Miles of Pleasure

chapter 14




Jenny was walking down the hall from her bedroom to the kitchen the morning after the party when she saw Kaylee and Ashton come out of Kaylee's room together. It was very apparent that they had spent the night together, and both of them had just woken up.

Kaylee blushed as she met Jenny's eyes. Ashton looked between the two women and told Kaylee that he'd go start breakfast. He disappeared almost instantly, leaving them alone.

Jenny smiled, sensing Kaylee's nervousness. "Seems like you two are getting rather close. I thought you weren't going to rush into anything," she asked quietly, with care in her voice.

Kaylee nodded. "I know what I said, but we've spent so much time together since they got back from the tour, and for some reason, it just feels so right to be with him. It's like when he's not with me, I feel all alone. He's constantly in my head, and nothing I do gets him out of there," she sighed.

"That sounds like a wonderful feeling," Jenny said.

"While it's a great feeling, it worries me too."

"Why is that?" Jenny asked. "I've listened to everything you've said to me about him, and I've been keeping my eye on him. He seems to have only honest intentions, and he seems to really care about you. I can see that in your eyes."

"But what will happen when they go back on the road? What happens when there are girls throwing themselves at him? Will he still want to be with me, or will he just up and leave me to be with them?" As Kaylee spoke, her voice got louder. She didn't realize that she could now be heard by others in the house.

"Why don't you ask him?" Ashton's deep voice interrupted the conversation.

Kaylee froze and her eyes widened.

Ashton looked to Jenny, asking for some privacy. She in turn gave Kaylee a sympathetic pat on the shoulder, and left the two alone for their long overdue conversation.

Ashton pushed Kaylee back into her room and shut the door to give them some privacy. This was obviously not a conversation that he wanted to have interrupted. It looked like he was finally going to get Kaylee to talk about their 'relationship'. Just the thought of that would have made him disbelieve months ago, now it was something he was welcoming. He just hoped that he could lay to rest the fears that she had just voiced.

Kaylee looked to the floor, refusing to meet his eyes. "Look, it's not that big a deal. I mean, what you do is none of my business, especially once you go back on tour in a few months. I don't even know why I said something so stupid," she stammered.

Ashton gently put his hands on her upper arms, holding her still and waiting until she looked up at him. For the first time, her eyes met his, and he saw the uncertainty that she was hiding.

"Kaylee, it is a big deal, and it is your business," he said softly. "Listen, I like you a lot, more than I wanted to or expected to, and that is a big deal to me. I'm not messing with you, so get that out of your head. I want to be with you. I care about you. I thought you understood that."

He was trying not to let his frustration get the best of him. At the same time, he was trying not to let the fears he held deep inside come to the surface. Ashton had never talked about his feelings like this with anyone before, so he wasn't sure of the right words. It was a completely foreign land, this place he was standing in with Kaylee. Everything was new to him, and he didn't want to screw up.

"I do understand that, but do you really think you can give up all other women to be with me?" she asked.

Ashton sighed and frowned. "I'm not going to lie and say that it's a piece of cake. Will there be temptation? I'm sure there will be, but I think I'm a strong enough person now to resist it. You'll never know unless you give me a chance."

"And I'll never get my heart broken if I don't give you the chance," Kaylee retorted. She glared at him, angry at herself for having these feelings, but also angry at Ashton for making her feel this way about him.

Ashton shook his head at her. He wasn't going to get mad. He needed to be the calm one, for once. "Do you honestly think you can walk away from me right now and not have it hurt?" He felt triumphant when he saw the answer in Kaylee's eyes. It was the final push he needed to admit everything.

"I know I've hurt you in the past, but something's changed between us. How many times do I have to tell you that I like you and that I want to be with you before it sinks in? Can't you just give me, give us, a chance to see where this leads?"

Kaylee looked into his eyes. Where she expected to see teasing, she only saw care. But she had to know... "How do I know I'm not some conquest? 'Let's see who can take her virginity?'"

Ashton sighed again. "Come on, do you really think that?" He was starting to get angry and let his frustrations show. "Have I ever once tried to go further than you're ready for?"

"No," she said, ashamed that she had even made that suggestion. She knew that wasn't all Ashton wanted from her, but her mind wouldn't let her give in that easily to him. "I don't want to sit here, constantly wondering when you're going to get bored with me and what I'm giving you."

"Well, when are you going to get bored with what I have to offer?" Ashton countered. "Nothing in this world is certain, Kaylee. Sometimes you just have to let go and see where the wind takes you."

They looked at each other for a long moment. "When did you get so smart?" she asked, with a smile across her face for the first time since their discussion began.

"I listen to a lot of song lyrics," Ashton said proudly. They both laughed, sucking all the tension out of the air. "So, we're cool?"

"Yeah, we're cool," Kaylee said, without hesitation.

"Good, now can I go make my girlfriend breakfast?" he asked. Kaylee nodded, thankful that Ashton, unlike her, enjoyed cooking.

Noah was already in the kitchen when they got there, showered and ready to go. "Morning, you two," he said. He handed them each a plate of French toast and bacon.

"Well, aren't you up early," Kaylee said, surprised that breakfast was ready and so was her brother.

"That's because he's taking me shopping," Brittany told her as she breezed into the kitchen. "He promised to buy me whatever I wanted."

Kaylee thought her jaw was going to hit the floor. Not only did Brittany spend the night in their house, but now Noah was taking her shopping? No way! She remembered that Brittany had done her best to come on to Ashton and had to bite back the terrible things she wanted to say to her.

But still, some snarky bit escaped. "What happened Brittany, lose your job and go broke?"

Brittany didn't even blink. "Nope, I'm still working, and I have plenty of money saved up, thank you. But hey, he was dumb enough to offer, so why should I say no?"

Kaylee saw red, and Ashton knew it. He wasn't happy about the situation either. He put his hand on Kaylee's arm, hoping to calm her down a little so that she didn't cross right over the breakfast bar and go after Brittany.

Noah's eyes flashed a momentary pain, but he snapped out of it quick when he saw how mad his sister was. He shook his head at her, telling her it would be alright and not to worry.

"Come on then, let's get this over with," Noah pulled on Brittany's arm.

"See you at the studio later, man," Ashton called to Noah as he was walking out the door.

Brittany turned around to answer him. "Oh, right. I don't think he'll be there today. We hardly ever get to see each other, so while I'm here, Noah can't come out to play." She gave a self-satisfied smirk, then disappeared through the door.

"Did that just happen?" Kaylee burst out when the door closed behind them.

"Looks like we have another Yoko on our hands," Jenny said, walking into the kitchen from the living room.

"You heard?" Kaylee asked her. She hadn't known that Jenny was in the next room.

"I heard it all. You know, I try not to interfere in your love lives too much, but that girl has to go," Jenny told her, shaking her head.

"I agree," Ashton said, not sure what to do about their recording session. "Looks like I better call the guys and tell them what's going on. Noah can't be missing things like this, especially when we have to pay to use the studio. It's not like we have a whole lot of time to get out next record out."

Kaylee watched him sympathetically as he walked out of the room. She had to do something before this woman ruined not only her brother, but also the band and the band members that she cared so much about.