In Your Arms (6 page)

              “Not disowned exactly.” I don't know why I was explaining myself to him. “I did something, and my father needs me to prove myself. Prove that I am worthy, so I'm taking my time here in New York to decide whether or not I want to be part of a life that has caused me a lot of pain.” Money definitely changes people, or at least reveals who they really are.

              Braxton searches my face for any sign that I may be lying. I don't know what he finds, but he seems a bit pleased.

              “You're different, Ashton. I hope I'm not wrong about you.” He says.

              “Dresses in winter?” I question as Callie pulls out two of them.

              “With tights and boots, they would look amazing on you. Especially with your body type, you could wear a trash bag and look like you deserve to be on a runway.” I give Callie a look, and she just smiles at me. “Would you or would you not bang Ashton in a trash bag, Braxton?”

              I could feel my face feeling hot, and like I could start breaking out into hives any second now. I couldn't get rid of Braxton, he was very intent on coming with us.

              “Maybe without a trash bag, I do have some standards.” I give Callie a look, refusing to look anywhere else but at her.

              “See. Try them on, I'll get some leggings and those boots I saw you eying, they will go perfectly together.” She doesn't give me much of a choice, she throws the dresses at me, and runs away before I could say anything.

              “I think you're the only woman I've ever met that despises shopping.” I look at him, hoping my face isn't that red.

              “I don't despise shopping. I despise trying things on at the store.”

              “Isn't this what you women live for?”

              “You know, I really hate that you just clump us all together. We're not all the same. You'd know that if you know...you actually talked to the women you screw.” He sits down in the middle of the busy dressing room on the couch, and I go into the dressing area only covered by a mere piece of cloth.

              I make sure no one can see inside, and I take off my clothes and shoes. As soon as I have the first dress on, I see someone throw the black boots over the curtain. They nearly hit me.

              “Hey!” I yell.

              “Sorry.” I hear Callie giggle.

              “Where are the tights to this outfit that you promised?” I ask her through the curtain.

              “I knew you would try the purple dress on first, and those don't go with tights. Just put on the boots, you'll see how great you look.” I roll my eyes and slip on the boots. Then I curse when I see myself in the mirror because I know that Callie is right.

              The outfit really does tie in together. The purple dress was long sleeved and heavier than most dresses, and the boots made my legs look longer.

              “Come on out.” 

              “Fine.” I come out. Callie is smiling and she walks on over to me to pull my fishtail braid forward.

              “Better. I should definitely be a stylist.” I smile at her. “Go try on the green one and then we'll go.” I nod and walk back into my dressing area.

              I slip the green one on, and I can't quite reach the zipper. I call out for Callie, but no answer. “Callie!”

              “She went to go look for something.” I hear Braxton's raspy voice behind the curtain.

              “I can't zip up my dress, do you mind helping?” My back was to the curtain and I felt his hands on my waist then on the zipper.

              I don't know if I was feeling dizzy from his fingers touching my back or because I hadn't eaten all day. I'd like to think that he had an effect on me, but maybe I was just making it up in my mind. I was feeling something that wasn't there, he's made it clear that he doesn't really like me.

              Then I realized it was most likely because I had not eaten because my head felt...wrong. My knees gave out underneath me, and I don't really remember what happened next.

Chapter 9

Braxton Wright

              As I zipped up the dress, Ashton became really still. I looked at her face through the mirror, and she didn't look too well, looked pale. Next thing I knew, she was falling, and I somehow managed to grab her before she hit the ground.

              “Oh my gosh, did your girl faint?” Some woman asks.

              “Ashton, are you alright?” I set her down, making a bit of a pillow from her clothes and laying it under her head.

              “What happened?” Callie asks, she sets the stuff down.

              Her big gray eyes opened. She seemed disoriented. Her eyes moved from Callie to me, and they stayed locked on me.

              “What happened?”

              “I think you fainted.” I say, pushing her hair out of her face.

              “Do you need us to call an ambulance?” The clerk asks.

              I look at Ashton. “Do you think you can sit up?” I ask her.

              She didn't answer, but just sat up. “I'm fine. No need for an ambulance.”

              “Bring her a bottle of water, please.” I say to the clerk, and she just hurries off to get what we need.

              “Ashton, when was the last time you ate?” Callie asks.

              “Dinner.” She pauses. “Last night.”

              “You seriously can't keep doing this to yourself, you work yourself like dog, and you need to keep your energy up.” I guess this isn't something new they have yet to talk about.

              “It was an accident, Callie.” Ashton looks at me. “Do you mind helping me get up?” I nod and help her get up slowly.

              “I'm going to change.” She announces to Callie who looks pissed. Ashton just walks into the changing room and closes the curtain. She's acting like it is no big deal, like it happens all the time.

              “She's not anorexic.” Callie says to me in case I was wondering. “It's stress. I think she got an email from her brother because I heard her crying in bed last night.” She whispers. I don't know why she is telling me, this sounds personal.

              “Her family does everything together, and the separation is taking a toll on her. She wants to keep herself busy, but then she forgets to eat or sleep.” Callie looks at me. “Don't mess with her because she doesn't need it. What you did last night was kind of cruel.”

              “I'm sorry.” I never really thought about what Ashton could be going through. I feel like an ass. She shakes her head.

              “Don't apologize to me, apologize to her.”

              I've been thinking about how I was going to make it up to Ashton for throwing her under the bus on Thursday. I'm going to make her my first female friend. I am determined to be a friend to her, and that will be a first for me.

              I knocked on her door around ten in the morning, I had two bags with breakfast. Callie mentioned that Ashton loved to sleep in on days off, but today was not one of those days because she had to teach dance at twelve like she did every Saturday at the recreation center.

              The door opened and a tired, but already ready, Ashton stood at the door. She looked confused to find me there.

              “What are you doing here?” She looked at the two bags I was carrying then back at me.

              “I wanted to make a peace offering. I brought breakfast.”

              “If there aren't waffles in there, I'm not letting you in.” She says in all seriousness. A smile forms on my face.

              “I have waffles.”

              “Good.”

              I follow her inside and I place the food in her kitchen. I watch as she reaches up in the cupboards for plates, and I look away. I will not objectify her like I've objectified every other woman in my life.

              “Are you feeling better from yesterday?” I ask her.

              “Yeah. Thanks for asking.” She sets the plates down and I begin unloading the food. I went to a diner down the street that was open twenty four hours, I've spent some late nights there working. It's very peaceful and the food is delicious.

              “I want to be your friend, Ashton.” She looks at me.

              “What?”

              “I do. It's not a ploy, I honestly think we can be friends. Not just for Charles sake, but for ours. I've never had a friend who was a girl, and I'm sure you could talk to someone who can help you.” I shrug.

              “What does that even mean? You mean friends with benefits?” I chuckle.

              “No. I mean I'll be here to listen in case you can't talk to Callie. I'll make sure you can have fun. But if you want to be friends with benefits, I am all for it.” My eyes don't leave hers. It's crazy just how gray her eyes are, it's hard to look away.

              “I'm good with just being friends, no need to complicate things.” Something comes over her face, but I'm not sure what it is.

              “You're not a virgin are you?” I ask, going out on a limb. There is no way that she has gone through twenty something years without having sex.

              “I'm not sure that's something that I want to let you in on.” The question doesn't phase her, and she takes a bite of her waffles.

              “Why not?”

              “I've only just met you. Plus, we're friends. Nothing more.” She smiles. “Peanut butter waffles, kind of gamble to order.” She says.

              “Why is that?”

              “I could have been allergic, plus it's hard to find a place that actually knows how to make them right. It took me years to nail that recipe down to the last detail.”

              “Peanut butter is my favorite, and you put peanuts in your stuffing, so I assumed you weren't allergic.” I tell her about my observation from Thursday.

              “You actually tasted the peanuts?” She seemed surprised, must not happen a lot.

              “I pay attention to detail, it was quite a nice touch.” She smiles.

              “Thank you.”

Chapter 10

Ashton Pennington

              The past week, Braxton has been getting up early and bringing me breakfast. We've had everything on the menu from that diner he really seems to like. It's odd how easy it is to talk to him, and let him know things about me. Still doesn't know who I am or who I am related to, and I want to keep it that way.

              “Are you a good dancer?” I shrug.

              “I've been dancing since I was two, but I have an injury in my knee I got when I was sixteen. It ruined any chance of me having any career other than being a dance teacher, maybe a choreographer.” Dancing was a big part of my life up until that injury. Last school year, my advisor brought up that maybe I should put my skills to use in the teaching environment. I still took classes at my old dance studio, but I just didn't enjoy it as much, so I decided not to go that route.

              “How did the injury happen?”

              “I did a jump, and I ended up landing on my knee.” I spent a week in the hospital, and it was the worst week of my life.

              “How did you start your blog?” I ask Braxton on a different morning. It also seemed that he had no trouble telling me stuff as well.

              “I was engaged.” That was a shock to me. “It was for two days before I realized she was shagging someone behind my back. Suddenly, I had all these revelations, and Charles convinced me to start writing them down. I did. On the internet. It just kept growing, and three months ago, I was offered a book deal.”

              “So you did have a bad experience with a girl.” He rolls his eyes at me.

              “One bad experience.” He acts like it's not a big deal, but even I know that a broken heart can create darkness in your life.

              “It's enough experience.” I finish putting the dishes in the dishwasher, and Braxton leans up against the counter.

              “Have you had a bad experience?”

              “I would love to answer that question, but I have to get to work.” He chuckles as I leave him in the kitchen.

              “Of course.” I slip on my coat and he follows me out.

              Braxton's lips are on mine, the kiss is intense. He pushes me up against the couch, he is on top of me, and I could feel him against me. I moaned as he pressed against the right spot.

              “Ashton.” He whispers as he moves from my lips to my neck and lower.