He held up one finger to silence me. “Ah, just wait and see! You think I’m crazy now, but keep an open mind, okay?”
I shrugged, already feeling overdressed as a guy wearing a pair of jazzy, green board shorts and a string vest walked out. I sat in the car, waiting for him to come around and open the door for me. That was another one of his ‘rules’ that was apparently for my safety. I didn’t see the point in it all, but he seemed more relaxed if I just went along with what he wanted.
As we walked into the place, I grinned, biting my lip so I didn’t laugh. The place was practically empty aside from two other people. Casting my eyes around, I noticed that the tables were covered in some sort of plastic cloth, the chairs were old and had a worn covering on the base of them, and as Ashton pulled me forward, my foot stuck to the floor in a couple of places. I was definitely overdressed.
In the corner of the restaurant, there was a reserved tag on the table. “Lucky we got here on time, wouldn’t want them to be overrun and have to give our table away,” I joked.
Ashton laughed, waving for the waiter’s attention. “Open mind, remember?” he muttered as the guy walked over to us.
By the time I was done eating, my cheeks hurt from all the smiling. As it turns out, despite the lack of ambiance in the place, I was actually having a fantastic time. The food was merely average, my chicken was a little rubbery and the fries were a little cardboard-like, but the company was faultless. Ashton and I chatted easily the whole time, laughing, joking and even flirting a fair bit too. It was the best date I’d been on by a clear mile.
When the waiter came and cleared our table, he and Ashton exchanged a secret look before he turned to me and grinned. “Now for the real reason we came here.” He nodded over my shoulder and I twisted in my seat, seeing the waiter coming back. On the table in front of me he set down a ginormous slice of chocolate fudge cake and a little pot of hot fudge sauce. My eyes widened in surprise as my mouth immediately watered. Ashton had remembered my favourite dessert and pre-ordered it for me?
Ashton leant back in his seat with a smug smile. “I asked around, apparently this is the best chocolate fudge cake in the whole of Arizona.”
I shook my head, bemused. He was so incredibly thoughtful. I hadn’t expected anything like this in the slightest. “Seriously, I just… you’ve put so much thought into this, huh?”
He shrugged as if it was no big deal. “Well yeah, I guess. I just wanted to make it special,” he explained. “Well try it then,” he laughed, pointing to my cake.
“Aren’t you having anything?”
“Nah, I need to watch my figure,” he joked, winking at me playfully. More excited than I should be over a piece of cake, I grabbed my spoon and cut off a huge mouthful. “Wait, wait!” he cried, as my spoon was half way to my mouth. “You have to try it properly,” he smiled and picked up the little pot of sauce, and poured it over my dessert before waving his hand, giving me the go-ahead.
After scooping a little of the sauce onto my spoon too, I greedily shoved it in my mouth. The sickly sweetness and richness of it made me moan in appreciation. It was easily the best thing I’d ever tasted. “Oh my God, you have got to try this!” I mumbled with my mouth full.
He chuckled wickedly. “Very lady like,” he teased, grabbing a fork and cutting off a piece, shovelling it into his mouth. “Holy shit, that is good!” he agreed with his mouth full too. I burst out laughing, covering my mouth with my hand as I laughed so hard I thought I was going to choke.
When we finished eating, I thought we were going home, but instead of walking left to the car, he turned right and led me down a darkened side street. “What’s down here?” I asked, confused.
“Just wait and see,” he answered as we carried on walking. At the end of the little street, we rounded a corner and the place opened up into a sort of square. There was a small marquee covering a makeshift dance floor, with little fairy lights covering the ceiling as couples slow danced underneath. A live orchestra played classical songs nearby.
My eyes widened, stunned by the intimate little setting. “Did you know this was here?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I found it on the ‘what to do in your town’ tourist website,” he answered, smiling at my astonished face.
He took my hand, laughing, and gave me a little tug towards the dance floor. His arms wrapped around me, and I smiled as we swayed slowly to the beautiful, yet haunting music that surrounded us. It was perfect. As I looked up and his eyes met mine, my stomach fluttered erratically, and my heart started to race.
We danced for about an hour before I started to feel slightly chilly. He frowned, chafing his hands up my arms as I shivered. “Want to go?” he asked.
I shook my head quickly. I didn’t ever want to leave, actually. “Not yet. Can we just stay a little longer?” I pouted, not wanting this night to end.
He smiled sadly before pulling out of my arms. I sighed, knowing the experience was over. But instead of leaving, he stripped out of his shirt and wrapped it around my shoulders instead, helping me put my arms into the holes before fastening a couple of the buttons for me.
My heart melted at the thoughtful gesture. “You’re just too sweet, Ashton. Seriously, you’re going to make some girl really happy.” I stepped back into his body, resting my head on his chest.
“Yeah? Some girl like you?”
I sighed wistfully. “Yeah, maybe not as screwed up as me though. You need someone who’ll treat you right, and not give you shit,” I answered. I closed my eyes, enjoying being close to him.
“Maybe I like being given shit,” he joked, tracing his hands up my back.
“What are you, a masochist?”
“All things worth having are worth fighting for,” he replied firmly. I didn’t know what to say in response to that. I agreed with his statement wholeheartedly, but some things were just not worth having, and I was certainly one of those things.
We danced for another few songs before the cold seemed to seep into my very bones and I could no longer repress the shivers, even with his shirt and arms wrapped around my body. “Wow, I’m really cold now,” I admitted. “Maybe we could come back another time, and I’ll bring a jacket,” I suggested, smiling at him hopefully. I loved it here; I would definitely like to come back again with him.
He pulled back and smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry; I should have thought to bring you a jacket.”
I rolled my eyes. “Hey, don’t do that! You’ve been so thoughtful, and I’ve had a great night,” I insisted, hugging him tightly.
“Me too.” He kissed my temple as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders, guiding me back down the windy street to where we’d parked the car. During the drive home, I watched him from the corner of my eye, just wondering what it would be like if things were different and if this were real, instead of being a ruse to fool people into believing we were dating instead of him guarding me.
When we pulled up at home, Dean’s car rolled into the space next to ours. My mouth fell open in shock. “Was Dean following us?”
Ashton grinned and nodded. “Yeah, of course,” he confirmed, opening my door for me.
“Why?” I asked, slightly annoyed that he had watched our private date.
“That’s his job, Baby Girl,” he replied casually.
I sighed and shook my head; they really were taking this too far. As Dean caught us up and stepped into the elevator, I forced a smile. “You did a great job tonight. I didn’t even see you once,” I congratulated, trying to keep the irritation out of my tone.
He nodded and smiled as the doors slid open on our floor. “Thanks, Annabelle, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Ashton stepped out first, looking around. “Tell Peter that we’re back and his shift starts now, so he’s to get his ass downstairs in the lobby quick smart.” His face showed he was joking, but the tone of his voice showed that he meant every word. Dean nodded and watched us walk into the apartment.
Once we were safely inside, I turned and smiled tentatively at Ashton. My daring side was coming out because I wanted this perfect night to end the perfect way. “So, do I get a goodnight kiss then?” I asked shyly. His eyebrows rose in surprise, but he didn’t say anything. I smiled. “What, you wouldn’t kiss me at the door if this was under different circumstances?” I teased.
“Yeah, I guess I would,” he smiled and stepped closer to me, putting his hands on my waist and pushing me back gently so that my back was against the wall. I couldn’t breathe as my eyes settled on his luscious lips. I gulped, forcing myself to meet his eyes as he started inching his mouth towards mine. The passion was building inside me.
His lips brushed against mine gently for just a couple of seconds. My whole body tingled and heat spread through my veins, warming every part of my body. His eyes were shining with excitement and happiness as he pulled away.
I fought the urge to throw myself at him, to wrap myself tightly around him and ravage his mouth with mine. He always seemed to make me lose myself, this boy. It was like he had a secret power over me that made all of my inhibitions and worries fade into insignificance.
“Thank you for an incredible night, Anna.”
I smiled. It had been incredible, and I was glad he’d had a nice time too.
He sighed, tracing his finger across my cheek. “I like it when you smile. Your whole face lights up.” His hand dropped from my face as he nodded over his shoulder towards the bedroom door. “Go get changed, I’ll check the windows and stuff.”
Once in the privacy of the bedroom, I shrugged out of my clothes and into a pair of pyjamas, and then used a wipe to remove my make-up. When I was ready for bed, I sat down on the corner of the mattress and looked at my photo of Jack on my bedside cabinet. I sighed; I just didn’t know what to feel anymore. I didn’t want to go back to the life I used to have before Ashton. I was enjoying college, I loved my classes, the people here were nice and made me laugh, and of course, I had Ashton. He made my life easier. He was great. Actually, he was really great, and he made me happy.