Broken.
Dying on the fucking floor.
“Right! Ice! Where is your kitchen?”
I was able to nod toward the direction.
“Dude!”
I heard my fridge open.
“You have the Samsung Smart Fridge! That’s so cool!”
I waited for what felt like forever as she slammed open and shut the drawers.
“For fuck’s sake, Sage! Just use a towel!”
“Oh! That’s right! I’m so sorry! I’m just so nervous, and I feel so bad! I’m coming!”
I resisted the urge to say, “Yeah, you would be, if you hadn’t taken me out.”
From the moment she got on her knees, setting the freezing cold ice on my balls I envisioned this scenario happening in a much different way.
However, when she added, “I’m so sorry, Ashton. Let me make it up to you,” my balls didn’t just ache. They now throbbed from wanting to take her up on that offer.
Chapter 9
—Ashton—
“Hell of a defense tactic.”
“Well…” She leaned back, sitting on the heels of her stilettos. “Having a brother, you learn how to defend yourself. Are you alright?”
“I’m not sure yet.”
“Do you want me to take a look, maybe?”
“You want to look at my balls?”
“I mean, I could. If you needed me to.”
“No, Sage. The first time you see my dick isn’t going to be after you put him in a coma.” Sitting up, I groaned.
“Here, let me help you.” She stood, grabbing my hand. Carefully, I limped toward the couch.
Once I was sitting down, she plopped next to me. “Fair. Do you want me to leave then?”
“Do you want to leave?”
She shook her head.
“Good. Wasn’t going to let you.”
She smirked.
“So tell me about your brother.”
“Do you really want to know about my sibling?”
“Considering my balls are frozen, I don’t really have another option at the moment.”
“Right… Again, I’m so sorry.”
“You can’t help the fact that I have huge balls.”
She giggled, and it echoed off the walls. “I believe you. Being the hero and all, I imagine those big balls have come in handy. I feel so bad, though. Is there anything I can do for you?”
“Now that’s a loaded question if I ever heard one. I can think of multiple things you could do for me.”
“For some reason, I don’t doubt that.”
“I’ve been meaning to tell you all night how beautiful you look. You were pretty when we were sixteen, but you’ve really become quite stunning.”
“How many girls have you said those exact words to, Ashton?”
“Sage, if you’re going to ask me that every time I pay you a compliment, then I’m going to have to show you how different you are from all the other girls.”
She blushed, but I could still see it in her eyes. She thought I was lying. Believe it or not, I wasn’t.
“Your opinion of me is going to give me a complex.”
“My opinion of you shouldn’t hold a high regard.”
“Is that right?” I pulled the hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear. “Your opinion of me is the only one that matters. I can’t imagine I’m the first guy to tell you how beautiful you are.”
“You’d be surprised. I don’t date much.”
I didn’t know what I was expecting, what I wanted from her. This chick had haunted my dreams from the second I first saw her, and that thought alone terrified me. This wasn’t who I was. I didn’t care to learn about the women I was with. They were a quick fuck in the bathroom at a club, an impromptu blowy on the beach. I was a fuck ’em and leave ’em kind of man.
I loved my life.
Every aspect of it was what I wanted.
Yet, there I was, wanting to know every last thing about this girl who’d just kneed me in the balls.
I reached across the sofa and started to lightly skim her thigh. My mind was running wild with all the emotions she was stirring inside of me. Sentiments I wasn’t used to and had no idea how to deal with. Sage was fucking me up. The worst part, I didn’t care that my face wasn’t currently buried in between her legs, making her scream my name.
I liked having her here. In my home. With me.
What the fuck?
The balcony door was open, and a light breeze was blowing the curtains, giving a romantic allure all around us. I couldn’t help myself, not with her. I gripped onto her wrist, catching her off guard, and tugged her toward me.
She gasped, and her hand immediately pressed against my muscular chest, causing heat to soar through my body, starting from my head down to my toes.
Her scent.
Her hair.
Her soft skin.
It all did something to me in a way I'd never experienced before. My mouth collided with hers, slowly at first.
Her lips were as smooth as I remembered.
She tasted exactly how I recalled.
Trouble.
My lips parted, beckoning her to do the same. She followed my lead, softly caressing the tip of my tongue with hers. Our mouths moved against one another as if they were destined to meet and come together again.
A chance.
A circumstance.
Kismet.
I slowly kissed her, trying to simmer down the unexpected movements of our emotional connection. Resting my forehead on hers, I stared openly into her confused gaze.
Over the years, I’d learned a lot about women. Their mannerisms, their expressions, the way I made them feel. Sage felt everything I was, and it frightened her in the same way it did me.
“Tell me you felt that…” I rasped, needing to hear her say it.
“Yes,” she breathed out, mimicking my tone.
This was too fast.
Too soon.
So I did the only thing I could think of—I lied, “As much as I would love to hit a home run with you tonight, I don’t think my balls are up to bat.”
I wanted to talk to her, listen to her voice, get to know her.
Basically…
I. Was. Fucked.
—Sage—
My cheeks flushed, and my belly fluttered. If there was one thing I'd learned about Ashton from the very beginning, it was he spoke his mind anytime he opened his mouth. He never held back, and in the little time we knew each other, it was one of the things I liked the most about him. He seemed as genuine as they could come, and I hadn’t met a lot of honest people in my life. Especially when it came to dating random men who were always trying to prove something or another.
It was refreshing.
He was my breath of fresh air.
Which was yet another reason I needed to stay away from him.