Miles of Pleasure

chapter 12




"I don't know Jenny. On one hand, he's such a player and he can irritate me no end. On the other hand, he makes me feel like I am the only person in the world when I'm with him, and I just get this rush." She paused. "He can be so sweet and caring sometimes; but there are the other times, and when they're bad, they're horrible. I just don't know what to make of the whole situation."

"Sounds like he's someone you need to watch out for. I don't want to see your heart get broken," Jenny warned, without trying to tell her what to do. "As I've always told you, you need to figure out what you're going to do for yourself. I can't make the decision for you, but any time you need to talk, I'll be here to listen."

Jenny didn't really know Ashton. She had only met him a few times, and they were always meetings on the fly. Someone was always rushing to get somewhere, so they never had time to really talk. She didn't have much of an opinion on him, besides what she had heard from other people.

"Thanks Jenny. I'm going to be thinking about this pretty hard over the next few weeks. It's good to be able to talk to you about it, and it's nice to be able to spend time with you again." Kaylee got up and hugged Jenny on her way to her bedroom.

"Good night!" she called.

"Good night!" Jenny called back. She looked at the clock, and even though it was late, she wasn't ready for bed. Instead, she curled up on the couch with her memories of when Kaylee and Noah were younger. She thought about all the times she had been there for them, and the times they had been there for her. Maybe they didn't realize it, but those kids had become her world, and she was always glad to be called back to them, no matter the reason. They were her family, and sitting on the couch while Kaylee was upstairs made her feel entirely at home again.

Over the next two weeks, Kaylee spent a lot of time trying to straighten out her feelings. When she wasn't deep in thought, she was either reading or watching movies. But even then, her mind was a million miles away. Many of the plot lines that were holding her attention were stories that mirrored her own.

One day after a sappy movie marathon, Jenny gently reminded Kaylee that things don't always work out the way they do in the movies.

"If you aren't happy with the way that Ashton is now, then move on because you can't go into a relationship expecting to change the person," she pointed out sympathetically. Jenny was aware that Kaylee knew that, but it didn't hurt to have a little reminder every now and then.

Things were relatively quiet for the band on tour. The guys were anxious to play their last few concerts, being extremely tired and drained from the past few months of traveling. With the exhaustion setting in, the parties afterwards weren't as wild as normal.

Ashton still flirted a lot, and even kissed a few girls, but never went beyond that anymore. Every time he became close to a woman, he started to feel guilty. Besides that, he was under Noah's watchful eye, and even though he and Kaylee weren't technically 'together', he had still received quite a few dirty looks when he was with other girls at the after parties. Those looks always made Ashton feel ashamed, even though he really wasn't doing anything wrong.

So he needed some female companionship. Big deal. Maybe he was bored, maybe he was lonely, maybe he missed Kaylee more than he wanted to admit. What was it about her that all of a sudden made him want to change everything about himself to make him worthy of her attention? And could he change? Or would he end up screwing something up and breaking her heart?

So yes, maybe he was trying to keep himself busy by making out with other girls to keep his mind off Kaylee, but was that so wrong? He just hoped that once the tour was over, everything would work itself out and whatever was meant to be would happen on its own.

Everyone was excited for the last show. Kaylee had called and talked to the band before they took the stage and wished them all luck, telling them that she couldn't wait to see them all the next day. What they didn't tell her was that they were skipping the after party and heading straight home when the last song was finished.

The guys rushed off stage as soon as the final note of the final song was played. They were on the bus and headed for the highway before the first concertgoer even left the arena. Everyone was excited to get back to their friends, their families, and most importantly, their own beds.

A few hours later, the tour bus stopped only long enough to deposit Colton and Jayden before it moved again. A few short minutes later, it was Noah and Ashton's turn. They grabbed their bags before saying good bye to their driver, and headed to the house.

The guys were careful to be quiet since it was 3:00 in the morning. Neither one wanted to wake anyone up, especially since they were so tired themselves. They took their time making their way through the house, not turning on any lights. Noah bid Ashton a good night and silently tiptoed to his bedroom.

Ashton stood where he was for a moment, his thoughts racing. Was this really it? Was this really their chance to make it work? It might be, but if he did what his heart was telling him to do, Kaylee might take it the wrong way. Still...he wanted to feel the warmth of her body. He missed it more than he could ever admit.

In resignation, he shook his head and started for his bedroom. As his hand reached for the door handle, he stopped, turned around, and quietly started walking in the opposite direction.

He hesitated for a split second when he reached the door at the end of the hall. Then he was in the room and putting his bags down. He stepped out of his shoes. He slowly crept to the bed and pulled back the sheets before climbing in. His body automatically molded to the shape of the warmth already there.

"Hey," Kaylee stirred slowly when she felt a weight shift on the other side of her bed. She opened her eyes to see Ashton lying next to her. Her smile was genuine and huge.

"I thought you weren't going to be home until morning. When'd you get in?"

"Just now. Sorry I woke you. Do you mind if I sleep in here?" he asked, leaning over to softly kiss her cheek.

"Not as long as you're careful. I don't want to hurt you with my cast," she sighed.

Ashton wrapped his arms around her as carefully as he could, and she snuggled back against him. After a moment he didn't even notice the cast. All he noticed was the warmth of her body against him - and suddenly, he noticed how tired he was.

Just as Ashton was drifting off to sleep, he whispered lazily, "I missed you."

Kaylee smiled and fell back to sleep.

The next morning, Ashton was the first to wake. Too excited to be home, he couldn't sleep. He knew it would be the perfect time to treat everyone to a 'Ashton special'. He quietly crawled out of bed and left Kaylee there. She was so deep in sleep that a truck could have driven through the room and she wouldn't have noticed.

Jenny woke up next, surprised to find Ashton in the kitchen. "Good morning!" she said, grabbing a mug out of the cupboard and helping herself to the coffee.

"Anything I can help with?" she offered as she looked around. Jenny smiled when she saw the bed tray, decorated with a flower, plate, and a glass of white grape juice.

"No thanks. Just sit tight and I'll have some food for you in a minute," he told her.

"Are you going to serve me on that?" Jenny asked, pointing to the tray with a knowing look on her face.

"Oh, uh, well, I thought it'd be easier for Kaylee to eat in bed. It must be hard for her to have to carry that huge cast around all the time," he explained.

"Well, it's always nice to be treated to breakfast in bed," she told him. Ashton slipped a plate of apple cinnamon pancakes in front of Jenny and poured her a glass of juice.

"Looks delicious," Jenny said.

"Thanks. Enjoy it. I need to make a special delivery," he said, picking up the now full tray. "Oh, and if Noah gets down here, there are more pancakes in the oven. I have it turned on low to keep them warm, so make sure he doesn't burn himself."

Jenny smiled as she watched Ashton leave the room, singing softly to himself. Something told her that there was more to the man that what was on the surface.

"Good morning sunshine," Ashton greeted Kaylee. "Wake up, beautiful sleepyhead. You need to eat."

Kaylee looked over groggily and moaned a half-hearted 'good morning.'

"Breakfast is served," he told her with a bad English accent.

Kaylee woke up right away and her eyes went straight to the tray. "That smells so good!" She sat up slowly, careful of her cast, her eyes never leaving the food.

"Hungry, huh?" he teased. Ashton forked off a small piece of pancake and held it up to her mouth.

Her eyes closed with the first bite. "It tastes so good," she moaned. She chewed slowly, savoring every moment as the pancake melted in her mouth. After she swallowed, he cut off another piece and swirled it in the syrup. He slowly lifted the fork to her mouth with his eyes locked on hers. A small drop of syrup escaped and landed on her lip just before her mouth sealed around the fork.

Ashton withdrew the utensil. "Ooops! Let me get the napkin to clean that up." His eyes never left hers. "Ah, looks like I forgot the napkin. Maybe this will work." He lowered his eyes and his head. Slowly, the space between them vanished, and he sucked her bottom lip into his mouth.

"Mmm, that is good," Ashton agreed, licking his lips once he parted from Kaylee. "I think I'll keep the rest for myself," he told her.

"Not a chance," Kaylee laughed, grabbing the fork from him. "But we can share."

After breakfast, Kaylee and Ashton went back to the kitchen so Ashton could clean up. Kaylee sat on the bar stool watching him and talking, occasionally getting a quick kiss as he passed by her. They caught up on everything that had happened since they last saw each other, each feeling like it had been two months, rather than two weeks.

Jenny watched them silently from the living room and was surprised at the tenderness that Ashton was showing for Kaylee. After all she had heard about him, it was the last thing she was expecting to see. She knew caring like that wasn't something a person could fake, and his actions seemed honest.

Maybe he would be good for Kaylee after all, and wouldn't hurt her. Only time would tell.