Loving Ashe

Episode 7

Beautiful Again

“Oh, wow, Riley! Is this your sacrificial offering?” Paige asked as she opened the door, three 4-year old boys dressed up as Ironman, Captain America and Thor running past her. She was dressed in a beautiful Monique Lhuillier full-length gown that shimmered about her feet, and as Riley stared at her, Paige twirled, showing off the ensemble in full effect.

“He stopped by the Library, and figured he’d help me out with the boys.”

“She makes a wonderful caffè Medici,” Ashe said, grinning.

“You still have a chance to get out of this, you know,” Riley said as the triplets, Trey, Trevor and Thomas stopped in their tracks and stared at him. Then before she could introduce the boys to Ashe, Trey, dressed as Thor, yelled at the top of his voice, I am Thor! before running off while the other two chased after him.

“And miss out on my first ever ménage à cinq? I don’t think so,” Ashe said as Clint Caldwell III appeared at the top of the stairs dressed in a tuxedo. Clint was in his early fifties, with dark wavy hair and a sharp nose.

Although he came from a family that reeked of old money, Clint wasn’t the type to sit back and wait for the investment checks to come in. He owned an investment company that specialized in commercial and residential buildings all along the East Coast, which meant he and Paige often found themselves attending charity balls and inaugural dinners. It allowed Clint to socialize and certainly didn’t hurt Paige’s love for attention.

“Paige, Clint, this is Ashe,” Riley said in a loud voice, above the shouts of the triplets who hushed immediately the moment Clint told them to and disappeared into their playroom. “Ashe, this is my sister, Paige, and her husband, Clint Caldwell III.”

Clint made his way downstairs and shook hands with Ashe, grinning broadly. He always reminded Riley of the American version of Gary Oldman, especially when he wore his reading glasses. “What a lovely surprise! Riley’s never brought anyone over before to help her corral the three terrors. I guess she figured she needed reinforcements tonight.” 3

“It’s probably best that he does not know what he’s getting into just yet, dear,” Paige laughed before extending her hand toward Ashe. “Very nice to meet you, Ashe. Riley has apparently been keeping you a secret,”

“Unfortunately, I haven’t been around long enough for anyone to keep me a secret, but it would be nice to change that,” Ashe said. “There’s no point in disappointing the audience now, is there?”

Everyone laughed, except for Riley, who glared at Ashe before one of the triplets tackled her with a hug. Soon all three surrounded her, telling her all their plans for the next few hours.

“Let’s play with trains, auntie!” “No, I wanna build trains.” “Let’s read a story. I want Finding Nemo.” “No, I want Chuggington!” “I want some mac n’ cheese!” “Chicken nuggets!” “I’m Thor!” 48

Before she was swept away by the triplets into the living room, she reminded Ashe that it wasn’t too late to back out.

Clint laughed. “I won’t blame you if you decide to leave, Ashe. My boys can be quite a handful, but somehow, Riley manages to handle them quite well.”

“Now don’t scare him, honey,” Paige said.

“I don’t mind. Indeed, I don’t,” Ashe said, chuckling. 4

“As long as you know what’s in store for you, Ashe. Many brave men would quickly run away from something like this,” Paige laughed, leading Ashe into the living room where the triplets were showing Riley their newest toys, which were partly still in their boxes. It was a Lionel train set, and they were telling her all about how they planned to assemble all the parts tonight.

“Well, I’m certain it will be fun,” Ashe said.

After a few more minutes of small talk, with Paige wanting to know how Ashe had managed to find Riley (“purely by chance,” he said for he’d heard of how good the caffé Medici was at the Library Cafe), Clint reminded her that they had to leave. The town car was idling outside their brownstone and after loud goodbyes and air kisses, they were on their way, leaving Ashe and Riley with the children.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW

“You can still get out of this, you know,” Riley said again. “I won’t hold it against you.”

“I’m perfectly fine right here with you.”

Riley couldn’t help but blush at the way Ashe looked at her. His blue eyes seemed to appear darker, more intense, when he gazed at her, a mischievous smile on his lips.

“Alright then. First things first,” Riley announced, gathering some of the toys that littered their playroom and faced the triplets. “Who wants to help me make mac and cheese?”

The triplets all jumped up and down, raising their hands up to volunteer, and like the pied piper of Hamelin, she led them to the kitchen with Ashe following right behind them. When she saw his look of amusement—or was it awe—she decided to let him in on her secret.

“I let them add corn chips to their mac n’ cheese as a topping,” she whispered. “It’s like crack.”

With the boys enjoying their dinner, Riley found some leftover roast chicken in the fridge and proceeded to make chicken salad sandwiches with almonds for her and Ashe, along with a light salad. He helped out with the salad, and she was quite impressed with how he created his ‘everything’ salad, adding just about every fixing he could find in the pantry—sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, almonds, just to name a few.

After dinner, while she insisted she rinse the dishes and load up the dishwasher, Ashe helped the boys assemble the toy trains and the tracks around the playroom. He had removed his jacket shortly after Paige and Clint left, and by the time dinner was over, he was moving around the play room in his bare feet, on his hands and knees putting the train set together while the boys climbed all over him, directing him with what to do. By the third hour, the triplets were bored of their brand new train and insisted they watch Finding Nemo, but not before Ashe read them Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss, complete with sound effects. Even Riley had been assigned the role of the grumpy narrator, much to her nephews’ delight, who laughed and giggled every time she made a grumpy face and lowered her voice.

By the time Finding Nemo was playing, they were all on the couch, exhausted, including Riley and Ashe, worn out from the triplets’ never-ending demands. They were more well-behaved than this, Riley told a yawning Ashe who brought his arm over her shoulders on the couch, leaned his head back and closed his eyes. Trey and Trevor were curled up on his opposite side while Thomas had settled in the crook of Riley’s arm. It was only 9:30, but it might as well be after midnight. 4

“You and your sister are like night and day,” Ashe said, shifting slightly on the couch so that Trey could lay his head comfortably on the pillow on Ashe’s lap. Trevor was curled on the sofa the opposite direction so that his feet were pressing along Ashe’s side. “How did that happen?”

“She opted for security and status,” Riley replied. “She married someone much older and already successful so she could be whatever she wanted to be, and in Paige’s case—Miss Perfect. But don’t get me wrong; she loves Clint very much.”

“And you? What did you opt for?”

“Me? I chose a life of misadventure and uncertainty.”

“Really?” Ashe looked at her suspiciously. “Working as a barista is a life filled with misadventure and uncertainty? Somehow I find that hard to believe.”

“Well, that’s just my disguise,” Riley chuckled. “We all need something to hide behind, right?”

Ashe was thoughtful for a moment. “I’m not so sure about that. I don’t think we need to hide our mistakes—if that’s what you mean by misadventures. Sometimes it’s just part of your past, something that makes you who you are. As for uncertainty, life is always uncertain. Here today, gone tomorrow.”

STORY CONTINUES BELOW

When Trevor yawned, Riley announced it was time for bed. She and Ashe marched the boys upstairs to their rooms, helped them brush their teeth, slip into their pajamas, and then tucked them all into bed. The boys were so worn out that within minutes, they were fast asleep. Then Riley and Ashe went downstairs and tidied up the house the best they could before collapsing on the couch.

“So how was that for your first foursome?” Riley asked him as she sat on the couch a few feet away from him. “Was it everything you expected?”

“I’m not so sure. For one thing, I never realized how foursomes can be so exhausting,” Ashe replied, shaking his head in mock annoyance. He was speaking in the way he’d read the story to the triplets earlier, and Riley began to giggle as he continued.

“Messy, too. And I can’t believe how demanding partners can be. How inconsiderate. They can’t even wait till you catch your breath for the next round. Always more, more, more. I don’t like this type of foursome. No, I do not. I do not like, Riley-I-am.”

Riley was laughing so hard there were tears in her eyes as she listened to Ashe speak. She had to make sure that she was laughing as quietly as she could, afraid to wake up the boys upstairs or they’d have to start putting them back to sleep all over again.

“I’m just joking, by the way,” he assured her with a light pat of his hand on her thigh. “Though they do make me doubt about wanting any progeny—at least of the multiple kind. You were right about having protection.” 1

When she was done giggling, she realized Ashe had moved closer to her. His face had grown serious, his eyes shielded by thick lashes. His gaze rested on her mouth. 24

The way he was watching her made Riley nervous, in a tingly kind of way. She’d fantasized about kissing Ashe ever since she first met him. She’d also dreamed of doing so much more after seeing a clip of him online—in GIF form, no less, which meant it looped again and again—of a full frontal scene he did in one of his first films that had since been an art house favorite.

“So what are you thinking of, Ashe-I-am?” she asked, hoping to shift the mood away from where it was heading, which was leading to the hot and bothered territory. But the look Ashe gave her told her he didn’t mind being in that territory at all, and for a few moments, he didn’t answer her, though when he did, Riley could have sworn he’d somehow appeared much closer to her than he had been.

“I’m thinking of kissing you, Riley-I-am,” he murmured, his head dipping toward her before she could react, though he stopped, his mouth just inches from her lips. “Would that be alright?” 36

“I don’t see anything wrong with that,” she whispered as her eyes closed in response to the feel of his lips against hers. There was nothing else she could do except that—close her eyes and savor the moment. He smelled amazingly good, and the scent of sandalwood with a hint of vetiver mingled with a smell all his own, all male. It made her nostrils flare, and she took a deep intake of breath that was his own, minty fresh.

She felt his hand gently touch her face, his fingers molding along her jaw and her cheekbones, cradling her as he continued to kiss her. Her mouth opened, and she felt his tongue slip between her lips, tasting her and taking his time as he did so. He was an amazing kisser, and every brush of his tongue made her insides feel like Jell-O. Riley felt herself melt as he kissed her, her arm circling him, needing to hold him and make sure that he was real and that this was happening.

When his tongue slid along the top of her mouth, she trembled, feeling a rumble from deep within as her belly clenched and she almost whimpered. Riley pulled away, needing to catch her breath but also to stop herself from going any further. Was she this desperate? She barely knew him!

STORY CONTINUES BELOW

“Are you alright?” He asked, his eyes turning a dark shade of blue as he gazed at her.

Staring at his eyes was a mistake, so she kept her gaze on his lips, which in hindsight was also a mistake but her options were quite limited. She didn’t want to seem rude. But if she’d look into his eyes, Riley knew she’d only drown in a sea of her emotions, and knowing that he’d soon be taken in by the publicity machine that was part of his work, she’d just be another notch on his bedpost if she kept going.

Riley tried to find the words to tell him that she couldn’t do this, that she didn’t want to get hurt again. Why did she have to pick the beautiful ones? The ones most likely to cause the most damage to her heart—her soul? The ones that made her tremble beneath their touch, their gaze, and their smiles? The ones who, when they would leave her, would shatter her completely, and this time, there would be no way to put her back together again?

But something inside her rebelled, wanting more of what he’d just offered her—a glimpse of something beautiful. Ashe had kissed her in a way no one else had ever done in a long time—not even Gareth—but that was only because it had been forever since they were together. It was time to move on.

“Ah, hell,” Riley breathed as she leaned toward him, her whole body twisting to face him, and this time, she initiated the kiss, wanting more—so much more. She had to start living, even if it meant getting hurt again. Who knows? Maybe she could do this just once. Just once—and then walk away. She could do it. But she had to start somewhere and so far, this was a beautiful place to do just that. A kiss surely wouldn’t hurt.

Ashe pulled her toward him, so she was straddling him, her knees on either side of his thighs. He kissed her again, this time, their tongues playing with each other, tasting each other. His hands held her face, before moving down to trace the curve of her neck, her back and lower along the swell of her hips. She was discovering him as well, her fingers tugging at his shirt, pulling it upward so she could rest her palms against his bare chest.

The only sound in the room was their breathing. It was heavy and laden with so much expectation, a heady mix that turned her on, blending with the sensations that teased and cajoled deep inside her, coaxing her out of her shell. It had been three years of being a good girl.

His hand found its way under her vintage shirt, tracing a slow line along the path of her spine, then along her side, toward her breasts. He cupped a breast, ensconced in a lacy bra, squeezing as his tongue probed deeper into her mouth before retreating, only to slip back in again, soft and delicious. Riley felt faint from the promise of what was to come, of hands that would unhook her bra and free her breasts, kneading them and teasing her nipples, of a lean hard body to lie on her, entering her as his eyes kept her trapped in his gaze. She knew she was getting way ahead of herself but what the hell—he could forget all about her by tomorrow, back to being the heartthrob he was to adoring fans. 16

Riley had never needed molded bra cups to give her the illusion of a generous bust. Hers had always been perfect, the ones that girls less gifted in high school once teased her relentlessly about then, only to have to purchase their pair later on. That was one thing that Riley had over her perfect sister, who had to buy her pair of double D’s herself.

Ashe pushed aside the lace of her bra. When his fingers brushed over her nipple, he paused and pulled his head away though his fingers remained where they were. He didn’t turn to look at what his fingers discovered. He knew what it was. His heavy-lidded eyes narrowed.

“You are a beautiful contradiction, Riley. And this,” he whispered, his thumb and index finger pulling on the barbell clip that graced her pierced nipple, causing her to gasp with the pain and pleasure that hit her, “a lovely surprise.”

“I used to be beautiful, though not so sure about the contradiction part,” she said. “But that’s not why I got it done.”

He let go of her nipple clip and brought his hand back to her face. Riley leaned toward him, not wanting to talk about her past, nor stop whatever they were doing. She wanted more of his kisses. She loved the way he touched her, the way he breathed against her mouth, the smell and feel of his hands holding her face, touching her body.

For the first time since Gareth left her and humiliated her so long ago, she wanted a man to love her again. This time, she thought, she would handle the rejection that would come after a lot better than she did then.

“Why did you do it?” he asked, his baritone voice deeper than she remembered as she dragged her eyes away from him, focusing her gaze on his chin. Day-old stubble cast its shadow. 4

Her answer emerged as a whisper. “So I’d feel beautiful again.” 12

Still cradling her face, Ashe brought it up to meet him, his blue eyes locking with hers. It was a thoughtful gaze, one that seemed to see right through her and Riley shut her eyes, hating herself for feeling so vulnerable.

“You are beautiful, Riley. So beautiful you take my breath away. You do know that, don’t you?” When she didn’t answer right away, he asked again. “Don’t you?”

But as much as Riley would have wanted to answer him, she couldn’t, not with the front door swinging wide open, and Paige and Clint walking in.