The guy from the door leaned in to talk to Sophie. “This guy says he knows you. Said he’s taking you home. Is that true?” Sophie looked up at the bouncer, trying to remember his name.

“Dustin?” she asked for confirmation.

“Yeah. Should I get Mel? Or is this guy okay?” Concern lined his face as he pointed behind him.

She looked over his shoulder. Ashton stood there with a scowl on his face, looking back at her. Sophie took in his large, seething form. He personified everything appealing in the male body, powerful, handsome, strong, and incredibly sexy. Unfortunately he was a huge jerk. Oh my god I drank way too much. This is becoming a bad habit.

“No…don’t get Mel…I know him,” Sophie managed, surprised she managed to get her heavy tongue to cooperate.

Sophie walked toward him, swaying her hips exaggeratedly. She smiled when his eyes slid down the length of her dress. When she was close enough she grabbed his shirt, pulling him closer. He smelled delicious. “You said you wanted me.” She looked directly into his eyes. “I won this sick little game.”

“Yes,” he admitted as his eyes dropped to her lips. “You did.”

Chapter Fifteen

Sophie tried to resist the rousing of her body. She was tired and the morning light was too bright as it pulled her from sleep. She brushed her hair from her face before stretching. Her hand ran up a warm hard body, it felt marvelous under her fingers. A delighted moan escaped her lips before reality cleared her mind. Sophie sat up abruptly, looking down at Ashton sprawled out asleep in her bed. She untangled her legs from his, trying to retreat from her bed as quickly as possible. She couldn’t even appreciate how perfect he looked in only his underwear laying on her colorful, girly sheets. He looked too large for her double bed with his feet hanging off the end.

Ashton began to stir when she bolted ungracefully from bed. He lifted his head and raked his hands down over his face. “What’s wrong?” His voice was deep from sleep.

Sophie looked down and noticed she didn’t have any clothes on. “I’m naked,” Sophie gasped.

“I know. It’s fucking awesome.” He smiled lazily. Sophie grabbed a blanket off her bed and tried to cover herself. “Don’t get shy now.” He groaned when his eyes could not ravage her bare flesh.

“Did we…?” Sophie motioned between them. “Did we have sex?”

“You don’t remember?” He leaned up on his elbows.

“Oh my god.” Sophie began to panic. She grabbed her duffle bag and started throwing clothes in from her closet and dresser. “Oh my god,” she repeated as if a broken record, each one building in her panic.

“What are you doing?” Ashton sat up and watched her dart around the room.

“I have to go to my mother’s. I told her I was going to stay with her this weekend…I gotta go. Oh my god.” Sophie rushed into the bathroom, locking the door behind her and leaning against the counter, taking a deep breath. She couldn’t remember how she got home last night or anything else that apparently happened once they got there. She was so confused she didn’t know how she should feel—disappointment, fear, anger? They all swirled in her stomach, causing her to feel uneasy. This is a nightmare! She closed her eyes and took deep calming breaths. A knock on her door caused her to yelp in surprise. “Sophie? Are you okay?” Ashton’s voice was hesitant. She could feel him standing close on the other side of the door.

“Yeah. Be out in a minute.” Her voice sounded pathetically small and terrified. Gathering all her courage, she opened the bathroom door.

Ashton was pulling his shirt down over his sculpted torso when Sophie stepped out of the washroom. Suddenly more than anything she wanted to remember what it was like when they were together. She spent so many hours fantasizing about being with him and when she finally did she didn’t even remember it. He looked back at her with an unreadable expression. She didn’t know what she was supposed to say in this situation. She didn’t know what she said to him last night and the thought terrified her.

“It’s probably best for you to go,” Sophie confessed. The look in his eyes immediately made her regret it, but the truth was she needed time to think. She felt like she was losing control, struggling to stay above water.

He clenched his jaw, staring back at her with his dark eyes. “You asked me to stay last night.” He let his anger slip into his voice. The pain in his expression chipped away at her anger. He got what he wanted, he should have been relieved to have an excuse to leave, but instead Sophie was left feeling like the bad guy. She held onto the tears that threatened to fall.

Ashton turned on his heel and walked out of her apartment without even glancing back at her. He took all the air from the room when he left. She wrapped he arms around herself and released the tears that were waiting to fall. It was the perfect ending to her tragic obsession with a boy that was destined to break her. She couldn’t have written a better ending if she tried. Never knowing what it was like to have him take her in the most intimate way possible, she would always be left wondering.

***

Her mother’s face was a welcome sight after surviving the bus ride torturing herself with thoughts of Ashton. Her head felt heavy from the night before. She had checked her phone constantly the entire drive with the ridiculous hope that he would send her a message, anything just to know that he thought of her for even just a moment since he left her apartment.

“Sophie, love. Come in.” Her mother wrapped her arms around her tight, forcing the tears to resurface. “I’ll make us some tea and we can talk about it.” Her mother wiped a tear away from Sophie’s cheek. She could see her own eyes in her mother’s, the same light green, though her mother’s always seemed more soulful and welcoming. Even lined with years of laughter, worry, and days lying in the sun, they were always so captivatingly beautiful.

Sophie sat at her mother’s small round kitchen table covered with wedding brochures and magazines. It looked like everything had been attacked by sticky notes. Her mother sat a large steaming mug in front of her before grabbing a tub of ice cream out of the freezer, pulling the cover off, and sticking two spoons in.

“You are the best mom ever.”

“It’s because I splurge for the good stuff.” She smiled brightly, scooping a big spoonful of the rich, flavorful ice cream. “Tell me why you’re upset.”

Sophie grabbed the other spoon and scraped the ice cream along the surface, making it curl in on the spoon. She let it melt on her tongue. “Yummy. It seems like forever ago we had ice cream like this. I applaud your choice in flavor, by the way.” Cookies and cream was always their favorite.

“I picked it up when you said you were coming home this weekend. I didn’t realize then how much we would actually need it.” She smiled her concerned mom smile Sophie had seen so many times growing up. It was familiar and comforting, a reminder that her mother was always there for her. “I’m gonna guess that it’s a boy causing these tears.”

“Yes…A very frustrating, irritating…”Sophie trailed off.

Her mom reached over and squeezed her hand. “Well, this conversation sounds familiar. I think you used those same words before. Don’t tell me we’re discussing Ashton King again?”

Sophie sighed. “The one and only. He’s up to his old tricks again. He’s Margaret Darcy’s grandson. I unknowingly walked right into having him in my life again. I can’t escape him.”

“I don’t know your history other than the few things that I have weaseled out of you over the years, but a boy who invests that much time in anything is interested, trust me. One day you’ll find out what is truly in his heart.”