Ashlynn

I gazed around the newly decorated bathroom, my emerald eyes eager as I absorbed all of the alterations I had made to the room. The black and white pattern on the towels I had purchased were paired with a matching bathmat, the organization of the pattern infused with the colors making the small room look more spacious and easily more fashionable than the bare walls had only moments before. I set up my new soap dispenser and other little accessories, lastly hanging up my black shower curtain that finished off the new room design. I sighed in content with my attributions, and decided that I would unpack some of my toiletries and bring them in, making myself feel more at home.

Delaney was bustling about in the kitchen, putting beers in the fridge for when her friends would arrive. I was eager to meet them; they played such a big role in Delaney's life, and I wanted to meet these people. They were there for Delaney when I wasn't, and in a way I needed to thank them.

I brought an armful of my toiletries into the newly decorated bathroom, and decided that since company was coming over that I should touch up my makeup a bit. I swiped on another layer of mascara before reinforcing the shadow on my eyelid. I blinked a bit, looking back in the mirror and finding satisfaction in my touch ups as I heard the front door get thrown open, male voices quickly eliciting from the open door.

"La gente del partido ya están aquí!" a heavy Mexican accent spoke loudly, and I couldn’t help but to let a chuckle escape my lips at the sound. The booming voice was heart-warming. There was a loud holler, and I heard Delaney laugh a bit as I padded my way through my room and peaked out around the corner to see the face that matched the voice.

“What the hell did he just say?” I asked, amusement splaying across my face and my lips turned up and into a small smile. Delaney looked to me, but wasn’t the one to respond.

"He said the party people are here," a shorter male with a deep caramel complexion spoke to me with a kind smile. He had dark, wavy locks that reached just above his shoulder, a backwards snapback placed on top of them. He was wearing a black t-shirt, ‘Key Street’ written across it in bold, white letters. He had deep brown, endearing eyes and a soft smile. I caught glimpse of a small silver hoop protruding from his nostril, much like the one that sat to rest in mine. "You must be Delly's cousin. I'm Vic." he spoke and stuck a hand in my direction that I took immediately.

“Ashlynn,” I responded, the smile unmoving as I took in the appearance of the man before me. I noted the way his biceps showed distinctly from beneath the short sleeves of his shirt, and I admired them for a second before looking back to meet his gaze.

“Vic’s the singer and plays guitar,” Delaney explained quickly, to which Vic paid no attention as I watched him subtly glance over my body. “Vic’s single,” Delaney blurted, immediately slapping a hand over her mouth to cover up her outburst. Oh, Delaney. She refocused her attention back on the two boys that remained in the hallway.

"And that's Mike. He plays drums," Delaney motioned to a tall, lanky man that had tattoos visible everywhere. He had a few piercings: a medusa, and a hoop going through the middle of his lower lip. He also had a backward snapback sitting atop his dark head of hair, which seemed to be shaved on one side. He had dark eyes, much like Vic's.

"And that's...wait a minute. Where's Tony?" Delaney stood on her tip-toes as if to try and peer around Mike's tall figure, ultimately failing.

The sound of his name alone was enough for my eyes to snap open wider and my heart to palpitate rapidly in my chest.

"Tony?" I questioned, my eyes still a bit wide because of hearing his name. Certainly, it had to have been a different Tony than the one I was thinking of...right? How crazy would it be for my one night stand to show up at my house the next day, or same day rather, because Delaney knew him? I pushed this thought to the back of my mind...but only for a second.

As soon as Delaney opened her mouth to question my response, a figure stepped through the threshold and spoke.

"Did someone say my name?" he had a large grin plastered on his face, much like the one I saw all through the early hours of this morning...when we were having sex. His eyes scanned across the room for a few seconds before stopping to meet my gaze. His brown eyes twinged with realization before traveling down the entire length of my body, and I knew exactly what he was thinking. Because I was thinking the same thing. There was a slight look of hunger in his eyes and I couldn't help but let that turn me on slightly. His gaze could make a nun sweat.

"This is Tony," Delaney spoke, her tone taking me back a bit but I didn't falter. "He plays guitar."
I moved forward slowly, building up a bit of confidence. I stretched my hand out in his direction, a hand that had only just hours before been on unmentionable places of his body. "Ashlynn," I gave him a knowing smirk.

He looked good, wearing a white Key Street tank top underneath a gray hoodie, the hood pulled over a front facing snapback that sat atop his head. He was wearing the thick framed glasses that I had seen him in previously. He looked like he hadn’t gotten entirely too much sleep, and I knew just why.

"Hey, why don't I get a handshake?" Mike pouted a bit as he watched me still shaking Tony's hand.

I pried my heavily made-up eyes away from Tony and focused my attention on Mike, sticking out a hand for him to shake. I mustered a small smirk to give him, but I couldn't help but to keep glancing back at Tony, who stood smug next to me.

There was a moment where all of us stood in silence, absorbing the awkwardness of everything going on. The air was thick with tension of a sort in which I could not place my finger on. I heard Jaime whisper something inaudible to Delaney, but I'm almost positive he was addressing the situation to her.

This was definitely going to be an interesting night.

~

It wasn't long into the night before the banter began, the group of us lounging around on the soft, gray couches of Delaney's home, my new home. I was sitting Indian style on the couch, a beer in my hand. I wasn't drinking much of it, and it was only my first one. I figured if I didn't start, I wouldn't have to stop. Everyone else was well on their way to their fourth of the night, and I was hoping that nobody would point out how far behind I was. I made a vow to myself at the bar last night, and I didn't intend on going against it anytime soon. I knew that drinking with these guys wasn't necessarily trying to escape from my problems, but I knew that once I took a long enough chug from the bottle, that it would suddenly become what I didn't want.

Mike sat next to me, one ankle resting atop the other knee as his knee bounced. I couldn't help but to want to reach out and stop it from bouncing, but I knew that wasn't appropriate.

"So we're on the plane to Australia, and this one decides that it would be a great time to announce his presence...with his ass. Oh my god that fart smelled awful," Jaime crinkled his nose at the thought, his eyes directed towards Tony who sat there on the couch opposite of me, cackling at Jaime's tour lament as if he was proud of stinking up the plane. I let out a laugh at this, joining in with the others. I had expected things to be awkward with the guys, but once we all sat down and began to talk a bit, there wasn't a single thing awkward about it. Well, except for the elephant in the room that only Tony and I knew of.

Tony hadn't lied to me: he was a guitarist in a band, he just didn't include the fact of how well the band was doing. Pierce the Veil was composed of these four guys that sat in this living room, and though I hadn't heard them, I could tell how great they were just based off of those who were in the band. They were all so friendly towards me, right off the bat. They all had such colorful personalities, and I could definitely see right away how close they all were. But no matter how welcoming they were towards me, I couldn't help but feel out of place and as if I was intruding on something that was not mine to intrude on.

"Enough about us, we talk too much. Ashlynn, why don't you tell us something?" Vic spoke up once the laughter died down, startling me. I could feel a scarlet hue rising in my face and splaying across my cheekbones as I realized how on-the-spot this was. Suddenly, all five pairs of eyes in the room were fixated on me, and I couldn't help but to squirm under the pressure. Mostly, I felt his eyes on me. I didn't know whether or not I liked the attention from him, or if I felt uncomfortable. I glanced at everyone's smiling faces, and I swallowed a lump that had formed in the base of my throat.

"Oh come on, Ash! You're never this quiet," Delaney threw her hand in the air, chuckling a bit.

"Yeah, for real. Last night you certainly weren't w-" Jaime began but was quickly cut off by Delaney's bony elbow in his ribcage. He pouted a bit, sticking out his lower lip and mocking hurt as he grabbed his side. I couldn't tell whether or not he was more like a small child or a puppy; so bubbly and full of life, with quite possibly the shortest attention span plausible.

"What do you want to know?" I asked with a shrug of my shoulders, being sure to crack a soft smile in the process. I lifted my beer to my glossed lips, taking a giant swig that I knew I was going to need for a bout of liquid courage. If they even began to ask about why I left home to come here...

I began sweating like a whore in church once I realized how possible it was for this question to be brought up. I looked over at Tony, who was still eyeing me intently. He licked his lips, but not in a sexual manor. Every time I caught glimpse of him, I saw his face from last night, mid-orgasm and calling out my name breathlessly. I wanted to know what he was thinking right this moment. I wanted to get inside his head, and get a map of his translated thoughts so I knew what he was thinking about me this instant. Was he angry with me? Was he intrigued? Was he confused? The thoughts made me sweat even more, and I brought the bottle back up to my lips and took a significantly long drink this time around.

"Where are you from?" Mike asked from beside me, and I felt a bit relieved once the question wasn't about why I left.

"Here, originally. But a few years back, I moved two hours or so away because of a job opportunity,” I explained with a shrug of my shoulders. Lie.

“What do you do for a living?” Tony asked, and this startled me, coming from him. I looked him in the eye, and he returned the look with amusement dancing in his eyes.

“I am a data entry operator. I work in banks,” I stated before scanning over the room with my eyes. Jaime and Delaney were sitting close together, whispering to each other here and there. I could tell there was something going on, but I didn’t want to make her angry by asking any time in the future. I brushed it off and fixated my attention on Vic and Tony who sat across the room from me.

“So does that mean that you’re good with numbers and all that other freaky math shit?” Mike questioned from next to me, his iphone in one hand and almost empty beer in the other.

“I’m decent with numbers, I suppose.” I chuckled a bit.

“Shut up, you memorized the first eighty numbers of pi when you were in third grade!” Delaney exclaimed while leaning back in her seat on the couch, propping her feet up on the coffee table in front of her.

I couldn’t help but to blush a little bit, being modest and a bit too shy. I had always liked math, and that’s why I chose to work in a bank. I brought the glass bottle to my lips once again, only to see that it was empty. I sighed, pushing myself off of the couch and padding into the kitchen. I walked to the fridge and opened it, hearing the banter that was taking place in the next room. I peered around inside a bit, trying to decide which poison I would choose for my second round.
I settled for a Corona, and closed the door to the fridge, only to gasp a little in the process because I realized I was no longer alone in the kitchen as I had thought I was.

Tony stood behind me, laughing quietly at me as I clutched my chest in a panic, trying to reclaim the breath that was lodged in my throat due to being frightened.

“Aw, you’re so sweet. You knew I needed another beer,” Tony took the bottle of Corona out of my grasp and popped the cap effortlessly before taking a drink. I mocked an angry expression, but my composure soon left and I found myself with a smile dancing on my lips. I opened the fridge again to retrieve another bottle of beer before turning back to face Tony.

It was strange; the fact that I had just slept with him, not known a single thing about him, and here he was right now, in my new home because he was friends with Delaney. It’s strange how things work out like that sometimes, the coincidences in life just being so odd.

“You look nice,” Tony commented, tipping his beer bottle in my direction. I stood with a hand on my hip, my head slightly cocked to the side.

The sexual tension that floated in the room between the two of us was tangible and thick enough to cut with a knife. Even with a simple compliment such as the one he had just paid to me, I found my heart fluttering softly in my chest.

“You’re not so bad yourself, Nighthawk.” I used the name he had told me last night, and this caused a smile to appear on his face immediately.

“How weird is this?” he asked, motioning between us. He lowered his voice before continuing, “That we just had a one night stand, and you’re one of my best friends’ cousin?”

I rolled my eyes at him in response, showing off my straight, white teeth in a grin. I shook my head at him in amusement before maneuvering around him to walk back into the living room. Everyone still sat there, conversing and enjoying themselves as the night progressed.

I reclaimed my Indian-style position next to Mike on the couch and looked at the television, watching some Disney movie that Delaney had put on as background noise. I noticed that Tony had come back into the room also, taking his seat on the couch and scrolling through his phone.

“So, have you found any jobs in the banks out here?” Vic piped up, his tone curious. I tore my gaze from the television and looked at him. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Tony look up from his phone. I thought about the lie that I had told him last night when I had to make up a quick excuse as to why I needed to be home early in the morning. I knew I had been caught in a bind with this one and that there was no way out...but why did it matter? It was a simple one night stand. Surely, it shouldn’t bug him much.

“I am actually in the process of getting transferred to a local bank, maybe about fifteen minutes away,” I explained to Vic before sneaking a glance to see Tony’s reaction to the truth. A look of realization flooded his coffee eyes, and I almost felt bad for lying to him. The realization quickly sparked into a subtle expression of anger, his brows furrowing slightly before he looked back down to his phone screen to hide his agitation.

I sighed lowly to myself, knowing that I should’ve just told him the truth. I don’t know why I cared so much though, it’s not like we had any intention on seeing each other apart from last night. That was enough to settle my worries, or rather to keep them at bay.

A few moments passed before Jaime excitedly hopped off of the couch.

“I’m starving! Let’s cook this shit,” he announced, his chipper voice bouncing throughout the room. I could see why Delaney took to liking him so much; he was so bouncy and happy all the time, I hadn’t seen him without a smile on his face so far. I couldn’t help but feel as though it was also because he was in Delaney’s presence, but that made me happy. I knew there had to be some sort of backstory, and I made a mental note to speak to Delly about it at some point in the future.

We all made our way into the kitchen, all of us except for Jaime, who salsa danced his way to the fridge to retrieve all of the ingredients.

“How many are you going to want, Ash?” Jaime asked, and I was a bit taken aback by his nickname for me. I smiled though, happy that it seemed as though he was warming up to me, and trying to make me feel welcome and comfortable.

“Um, I don’t eat meat?” I said nervously, though it came out as more of a question. Jaime retaliated by throwing the spatula that was in his hands up in the air. It clattered to the ground and Delaney shook her head while bending down to pick it up. She muttered “spaz” and set it back on the counter next to Jaime.

“What?! You’re insane, woman,” he spoke with a lighthearted laugh.

“Tony used to be a vegetarian,” Mike pointed out, looking over at Tony who was perched on one of the barstools at the island next to Vic. Tony nodded silently, refraining from making eye contact with me though I could see him glance out of the corner of his eye a few times.

Jaime laughed at the comment before responding. “Yeah, but he just could not refuse noche de taco any longer! My cooking nipped his attempt in the ass.”

“Your Spanglish is terrible, Himes,” Delaney chortled, walking to the fridge to get another beer. Jaime pouted a bit with his spatula in his hand before turning his attention back to the stove.

“It’s cool though. Want a veggie one with some refried beans?” Jaime inquired while opening various packages and cutting up some peppers.

“If you don’t mind.” I smiled graciously.

“Not at all, senorita!”

The time that passed while Jaime was cooking (with Delaney helping, but she was banished to the table after she spilled a pan of peppers) was spent with the guys speaking of their upcoming tours and writing new music. It was quite intriguing to listen to them, because they spoke about music infused with terms that I didn’t even know existed. The composition of music was never something I was aware of, I just listened because I enjoyed it. They were scheduled to tour around the US in a few months, and they spoke of who was all on board with the tour so far. All I got out of that conversation was that the local show was filled with band whores, and that two guys by the names of Alex and Jack from a supporting band apparently had some freaky, amusing bromance that went on whenever they were in an altered state of mind. I found myself enraptured in the things that they said about their career; they all seemed to be devoted to the music and all that it had given them.

“La cena se sirve!” Jaime shouted as he brought over a pan of taco dressings and condiments.
“Muy caliente! Ouch!” I didn’t understand half of what Jaime spoke because I never even took Spanish as an elective, but I kind of just went along with it.

He went back to the stove and came back with a plate and set it in front of me. On the plate were my vegetarian tacos, looking expertly prepared and I gave a smile and a meek thank you in response to his cordial action of preparing my plate for me.

“Aw, Himes, it was so sweet of you to make her plate!” Delaney cooed before digging into the food that was in front of her. “Oh my god, Ash, do you remember at Thanksgiving a while back when the family went over to Aunt Marie’s and she cooked dinner for all of us? Like individually made our plates and everything, and the stuffing turned out so bad that when she left to use the bathroom, you and I made her dog eat the stuffing so she wouldn’t get offended?”

I nearly choked on my taco, thinking back to the holiday all those years ago. “And then the dog puked it all up on the carpet in the living room an hour later and she flipped out?!”

“Yes! Oh my god!” Delaney laughed loudly and the looks on the guys faces were a mix of confusion and amusement. “God, how long ago was that?”

I thought back to the events that happened around that time, trying to decide how old I was when that moment occurred. “Uh, I had just started my senior year, I was seventeen. So you had to have been, what, twenty?”

“Holy shit. Six years ago? That long?” Delaney sighed, sitting back in her seat a bit, setting down the taco that she had in her hand.

“Yeah…” I thought about it, and that was only just a number of years before I left without contacting her again. I looked down at my plate, my stomach suddenly churning as my mind delved back into the past and my vices that I wanted nothing more than to just escape.

“Hold the phone, you’re only twenty-three?” Mike interrupted, causing all of us to laugh a little at his sudden outburst.

“I know! She’s my little baby,” Delaney giggled, patting me on top of the head softly.

“I am not a little baby!” I swatted her hand away, stifling a laugh.

“But you’re so little!” Vic chimed, the first time he had spoken since we sat down to eat.

“Don’t be offended by that, you’re the only one Vic has ever been able to say that to,” MIke joked, taking a sip out of his beer bottle. At this point, everyone had consumed a few drinks. So conversation was becoming more and more effortless, and the tension and awkwardness in the room had receded a great deal.

“Dick!” Vic punched Mike in the shoulder and Mike just rolled his eyes. I saw Tony chuckle softly, and I noted how he hadn’t spoken much since I admitted to not currently working somewhere when we were in the living room.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, Ash, but I don’t even think I could ever picture you...yanno…having sex with someone. You’re too small, I feel like they would hurt you,” Delaney added and before she could even get the entire sentence out, both Tony and I choked on our food at the same time. This startled Delaney, and made the other guys start laughing. She patted my back in an attempt to soothe my coughing.

I’m almost positive Tony and I were thinking the same thing at that point in time. If only she knew.

Part of me wondered what she would actually do or say if she knew what had happened between Tony and I last night at the bar. I wondered if she would somehow think less of me, and how she would feel towards Tony. I pushed the thoughts to the back of my mind, knowing that I wasn’t going to ever have to admit what took place. I didn’t want to make things awkward, and I knew that if I shared that information with her, that it could quite possibly pose a problem.

I rid my head of the thoughts before finishing my plate. I don’t blame Tony for slipping up with his vegetarian diet. Jaime was a fantastic cook, and my tacos didn’t even have nearly as much flavor as I’m sure the ones with meat did. He could be my personal chef for the rest of my life and I would be perfectly content with the situation.

“Oh my god, I have a food baby,” Delaney groaned next to me, slouching down in her seat and gripping her flat stomach.

“I have food triplets,” Tony groaned in response, his voice surprising me. I giggled a little bit at his statement and Jaime smiled proudly.

“I’m gonna go outside to smoke,” Mike announced, pushing up and out of his seat.

“I’ll go out with you, I’m gonna get some fresh air,” Vic did the same, following Mike out of the sliding glass door in the living room.

Jaime and Delaney exchanged glances and Jaime nodded at her before she turned to me.

“Mind if we go out there and join them?” Delaney asked me, and I simply shrugged my shoulders in response.

“Go ahead! I’ll clean up a bit,” I flashed her a smile before pushing back my seat and taking my plate over to the sink.

“I’ll help her. You guys go,” Tony told them, and to his statement I found myself begin to get nervous. Why did he want to stay back and help me?

“Thank you guys so much,” Delaney smiled before her and Jaime went to join the two brothers.
I turned on the faucet, the water coming down in a steady stream as I heard the sliding glass door close behind Jaime and Delaney.

We stood in silence for a moment before the tension got thick. Tony was bringing plates to me and I was rinsing them and putting them into the dishwasher to my right. Once there were no more dishes to be put into the machine, Tony stood at my side and eyed me intently as I started the washer.

“Why did you lie to me?” he broke the silence, his voice sounding agitated and slightly heavy with alcohol.

“About what?” I asked, trying to play it off. To this, Tony scoffed and rolled his eyes at me. He folded his arms across his chest and I watched as his breathing became more rigid.

“About having to go work in the fucking morning, Ashlynn. Why did you want to get away so quickly?” his voice was stern and it hurt my ears to listen to. I hated confrontation almost more than I hated the fact that I lied to him, and now how it suddenly was a big deal.

“Tony, we had a one night stand. I didn’t expect you to be friends with my cousin that I just moved in with,” I sighed, my voice low, almost a whisper. I hated feeling vulnerable and weak. It reminded me too much of the very reason why I was here in the first place, and just the thought of that made my head ache and my stomach churn.

“That doesn’t mean you have to lie to me,” Tony snapped back. I rubbed my temple slowly, trying to think of ways to dodge the rest of the this conversation. Gathering my thoughts, I looked back up to meet his stare. The only thing I saw reflected in his vision were the events of last night, and how amazing it had been. I couldn’t deny the obvious attraction I had for him, and I didn’t really want to, if I was being honest. His expression showed a bit of anger, but I could tell that his eyes were softening once I looked into them. He didn’t want to be angry with me, because this argument wasn’t even supposed to happen. I scanned over his facial features, stopping for a second longer to look at his plump, full lips. I wondered momentarily how they would feel against my own again, and I wanted nothing more than to be able to feel the sensation yet again.

The sexual tension permeated the air, and before I even knew what was happening, his lips were crashing against my own, stunning me for a moment before I reacted to the kiss. Our lips meshed together to form one, and I felt him slide an arm around my waist, lifting me up onto the countertop. He used his grip on my lower back to press his body into mine, taking my lower lip into his teeth and gnawing on it gently. I groaned quietly into his mouth in response, bringing my hands up to either side of his face to bring it closer to mine. I granted his tongue access into my mouth immediately, soaking up the feeling of his lips on mine. I could taste the alcohol on his breath, the beer on his lips as I ran my tongue along the inside of his mouth. I wanted this to last hours, and he was the type of person you could kiss for long time spans and not get bored. He stroked up and down my side, squeezing softly.

Just as I was about to get even more lost in the moment, I heard the sliding glass door open and I cursed into Tony’s mouth, prying my lips away from his and jumping off of the counter and away from him before anyone could walk into the kitchen and see what was about to take place on the counter. I quickly grabbed the sponge off of the rim of the sink and walked towards the empty table while Tony took out his phone to look nonchalantly at the screen.

“You guys didn’t have to clean off the entire table! Or do the dishes. I could’ve helped,” Delaney pouted as they all entered the kitchen. I could smell the pungent skunky smell of the weed that wafted through the door as they entered, and I tried to refrain from coughing. I was never much of a smoker. The only times I had ever done so were with Delaney, and even then it wasn’t much at all.

“Shut up, Del,” I rolled my eyes at her tenacity and took a seat on one of the seats at the island.

“We’re gonna head out, I think,” Jaime declared, looking around the room at the boys who all nodded and shrugged in response. It was getting a bit late, after all. We had waited a while to make dinner.

“It was nice meeting you, Ashlynn,” Vic smiled widely at me, giving a small wave. I noticed how squinty and droopy his eyes were from the high he must have had and I mentally giggled at the sight.

“Same to all of you,” I gave a wave back.

Mike dug around a bit in his pocket to retrieve the car keys, to which he tossed to Tony. I silently questioned that, since Tony was a bit drunk. But all the other guys were stoned, and I figured that if Tony was able to kiss me like he had, he could certainly drive the short distance home.

They all smiled once more, Jaime turning to envelope Delaney into a hug before she flashed him a very stoned smile. I glanced to Tony, who was staring at me and I just gave a smile before he sent a quick, discreet wink my way, making sure no one was watching first. I chuckled a bit before grabbing my phone that was across the table. I heard the door click closed and I knew they had left. Delaney plopped down on the seat next to me, and laid her head down on the table.

“Ash, I’m stoned,” she sighed, smirking all the while.

“I know,” I cackled in response before sliding the bar on the screen to unlock my phone.

“Did you like them?” she asked, her words quiet. I knew that she was sleepy, and probably had a hankering for anything that induced cavities at the moment. I locked my phone again, not even looking at the screen as I got out of my seat and taking the few short steps over to the freezer to dig around for what I had bought earlier today when I got groceries.

“Of course I did! I don’t think I could ever dislike people that made you so happy. And kept your stubborn ass busy,” I laughed, finally finding what I was looking for. I retrieved the two pints of Half Baked Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, noticing the irony in the flavor before getting spoons out of the silverware drawer. I brought the ice cream back to the table and as soon as Delaney caught glimpse of it, her eyes lit up and she sat up straight in her chair.

“Oh my god, you’re the greatest. I have the munchies so bad right now,” she was practically salivating as she ripped open the plastic that sealed the container, wasting no time at all in taking off the lid and digging into the cold delicacy.

“I can tell,” I snickered at her as I opened my own container of ice cream. It reminded me of old times, when we were close and our families got this for us every time a birthday came around. We were the spoiled ones and always had to have our own ice cream, not wanting the other kinds that were available at the party. I reminisced in my head, smiling back at the memories and feeling a bit nostalgic of how close we used to be. But here I was, I had to remind myself. I was offering a peace treaty, in a way. I was trying my hardest to rebuild the bridge that I had burned, and it seemed as though it was beginning to work and for that I was thankful.

We sat there for an hour or so, talking about old times and retelling stories and reliving memories. A few tears came at one point from laughing so hard, and I sat and enjoyed the feeling with Delaney. After a while, all our ice cream was gone and we were both exhausted. Delaney said goodnight and made her way into her bedroom for the night. I decided to turn in as well, washing my face and brushing my teeth in my newly decorated bathroom before changing clothes and sliding into bed. I noted that I would need to go bedroom shopping soon, and decided to make that happen within the next few days.

I curled into the soft texture of the mattress, bringing the warm blanket up to my chin before putting my phone on the charger.

I unlocked it, and to my surprise, I had a text message from an unknown number.

Next time, you shouldn’t leave your phone unattended while doing the dishes. Got your number. (; - Tony

I smiled at the message, typing a quick response to him before shutting myself down for a good night’s rest.

Silly me! How ever will I learn? - Ashlynn

Notes

Howdy, howdy! Jolee here, hoping you guys are enjoying this story so far!

What do you think about Tony and Ashlynn's little hidden fling? Will it remain a secret for long?

What about Delaney and Ashlynn's bond? Do you think they will start to get closer after this? What are your predictions on what is to come? I would love to hear all that you think!

Be sure to read my other stories! I currently have a Mike Fuentes fanfiction (Heart & Soul) and a Vic Fuentes fanfiction (To Live Is Just To Fall Asleep) going! Updates are not the fastest, but they come (: I have not updated my Vic story in a long time, but an update is currently in progress and I hope to have it up VERY soon!

ALSO, be sure to read Elise's fanfictions as well!

AND MERRY FREAKING CHRISTMAS TO YOU GUYS! I hope you all enjoyed a lovely holiday with your loved ones, and if I don't post anything until then, HAPPY NEW YEAR as well! :D Crazy how fast this yet went by!

I'll stop blabbering like a fool now and get cracking on some updates for my stories!

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