Me (12:56 am): You sleep the other 6 nights a week without me. You’ll be fine

I didn’t hear back from him after that last text, and I wasn’t sure if I had pissed him off, but I really couldn’t worry my poor brain with another issue at that time, I was already stressed over everything that had happened with Dylan. I would smooth everything over the following day. I downed the glass of wine and went to the kitchen to pour a second. Just as I was returning the bottle to the fridge, someone knocked on the door. The sound startled me and I wondered who in the world could possibly be at my door at 1:00 in the morning that wouldn’t have called before showing up. I hurried to the door, opening it only far enough that I could see who it was, and making sure my non-dressed body was hidden behind it.

Ash stood on our doormat looking as incredible as always. True to his surfer boy image, his long sandy hair was messy and he had on a white Billabong long sleeved tee with holey, faded jeans and flip flops. He smiled brightly at me when I cracked the door and the dimples were activated. I stopped breathing momentarily as the sight of him mixed with his masculine scent flooded my senses. I didn’t say anything, waiting for him to explain his sudden appearance.

“I get my best night’s sleep when you stay with me, and I can’t wait for next Saturday to get fully rested, so here I am. We can stay here if you want or I can take you back to my house. Either way, I just need you to be sleeping next to me.” Ash said matter-of-factly.

I opened the door wide enough so that he could come in, and once he did, the first thing he did was look down at my body. “I’ll go put some other clothes on; come in and make yourself at home,” I said.

I had no idea what to think about Ash showing up at my door, but one thing was for sure - this was by far the strangest night of my life. I was exhausted and told Ash as much. I apologized for not being much company, but he wouldn’t hear of it. Not fifteen minutes after he had knocked on my door, we were lying in my bed, our bodies fit together like a puzzle, John Coltrane playing softly in the background. Sleep took over quickly.

I woke up several hours later at the sound of the front door closing. I looked at my alarm clock - it read 3:30AM. Evie was home. Weird. I hoped everything was okay with her and Max. Then I heard their voices and realized that Max was with her. I tried to go back to sleep, but my thoughts couldn’t help but drift back to the happenings of the last couple of days. I had gone from making out with and giving a blowjob to Mason on Friday night, to kissing Ash later that same night, to spending Saturday afternoon and evening on a date and making out with Dylan, to spending the night with Ash in my bed Saturday night. In 36 hours I had gone from little-miss-goodie-two-shoes to a dirty whore. Okay, maybe not quite a dirty whore, considering my hymen was still firmly intact, but having three different guys’ tongues (and other body parts) in my mouth in that short amount of time was definitely good practice in becoming one. But instead of crawling out of my bed and working to maintain some dignity by moving to the couch, I curled up into Ash’s body and felt overall bliss from head to toe as he wrapped his arms around my waist and held me close to his body. He kissed the top of my head and whispered, “Get some sleep, butterfly, it’s still early. Stop over thinking everything.” And I did my best as I drifted off again.

Sometime later I awoke to a male voice whispering my name in my ear. “Scarlett, Scarlett, wake up.” My eyes shot open. Ash was leaning over me, fully dressed. What was he doing in my room? The events from the previous day rushed through my mind and I remembered his early morning arrival. I closed my eyes and groaned. “What time is it?”

“It’s almost ten. I’ve got to get home and finish a paper or I’d take you to breakfast.” His face was still mere inches from mine and I wondered how his breath could be so sweet after just waking up. “I didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye.”

“Kay. I’m going back to sleep. Bye,” I murmured.

He chuckled and reached down to kiss my forehead. A few moments later I heard my bedroom door open and close, followed by voices in the living area and the closing of the main door. Uggghh. I had hoped that he could’ve left without Evie seeing him, but no such luck. I buried my head in my pillow and waited for her.

Evie did not disappoint. Less than a minute later, my door swung open and I felt her climb in bed with me. She didn’t beat around the bush. “Dare I ask why when I last saw you, you were leaving here on a date with Dylan and then this morning as I’m getting some water, I see Ash leaving your bedroom looking like he just woke up?”

“I plead the fifth,” I mumbled, still hiding under my pillow protection.

“I hope you know what you are doing, Scarlett. Contrary to the ninety nine percent of the books that you read and movies you watch, in reality, things don’t always turn out all wrapped up with a perfectly tied bow. I know we like to joke around about it and draw parallels of our lives with these fictional characters, but this is real life, Sam, and I’m really worried about you getting hurt.” Her concern was evident in her voice. “You want to tell me what happened?”

I pulled my head out and proceeded to tell her about how wonderful the date was but how Dylan started acting all weird, and then how I had forgotten to let Ash know that I wasn’t going to Jacob’s so he got worried… again.

“He was so worried he had to come check on you here?” She lifted her eyebrows in disbelief. “You expect me to believe that y’all are still just friends after everything I’ve seen in the last two days?”

“Nothing happened, Evie. I swear. We just slept, he didn’t even get here until after one,” I tried to explain.

She was quiet for a minute and then said, “Look, like I told you yesterday and the day before that, do what you feel is right for you. I’ll be here to support you no matter what. I was just surprised to see him.”

I nodded, knowing that she wished I would stay as far away from Ash as possible. She was well aware of my weakness and vulnerability when it came to him, as was I. Remembering her coming home in the middle of the night, I asked, “Hey, why did you come home at like 3:00 this morning, and was Max with you? I thought y’all were staying at his place.”

“I got a headache and I didn’t have any medicine on me, so Max and I decided to just stay the night here. He’s still asleep in my bed”

“A headache?” I blurted out. “I thought you had stopped getting them since you got the glasses?”

“Dude, chill out,” Evie waved her hand like it was no big deal. “It wasn’t too bad, I think I got it because I didn’t have any caffeine yesterday. You know, like withdrawals or something.”

“Please promise that you will tell me if you start getting them again like before,” I pleaded with her. There was something strange about her getting all of these headaches in the last few months when I could count on one hand the number she had endured in her lifetime previously.

“I will, I will. Jeez, Scarlett. And don’t try to change the subject to focus on me. I believe we were discussing you and your slew of gorgeous guys…”

“There is no ‘slew.’” I interrupted. “And I’m really tired of thinking and talking about them and what it all means all the time.” I had developed a headache myself trying to analyze and scrutinize my relationship with each of the guys that had recently entered my life. I obviously felt something for each of them, but I wasn’t sure exactly what that something was. “So beginning right now, I’m imposing a boy-free Sunday. Let’s do a bunch of girly things together like we used to. You in?”

Evie looked over at her closed bedroom door and then back at me. A slow grin crept across her face, “That sounds awesome, but first I’ve got to get rid of Max.”

“Oh, that’s okay Evie. I forgot he was here. If you were planning on hanging out with Max today, we can do it another time.” I tried hard to not allow my disappointment show in my voice, but it was impossible.

“No, I was actually thinking we needed to do a movie marathon with our favorite vampires and werewolves before the last movie comes out next Thursday night. You up for four movies today?” She asked already knowing what my answer would be.

“I need to change into my Team Edward t-shirt.” My face lit up at just the thought.

“Okay, give me an hour and I’ll meet you on the couch,” she said, already walking towards her room.