Angie is wide-eyed, waiting for either of us to make some kind of move, so I grab the bull by the horns. “Come sit with us,” I gesture to Ashton, patting the lounger. He takes a seat beside me, brushing my thigh with the material of his shorts. “I was wondering what you were up to,” I explain, hoping Angie won’t let me down by telling him we’ve been watching and listening for the last hour, but then again, this is my best friend.
Angie tilts her head to the side, eyeing him up and down. “Nice set by the way. You had the crowd eating out of your hands.”
“You were listening?” He glances back to me briefly, with the broadest beaming smile on his handsome face.
“What I mean is, we didn’t realise it was you busking… until now. Right, Cal?” Angie says tongue in cheek.
“Yes Ange, that’s exactly what we thought.” I press my lips together to keep my giggle inside. Her eyes have the devil in them today, and they’re locked on Ash.
“You know, it’s a coincidence you’re here, actually. Cal hasn’t stopped going on about how bloody incredible you were at the hospital the other day. She would have been lost without you, according to her.” She glances towards me with such a smirk across her face.
“Is that right,” Ash says, his smile now glowing.
I can’t help myself, “Thanks a bunch, Ange. Shame there’s no treatment for you being a continual pain in my arse,” I smile while Angie sticks her tongue out at me. “But thanks Ash,” I turn my attention back to him. “You kept me sane when I bet there were a million different places you wanted to be.”
“Well, I didn’t want to be rude but—” his infectious laugh lights up his entire face. I bump into his side, “Hey!” I giggle, and he glances at me, his killer grin in place.
He stares at his clasped hands in front of him. “You know you haven’t changed a bit since school Calla,” then he glances back at me, his head tips to the side. “You look exactly the same, you know.”
My face blushes. “Shit, I hope not,” I laugh. “I don’t miss my teenage acne and bad hair.”
“I don’t remember anything bad,” he smiles.
“Hmm, you got some rose-coloured glasses there?”
His eyes lock with mine. “Definitely not.”
Holy crap, the tone of his voice does all kinds of things to my girl parts. Did sparks just fly?
“You don’t look the same, or rather, your face hasn’t changed so much, it’s just the rest of you. I’m not sure I’d be confident enough to pick you out of a line-up.”
He huffs out a half-smile. “What can I say, I’ve grown a lot.”
In all the right places too, I think to myself while I glance at Angie. She’s smirking so is probably thinking exactly the same thing and I’m certain Ash knows something is going on.
This incredible side smile appears on his face. “I’m glad you’re here, I’ve wanted to see you for a couple for days.”
“Yeah?” I mirror his head tipping while my fingertips brush my bottom lip. I’ve gone back in time, back to thebeginning of secondary school and not the twenty-one-year-old I should be.
“Yeah. I thought we could go for a drink, catch up on old times.”
“I'd love to.” I smile back, not noticing we've locked eyes again.
Angie doesn't know where to look. “Ahem,” interrupts our admiring fest.
“Sorry Ange,” he huffs out.
“Hey, don’t mind me,” she says with her hands up. Ash seems to take her literally when he continues to talk solely my way.
“Hey, you never did tell me why you came home, Cal? Any special reason?” Ash says, trying to save our embarrassment.
“Not really, I'm just back for the break. I wanted to make the most of my last summer before I finish uni.”
“I wondered why I hadn’t seen you around in a while. What did you end up taking?”
“A four-year course in business and economics.”
His head jerks back. “Impressive.”
