Kiss Me at Midnight(9)
Author: Diane Alberts

“Oh yeah. Very much so. He rocked my world. And then he took off after thanking me.”

“Sounds like your kind of guy.” Rhiannon laughed. “You enjoy the wham, bam, thank you ma’am variety.”

“I do.” Ashley twirled a lock of her hair around her finger. “He’s always been a runner, so I had a feeling it would happen. I think he sleeps with a pair of running shoes on just in case.”

Rhiannon hooted with laughter. “Oh my God, can you imagine?”

“Actually, I totally can.” Ashley hesitated. “But then he broke character and asked me to go bowling with him tomorrow night.”

“Bowling?” Rhiannon snorted. “You’re not going to go…are you? That sounds like a bad idea. It sounds like a date.”

“Well, maybe.” Ashley sighed. “But I’m going.”

“Why?”

She rolled over onto her back, flinching at the sensitivity between her thighs. He’d taken her and left her wanting more, despite the orgasms he’d brought her. “I think I might want more than a night with him. It was that good, Rhi.”

Rhiannon whistled through her teeth. “Are we talking the forbidden B word?”

“No. No way.” Ashley rested a hand on her stomach. “He can’t be my boyfriend even if I wanted him to be. He’s leaving on Monday for California. And he’d never come back here to live. Not in a million years.”

“So you just want a one night stand…extended into a couple of nights? And you expect not to get attached or want more?” Rhiannon snorted. “I’m telling you now…bad idea.”

Ashley could picture the look of disbelief on her friend’s face as clearly as if she was here on the couch with her. “I know, but I’ll be fine. I know what I’m getting into here. It’s a short-term fling, nothing more. I just want a few more times with him. Hell, he could hold me over for the rest of the year if I had him enough times. It’s that freaking amazing.”

“Maybe I should go to that bowling alley,” Rhiannon said, her voice soft.

“Find your own orgasm god. He’s mine.”

“Caring is sharing, you know,” Rhiannon said, the music getting louder in the background. “But since you refuse, I’m going to do exactly that. Find my own.”

“Any prospects?”

“I’ve got my sights set on a guy, and it’s time to close the deal. Wish me luck.”

Ashley smiled. “Good luck, but you don’t need it.”

“Don’t you know it,” Rhiannon said, ending the call.

Ashley dropped the phone on her chest and stared up at the ceiling. It was a quarter after midnight, and she was still wide-awake. She fidgeted for a little while, feeling restless and impatient for tomorrow night. She wanted it to come already so she could get another taste of Ethan. He was addicting.

She picked her phone up and searched him out on Facebook . Funny that she hadn’t done so before. Some part of her had been scared to see him again—to see if he was happily married in another town. But after tonight, she wanted to know more.

She found his page within seconds. His profile picture was of him standing on a stand-up paddle board in the water, a huge smile on his face. He was wearing a pair of swim trunks and nothing else. He didn’t have the tattoo on his chest in the photo, but it was only two months old. His abs taunted her, even through the photo, and she wanted to lick them all over again. She hadn’t spent enough time on them, enjoying the way they played over his skin, stretching it tight…

Ugh. She was already desperate for more and he’d just left.

She scrolled down his profile, reading his status updates. With how closed off his life seemed to be to others, she couldn’t believe he hadn’t set his profile to private. There were no mentions of girls or drinking or sex with strangers. All he posted about was going to ball games and work and hanging with the guys. There wasn’t a single mention of a girlfriend within the last year…probably longer.

She stopped looking after a year, though.

Next, she went through his pictures, eagerly looking at each one and reading the caption beneath it. He spent a heck of a lot of time at sporting events, which wasn’t too much of a shock. He’d always loved sports, even if he didn’t play them.

She shook her head and scrolled through his friends list, noticing right away that her suspicion of him not keeping in touch with anyone back home was right. There wasn’t a single friend listed from Rehoboth. The only one? His brother, Alex.

He’s obviously put this part of his life behind him. That was perfect. It meant this whole thing didn’t stand a risk of getting sloppy or emotional. They were in the same place in their life…

And neither of them would want more than this weekend.

Chapter Five

The next night, Ethan entered the bowling alley at five to eight. He’d had no expectations of Ashley actually showing up, but damned if she wasn’t standing there watching for him. His heart stuttered in his chest then sped up painfully, and he waved at her with a big smile.

Well, I’ll be damned.

“You came.” He reached out and cupped her cheek. He pressed his lips to her forehead, savoring her scent, then pulled back. His c**k hardened, and his heart softened just from that innocent gesture. “I’m glad.”

She rested her hands on his chest, staring up at him with a small smile. “I don’t know why I did. It’s not my thing to hang out, well, after.” She shrugged. “Like, ever.”

“Yeah. I get that.” He handed the man behind the counter a twenty. The alley was unusually empty. It looked as if they would have the place to themselves. Maybe everyone else was busy recovering from their hangovers. “Hello.”

“Hey, Ethan.”

Ethan did a double take. “Do I know you?”

“Yeah, it’s Todd. We were in the same homeroom all of high school.”

Ethan studied him. He’ remembered him now. He’d put on a few pounds and had lost the stoner look in his eyes, but it was Todd all right. “Yeah, I remember. You sat behind me.”

Todd flinched. “Yeah. I used to put spitballs in your hair. Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine,” Ethan said, blinking. He’d never expected an apology from Todd. Not in a million years. “It was a long time ago.”

“Yeah, well…thanks for being decent about it.” Todd cleared his throat and turned to Ashley. “Hey, Ashley.”