like she was actually telling the truth. “I spat in his,” she added sweetly, plopping Ashton’s food down.
“Oh, he won’t mind. You’ve shared saliva before, it’s no different,” I joked, nudging him playfully.
She laughed and sat down next to Nate. “So, how long have you two been together?”
Ashton grinned. “Two months.”
She looked at him disbelievingly. “Seriously? I didn’t think you’d ever settle down. You told me that you didn’t do relationships,” she pouted, seeming a little hurt.
“I didn’t. Not until I met Anna,” he replied casually.
I smiled and shrugged. “Yeah, I think I may have curbed his player ways for a little while. I’ll enjoy it while it lasts, he’s picked up a lot of tricks from screwing all of those girls,” I joked. Everyone laughed at that.
“I’ll bet he has. There have been a lot of them,” she smirked at him, obviously still trying to get him in trouble with me. “Enjoy it while it lasts, he’ll kick you to the curb soon enough,” she added, pushing herself to her feet.
I nodded in agreement. “No doubt about it. I’d say I have at least another six months though. I can keep you interested that long, can’t I?” I asked, grinning slyly at Ashton – he had that long left before he would be reassigned.
He chuckled and nodded. “Definitely,” he replied, rubbing his hand up my back softly.
Obviously disgruntled, she huffed and strutted off towards the kitchen again. I smiled at her back. “Well, I don’t think her plan to make me jealous worked the way she wanted it to,” I stated.
Nate’s eyes were wide as he regarded me with a bewildered expression on his face. “What the hell kind of girlfriend are you if you don’t get jealous?”
“The best kind,” I answered, cutting off a large chunk of pancake and stuffing it into my mouth. Ashton hadn’t started eating; he was just frowning down at his plate distastefully. “You not gonna eat, Pretty Boy?”
He winced. “Do you think she really spat in my food?” he asked, turning his nose up. Nate and I burst out laughing and I didn’t stop until my sides were hurting.
The rest of the time we talked and laughed. When we were done, we took a leisurely stroll back to their apartment so we could pick up the car. I smiled happily. Nate was actually a really nice guy, other than the fact that every word out of his mouth was suggestive. He got on exceedingly well with Ashton, and it was nice to see him joking around with his friend. It made me extremely glad I’d arranged this. Ashton grinned at me as we approached the car, pressing the button on the key, making the lights flash.
Nate stopped dead in his tracks as his mouth popped open in shock. “Holy shit. You have got to be kidding me!” he cried.
“I know right? Anna rented it for me for the weekend as a birthday present,” Ashton boasted, grabbing me and pulling me in for a hug.
Nate practically choked on fresh air as he shook his head. “Anna, I really think we need to hook up, my birthday is in like a month.”
Ashton punched him playfully in the arm again. “I told you, she’s mine,” he stated, laughing because Nate still hadn’t taken his eyes off the car. “I’m assuming you’re riding with us in this instead of taking your car?” Ashton pulled open the passenger door for me, ushering me in as he smirked at his friend’s astonished expression. Nate nodded, running around to the driver’s side and wrenching the door open. “Back seat! I’m driving!” Ashton protested as Nate went to slide into the driver’s side. I grinned to myself. Boys were too easily impressed by a flashy car.
As we made the short drive to the Go Kart track, Nate was sitting in the back, gushing about the car and how beautiful it was. Ashton held my hand the whole time, shooting me sly glances with a big grin on his face. When we pulled in, the car was immediately swarmed with guys. Well, that was a slight exaggeration, there were three of them. I recognised them from the photo I’d seen back in the apartment.
We all climbed out, and Nate was raving to the three newcomers about the car. Ashton stepped to my side and grinned as they all exchanged the typical man hug thing. He turned back to me and smiled proudly as he wrapped his arm around my waist. “This is my girl, Anna.” He gave me a little tug forward, smiling reassuringly as I tried not to show my unease at being surrounded by three unknown men that were all looking me over like vultures look at a wounded animal. “Anna, this is Seth, Wayne and Ryan.” He waved his hand to them in turn.
“Nice,” the guy called Seth purred under his breath. He was gorgeous too, and I silently wondered what they put in the water here in LA. He had light brown hair and brown eyes and when he smiled, he got dimples, making him look cute. I had a feeling it would be the innocent little boy dimples that the girls were attracted to.
“Hi,” I smiled; trying not to show them how nervous I was. It had been different meeting Nate because that was one-on-one. This situation frightened me a little.
“How you doing, Anna? I’m Seth, and it is definitely my pleasure,” the dimpled guy flirted, holding out his hand to me. I forced a smile and shook his hand, attempting to let go quickly, but when he didn’t release my hand my heart took off in a sprint. I dug my fingers into Ashton’s side, silently telling him that I was uncomfortable.
“Seth, remember I said this is my girl?” Ashton growled warningly. Seth looked at him and grinned sheepishly, releasing my hand quickly.
Instantly Nate punched Seth in the arm. “His,” he pointed at Ashton, “and then mine when he screws up,” he joked, grinning.
And just like that, the tension was broken and I laughed as Ashton’s arm tightened on my waist. “Right, that’s enough flirting. Let’s go race,” Ashton suggested, nodding at the large metal building.
The boys were obviously regulars here because they greeted the instructor like an old friend and were led through to the back where the helmets were. As we stepped through the door, the noise of the engines and the smell of exhaust fumes that lingered in the air actually made the hair on the nape of my neck stand up on end. I turned to Ashton, seeing his big bright smile and my nerves instantly started to fade. I knew he wouldn’t let anything hurt me, so this had to be safe. My heart rate slowly started to return to normal as a helmet was pushed onto my head and I was led over to a large blue Go Kart and shown how to drive it.
Once I was going, however, I actually loved it. Although, much to my embarrassment, I was a total disaster at it. After crashing into the tyres for the sixth time in three laps, I decided to give up and just watch. As I pulled into the makeshift pit lane and climbed out, Ashton pulled up behind me. I frowned as I pulled the helmet off and breathed a sigh of relief be
cause they were heavy and constricting.
“Hey, don’t stop, I just want to watch you,” I protested, waving him back into his car.
He shook his head, pulling off his helmet too. “I’m not leaving you on your own.”
I sighed dramatically. “Ashton Taylor, get your perfect ass back in that Go Kart and finish your time. You’ve only got a few more minutes. I’ll be fine here, I promise. I won’t move from this spot until you come and get me,” I vowed, crossing my heart with my finger.
He smiled and walked over to me, kissing me quickly. “Okay, but you’d better not move from this spot, Miss Spencer.” The words were said in a joking way, but his eyes were serious; I knew it was an order and not a request.
“Yes, sir,” I answered, grinning.
His mouth closed over mine again, kissing me fiercely as he stepped up against my body, clutching me close to him. My heart sped uncontrollably as the lust from earlier spilled over and built into a raging inferno. I threw my arms around his neck, kissing him back desperately as one of his hands slid down my back and cupped my ass.
I groaned, breaking the kiss but leaving my lips against his as I spoke, “If you don’t go right now, I’m not gonna be able to let you go,” I admitted. My eyes were locked onto his as my hormones spiked to preposterous levels. He grinned and bent his knees slightly so that his face was level with mine, his arms tightened around me as he stood back up, lifting me off my feet. I gasped, a little shocked, but caught on immediately, wrapping my legs around his waist, clinging to him tightly.
“I don’t want to drive anymore,” he whispered, kissing me again, sucking lightly on my bottom lip.
A needy whimper left my lips as I gladly opened my mouth, eager for his taste. He kissed me deeply and my world seemed to spin just that little bit too fast. Rough brick scratched at my back through my shirt as he pressed me against the wall. I completely forgot where we were as he kissed down my neck, sucking gently on the skin under my ear. My fingers tangled into the back of his hair, tugging gently, which made him bite my neck gently. Everything about this moment was incredible, from the rough wall scratching at my back, to his hard chest pressed against mine, to the slim line of his hips that seemed like they were just made for my legs to fit perfectly around.
Suddenly he pulled his mouth away from mine and groaned. I gasped, shaking my head as I looked at him pleadingly, silently begging him not to stop. “What the hell are you stopping for?” I whined, pouting.
He laughed and used his head to motion over his shoulder. Confused, I looked in that direction only to see that his friends were all standing there, watching, whistling and shouting rude comments about how we should get a room. Nate was shrieking in a high pitch voice, “Oh! Yes, Ashton, yes.”
I blushed and buried my face in his neck as Ashton just laughed. “Holy shit, that’s embarrassing,” I whispered, reluctantly unwrapping my legs from his waist.
He smiled and set me down onto my feet as the boys all strutted into the office, still making jokes about us and laughing wickedly. “You look so adorable when you blush,” he mused, brushing his finger across my cheek.
Rolling my eyes, I grabbed his hand and followed his friends into the office so we could give our helmets back. Nate grinned as we walked into the room. “So, what are we doing now? Or are you two going home to have some fun on your own?” he asked, smirking at me.
I shrugged, hoping to appear confident. “I don’t mind, whatever Ashton wants to do.”
“Well, I’m all for going home and having some fun,” Ashton teased, grinning at me devilishly.
I giggled at the lustful expression on his face. “Oh, you’re always up for that, Pretty Boy.”
He laughed and pulled me closer to his side, winding his arm around me securely. “Seriously though, I actually I don’t mind what we do now. How about we go to the races or something?” he suggested.
My heart leapt in my chest. I could barely suppress my girly giggle of delight. “The races? Really? That’d be great!” I enthused, bouncing on the spot with excitement.
“It’s dog racing, not horses,” Ashton mumbled apologetically.
My excitement jumped up another level. “Well that’s even better. I’ve never been!”
Ashton grinned and pulled me into his embrace, our chests pressed together. “You’re so very easy to please,” he whispered, looking at me gratefully.
I smiled and wrapped my arms around his neck, going up on tiptoes and pressing my lips to his again softly, just once before pulling back. He made a growling sound in the back of his throat before his lips claimed mine in a scorching kiss that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
“Holy fuck, would you two cut that out? Jeez, I’m all for a live porn show but damn,” Nate scolded.
Ashton groaned and pulled his mouth from mine, not letting me pull away from him as he scowled at his best friend. “I hate you,” he grumbled.
The boys behind me laughed. “You love me, Taylor, don’t even try to deny it,” Nate joked. “So, are we invited to the races or what?”
Ashton sighed and rested his chin on my shoulder. “Yeah sure, if you want to.”
Three hours later, and collectively a couple of hundred bucks down, we were all crammed into Ashton’s lounge eating Thai takeout while the boys argued over the PS4. I’d had a fantastic day with them, and even losing on the races didn’t put a dampener on the day. Los Angeles was, so far, surpassing my expectations. I loved it here.
As I sat there watching him quietly, seeing him fool around with his friends, laughing and joking, I realised that my insides felt a little weird. Ashton Taylor actually frightened me witless. I cared about him way too much for my own good. Seeing him happy seemed to make me happy, and that wasn’t a good thing in my book. I just loved having him in my life. I was starting to depend on him too much already. I had no idea what I was going to do when his assignment was over. I had no idea how I would cope without seeing his smile or hearing his voice. I was already in too deep.
Forcing my eyes away from him, I looked up at the clock. It was almost nine in the evening. They had all arranged to go to some bar at ten, so I knew it was probably time for me to start getting ready for that.
“I’m gonna go get dressed,” I announced, standing up and stepping over Wayne, who was sprawled out on the floor, his eyes glued to the TV.
Seth frowned and pouted. “I should probably go too,” he agreed, looking at the controller in his hand and frowning as if he didn’t want to leave it.
I smiled and left them to it, heading in for a quick shower but being careful not to wet my hair. As I stood in front of Ashton’s closet, deciding what to wear for the night, I felt the excitement bubbling up in the pit of my stomach. I was actually genuinely looking forward to going out tonight, and I had a plan to finally see Ashton drunk. He didn’t know yet, of course, but I’d use bribes if necessary to get him to have a few drinks with me on his birthday.
After pulling on a pair of black shorts and a blue short-sleeve top with blue heels to match, I sat on the bed and started to curl my hair. Just as I was finishing up, Ashton came in with a towel wrapped around his waist and water glistening off of his well-sculpted chest.
“Do you mind if I get dressed in here? It’ll be a bit weird if I get dressed somewhere else; Nate thinks we’re a couple, so…” Ashton explained, looking a little uncomfortable as he grabbed some clothes from his drawer.
I laughed at his awkwardness. “Ashton, I see you in your underwear every night, I think I can cope.”
A dazzling grin split his face. “Yeah I guess, sorry,” he replied sheepishly, carefully tugging on a pair of boxer shorts under his towel. As he pulled the towel off, I grabbed his camera from the side and snapped a couple of photos of him in his underwear. “Hey! I hope I get to take underwear shots of you too,” he protested, closing his hand over the lens to thwart my efforts.
I giggled and shrugged. “Maybe if I get drunk you might,” I flirted, raising on
e eyebrow at him suggestively.
He groaned. “Anna, no begging me for sex if you’re off your pretty face tonight, okay?” he whined, pouting.
I grinned wickedly as I shrugged. “I never agree to a deal that I know I won’t be able to keep.” That was the truth. I wouldn’t be able to agree to that because whenever I was drinking, I couldn’t seem to stop flirting with the boy. I guess the drink made me shed my inhibitions, and my sense of right and wrong, because flirting with him was always such a terrific idea at the time.
He laughed at my comment. “Yeah, I guess you wouldn’t be able to keep your word,” he agreed, pulling on a black button-down shirt and dark blue jeans. I groaned as he clipped on his little gun holder around his ankle.
“Aww come on, you won’t need that!” I whined.
He sighed. “Look, I already got rid of one of the guards for you; I can’t get rid of the gun too.”
Knowing he was right and that I couldn’t actually protest when he was already breaking the rules by bringing me to LA on his own, I stood and decided to change the subject. I did a little twirl. “Do I look okay? I could dress up a little more, I brought a dress with me,” I offered nervously. I had no idea what the girls in LA wore to a club.
“You look beautiful,” he promised, taking my face in his hands and looking into my eyes. My stomach clenched at his compliment. The way he looked at me so adoringly made me feel as if I was flying. As he stared into my eyes, I could feel the passion building; I’d been feeling it all day. He bent his face towards mine slowly, and I held my breath waiting for his soft lips to touch mine. They were millimetres away when a loud banging on the door ruined the moment.
“Come on, let’s go already!” Nate shouted, sounding bored.
“I’m really starting to hate my best friend,” Ashton muttered, sliding his hands down my neck, across my shoulders and down my arms. When his hands got to mine, he interlaced our fingers and gave me a little tug towards the door.
Nate’s eyes widened as we walked out of the room. “Damn, Anna, you look sexy as hell,” he growled, looking me over slowly. I giggled as Ashton punched his arm again in reprimand. “I know, I know. Yours!” Nate grumbled, turning for the door.