"Honestly? It seemed like the right thing to do at the time. You know I’m not good with words,” I smirked, and received an eye roll in response. “And…I’ve thought about your pussy a lot over the years. I had an opportunity and I took it. I shouldn't have...with what you're going through right now. I should've backed off."
Ashtyn's laugh made my head snap. "Believe it or not, I'm a big girl and can make my own decisions about my body. It's not like I was incapacitated. I have anxiety attacks like millions of other people in the world. I work through them and then I'm fine. Trust me, I was completely lucid througheverything."
I smiled and nudged her leg under the table. "I just didn't want it to be one of those things you regretted in the morning."
"I won't be regretting shit. What’s there to regret about a guy eating me out? Can we drop it now? Although I would like to ask you something."
"Ask away."
"Why in thefuckdid you keep my underwear?" The question spilled from her lips just as Marcy appeared with our food. She scowled as she dropped our plates in front of us.
"Your waffles."Plop. "And your pancakes."Slam.
"Thanks, Marcy!" Ashtyn said with a little too much enthusiasm to be genuine.
Marcy scowled and stomped back behind the counter.
I watched as Ashtyn spread butter and poured maple syrup on the towering stack of pancakes. Her eyes lit up as if it were the first time in months that she'd had a decent meal. I smiled at her, not realizing it until she looked up at me.
"What?" she asked, shoving a forkful of pancake inside her mouth.
"Nothing, it's just refreshing to see a woman who isn't afraid to eat." I cut a piece of waffle and stabbed a strawberry with my fork before shoving the delectable combination in my mouth.
"Afraid to eat? No, I'm afraid of not eating. I've done that enough." She shoved another bite of pancake in her mouth. "I'm a stress eater, hence the ten or fifteen pounds I've put on recently," she shrugged.
"There are other ways to reduce stress," I waggled my eyebrows at her.
"Heh, I tried that. It didn't work."
"I wasn't talking about sex. I was talking about punching shit. That's what I do when I need to release some tension."
"You do a lot of things to release tension. Smoke, fuck, and now fight. That is textbook West right there.”
"What can I say? If one doesn't work, I'm onto the next. But seriously, if you ever want to come by the gym, I'd be happy to get you started."
We continued to eat our midnight breakfast and I explained everything about Brass Knuckles. I told her how my Mustang decided to get in a fight with a building last year and lost, which somehow made Dad think buying a gym would fix the problem.
"Brass Knuckles, huh? Will you teach me how to kick a bitch's ass?" Ashtyn asked excitedly.
"You already know the basics. And I know about that knife you keep tucked in your boot, so you know how to fight dirty," I said with a knowing glance.
"That's for self-defense. I want to know how to take someone down. Especially with that little love letter I received tonight," she shuddered, the atmosphere between us getting heavy.
There was a real threat lurking in the darkness. Whoever beat up Remington had eyes on Ashtyn, and if her dumbass brother didn't pay up, she would be the one to pay in blood. I wouldn't let that happen to her.
"Come to the gym this week. We can work on some techniques so you cantake someone down," I grinned.
"You laugh but statistically speaking, that will come in handy for me someday," Ashtyn said as she tossed her napkin on her plate.
I hoped not but I had a bad feeling she was right. And I was going to do everything in my power to make sure she was prepared for a fight.
17
Ashtyn
ThefoodatTheDiner was amazing. The pancakes were fluffy and flavorful. Even the coffee tasted like heaven on my tongue.
The company hadn't been terrible either.