Miles of Pleasure

chapter 17




Ashton froze as soon as the words caressed his ears, and he gently moved her so that he could roll away. It was one of the hardest things he had ever done, but he did it, then sat up in bed.

"Oh my God, I can't believe what I almost did!" he groaned, his head in his hands, his breathing ragged.

"Why are you stopping?" Kaylee gasped. "I'm giving you the green light!"

"As much as it pains me to say, it just isn't right. Not right now," he replied, still panting.

Kaylee was getting angry. Her whole body flushed red with embarrassment and shame and too many other emotions to name. She yanked the blankets over her bare body. "What do you mean? You don't want me?"

Ashton looked absolutely horrified at the suggestion. "It's not that, trust me it isn't that! Does it look like I don't want you?" he asked, his frustration evident as they both looked down.

"Then...why..."

"Can you honestly tell me that if all this stuff wasn't happening with your brother that you'd still want this, right here, right now?"

Kaylee was silent for a minute. Her mind was clearing, and she began to understand what he meant. "It's not that I wouldn't want it, because I do, but I'm still afraid. I probably wouldn't have let it go that far if it hadn't been for the other stuff happening."

"That's exactly why I said 'Not now'," he pointed out.

There was a long pause. "Thanks, I guess," she finally said sheepishly. She couldn't believe how wrapped up in the moment she got.

Ashton leaned over and kissed her forehead. "If you'll excuse me, I have a date with a cold shower." He swung his legs over the side of the bed and was about to stand up when he felt a soft hand on his arm.

"Not so fast..." she murmured, and looked up at him. "I think I owe you something in return. Don't you?"

"You don't owe me anything," he said.

"But..." She gave him an impish grin. "What if I want to owe you?"

Ashton grinned and let her pull him back to the bed, where she proceeded to give him more pleasure than a shower ever could.

They both went to sleep that night with smiles on their faces. Kaylee was thinking about how different Ashton was with her than he was with all the other girls, and how impressed she was at his ability to stop himself, especially when she had lost all of her self-control. Ashton fell asleep thinking how great it would be when they finally did take the next step - but in the meantime, everything Kaylee did was absolute heaven to him.



"You guys need to stop ganging up on me and Brittany," Noah told Kaylee the next afternoon. "You know, I always thought I'd have you on my side. I never expected my sister to turn her back on me."

Kaylee sat at the kitchen table in shock. Noah had walked into the kitchen and immediately went after his sister, who had no idea that she had anything coming to her.

"What?" she asked, completely confused.

"You heard me," her brother growled.

"Noah, I never have and never will turn my back on you. I don't know what Brittany said to you, but she was the one who was rude to me. I was trying to get along with her."

"You've been against me and her from the beginning. I never said anything bad about you and Ashton, I'd appreciate the same from you," Noah spat at her and left the room.

Kaylee felt blind-sided. She didn't know what had just happened, and even though the fight wasn't that bad, she broke down crying. She and Noah rarely argued, and when they did, Kaylee felt the weight of the words a lot heavier than they actually were.

Ashton walked in a few minutes later to see a dazed look in Kaylee's eyes, tears streaming down her face. "Hey beautiful, what's wrong?" he asked, as he knelt next to her chair and took her face in his hands. He wiped the tears from her face with his thumbs, waiting to see what she had to say. It broke his heart to see her so upset.

"Noah and I. Got. Into. A. Fight," she sobbed. "About Brittany," she finally finished.

Ashton grabbed a tissue for her, and she blew her nose. After he threw it away, he pulled her out of the chair and sat down himself, pulling her back onto his lap. Her head went to his shoulder as his arms encircled her body and held her tight. He let her cry for a few more minutes, knowing that she'd be able to talk about it soon, but until then, he'd have to wait.

"It's so unfair. Why is it my fault that no one likes Brittany? She brings it on herself. I'm only trying to help him, but yet he sees it as me against him. I can just imagine what she said to him to get him so mad at me."

"Anything I said to him obviously didn't work. But don't worry, one way or another, we'll get rid of Brittany," Ashton promised. "Until then, we'll just get through it together."

Kaylee looked at him and smiled. "I want to know what you did with the old Ashton...the one who was always so mean to me."

"He's locked in the basement. Said he doesn't want to come out ever again," he joked, and kissed her nose. "How about dinner tonight. We'll get dressed up and everything."

"I guess you twisted my arm. I'll go get ready," Kaylee said, her voice an edge of excitement. It was amazing, the effect that Ashton had on her.

"But we're not leaving for at least two hours!" Ashton laughed.

"Well, a woman needs to look nice for her man. Sometimes that takes time," She teased. "Besides, I need to figure out how to get rid of this red nose..

Ashton laughed as she walked out of the room. He thought back to how miserable he was before Kaylee, and how now he was always in such a good mood. She was incredibly good for him; he just hoped he was always as good for her.



The restaurant was beautiful, and Kaylee was really impressed. It was fairly dark, lit mostly by candles to increase the romantic atmosphere. The tablecloths and window treatments were a deep red shade, with a single Fire and Ice rose at each table.

Kaylee stared in wonder. "Wow, this place is beautiful. I feel so underdressed."

Ashton looked at the woman on his arm. She was wearing a long, black strapless dress, the bottom reaching mid-calf and slightly flaring. "I think you look gorgeous," Ashton whispered and kissed her cheek. "How am I going to keep my hands to myself all night?"

"I guess you'll just have to try," she told him as the hostess led them to their table.

The food was exquisite, and the evening was perfect. Ashton made Kaylee forget all about the fight that she had with her brother, and for a time, they were the only two people on earth.

It all changed once dessert came, though. Everything came crumbling down over a shared piece of 'Death By Chocolate'. One of the tables near theirs had a group of six women, obviously having an expensive 'Girl's Night Out'. When dessert was delivered, the whole table looked over to see what delicious concoction had been ordered. Not only did they see the delicious dessert, but they also saw the delicious lead singer of Miles of Pleasure.

A couple of the girls shrieked when they recognized Ashton, and immediately left their table to ask for autographs and flirt with him, completely ignoring Kaylee. Ashton being Ashton, he didn't tell the girls to leave him alone, or that he was out on a date with his girlfriend. Even worse, he went beyond being polite to the girls, and started flirting himself.

Kaylee couldn't believe how rude the girls were, and she couldn't believe how Ashton had fallen for every bit of it. He was acting just like his old self, enjoying the flirting and not even noticing that the women were after only one thing. She was appalled that these women would simply look as though they were ready to jump him the moment they met him, simply because he happened to be famous.

Kaylee sat at the other side of the table, completely forgotten and fuming. Sure the girls were beautiful, but she didn't think that Ashton would forget all about her, just because a couple of pretty girls flaunted themselves at him.

Or would he? She pushed the cake aside and looked at him over the table. He didn't once glance over at her.

After a few minutes, Kaylee had had enough. Watching one of the girls whisper into her boyfriend's ear was finally more than she could handle. He looked a little uncomfortable at that point, but he had gotten himself into the mess, so he could get out of it.

She grabbed her clutch purse and walked away from the table and out the door, not even pausing when she heard Ashton call her name. At that point, she was surprised he even remembered what it was.

Fortunately, when she got outside, there was a cab dropping another couple off. She quickly slid in and gave the driver her address. The driver asked no questions. As he drove away, the tears began to flow down her cheeks.

"What a fool, to actually think he can give up all the other girls and be faithful to one person. Especially not me," Kaylee thought. "I won't even give him something that he has probably never gone without!"

Minutes later, the cab pulled up in front of her house. She threw some bills up front and ran into the house. She really hoped that no one was there, because she just wanted to be alone and she definitely didn't want to talk about what had gotten her so upset.

Luck was with her, because she was able to make it into her room without anyone seeing her. She slammed the door and fell onto her bed crying.

Lately it felt like all she did was cry. She felt so much emotion, both good and bad. It was overwhelming. She used to be such a strong person.

Not wanting to stay in the same dress for a minute longer, Kaylee got up and put her pajamas on and went to the bathroom to wash the makeup from her face. She looked in the mirror and found herself trying to figure out how she measured up to the other girls...was she just as pretty? The mere thought made her cry again. She washed her face with water cold enough to make her gasp.

Just as she lay back in her bed, someone pounded on her door.

"Kaylee! Let me in!" Ashton yelled through the door. He sounded out of breath.

"Go to hell, Ashton! I'm done with you!" she yelled back at him.

There was a loud cracking noise, and her door flew open. "Well, I'm not done with you!" he growled after kicking her door open. "Why the hell did you leave like that?"

She sat straight up in bed. "I'm surprised you noticed I was gone. Looked to me like you had plenty to keep you occupied. The tears were gone, replaced with anger.

"They were fans, Kaylee! It's not like I can be rude to them. For God's sake, we're having enough trouble with the band without pissing off any more fans!" he yelled.

"You don't have to be rude, and you don't have to enjoy it so much either!" she shot back. "I felt like I was a voyeur, getting ready to watch you have sex with one of them or something! They were all over you, and you let it happen! We were supposed to be on a date!"

Ashton threw his hands up into the air.

"You know what, maybe I was enjoying the attention. That's a part of being in a band, and it's something that you're going to have to get used to. I'm sorry that it happened while we were on a date, but you need to get over your insecurities and realize how in love with you I am!" he shouted at her.

Kaylee's jaw dropped to the floor. She couldn't believe what he had just said.

"Well, that certainly came out at the wrong time," he sighed. He looked over at her shocked face and smirked. "It's true though, and wasn't nearly as hard to say as I thought it'd be." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Don't lie to me just to get me to forgive you," she pleaded, feeling the tears resurface.

"I'm not lying, Kaylee," he said, and moved to where she sat on the bed. "Kaylee Miles, I never thought it could happen, but I am so in love with you," he told her as he knelt before her and grabbed her hands in his. "Those girls meant nothing to me, and for the first time, I saw everything so clearly. I love you and only you. You're the one that I want to be with."

"You're wrong, you don't love me. Stop messing with me because I really can't handle you playing with my feelings right now," Kaylee demanded.

"I'm not wrong. I love you! I can't believe that is so easy to say when you really mean it." He grinned at her. "You better get used to hearing it. I've never said it before, and now that I have, I don't plan on stopping."

"You really love me?" she asked softly, a small smile appearing through the tears.

Ashton nodded. "More than I ever thought possible."

Kaylee launched herself at Ashton and tackled him to the floor, assaulting his face with kisses. Both of them laughed as they rolled around on the floor, kissing and tickling. The girls at the restaurant were forgotten. At that moment, everything was right in the world again.