Page 64 of Sentinel's Kiss

Font Size:

Page 64 of Sentinel's Kiss

Damn it, she hadn’t wanted to get into that now. “I was a cheerleader.”

“So you were popular,” he said.

She shrugged. “I never stayed home on a Friday or Saturday night. But I didn’t have a BFF. We all kind of hung out in a group and went places together. Brett was the quarterback.”

Josh rolled his eyes. “I bet he was as pretty as you are.”

Ashley gave him a sad smile. “He wasn’t ugly. I gave him my virginity after the junior prom, in his parents’ basement. It was the after-prom party and we snuck away to do it on the washer.”

“That’s so romantic, it brings a tear to my eyes.”

“Well, it was just the beginning. We fucked like bunnies every chance we got until I got pregnant. I wasn’t on the pill, but we always used condoms.” Ashley shrugged.

“So where is Brett now?”

“With Dawn.”

Josh put his beer down, took her drink out of her hand as well. Then he pulled her into his arms. “I’m sorry.”

She climbed into his lap and wrapped her arms around him. “I was eight months pregnant when he and some of his friends decided to go bungee jumping off the Trident River Bridge. I went with them. Not to jump,” she said, to reassure him. “I wasn’t that wild and crazy back then. They wanted me to take pictures for the yearbook. We had such plans. Brett had a scholarship to Duke. I was going to finish high school and then the baby and I were going to join him.”

Josh stroked her back and let her ramble. She reached for her rum and Coke and took a large swallow. She was happy for the strong drink. It shored up her resolve. She’d tell this story once and then they’d never have to go over it again.

“You’re a strong woman, Ashley.”

“I don’t know about that,” she said. “Brett jumped. I was taking pictures like crazy. His line snapped.”

“Eighteen.” Josh shook his head. “Too damn young.”

“I started to go into labor. I don’t know. From the shock, I guess. You know the rest.”

He smoothed her hair off her face. “You’re a survivor.”

“Not for lack of trying. I tried my damnedest to get myself killed.”

“Is that why you started skydiving?” he asked.

Ashley shrugged. “Partly. I wanted to feel alive again. I was addicted to adrenaline. Nothing I was doing here was extreme enough for me anymore. If I didn’t feel that rush, I would start to think about Brett and Dawn. So I had to keep chasing that high.”

“Did it work?”

“For a while.” She nodded. “And then it became too exhausting. I couldn’t live like that anymore. So I got the job at the news station, and tried to get my life together. Was that what Afghanistan was like for you?”

He continued to stroke her hair and she buried her face in his neck. “Yeah, to a degree. The army was good for me. I was an angry little shit with a big chip on my shoulder. That’s the first thing to go in boot camp. I got a lot of anger out in the war. But not all of it. Then Sarah was murdered and I was devastated. I didn’t handle it as well as you did. I drank a lot and slept with a ton of women.”

She made a face at him.

“I’m clean, though. I get tested every month.”

“Do you still want to sleep with tons of women?”

“Just you,” he said.

“Good answer.” She kissed him. “So, this is exclusive?”

“Yeah,” he said. “You’re mine.”

Ashley shivered at the possessive tone. “For how long?”




Top Books !
More Top Books

Treanding Books !
More Treanding Books