Chapter Twenty-Two – Aston
“This is going to be a disaster,” Megan mutters, pulling onto a street with houses worth more than I could ever dream of making. Most are three-story buildings, all with driveways, garages and perfectly pruned front yards.
I fidget in my seat. A small voice in the back of my mind whispers about the differences in our lives. It reminds me how different it is here compared to where I started life in San Francisco. I glance at Megan and tell the voice to f*ck off.
My past doesn’t define who I am. The here and now does.
Gramps whistles low. “What, you got a pool and all?”
“Hope you brought your swimming trunks,” she comments in a chipper voice.
“Good job I did, then.” Gramps pats his stomach. “Love a good swim.”
She turns the car onto a driveway leading to one of the three-story houses. The drive is lined by circular bushes and winter flowers. I look up at the house. Painted white, the house looks like something out of a movie.
You know… The ones where the rich, unattainable person always lives.
You’re not worth anything. I clench my jaw and push the voice away. I won’t let it ruin this weekend for Megan.
Megan hops out of the car. The front door opens, revealing a woman that could be Megan in twenty years time. Looking at her mom’s blonde hair, slender figure and bright smile, it’s easy to see exactly why Megan is so damn beautiful.
Gramps whistles again. “That’s one hot momma,” he whispers to me, chuckling.
I roll my eyes and step from the car, turning to help him out. He waves me off, and I roll my eyes again. Damn stubborn man.
He brushes his hands off on his legs. “I’m going to meet me some beautiful ladies.” He hobbles up the drive on his stick, approaching Megan and her mom, and promptly introduces himself. I smirk when he leans forward to kiss Megan’s mom on the cheek, taking her totally by surprise. She laughs, and Megan turns to me, smiling.
My stomach jolts and I repeat my mantra in my mind. My past does not define me. My past does not define me.
“Mom, this is Aston. Aston, this is my mom, Gloria,” Megan introduces us.
“It’s lovely to meet you, Aston.” Gloria’s eyes twinkle with genuine happiness. She holds her hand out and I take it, kissing her fingers.
“The pleasure is all mine.”
She beams, leaning into Megan. “And he’s polite! I like him already.”
Gramps winks at me, and I stifle my grin as Gloria leads us into the house. Megan slips her hand inside mine, and I squeeze it lightly.
“Roger?” Gloria calls. “Where are you?”
“In the yard, darling,” a deep voice calls back.
“He’s getting the grill fired up,” she explains, leading us into the house.
It looks nothing like I expected it to. In my mind, it would be immaculate and filled with expensive trinkets, but it’s not. The walls are adorned with certificates with Megan’s name on from swimming to horse riding, pictures of her and Braden, and family photos. My eyes flick from one image to another, drinking them in.
“You were a really cute kid,” I murmur as we pass a photo of Megan with her hair in pigtails, grinning at the camera with a tooth missing.
“Shut up,” she mutters back. I grin.
The back yard is about the size of Gramps’ house. He whistles again, and I resist the urge to join him. We step onto decking that houses the grill, a large table and chairs set, and a few random plants. A pool house is at the far end next to a fair sized pool.
And you could still get another house in the free space.
I knew Braden and Megan came from money, but holy f*cking shit.
“Megs!” The man at the grill calls, turning around.
“Dad,” Megan groans, and I see why. His apron is that of a naked guy’s – sporting a six pack and burger bun over the space where his dick should be. I chuckle lightly.
“What?” he says innocently.
“You had to wear that apron, didn’t you? Remember? Guests?” she implores desperately.
He looks at me and Gramps, grinning. “Too late now, darling daughter. They’ve already seen it!”
“And I’ve got a real one!” Gramps laughs throatily, patting his rounded stomach. He steps forward and introduces himself to Megan’s dad.
Megan sighs and rests her forehead against my shoulder. I kiss the top of her head, smiling.
“And this must the boy that stole my girl’s heart.” Her dad turns to me, smiling widely.
“Yes, sir.” I wink at Megan. She’s giving her dad the death stare.
“Roger,” he introduces himself, shaking my free hand. “Sure is nice to meet you, son. If she ever had a boyfriend in high school, we never got to meet him. Braden scared him off before we even got close.”
“Dad!” Megan gasps. “What are you talking about?”
“The fact you never brought me some eye candy home from school,” a smoky voice rasps from the kitchen. “About time you did. He has a nice behind. Is his front that nice?”
“Mother,” Gloria warns.
I raise an eyebrow at Megan, and her mouth drops open. A slight flush rises on her cheeks, and we both turn to look at the old woman sweeping out of the house onto the decking.
“What? I was talking about the fine gentleman sitting at the table over here.” She takes a seat opposite Gramps and glances at me, running her eyes across me. “Although, good choice, Megan. He’s a pretty one.”
“And he has brains.” Megan shrugs.
“Go off to college and you get picky. Mind you…” Her Nan grins. “I’d be picky, too, if he was on offer.”
“And he got them there looks and brains from somewhere,” Gramps butts in.
“And it was clearly you.” Her Nan beams at him. They strike up a conversation, and I smile. Bringing him here was a good idea.
“So you really never had a boyfriend in high school?” I tease Megan.
She opens her mouth, closes it, and opens it again.
“Not one she brought home,” Gloria explains. “Braden definitely scared them off, so imagine my shock when she told me about you! I thought you were definitely going to show up with a broken arm or a black eye.”
“A broken arm?” Roger exclaims, poking the coal. “I expected him to show up in a wheelchair. Maybe that girl is good for Braden.”
“Maddie,” Megan corrects. “Not “that girl,” Dad. Her name is Maddie.”
“That’s it. I knew it was an ‘M’ name, I just couldn’t think of it.” He waves her off.
“Perhaps.” Gloria smiles. “Megan, why don’t you go and show Aston around? It looks as though his grandfather is occupied for the moment.” She leans forward. “I made the spare rooms up because I didn’t know what you were doing,” she whispers. “If you want to share, you go ahead. You’re adults, after all, but just use-”
“Yes, thank you, Mom,” Megan rushes out. “Understood.”
She tugs on my hand, pulling me away from the decking and her father’s laughter. I smirk to myself.
“Good grief,” she says when we’re inside. “That went kinda well, I guess.”
“Hey – your parents embarrassed you and your Nan eyed me up. I’d say it went pretty well!”
She pauses. “I guess that’s kinda standard.”
“I dunno. I’ve never met the parents before.”
She pauses halfway up the stairs, tilting her head and looking at me. “Really?”
“Yeah. You sound surprised.”
“I kinda am.”
“Why? You know I’ve never really dated anyone before. It’s always just been casual.”
She starts walking again. “So… This is serious?” I catch the teasing lilt in her voice.
“I’m toying with the idea of it…”
She grins, and I pull her close to me at the top of the stairs. “Yes?” She bats her eyelashes as she looks up at me.
I smile. “Was there ever any doubt this was serious?”
“No,” she answers, kissing me. “Not really.”
“Not really?” I raise an eyebrow.
“No,” she corrects, pulling me towards a door. “Love you.”
Her words send warmth through my body, silencing the constant whisper in the back of my mind.
“Love you,” I whisper, kissing her nose.
“My room.” She opens the door behind her, and I follow her in.
Woah.
Stuffed toys sit on the dresser, the white rug on the floor is fluffy as hell, and the walls are painted a light purple. Two doors to the right lead to what I assume is an en-suite and walk-in closet, and fairy lights hang above her bed.
“I’m pretty sure this is the most girly room I’ve ever seen in my life.”
“And how many girls’ rooms have you seen, exactly?” She quirks her eyebrows.
“One. This one.”
“Then your statement is ridiculous.” She laughs.
“I’m sleeping in here?” I eye up the stuffed toys.
“You don’t have to.”
“I’m not saying I don’t want to. I do.” I point to the stuffed toys. “But they’re gonna have to be turned around. I’m really not into being perved on by damn stuffed bears.”
Her blue eyes twinkle and she rests against the wall. “There’s nothing wrong with my stuffed bears.”
“There’s nothing right with them, baby.”
“Are you making me choose between you and my bears?”
“Yes. Yes, I am.”
“I can see this being an issue, Mr. Banks.”
“Is that so, Miss Harper?” I step towards her, pulling her to me. My fingers thread through her hair, tilting her head back, and I brush my lips across hers. “Can your stuffed bears do this?” I run my nose along her jaw, my lips peppering kisses down her neck, sucking lightly on her pulse point. Her breath catches. “Or this?” I slide my hand down her back to cup her ass and pull her hips against mine. My erection throbs lightly against her, growing as she grinds slightly. “Or this?” I bend my head and swirl my tongue across the swell of her breasts, teasing her by dipping it along the cup of her bra.
“No,” she breathes out. “No. They can’t do that.”
I nibble my way up to her ear, resting my lips against it. “So what was the issue?” I whisper.
“Issue? Who said anything about an issue?” she puts her fingers in my hair and tugs my head back. “No issues here.”
My lips twitch. “So the bears get turned round?”
She nods. “Hell, if there’s more of that…” Her body pushes right against mine, aligning perfectly. “They can live in the pool for all I care.”
“Oh, there’s plenty more where that came from, and it’s all yours.”
~
Megan runs her hand down my body, her fingers tracing the defining lines of the muscle there. I sigh deeply, pulling her closer to me, and breathe in the vanilla scent of her hair. No matter where she’s been or what she’s done, she always smells like vanilla.
“What are we doing today?” I ask, my fingertips following the curve of her spine right to her ass.
She shudders. “I thought we could go riding.”
“I get the feeling we’re not talking about bedroom riding.”
She looks up at me, her hair messy, and smiles. “No. Horse riding. I don’t go at college and I miss it.”
“I’ve never ridden a horse.”
“I’ll teach you.”
“Um.”
“You taught me to fish,” she reminds me. “You made me fish!”
“I guess there’s no way around this, huh?”
She shakes her head, rolling on top of me. Her knees go either side of my hips, trapping me, and her hair falls around my face. She slowly lowers her face to mine, sucking my bottom lip into her mouth and grazing her teeth across it. I slide my hands along her thighs, my thumbs coming dangerously close to the naked area of warmth between her legs.
“No way around it at all,” she whispers.
“Really? You can’t ride me instead?”
“I…” she stops as I flick my thumb across her * gently, making her thighs tighten. “I’m sure.”
She grabs my hands and moves them away, grinning.
“Is it gonna be one of those days?” I sigh.
She gets out of bed, goes to her dresser, and slides on a pair of white lace panties and matching bra. My eyes follow her every moment as she walks into her closet soundlessly. I sit up and swing my legs round, reaching forward to grab some clean boxers from my bag. Reaching forward very f*cking uncomfortably thanks to the hardness of my dick. I shove them on as Megan reappears wearing riding pants and a white shirt.
F*ck.
She might as well not even be wearing any damn pants the way they cling to her hips. They’re molded to her body like a second skin.
“I have to watch you ride a horse wearing those pants?” I clarify, half hoping she’ll be putting a baggier pair over them.
She ties her head into a messy bun on top of her head and turns to me, her pink lips curved in a smile. “Yep.”
I stand up and pull my own pants on, sighing. “Please tell me it’s easy to ride a horse with a boner.”
She covers her mouth with her hand and lets out a loud laugh, her eyes flicking to my dick. “I’ve never, um, tried it. Not personally.”
I pull my shirt on. “This is gonna be a f*ckin’ nightmare.”
“But I’d imagine it’s pretty hard.”
“Yeah? Then at least I have something in common with it.”
~
Megan pulls up outside an old stables on the edge of Palm Springs. There’s nothing beyond it except open space, and I can see why the stables are placed here.
“This is the place I learned to ride. I called ahead this morning and asked them to saddle the horses up for us.” She smiles at me.
“Right.” I look dubiously at the stables.
“Come on!” She gets out of the car, and I follow suit. “Oh, and, um, don’t go caveman, okay?”
“Why would I go caveman?”
“The owner’s son may have a teeny tiny crush on me.”
I look at her blankly.
“He’s only just sixteen,” she carries on. “He’s crushed on me since he could walk, pretty much.”
“Right.” I have to ride with a boner and deal with a sixteen year old guy making eyes at my girl. Who said this was a good idea?
“Oh, Aston.” She laughs, grabbing my hands. “Don’t be grumpy. He’s cute.”
“Cute?”
“As in sweet-cute, not hot-cute.”
“Am I cute?”
“You’re hot-cute.” She tugs me forward, kissing my cheek. “There is a big, big difference.”
I grin as she leads me over to a stable with two brown horses in. Her smile widens and she drops my hand, racing over to one of them. She runs her hand down the horse’s nose and hugs its neck.
“Hello, boy,” she coos. “Did you miss me?” She nuzzles her face into the horse’s neck, and I find myself smiling. That is definitely sweet-cute.
I keep my distance. I’m really not a horse guy. I have no idea why I’m here.
Megan turns to me, a light in her eyes and a huge smile on her face.
Scratch that shit. I know exactly why I’m here. I’m here because this makes her happy, and if I wanna do anything in my life, its make this girl happy. No matter what it takes or whatever I have to do to achieve it, I’ll do my damnedest to put that smile on her face as many times as I can.
She unbolts the door and leads the horse out, patting his neck. “This is Storm. He’s my baby.” She glances at me. “He was my sweet sixteenth present. Most people got a car. I got a horse, and worked for my Dad for a year to get my car.”
“Isn’t a horse cheaper?”
“It depends, but my boy is a thoroughbred and worth more than I could have earned in the year leading up to my birthday. Besides, a car is a car. Storm is one of my favorite guys.”
“I thought I heard your voice,” a woman calls and appears from the back of the stable. “It’s good to see you, Megs. Your boy has missed you.” The woman pats Storm.
“I missed him.” Megan smiles at the woman. “June, this is Aston, my boyfriend. Aston, this is June. She owns the stables and takes care of Storm for me while I’m at college.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” I say.
“So you’re the reason she called ahead? Learning to ride?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She nods approvingly. “Nice choice, Megan. He’s cute.”
Megan snorts into her hand. “I’m getting that a lot.”
“I don’t mind.” I grin.
“Let’s just hope Poppy thinks you’re cute. She likes beginners, and if you chuck her one of these…” She throws me an apple I didn’t even realize she was holding. “…She’ll love you forever.”
“Where is she, then? I’ll go charm her.” I wink at Megan and throw the apple and catch it.
“This is Poppy.” June unlocks a door and leads out a white horse with gray speckles. “She’s the calmest of the bunch, and she’s been with me for six years. She’ll take care of you.”
I walk up to her, gently reaching out to rub her neck and offering the apple. She takes it, eating it in under a minute, and nudges my shoulder with her nose.
“You’re not having any more,” June scolds her. “You be nice to Aston, old girl. Megan likes him.”
Megan reaches over and pats her nose. “Hey, girl. Ready to ride?”
Poppy snorts in what I assume is a yes, and both women lead the horses to the paddock. I follow behind, lagging slightly. Horse-riding. I never thought I’d see the day I’d be riding a horse – especially not to make a girl happy. I shake my head in a mild sort of amusement.
“Right.” June waves me over to her, and I watch Megan expertly mount Storm. Those pants are tight as f*ck. Crap.
“Yep.” I stand next to Poppy, staring at the saddle.
“Gather the reins in one hand, put your left foot in the stirrup, and hold onto the wither,” June orders me. “Then push up and swing your leg over her flank. Make sure you don’t kick her.”
“What if I do?”
“Then she’ll take off and you’ll land on your ass.”
Megan giggles, and I shoot her a look. “No kicking horse ass. Got it.”
“Ready? Go.”
I do as she says, sitting on Poppy’s saddle.
“Not bad,” June praises. “Now, let your legs hang down and I’ll sort out your stirrups.”
She fiddles with them and instructs me on how to settle my feet in properly. She puts a hat on my head, tightens the strap under my chin, and pats Poppy’s behind. She begins to move and I grab the reins tighter.
“Holy-”
“Sit up straight!” June barks. “Megan, he’s all yours!”
“Thanks, June!” She waves her off, and Poppy follows Storm out into the paddock. Megan turns to me, grinning. “Whatever you do, don’t squeeze your legs.”
“Why not?” I mutter, wishing I could lean forward and grab the horse’s neck. I admit it. I’m scared of this damn beast.
“Because she’ll go faster.”
“Great. You couldn’t have given me a run down on the way here?”
“Did you tell me about fishing before we got on the boat?” Her eyes sparkle, and I nod my head towards her.
“Touché, baby. Touché.”
She clicks her tongue, and Storm begins to move faster.
“I hope you’re not expecting me to go any faster.”
“I’m not,” she calls. “I didn’t actually expect you to get on Poppy!”
“Nice to know you have confidence in me,” I shout dryly as she rounds behind me. Poppy’s walking at a nice pace. I’m really not into taking her up into a trot. No way.
The ground is dusty as we leave the small paddock, and the sun beats down with a still hot temperature. “Where are we going?” I ask her.
“You’ll see.”