He holds me close. “I’m so sorry, Ash. I never want to hold you back, and when you told me about your interview, I…” He tips his head back so he can look at me. “I used it as an excuse to run. The one thing I swore I’d never do.”
* * *
Jared
“You got scared I’d leave you,” Ashley says simply.
“I know.”
Her white sweater hangs off one shoulder, revealing creamy skin, and her yoga pants are snug and leave little to the imagination. Her hair is piled high on top of her head with only her usual lock of hair hanging loose. I reach up and tuck it behind her ear. We both laugh when it springs back immediately.
“How come?”
“I didn’t think that was the reason I moved out, but underneath, it was lurking.”
“Your reaction is understandable,” she says. “You lost both your parents. And I’ve been scared too. We’ve gotten so close so fast. I wasn’t prepared.”
“I want you to know that I realized my mistake before I ever saw your video.”
She cocks her head. “Really?”
“Really.” I kiss her long and hard. “But your video was amazing. You were fearless as always.”
“I’m so far from fearless,” she says. “I just wanted you to know how much you—and us—mean to me.”
“You mean the world to me, Ashley. Living with you here has been the best decision I’ve ever made.”
“And J?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m not taking the job. I’m going to ask to be removed from consideration.”
I shake my head. “No way. I want you to take the job if it’s the right fit for you. We’ll work things out. No matter the miles. I can live in New Orleans in the off-season. And you can come here to visit. We can do this long-distance. I know we can.”
“Maybe we could. But the truth is I don’t want to.”
“You don’t want to what?”
“I don’t want to live apart from you when we’ve waited so long to be together. I don’t want to leave my job here. I actually love it. And I don’t want to leave Montana, as crazy as that sounds, because I just got here and New Orleans is my hometown. But I love it here, and I’m following my heart here…but I feel like everything I’m doing here is what I’m supposed to be doing and where I’m supposed to be.”
“I feel like everything I need is right here in this room,” I tell her honestly.
I lean in and kiss her again. Our kiss turns hot and urgent, and she moans as I run my hand over her sweater. She’s braless, and her taut nipples poke through the fabric. She straddles me and reaches behind us for her purse.
“Condom,” she whispers as she hands it to me.
Within seconds, we’re naked. Within minutes, I’m calling out her name as I drive inside her.
“More,” she cries out as I give her what she asks for.
And then, she’s coming. I flip her over, bend her over the couch cushions, and drive into her again.
I kiss her neck as I reach around to touch her between her legs.
“God, J, that feels so…oh, I’m going to come again…” She drops her head onto the cushion and moans loudly.
And this time, when she goes over the edge, I go with her. Hard.
