~*~ Chapter 19 ~*~
NEW YORK CITY, NY - Kirstin's Loft
Ashley
looked Kirstin up and down. Seeing her wearing just a shirt and Tom just pants,
wasn’t exactly a pretty picture for him.
“I’m
outta here!” he threw his hands up in the air and headed towards the elevator.
“No,
no, no, no! Wait, wait, wait!” Kirstin followed him. She then grabbed his arm
“What’s going on?”
“I
don’t know Kirstin. You tell me! I don’t see my girlfri… I mean, this girl I’m
seeing, you, in 3 weeks and when I finally get to your house I’m greeted by
a half naked guy, not just any guy, but that guy” he pointed to Tom that was
standing by the apartment’s open door “and you, dressed in… that” he pointed
to Kirstin’s shirt “So, Kirstin, you tell me what’s going on!” Ashley raised
his voice.
“Ashley,
calm down. There’s no need to yell. Especially here in the hallway. Let’s go
inside so we can talk.”
“No,
I’m leaving.” he opened the elevator door, but Kirstin stopped him before getting
in it.
“Please,
let’s talk.”
“I’m
not coming in with that guy in there!”
“Oh,
come on Ashley! Stop being such a baby and get in already!” she was practically
dragging him to her loft. Ashley let her drag him, because he did want to talk
to her, but he fought back a little so he’d make clear to her that he was, indeed,
mad at her.
The
thing with Kirstin’s loft was that it had no walls in it, it was all wide open.
She didn’t exactly wanted Tom to hear their conversation, but she didn’t want
to kick him out either. She decided the best thing to do was to go upstairs
in her room to talk to Ashley. It wouldn’t exactly prive Tom from hearing their
conversation, but they at least would be ‘alone’ upstairs.
“We’re
going upstairs.” Kirstin informed, pushing Ashley from his back. Ashley had
his eyes locked on Tom’s every move.
“Is
he gonna stay here?”
Kirstin
looked at Tom.
“Yes,
he’s gonna stay here.”
“But,
K…”
“What’s
the problem, Ashley?” Tom suddenly spoke “Are you afraid a guy like me is gonna
steal your girlfriend? Oh, pardon me, she’s not your girlfriend!”
“Tom,
please, don’t…”
“Oh,
so the waiter wants to get into trouble now, does he?” Ashley pushed Tom and
made him almost fall down when he tripped over a coffee table.
“Oh,
you shouldn’t have messed with me, pretty boy!” Tom pushed Ashley, but Tom was
taller and much stronger than Ashley, and his push made Ashley fall on the couch.
“Stop
it, you two!” Kirstin shouted, going into Ashley’s direction. He was now with
his fist closed and going straight to Tom’s stomach, but Kirstin was able to
catch his wrist before he’d do anything.
“Let
me hit him, Kirstin.”
“Oh,
so the pretty boy can’t get away from a girl’s grip?”
“Oh,
let me go Kirstin. He’s asking for it!”
“Tom,
shut up! And Ashley, stop it! Go upstairs!” Kirstin pointed to the stairs.
“But…”
“But
nothing! Go! Now!”
“Yeah!
Go to the room, pretty boy!”
“Tom!”
Kirstin shouted and had to stop Ashley again from hitting Tom “Ashley, go upstairs.
Now! And Tom, you sit there!” she pointed to her couch.
“But…”
Tom and Ashley said at the same time, looking at Kirstin.
“Shush,
you two! Now you go upstairs and you sit there!” she watched as both guys did
as they were told. Then Kirstin sat beside Tom.
"I
can’t believe you did that, Tommy. Starting a fight like that, it’s… so not
you.”
“He
wasn’t any different, Kirstin!”
“Yeah,
I know, but I expected more from you.” she shook her head and left him there.
Tom watched her go upstairs and spotted Ashley with a big smile staring at him,
like mocking him. He wanted to get up and punch him in the face, but the disappointed
tone on Kirstin’s voice he had just heard made him mentally count up to 10,
so he’d calm down.
When
Kirstin got upstairs, she sat on her bed. She was not worried at all. She knew
she had done nothing wrong. Ashley, on the other hand, was now all agitated,
pacing around Kirstin’s king-size bed.
“Ok,
Ashley. Ask me whatever you wanna know.”
“First
off, why is he here?” he pointed downstairs. Tom heard, but didn’t look up.
“He’s
always here.”
“Oh,
since you put it that way, I’m actually relieved!” Ashley just shook his head
and continued “Why is he always here, Kirstin? And why is he shirtless?”
“Ash,
you don’t have to worry about Tom. He’s always here because he’s my friend and
I invite him over. And why is he shirtless? Good question.” she frowned and
shouted “Hey, Tom! Why are you shirtless?”
“Because
I have a nice body and I wanna show it off!” Tom shouted back from downstairs,
holding back a laughter.
“See?"
Kirstin was still mad at Tom, but couldn’t help but giggle at that answer “He
does have a nice body. Can you blame him for wanting to show it off?”
“Oh, Kirstin, it’s great to know this whole thing feels like a big joke to you and Tommy downstairs. Just… great!” he rubbed his forehead.
“Ashley,
I don’t see why it isn’t a joke to you! I know it’s not a pretty picture to
see a shirtless guy in your girl’s apartment, but it’s not what it looks like
and it sure isn’t a motive to put up a fight!”
“He
was asking for it. You heard him! And you didn’t help either! You, wearing just
that shirt and…”
“No,
look, look, look! Voilá! Shorts!” she smiled as she showed him her shorts and
saw a smile on Ashley’s face “You’re smiling! You forgive me!”
“No,
I’m not! I don't! I’m still mad at you!” Ashley crossed his arms. He didn’t
want to forget the whole situation, but he was unable to get mad at Kirstin.
“Yes,
you are! Come here, Ashley!” she patted the mattress so Ashley would sit. It
took a while for him to actually sit. When he finally did, she started “Ash,
when you promised me that thing you did in your car that day in Orlando, I also
made a promise to myself that I would never hurt you as long as you kept that
promise. I know I’ve hurt you a lot before, but I don’t wanna do that again.
You don’t deserve it, so don’t you worry! You are a great guy, a great friend,
a great kisser…” she saw a smile appear on Ashley’s face again “And you should
always smile. Your smile is the best.”
“Actually,
it’s the second best. Yours wins.”
“Well,
you got that right, Angel!” she said all serious.
“And
you’re also very modest.”
“I
am, aren’t I?” she smiled and he did the same “So, are you gonna greet me the
right way or what?”
Ashley
got up, reached his hand out for her. When she was up, he wrapped his arms around
her waist and looking deeply in her eyes, he said, grinning:
“Hi.”
“Hi.”
Kirstin had her arms wrapped around his neck. He then leaned in and kissed her
passionately. When they finally pulled back, Kirstin spoke:
“Promise
me you won’t argue or fight with Tom again? He’s a big friend of mine and I
don’t wanna be torn between you two.”
“Ok.”
Ashley responded, but looking away.
“Ash,
look at me and promise me that. Seriously.”
“Ok,
ok! I promise!”
“Good,
now…” she frowned “How do you know where I live?”
“Oh,
remember, like, 2 weeks ago, I called you asking for your home address?”
“Yeah,
you said you wanted it so you could send me postcards from all the states you’d
be in and… Hey! I never got any postcard!”
“I
know.” he had an evil look on his face “That wasn’t what I intended to do with
your home address.”
“So,
you’ve been planning this for weeks now and you never told me?”
“Nope!
I wanted to tell you so badly, but I also wanted it to be a happy surprise.
It wasn’t exactly a happy surprise, but, oh well, it was definitely a surprise!”
“I’d
say it was a happy one.” she kissed him softly on the lips and felt his smile
“But hey! Does that mean I’m not getting any postcard?”
“I’m
afraid you are not.”
“Oh,
that’s just mean! I was really looking forward to getting them. I love getting
mail.” she looked hurt.
“Sorry,
baby. Promise I’ll make it up to you.”
“Ok,
now you promised. You can’t go back on that one.”
“I
don’t intend to.” he gave her a peck on the lips and hugged her. He wanted to
feel her in his arms. Not letting go of the hug, Kirstin asked:
“Are
you sleeping over?”
“I
don’t know. Do you want me to?”
Whispering,
she said:
“Stay
here and I’ll go downstairs and talk to Tom. Stay here!” Ashley nodded.
Seeing
Kirstin on the stairs, Tom got up from the couch. He wasn’t able to hear all
of their conversation, but he was able to pick up some of it.
“Tommy,
can I talk to you over here?” she motioned for Tom to get into the kitchen area.
“Sure,
what’s up?”
In
a low tone of voice, she started:
“Listen.
Ashley’s thinking of staying over. Do you think it would be a problem for you
to… ahn… leave?”
Tom
didn’t want to show it, but it was pretty obvious to Kirstin he was not too
happy about it.
“No,
of course not! Not at all!”
“Really?
You’re not mad at me or something?”
“Of
course not! Don’t be silly! Ashley is finally here. You’ve been talking about
him for a while now and you should enjoy the most out of the time you have with
him. Even being the jerk he is...”
“He’s
not like that, Tom. You’re gonna get to know him and find out he’s a really
great guy.”
“I
doubt it.”
“Tom!”
she slapped him playfully on his shoulder “Now… are you absolutely sure you’re
not mad? You’re still gonna be my friend?” she had a half smile on. She hated
being like that, torn between her best friend and the guy she was with.
“Do
you even have to ask?” Tom would not just give up on their friendship because
of what happened that day “Let me just go change in the bathroom. I’ll use the
downstairs one and then I’ll leave you two alone, alright?”
“Thank
you so much, Tommy! You’re the best friend in the world!” she hugged him hard.
“You
too, girl.” Tom looked up while hugging her and stared, smiling, at Ashley,
just to tease him.
When
Ashley saw Tom getting into the bathroom, he headed downstairs.
“Is
he leaving?”
“Yes,
he’s just gonna change and then he’s off.”
“Terrific!”
“Ashley,
don’t say anything to him when he gets out of there, ok? Even if he teases you,
don’t say a thing, please!”
“I’ll
try. Can’t promise, though.”
When
Tom got out of the bathroom, Kirstin showed him to the door. Ashley was standing
some feet away, behind them.
“So,
you'll call me tomorrow?”
“Yes,
KeeKee.”
“Ok,
then, Tommy. Bye!”
“Bye.”
he looked over Kirstin’s shoulders “Bye bye, pretty boy!”
Ashley
wanted to knock him down, but he would not let Tom get to him. They hugged,
kissed and Tom disappeared into the elevator.
“What
the hell was that?” Ashley snapped right after Kirstin closed the door.
“What
the hell was what?”
“That
thing, that… kiss goodbye you just did.”
“Oh,
that!”
“Yeah,
that!”
“It’s
just something we came up with to do whenever we say ‘hello’ or ‘goodbye’ to
one another.”
What
they were talking about was this method of kissing each other that Tom and Kirstin
used to do. Tom would give Kirstin a peck on her nose and while he’d do that,
Kirstin would peck him on his chin. It was a sweet, friendly way to greet each
other.
“I
don’t like it at all. Can you stop doing that?”
“No!”
Kirstin was always firm on her believes. It wasn’t an easy job to change her
mind. Knowing that pretty well, Ashley just let that go and changed the subject.
“And
KeeKee?”
“What
about it?” she had her hands on her hips.
“What
is that? Who calls you that?”
“Tom
does. He came up with that last week. It’s a normal thing to do, create nicknames
for your friends, you know? Now could you just stop acting like the jealous
boyfriend? You’re not my boyfriend!”
“I
know! And I hate that!” he snapped again.
“I
thought you understood everything when we had that talk the day in your house.”
“I
did, it’s just that… I want to say to the whole world you are my girlfriend!
And I can’t! It’s just frustrating. I want you to be mine. All mine! Just mine!”
Getting
closer and wrapping her arms around Ashley’s neck, Kirstin whispered in his
ear:
“I
am all and just yours.” she sucked and licked his neck, driving him crazy. Soon,
she pulled back “So, what are you doing here in New York, anyway? When are you
leaving?”
“Wow,
are you that anxious to get ride of me already?” he asked while Kirstin pushed
him by his arm, leading them to the couch. Sitting, she answered:
“Of
course not! I wanna know how many days I have with you, so I can start planning
on how we’re going to enjoy the most out of them.”
“Oh,
ok.” he smiled “Well, today is Friday. We are leaving Tuesday.”
“Cool!
4 days! Where do you guys go next?”
“That’s
what I wanted to talk to you about, but in person. On Tuesday we are flying
off to Europe.”
“That’s
nice! How long are you gonna stay there?”
“That’s
the problem. We’re gonna be there for 2 months.”
“2
months?” Kirstin raised her voice, but she didn’t intend to. She lowered it
and asked again “I’m sorry. 2 months?”
“Yeah. I know it’s too much, but there’s nothing I can do about it, I’m so sorry, K.”
Not
knowing what to say, and seeing that Ashley was just as upset as she was, Kirstin
stated:
“I
know it’s not your fault, baby. We can work it out, of course. It’s gonna be
ok. You’ll call me every day, right?”
“Of
course! Every single day, yes!”
“Good…
so, see? It’s gonna be just like it has been…” she looked down “Only it’s gonna
be 2 months of just phone talk.”
“K,
look at me.” he lifted her chin up with his index finger and brushed a lock
of her hair away “2 months will go by so fast we are not even gonna notice it.
And I promise I’ll talk to the Mikes and try my best, when we come back, to
get some time off so I can be with you, alright?”
“Really?”
“Yes,
really. I wanna be with you so much. All the time. Whenever I’m not talking
to you, I wanna call you and talk to you. Whenever we are talking over the phone,
I wanna just… get inside it and show up here, right by your side” Kirstin smiled
“I wanna see that smile everyday. I wanna kiss you whenever I feel like kissing
you. I wanna hug you whenever I feel like hugging you. I want you.”
“I
want you, too.” Kirstin hugged Ashley tight, her eyes watery. It was being too
difficult for her, and knowing it wasn’t just difficult for her, but for Ashley
too, made her wonder if it was the right decision for them to be together. She
soon washed that thought away. Of course it was the right thing to do. Ashley
was all she ever wanted. Wasn’t he? And he wouldn’t hurt her like the others.
Would he? Ashley was certainly the type of guy Kirstin wanted. He was sensitive,
someone that made her smile, but, still, she had some doubts about their relationship.
She had to be certain about their relationship, though, before she’d call him
her boyfriend. All the confused thoughts were disturbing her. She then suddenly
felt a tear fall down her cheek.
* Thanx Shaylyn for correcting the grammar on this chapter
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