Page 98 of Step Bully

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“I don’t understand why you like this show.”

“It’s amazeballs.”

Ash snorted as he reached into the bag of chips between us, and dug out a handful.

We were sitting on his bed, against the headboard, watching one of my comfort shows on his TV.

The entire situation was surreal.

Ash had gone out to get us food and coffee while I’d taken a shower and washed off the remnants of the party. It had helped, and I’d been sure Ash would hand me my food, make a joke or some sort of quip, then disappear.

He hadn’t.

He’d sat with me as we’d eaten. Then we’d moved to the loveseat and finished our coffees.

Ash had taken a shower, and I’d expected him to take off somewhere, since it was Saturday, but he’d just plopped back down on the loveseat, and we’d both dicked around on our phones for a while.

He’d ordered a pizza for dinner, and we’d sat at the table eating and talking like adults. When we’d finished, he’d asked if I wanted to watch some TV in his room.

Our conversations hadn’t been deep, but Ash was funny as hell when he wasn’t being a giant douche canoe.

Over the past month, I’d noticed the shift, and not just when our dicks were involved.

He’d started doing small things, like leaving me food in the fridge, especially toward the end of the week when my grocery money was gone.

He’d gotten us a fancy coffee machine and kept beans, creamer, and sugar stocked. He’d told me I was free to use it because Dad and Crystal would blame him if my grades slipped because I wasn’t caffeinated.

Just like he’d told me the extra food was because he’d get in shit if I lost weight and got sick.

At first, I’d believed him. Ash never did anything without a selfish motive, but the longer it had gone on, the more I’d questioned things.

Did Ash… like me?

I knew he liked fucking me, but did he actually care about me as a person? Even just a little bit?

His actions said he did, and he’d been nicer to me. Before last night, we’d still fought about stupid shit, but that usually led to sex. We’d mostly ignored each other, but the atmosphere in the apartment had gotten more relaxed as the weeks passed.

A part of me wanted to be humiliated that Ash had seen me so vulnerable. That he’d had to save me from Gavin’s advances. That he’d had to practically carry me out of there and put me to bed like a child.

That he’d had to take care of me when I’d woken up screaming.

What did that mean? He obviously wasn’t a monster, so the waking-me-up part made sense, but he’d climbed into bed with me and had held me all night just because I’d asked him to.

He could have said no, but he hadn’t.

My head was so full it was a miracle I could string two coherent thoughts together.

“Amazeballs?” He quirked an eyebrow at me as he shoved the chips into his mouth.

“Yeah. Amazeballs.” I grabbed a few chips and popped one into my mouth.

“I just don’t get it.”

“Because we’re only on the third episode. It takes a bit to get a feel for the show.”

“Any show that can’t capture you in the first five minutes is a flop.”

“That’s your instant gratification brain talking.”


Tags: Willow Dixon Romance